![]() ServeToMe has far fewer controls, but delivers them with a slightly more sleek and modern look. Air Video's interface is a bit more utilitarian, with six panes of settings with a traditional preferences look, but it gives you fine control over sharing ports, conversion preferences, streaming bandwidth, and more. Setting up both servers is quite straightforward: run them, add the folder paths where your videos live, and then leave them be. My home network setup is notoriously sharing-hostile, but I'll try to test out the remote streaming features of both apps soon. Both apps also support streaming over the Internet, and will attempt to set your UPnP router to allow the correct port mapping automatically Air Video has a handy PIN code feature, which "bookmarks" your external IP address so you don't have to remember it. I didn't get a chance to test Air Video on PPC, so I can't speak to performance there, but I wouldn't expect to handle high-rate video on anything but a Core 2 Duo Intel machine. Air Video's Mac server requires 10.5.6 or higher and is a Universal app ServeToMe requires 10.5 and is Intel-only. Air Video also has a Windows version of its server app, while the Win version of ServeToMe is in development.īoth server apps leverage the open-source ffmpeg project for video transcoding, and both can handle an impressive array of video codecs and format wrappers (lists here and here, respectively), including the EyeTV MPEG container format. ![]() Both of them include a free server app that, once launched, appears as a menu extra with an Airport-esque icon (Air Video Server's icon has a filmstrip StreamToMe's app, called ServeToMe, features a Play button). The similarities between these apps go quite a bit deeper than their identical price points. Which of these apps can make your videos fly? in the left corner, the veteran Air Video, along with the free Air Video Lite, and in the right corner, the fast-punching StreamToMe. Our contenders today, both weighing in at US$2.99 plus a helper app on the desktop. Good news, then, that there are two solid options to accomplish this handy trick. Wouldn't it be nicer if you could simply stream any video file from your Mac or PC and have it play back instantly on your iPad, anywhere in the house? On the 16GB model, you may find yourself shuffling movies and TV shows in and out of the sync list on a frequent basis. The iPad's bona fides as a video-watching device are undeniable, but managing your media for synchronization isn't fun, even in iTunes. It's delightful - even though I may have to switch movies now that Wrath of Khan is on the list. "That's coming over the Internet?" they ask, and jaws drop. I can't say why this particular movie works well, but it just looks and sounds so good. ![]() ![]() In the few days that I've had an iPad, I've found a favorite way to demo it for friends, family, and people I stop at random in the hallways: fire up the Netflix app and start streaming Wargames. ![]()
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