Apple provides us with AirPlay technology through which we can play movies or series that we have stored on the local disk of our Mac on other devices, however, we can only do this one by one, without being able to have direct access to these contents from our iPhone or iPad.
StreamToMe is a double third-party application that turns your Mac computer into a server and grants you access to your entire library of multimedia content. Thanks to this app, you will be able to stream any music, audio, etc. file stored on your Mac from your iPhone or iPad quickly and easily, including your iTunes library.
With StreamToMe, your content goes where you go
Created by the developer zqueue, StreamToMe is an application that in turn consists of two applications. From one side, the app for iOS, with which you will view multimedia content, and from somewhere else, the app that you will install on your Mac computer (also compatible with Windows) turning it into a server. Thus, the part installed on the Mac is the one that does almost all the work, since the version for iPhone or iPad is limited to allowing you to browse through your content and act as a player with the usual controls of playback, pause, forward, backward. and else.
Using StreamToMe is really easy. The first thing you should do is install the server part on your Mac. It's called "ServeToMe" and you can download the version corresponding to the version of your operating system for free here. Next, download and install the StreamToMe client for iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch directly from the App Store.
Set up the server on your Mac quickly and easily
On your Mac computer, open the ServeToMe app that you downloaded. As soon as you do, you will see the "Sources" section. In it you will find your Audio, Video, Images folders and of course, your iTunes library. You can also add other sources by clicking on the "Add source" drop-down, it can be a single file or a folder full of content. Remember that only compatible multimedia files will appear in the list.
Select the desired source (for example your video folder) and press "Start Server".
ServeToMe also includes a whole series of configuration modes to adapt it to your expectations. Even you can limit access to only certain network users and even configure it to be able to access it from outside the local network, that is, through mobile internet or from your friend's house WiFi network. Of course, your Mac must be on for it.
StreamToMe on your iPhone or iPad
In the StreamToMe app for iOS, once you open it, you will see the name of your Mac computer that is acting as a server while it is running ServeToMe. Click on it and you can browse through the content stored in the different sources you have added (your folders of videos, photos, audios, your iTunes library, etc.). Select the content you want to view and it will start playing almost immediately. Keep in mind that this will also have a lot to do with the quality and speed of the connection you have at that time.
Some interesting details
If the content is in HD, this will also be shown on your iOS device. You can move forward and backward during playback, view it in full screen and even share it with an Apple TV through AirPlay technology. You can also connect your iPhone or iPad via VGA, DVI or HDMI cable to a TV or monitor and the content will be played on it.
StreamToMe supports a wide variety of formats: PCM, MP3, AC3, AAC, WMA9, MPEG1, MPEG4, H.263, H.264 (AVC), H.265 (HEVC), WMV9, DivX, VP6, VP-8, VC-1, MJPEG, Theora , Vorbis and Xvid codecs.
Another of its best advantages is that gives you access to practically all your multimedia content without having to pay subscriptions as in the case of Plex and other similar services.
Finally, note that StreamToMe is compatible with very old iOS devicesFrom the original iPad, iPhone 3GS and 3rd generation iPod touch so if you still have any of these, you can put them to good use with your Mac.
What a pity that apple does not find out how many people speak Spanish I refuse to put apps in other languages