ok, so i got the htpc up and running and its insane. is there anything i can build/buy to connect to my tv in my living room and wirelessly connect it to the main htpc and network them together so i can access them from the living room or am i pipe-dreaming?
2012-07-10, 16:28
2012-07-10, 16:42
I would say no, but I have been wrong before.
2012-07-10, 16:42
Another PC maybe a laptop if you have one. Wireless is not the best with HD movies. Wireless N does ok but not far. So your answer is you need to build a network
2012-07-10, 16:45
what would i need to network it other than a new htpc and a server i assume
2012-07-10, 17:24
(2012-07-10, 17:01)Dougie Fresh Wrote: I am not sure what you mean by "connect". You want one HTPC to serve 2 TVs?
no not necessarily. i dont mind building another one, but i want them to run off of one storage center. right now i dont have a server and htpc. i have a htpc with a 3tb hard drive in it. so i guess my question is can i build another htpc to run off that same hard drive as the other one.
2012-07-10, 18:58
Yes you can. You'll have to share the hard drive on your first HTPC on the network, or however you have it set up. Once you have sharing setup on that drive you will have to configure your 2nd HTPC to look for the content on that path.
I.E. you share your drive on a computer named PC1 with the drive labeled as movies. So you would have to add a SAMBA share as //PC1/Movies and point XBMC to catalouge from that directory.
Or share it anyway you know how. I have my HTPC running ubuntu pointing to the hard drives on my Windows 7 desktop PC, setup with SAMBA.
Other members here might have some better advice or a more direct approach of completeing this task much easier.
I.E. you share your drive on a computer named PC1 with the drive labeled as movies. So you would have to add a SAMBA share as //PC1/Movies and point XBMC to catalouge from that directory.
Or share it anyway you know how. I have my HTPC running ubuntu pointing to the hard drives on my Windows 7 desktop PC, setup with SAMBA.
Other members here might have some better advice or a more direct approach of completeing this task much easier.
2012-07-10, 19:05
Thanks Donny! thats exactly what i wanted to know.
now i just have to figure out the best way to do it!
now i just have to figure out the best way to do it!
2012-07-10, 19:09
If you need any more help with it, let me know. its pretty straight forward though. Just google on how to share a drive from your main HTPC and how to link your 2nd one to read from it.
What is your main HTPC running? strictly XBMC, or does it have an OS that runs in the background?
You also may want to think about building just a small server. Its pretty inexpensive and you can always expand it later as your collection/needs grow. Then you can just point both your HTPC's to look at one path.
Either option though, will get you in business : )
What is your main HTPC running? strictly XBMC, or does it have an OS that runs in the background?
You also may want to think about building just a small server. Its pretty inexpensive and you can always expand it later as your collection/needs grow. Then you can just point both your HTPC's to look at one path.
Either option though, will get you in business : )
2012-07-10, 19:18
im running windows 7 with media browser and xbmc. my htpc right now has a 3tb hard drive in it where i store the media but i will have to expand it. i will prob put another 2 3tb drives in there before i do a server since i have the room, but what you are describing is what i exactly want to do.
2012-07-10, 19:24
Fantastic! You will need a router or crossover cable though for it to work. Basically when your sharing the drive, your sharing it with other compenents in your network. So its esentially network sharing.
You go into my computer and right click on the drives with your movies and select sharing. Then just follow the prompts/wizard and it will set it up for you. At that point youll need to have them both connected to a router/crossover cable. Then using the filebrowser on your 2nd HTPC within XBMC, you need to search for that location and had it as a path to the library.
This will display the movies from the hard drive on your main HTPC to your secondary one.
I'll look more into it exactly and how mine is set up once I get home. At work now, trying to go off of memory
You go into my computer and right click on the drives with your movies and select sharing. Then just follow the prompts/wizard and it will set it up for you. At that point youll need to have them both connected to a router/crossover cable. Then using the filebrowser on your 2nd HTPC within XBMC, you need to search for that location and had it as a path to the library.
This will display the movies from the hard drive on your main HTPC to your secondary one.
I'll look more into it exactly and how mine is set up once I get home. At work now, trying to go off of memory
2012-07-10, 22:36
Ideally you wan them hard wired with a good router. XBMC has the ability to share media via UPNP service (you have to enable it in the XBMC network settings ). Just install XBMC on the second PC and point it towards the first. Thats it. Both will have individual control over the media
