@TimSykes wrote:
Well netflix stream via a web browser. And unless media manager taps into the web browse netfix would not work. I do hope they integrate netflix now that they have a open API. But the likely hood is that MM will have a drop down list of sites you can use to stream video. IE youtube, break.com, mtvmusic.com, And I hope Hulu.com. But no one will know how it works until it comes out. Or if I get into the Beta program. But If I get into it. I sure I will be under a NDA and can't tell anyone else about it.
Perhaps I have misread any agreements I clicked "I agree" on, but I am a beta tester and do not feel OVERLY constrained from commenting, so perhaps i will be reprimanded for this, but there really is not much to comment on.
So far the "upgraded" Media Manager beta which has Video streaming is supposed to (1) stream videos from your computer (Mpeg, mov, wmv, mkv files - but not divx(!)) and (2) stream videos from the internet via your computer and the media manager software - but the only internet source supported at this point in the beta testing is YouTube (!) . Nothing else (no network TV websites, no hulu, no netflix, nada).
The YouTube streaming seems to work pretty well (at least as advertised). There is a Search function available, and default lists of most popular and "recommended" for you to choose from, but in general YouTube videos are poor resolution, so I don't consider YouTube to be of ultimate end-user interest. I want a HighDef feed to pass to my TV via the Media Manager, and I haven't seen one of those yet.
As for the PC video streaming, it is EXTREMELY buggy. Many files refuse to import into Media Manager, and of those taht import, many refuse to play even when available in the list, and others show incorrect program lengths. Don't hold your breath for this capability.
I WANT it to work, but am strongly leaning toward just saving my shekels and buying a relatively capable media center PC just for the Home Theater room (I already have CAT 5e run down there) and using it directly for all of the video stored on my PC and that I wish to stream directly from ANY internet site. My initial feeling is that the Media Manager software as an "intermediary device" introduces more limitations and opportunities for degraded performance than just sucking it up and putting an extra PC there.
Ultimately, I see this as a product for the casual home user who wants the occasional item streamed from his PC. Not for the videophile who wants to have his whole library of high-quality videos on his PC available at the touch of his/her remote.
No divx support, that is really the only format I would be looking to stream in. Most video are encoded for that because it offers the best compression. Oh well, I have my Media Center PC, my xbox 360, and PS3 that all support Divx and streaming. Maybe my fios too will one day.
But hey that's what I figured it would do with web streams, youtube.
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