sync players each with local copy

[junapp]

toying around with having multiple machines, each with their own local copy of some video files to play in sync. I don't think I'm looking for a server with streaming, but some way to have a master playlist which the multiple machines will look to to find out where they should be in the play list. No audio required. It is for a small store with a few cash registers that if not in use I want to display some ads for in-store services.

It is not a requirement to be perfectly in sync, but thought if it was possible, it might look good. The files exist currently on each machine, and I'd rather not burden the local network with the traffic if I can help it.

I've been searching the forums and documentation, but have not found the instance where the players are playing local files, all in sync.

O/S is Windows XP at the moment, but moving to a Linux (ubuntu) platform hopefully in the next month or two.

Still looking but thought I'd ask here in case this is a recurring question, and I just don't have the right terminology. I was looking at netsync and some of the telnet interfaces, but don't think I'm digging in the right area.

Thanks.