Alright,
Well the set up that I have right now is a little of a mess but for some reason it is working for me. In a perfect world I would make this A LOT simpler, just don't have the right tools at the moment ( that being a PC formatted external HDD )
So the setup contains a home network with a PC and a Mac.
-The Mac has an external hard drive(1TB) that I decided to backup all of my movie/video/apps onto because of the massive space.
-And the PC, which is an older model was (is) in the middle of being revived.
I was originally trying to use the app VLC stream and convert to access movies on the mac ext HDD via the VLC mac app being used as a server for the files. For some reason, this simple route was not working for me. So, then I read on to find that it was possible to create a VPN in order to add some security to the process. I read on to find that it was easier to create this on a PC (If anyone finds a better way for Mac, lemme kno). A VPN was created on the PC:
-Network Places > Network connections > Create new connection in the network tasks sidebar
-this website has some excellent info as well, helped me a lot:
traveldevel.com
By using your external ip address found in your router, plug this ip address into your htc evo under wireless & networks in the VPN settings, or you can use something like 1VPN which you gotta pay for.
In doing this:
I was then able to search all the media files on my PC, of which were few.
My next thing was to try and access files on my Mac thru the PC by way of a shared network folder. So, I tried doing so and creating a simple network folder from the Mac and placing it on the PC desktop, tried connecting again to the VLC player and searching this folder and when clicked, showed an empty folder. It was not until
mardukeme said to try and map this shared folder to a network drive that I was then able to access all my content on my Mac.
-->BUT, VLC player MUST be running on the mac. It does not need to be running on the PC. I am only using the PC in order to connect into the VPN which then enables me to access my local area network.
Again, I'm still at the drawing board with my "setup." I'm sure I can eliminate extraneous steps and/or/DEFINITELY hardware in the mix (once i get that damn HDD....But for now....its fun trying)
... I will continue this at a later time. Just got home from work. Lemme kno how your projects are goin.
-peace