Stream vs Shared Files?

[rudedog71]

I'm running a desktop pc with music/video files on a wireless g home lan as well as a laptop which I occasionally hookup to my LCD TV.

Can anyone help me understand the difference between streaming video files from desktop pc to my laptop using media server software and simply making the folders/files on my desktop available for sharing over a network drive?

I've done the latter with decent success for watching videos....and now I am wondering what gains, if any, would I get by streaming the video using something like MCE extender or VLS....

I'd appreciate any help on this topic.

[jagabo]

Streaming software will use a lot of read-ahead buffering to keep the audio and video playing smoothly in case of transmission delays. Streaming may also involve converting the video to a common (ie, common to the server and client) format on-the-fly. Streaming can be used for live video.