WAN/NAS to stream video

I am working on a project to stream video to a wireless laptop. I am using an external hard drive connected through usb to a Belkin network usb hub, which in turn is connected to my router. Theory: HDD stores video until I access it via the networked hub and call it to play on a wireless notebook. Reallity: video comes across choppy. I have a 802.11g network with excellent signal strength. This problem exists even if I use a wired connection. But not if I go directly from external HDD to notebook via usb directly. It seems a slow network connection is the problem. Any help would be appreciated. Keith

 

I am not familiar with the Belkin device, but I would check the signal strength it is receiving from the router as well as making sure it is connected at G speeds. I would also disable Encryption all together on the router, then reconnect the USB hub and see if you still receive the issue. (encryption slows down the wireless network) You might also want to try to setup an AD-HOC network using your laptop as the host and connect the hub right to it, it could help you try to see where the problem is. Lastly, if you haven't checked already look for firmware updates to both your router and USB hub. Hope this helps.

 

Is this a true NAS, and does it have a media server installed upon it? Has the drive been defragmented lately? What software are you using to connect to the drive?

I set up a Twonkyvision media server on my Simpleshare NAS and was able to watch videos perfectly on my old G network. However, you can't use Windows Media player (in XP) to connect to the server; this can only be done in Vista. For XP, you need to use a software media streaming device, like Nero Home.

 

No it is not a true NAS. It is a simple setup of an external HDD connected to the network via a network usb hub. I have an old pc that is no longer in use and I may sey that up as a NAS, This is my first time with this and thought I'd give the simplest setup a try first. It is looking as if I need some software to manage the NAS. My old pc is an HP pavilion 512n. Will this be a good starting point? Thanks, Keith

 

Any old computer will function as a media server, especially since this is your first time. Install a Linux distro on it, then grab yourself some media server software. You'll be up and running in no time.

 

I think I will take that advice. The old pc is just sitting in a closet not being used. Could you provide me with some links to forums that discuss this type of project? I have the latest releases of SUSE ond Ubuntu all ready to install, is there a better choise for this project? Thanks again and Happy New Year to all, Keith

 

I use Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon), so I'll recommend that one. I don't know of any forum that specifically talks about Linux as a media server, but you can check out the Twonkyvision website and that forum, as well as the Ubuntu forum.

Don't forget that you'll need software on the laptop that can connect to the media server.