what do I need and what is the best media server?

[ricoman]

Please don't be mad if this has been asked before. My search found only dated info and I figured there might be better/newer ways to do this. Here's the deal: I just got a new Sony Bravia KDL-60EX700 thanks to finding out that my old Sony HD RPTV had a defective part and Sony was making reparations after a class action lawsuit. Anyone with a Sony RPTV with dots or problems should look into it. $725 for a 60" LED LCD wireless ready TV ain't bad. Anyway, I bought the required Sony wireless adapter and get Netflix and some other streaming videos thru my computer. What I would like to do is be able to watch the movies I ripped to my hard drive, on my tv. What do I need to do this and what is the best cheap/free software to use. Do I need any hardware etc. Thanks in advance for any help.

[sum_guy]

My personal advice would be Playon, it's a software (server software) solution, it will stream to almost anything, it can transcode on the fly. It' has a trial period and can be purchased for as low as $19.95 a year. TVersity will also do what you want, it's a little more limited in the automation area but does work well for many people. There is also Servio on this site which I have never tried but some people like. There are others as well, but Playon works and has a large following.

I'm using Playon to stream from my server to my Roku which is playing back on a 60" Mitsubishi DLP TV. and sending audio to my surround system.

[mh2360]

I find Windows Media Player 12 (Windows 7) does a fair job at serving media. Many people don't like it, but i've never had a problem.

http://www.kb.sony.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?cmd=displayKC&externalId=C1003...mdl=KDL60EX700