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Comment by hospadam | Hacker News Reader

This looks cool - but what is the advantage of using this over something like Plex? With Plex - I'm hosting the files myself... so I don't have to upload something until I want to watch it remotely. I realize that could also be a negative (if my server goes down while I'm traveling - bummer). But surely with my own server, I can have much more storage, and my files are instantly available once they're on the computer. Also - Plex is free.

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You nailed it -- we're useful for people that want to access their library from anywhere (at work, on vacation halfway around the world, etc.) on any device (phone, someone else's laptop, etc.) without having to lug around their DVD collection or an external hard drive. Having a server at home is also limiting because a) it uses your upload bandwidth, which clogs up your home internet connection, and b) your upload bandwidth probably isn't fast enough for instant streaming (the average is around ~1.6mbps these days), so buffering/seeking will slow you down.

The best way is to compare it to Dropbox -- Dropbox : USB :: Streem : Plex

I totally get it now. Love it!

Now, Can multiple devices (same login) stream at the same time?

Yep!

Your position overlooks the massive file uploads we'd have to do to use your service. That's a lot more content "clogging up your home connection".

That's true. The way we look at it is that it's a one-time hit that you take initially versus always having to keep a computer on at home for streaming using your home connection; we also let you transfer in files through other means, so if you already have some content stored online, you can easily transfer it in.

With most media like TV shows, you only watch it once - so watching it remotely from a home server is the same as your "one-time hit."

Just my two cents.

I have a 400 kb/s upload on my home connection. For streaming a bunch of standard quality TV shows/movies, it's fine, but the problems arise if you want to stream HD content or something poorly compressed.

I normally download TV-SD releases, so I don't have too many issues at home. What I am watching now is currently reading data at a rate of 300 kb/s. I just checked the TV-HD version (which is at 720p) and I'm getting around a 1400 kb/s read rate.

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