Can my Acer Iconia A500 tablet network with my PC's and stream movies?

phaze

I have an Acer Iconia A500 tablet which is connected to the internet at home via my Netgear N150 Wireless Modem Router.

 

The router also has 2 x 32 bit Windows 7 computers connected via ethernet cable and they are networked to each other ie: they play nicely and can see each other files, use each others printers etc.

I have a lot of movies and videos on one of the PC's hard drive and my question is: Can I setup my tablet to *SEE* either of the 2 networked PC's, access their hard drives and stream movies to my tablet while i'm sitting outside or somewhere else in the house?

billsey

Here's a link to an article that shows how to use an app to access Windows file shares from an Android device... Inserting the usual disclaimers in that I haven't actually done it myself it might be worth a try.

Inspiration101

I would be looking at Android store for an app that allows this to occur, for instance :

 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smarterdroid.wififiletransfer

 

Have a look, may well do the job for you. VLC player may work also as this has networking streaming capabilities, you will have to look at the android version and try it.....

 

Good luck and happy movie watching

phaze

Thanks for your reply but what i'm looking for is a proven way to connect them as a network as opposed to "it may work if you do this.."  kind of thing.

 

I use VLC on both my tablet and my PC's but it's a video and media player and NOT a neworking piece of software.

 

Just fyi, the Wifi File Transfer program from the play store CAN NOT do what I need.

billsey

Check out the Acer Cloud apps, they allow you to access your data from up to 32 different devices.

phaze

Thanks Billsey,

 

I've just installed the cloud apps and they are really awesome! I can certianly see myself using them in the future BUT... they're not my prefered solution

 

The way see it, if i want to watch a movie from my PC, it's first uploaded into the cloud, and then downloaded from the internet and sent by my home wifi to my tablet. Imagine tho, where I live broadband plans are very expensive and I can only afford a 20g download plan per month. Viewing and transferring files this way eats my monthly download limit.

 

What I am hoping to find, is a way for my tablet to talk via wifi and the router, direct to my PC so files from my PC (movies etc) would transmit directly to my tablet without first travelling all over the internet. Do you (or does anyone) know if what I am asking is possible?

billsey

Here's a link to an article that shows how to use an app to access Windows file shares from an Android device... Inserting the usual disclaimers in that I haven't actually done it myself it might be worth a try.

phaze

Hey Billsey!

 

You have solved it for me! That is EXACTLY what I wanted to achieve. I think sometimes that 99% of my problems exist because I don't quite know how to phrase the question I need answered.

 

Anyways, you've actually solved 2 things for me today. The ES File Explorer let's me stream/play movies to my tablet anywhere in the house, and the Acer cloud apps let me do the same thing out on the road!. I don't have a 3g in the tablet but I do have a Telstra portable wifi thingy.

 

Thank you for taking the time to help it's greatly appreciated

billsey

Glad I could be of assistance.