I have DLNA TV - Do I require a media player ?

[streetlife]

Hi there,

I have DLNA on TV & Smartphone.
I'm able to stream videos/music from laptop via wifi through (windows 7) with built in streaming application.

So I'm wondering if I'll need a media player or not ?

If I'll buy a media player then what more functions I will get more as compared to what i'm doing with DLNA.

I'm a noob so please help !

 

[dillihifi]

Not necessary to buy a media player if then tv's inbuilt player satisfies your needs. What generally happens is that people need the player to handle obscure codecs of some files and also to decode the various audio formats as only a few are supported by the tv. Please check out these aspects with respect to the movies and videos you have.

 

[gopichandpai]

Instead of a media player, try installing some media servers like Serviio media server on your laptop. Whatever folders are shared on your laptop can be accessed from TV.

You can also give PS3 media server a try PS3 Media Server

If your smartphone is an android phone, I recommend you use Twonky Beam https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pv.twonkyremote&hl=en

 

[haisaikat]

+1 to Serviio, it beats all other PC based media players when it comes to on the fly transcoding. I have been using Serviio for more than a year now and very satisfied with the free version.

In your case if you can play all codecs easily then no need for media player as of now unless you want to play off directly from a USB HDD for high def movies / BD Rips which are otherwise bottleneck over wifi otherwise due to bandwidth limitation

 

[streetlife]

Thank you everyone for the helpful inputs, as suggested i'm trying serviio tonight.
Many thanks !
PS : I have panasonic E6 model.

 

[hirenmistry]

Thanks to @streetlife, I had the same question and came here searching for an answer. I will install serviio later in the day.

Regards

 

[streetlife]

Hi guys
I came back with another enquiry -
My tv has dlna & phone too - these days wifi routers comes with dlna, what one gain if he buys the dlna enabled router ?
I'm buying a wireless router, one has dlna other hasn't so confused what will i gain if i buy dlna one, i don't understand what router dna will do

 

[gopichandpai]

If I am not wrong, the router which has DLNA feature has a USB port? If yes, it might let you plug the USB flash drive or hard drive and access it from TV or phone.

Or these routers just use the term DLNA to say if your TV or phone has DLNA, you will be able to use it without a problem.

Which ones have you shortlisted?

 

[streetlife]

If I am not wrong, the router which has DLNA feature has a USB port? If yes, it might let you plug the USB flash drive or hard drive and access it from TV or phone.

Or these routers just use the term DLNA to say if your TV or phone has DLNA, you will be able to use it without a problem.

Which ones have you shortlisted?

Yes it has usb ports (2port) - yes it offers to connect hd/pendrive/printer.

If router doesn't have DLNA, then one can also stream it via normal router via built in wm streaming application to smart tv, so what does DLNA enabled routers offers more ?
I have selected Netgear WNDR-4000 - cost arount 9k, any other recommendation ?

 

[gopichandpai]

If router has DLNA, you can access the connected HD/pendrive from all the devices which have DLNA. May be you can use it as wireless HD/pendrive where you can access and store from any device