playback with wifi PPC of media files located outside PPC but on LAN?

[jnrob]

Hi all,

I am planning to get a wifi PPC and was wondering whether I can open/playback on my PPC media files (divx, mpeg) that are on my desktop PC or on a LAN hard drive.

Thanks

[OneAngryDwarf]

Depending on the Pocket PC you get, the answer is yes. If the pocket pc is powerful w/ a vga screen and graphics processor (like the Axim x51v or x50v) then you can easily do it. However if it is a less powerful handheld the videos will be too much for the Pocket PC to handle. You'd also need TCPMP to play divx and xvid which is free.
Another option, if you are getting a less powerful handheld is stuff like orb.com. Its a free service which loads an app on your desktop and serves out content to your handheld through the orb web site. You could use a handheld or laptop or whatever as long as you have fast internet access. It will then stream audio or video to Windows Media Player or Real Player. If you have a compatible TV tuner on your desktop you can even stream live tv with the ability to choose the channel remotely. Very cool stuff...

[Ommadawn]

I recently bought my X50v, and have been using it to stream audio and video from a shared disk on my PC a lot, with pretty good results. Audio always streams well, and I've had mixed results with video. Lower resolution video (ie 320x240) streams well, as the stream is not too big for the network connection. Larger video files (640x480 and above) would periodically pause and start again.

Mind you, this is using a wifi dongle plugged into my PC USB port. A proper wireless router or internal card may give even better results.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

Actually, I don't think I've had many problems even with big divx or xvid files (640x480 resolution) at all over wifi, as long as they're properly encoded - and I don't have an X50V. Having said that, it's really nice to have that graphics acceleration, if only for the savings in CPU cycles and battery life.