Dim FStream As New FileStream(Datei, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read)
Dim Reader As New StreamReader(FStream)
Dim buffer(1134) As Char
Do While Reader.Peak() >= 0
     Reader.Read(buffer, 0, buffer.Length)
     ' gelesene Bytes verarbeiten
Loop
Reader.Close()
FStream.Close()

Ralf