Whats your setup like? Any suggestions?
My plan is to run a plex server, problem is I don't have any old computers that I can use and don't want to keep any of the laptops on permanently. I have an old android phone that I could use but that obviously has some space limitations, and I have some external hard drives but none are wifi enabled so I think I'm stuck. I'm leaning towards getting a NAS system setup. Thoughts?
Primary uses are to stream to tv players (roku/amazon) and i want to be able to backup photos from cell phones to the server.
Can anyone recommend a good/reasonably priced NAS? Is there something else I should be considering?
If you do, be sure to run some form of RAID as backup because today's drives run hot and aren't anywhere near as reliable as they used to be, and you want to be able to recover from one of them failing.
If that's outside the budget zone - you can run Plex full time on one of the cheaper Intel NUC offerings. That's more DIY - you'll have to buy a SSD and memory and install the OS and configure it yourself, but that'll fit in the palm of your hand, does second duty as a HTPC and is very low power consumption. You can stick it to the back of the TV you'll primarily be using.
Honestly haven't thought of a budget but realistically what do you think a reasonable setup should cost? I'm probably going to start with 4TB but would like the option to expand later. Would need NAS + HDs - anything else I'm missing?
This is the route I'm thinking about going because I am thinking to do an all in one... DAW, PLEX type media, and even a little gaming... lol. Not sure if it's realistic based on what I want to spend but I'll find out.
That’s up to you. It’s a NAS system with empty drive bays. The drives you put in is up to you.
Not an expert in this, but I’m doubtful it’s a good idea to use SSDs. Not sure they will hold up or not. And I doubt you get any benefit as your network connection to the NAS will be slower than what conventional disk drives can output.
For now I use it to stream movies to different boxes, cheap Android box, sometimes an old wdtv. The networking is simple and usually works flawlessly. I have not set up music with it yet but I intend to and expect it will be even smoother than movie files. For now I use plex to sonos for music with the files originating on a home computer. The Synology box I bought doesnt have a native plex app (they may now but not last I checked).
At some point I will migrate the music files over to the synology and set up plex server on the box. From my experience I would expect it to be 95% reliable.
Though you can set it up as a raid I have my box formatted as straight storage and not as a raid. I don't need redundancy.
There are other good boxes out there, i am sure. But synology has been good for me.
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is a solid state drive, yes?
That’s up to you. It’s a NAS system with empty drive bays. The drives you put in is up to you.
Not an expert in this, but I’m doubtful it’s a good idea to use SSDs. Not sure they will hold up or not. And I doubt you get any benefit as your network connection to the NAS will be slower than what conventional disk drives can output.
Unless you have 10GbE on the back end, you'd probably never get to the point where the extra performance would be noticeable. And that's before you get into the issues that SSDs have with continuous writes.
Regular old drives work just fine, just read the reviews before you jump in to identify any that have reliability concerns.
An old PC seems like a good idea - but you have to factor in the cost of electricity when doing so. Some old PCs can draw more than the cost of that efficient NAS system over the long run.
The one thing to consider about Synology is that they have different product lines, and not all of them will support Plex (or some might struggle to transcode). Lower end ARM processors in use for some of the value line probably won't get the job done.
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In comment 14292935 I Love Clams Casino said:
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is a solid state drive, yes?
That’s up to you. It’s a NAS system with empty drive bays. The drives you put in is up to you.
Not an expert in this, but I’m doubtful it’s a good idea to use SSDs. Not sure they will hold up or not. And I doubt you get any benefit as your network connection to the NAS will be slower than what conventional disk drives can output.
Unless you have 10GbE on the back end, you'd probably never get to the point where the extra performance would be noticeable. And that's before you get into the issues that SSDs have with continuous writes.
Regular old drives work just fine, just read the reviews before you jump in to identify any that have reliability concerns.
An old PC seems like a good idea - but you have to factor in the cost of electricity when doing so. Some old PCs can draw more than the cost of that efficient NAS system over the long run.
The one thing to consider about Synology is that they have different product lines, and not all of them will support Plex (or some might struggle to transcode). Lower end ARM processors in use for some of the value line probably won't get the job done.
I agree it is good to check out the processor. I will say my Synology ds418j has an ARM processor and I have no problems. I am streaming large files but I am not doing any transcoding with the box, rather I am streaming to other boxes (cheap ones) that do the transcoding. Maybe that is why the ARM processor is sufficient for me.
It's been working pretty good for me, although it doesn't have enough CPU to do much more than file serving.
I built a simple and energy-efficient desktop computer for around $400 (CPU/mobo/RAM) and use it as a Plex server. All my media is local to the desktop. I enabled Wake-On-LAN and can turn-on the desktop from my phone. The server is also directly connected via HDMI for media that can only be played on a browser.
My media is bit-for-bit rips of blu-rays and the server can handle one stream easily.
I've been using this setup for about 3 years and it's fantastic.
Previous to this setup, I did a lot of research on using NAS as a server and it just isn't worth it. The amount you'll spend on a NAS...it's more cost-effective to built a desktop with spare parts.
The Plex transcoder ALWAYS runs regardless of what client I'm on. Any deviation from the source's bitrate, resolution, etc., is going to require a transcode. There's no reason to let a NAS handle such a task.
I built a simple and energy-efficient desktop computer for around $400 (CPU/mobo/RAM) and use it as a Plex server. All my media is local to the desktop. I enabled Wake-On-LAN and can turn-on the desktop from my phone. The server is also directly connected via HDMI for media that can only be played on a browser.
My media is bit-for-bit rips of blu-rays and the server can handle one stream easily.
I've been using this setup for about 3 years and it's fantastic.
Previous to this setup, I did a lot of research on using NAS as a server and it just isn't worth it. The amount you'll spend on a NAS...it's more cost-effective to built a desktop with spare parts.
your setup sounds good and cost effective. But I would still swear by the synology solution. I made a mistake above. There is no transcoding in my flow. I have files on the synology that stream out to kodi on an android box or a wdtv. they can also stream out to other devices that can play back the formats. I have bluray rips as well and have no problems. it is a simple and elegant solution and there is no need for a transcode.
Wanna buy another pc? (Only half joking here)
You can find plenty of NAS boxes that have more than enough processing power to transcode and do other things. The issue is you'll be paying more to do so - and at some point the cost of combining the NAS and transcoding into a single box might exceed your budget. The payoff of course is ease of deployment - in the case of Synology, it's practically plug and play.
ITG - if you're serious about building a HTPC, check out those NUCs from Intel. They range in processor and go on sale from time to time, and you can build a decent one in the i5 category for about $400. They're practically silent, fit in the palm of your hand, and expend very little power compared to a desktop PC.
I think this is correct. I have an Nvidia Shield and jailbroken Fire devices with Kodi installed. They all play media off my NAS with no issue. No transcoding required.
Truth be told - I find myself mostly not even using Plex, and just using the native devices accessing the NAS directly. When I do need Plex, it's because the end device doesn't support the media in question (the PS4 is a notoriously picky consumer of media), or because I'm doing something on the fly (I use HDHomeRun receivers for both OTA and CableCard cable access to get all the clients in the house TV access).
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too much is being made of transcoding in this conversation. What are you playing the media on? Personally, getting a cheap android box ($50-$150) with Kodi or some other box (ie, wdtv) is the best solution because these boxes with very few exceptions play every format you throw at them. Am I missing something? If you do this, the processing power of a NAS to transcode is irrelevant and you dont have to spend extra money for a better processor. This is almost as cost effective as building a computer and a heck of a lot easier - I think.
I think this is correct. I have an Nvidia Shield and jailbroken Fire devices with Kodi installed. They all play media off my NAS with no issue. No transcoding required.
sounds like we have almost identical setups. I don't have the Shield but I have a more generic version of this style of box. Shield is the best Android/Kodi box out there (probably).
Truth be told - I find myself mostly not even using Plex, and just using the native devices accessing the NAS directly. When I do need Plex, it's because the end device doesn't support the media in question (the PS4 is a notoriously picky consumer of media), or because I'm doing something on the fly (I use HDHomeRun receivers for both OTA and CableCard cable access to get all the clients in the house TV access).
I think Plex could depend on what you are serving. I use Plex for music only. And only in support of Sonos because Sonos has a file number limit. Plex bypasses the limit. Plex is also better for creating playlists. So I get Sonos to fetch a Plex playlist and play it on a Sonos device.
Movies usually don't require playlists. Mainly you want to get your one movie and watch. So what I need from the front end is a list and sometimes a bit of gui with info, which Kodi can provide. I mainly need a setup that pushes a load of data to the front end. As long as the front end can see it and play it, I'm pretty happy.
Wanna buy another pc? (Only half joking here)
Sure, specs are in the link.
This was built 2.5 years ago and cost me $227 for these parts.
CPU performance impacts the server the most:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i3-4170+%40+3.70GHz&id=2522
Obviously, you want the highest 'Average CPU Mark' you can afford, but this CPU works perfectly fine for my needs.
Also, review the 'Typical TDP' to determine power usage. I wanted to go with AMD because they are cheap but their power consumption is excessive.
CPU prices are weird. I bought that chip for $117 in 2016 and it's selling now on NewEgg for $169.
I usually try to find a decent balance between 'Average CPU Mark', 'Typical TDP' and price.
Plex Server Specs - ( New Window )
By digitizing everything, I can store away all these disks and I can watch my movies anywhere in my household with a few clicks.
In addition, I bought a SynologyNAS (DS216j) and placed all my family's home videos on it.
I created a share from the NAS and can play any of my home videos on-demand via Plex.
There is absolutely no way that NAS can transcode any of my media.
I tried building a dirt-cheap and massively energy-efficient Plex server using an AMD Athlon 5350 APU for $53:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Athlon+5350+APU&id=2195
The thing failed terribly. Yet, it's significantly more powerful than most NAS chips.
So yes, you can have the NAS also perform the transcoding if you want to spend thousands of dollars.
Or, you can spend a few hundred dollars and build your own dedicated server that will seamlessly handle transcoding on all levels.
By digitizing everything, I can store away all these disks and I can watch my movies anywhere in my household with a few clicks.
In addition, I bought a SynologyNAS (DS216j) and placed all my family's home videos on it.
I created a share from the NAS and can play any of my home videos on-demand via Plex.
There is absolutely no way that NAS can transcode any of my media.
I tried building a dirt-cheap and massively energy-efficient Plex server using an AMD Athlon 5350 APU for $53:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Athlon+5350+APU&id=2195
The thing failed terribly. Yet, it's significantly more powerful than most NAS chips.
So yes, you can have the NAS also perform the transcoding if you want to spend thousands of dollars.
Or, you can spend a few hundred dollars and build your own dedicated server that will seamlessly handle transcoding on all levels.
dude, as I and others have said here. Stick the media on a NAS, network it to an android box with Kodi, there is no transcoding. Total cost $600-700
This suggests otherwise:
https://support.plex.tv/articles/201373823-nas-devices-and-limitations/
Virtually every Plex App will need content to be transcoded at least some of the time.
I built my own Plex Server for $300...
And I'm guessing I would need a Kodi TV box for every TV, right?
Plex offers clients on almost every device for free.
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You can find plenty of NAS boxes that have more than enough processing power to transcode and do other things.
This suggests otherwise:
https://support.plex.tv/articles/201373823-nas-devices-and-limitations/
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By far the biggest limitation with most NAS is processor-based. Very few NAS contain powerful processors, which can have a significant impact on your experience using Plex.
Virtually every Plex App will need content to be transcoded at least some of the time.
Again, grossly generalizing and not doing your argument many favors.
There are a ton of NAS devices on the market. Most of them are lightweight, low cost glorified routers that have squat for processor power. That doesn't mean there isn't a large selection of NAS units that do have strong enough processors to do the job, just that you have to be sure to select one for that purpose.
There are a ton of NAS devices on the market. Most of them are lightweight, low cost glorified routers that have squat for processor power. That doesn't mean there isn't a large selection of NAS units that do have strong enough processors to do the job, just that you have to be sure to select one for that purpose.
You are talking about enterprise-level NAS for home use. That's not an apples-to-apples comparison.
It's like arguing I should buy a Mack truck to transport my family places. Yes, that is a solution, but one that's not reasonable for the scenario.
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dude, as I and others have said here. Stick the media on a NAS, network it to an android box with Kodi, there is no transcoding. Total cost $600-700
I built my own Plex Server for $300...
And I'm guessing I would need a Kodi TV box for every TV, right?
Plex offers clients on almost every device for free.
well for my estimate that would be good for the NAS (can be lightweight), one or two Kodi boxes, and 8 to 20 tbs of storage. Now this is a wired solution. I haven't tried wireless with this config but I doubt it would work. So my 600-700 estimate is all in for a start-up. There is no subscription fee, I imagine the plex you are using is the premium edition. Yes? I also wonder about the transcode Plex is doing. How does it look? I am looking at native files and generally the results are good.
Yes in my config, as far as I know, I need a box with every monitor. However I have some old boxes that are working very well. Especially the old school wdtv boxes are marvelous and they handle full DVD rips with DVD folders better than any software I have tried on a pc. The wdtv boxes do not run on kodi, they have their own interface which plays just about anything. And these are old boxes that you could probably pick up used for 30 bucks or less. Point being there are cheap options if you want to put a box at every tv/monitor. And again no monthly subscription.
I am curious to hear a little more about your config. You use Plex on mobile device to send media to a selected monitor over lan?
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Again, grossly generalizing and not doing your argument many favors.
There are a ton of NAS devices on the market. Most of them are lightweight, low cost glorified routers that have squat for processor power. That doesn't mean there isn't a large selection of NAS units that do have strong enough processors to do the job, just that you have to be sure to select one for that purpose.
You are talking about enterprise-level NAS for home use. That's not an apples-to-apples comparison.
It's like arguing I should buy a Mack truck to transport my family places. Yes, that is a solution, but one that's not reasonable for the scenario.
Again, you don't need an enterprise class NAS to do this either.
I'd suggest if you don't know what you're talking about, you should reconsider trying to give a lesson.
Yes in my config, as far as I know, I need a box with every monitor. However I have some old boxes that are working very well. Especially the old school wdtv boxes are marvelous and they handle full DVD rips with DVD folders better than any software I have tried on a pc. The wdtv boxes do not run on kodi, they have their own interface which plays just about anything. And these are old boxes that you could probably pick up used for 30 bucks or less. Point being there are cheap options if you want to put a box at every tv/monitor. And again no monthly subscription.
I am curious to hear a little more about your config. You use Plex on mobile device to send media to a selected monitor over lan?
I use the free Plex version.
The desktop computer (what I call my "Plex Server") has the Plex server software installed on it. I then install the Plex client software/ app on any device that I want to watch media.
So, I have the Plex app installed on my AppleTVs, Rokus, iPad, iPhone and Andriod table (full disclosure, you do have to pay for the iPhone/iPad app; something like $5).
Whenever you open a Plex client, it searches for all available Plex servers via LAN. Once a connection is made, you can browse all available media on the Plex server that is available within the library metadata.
My movies and TV shows are stored locally on the Plex Server/desktop. My home videos are stored on a NAS (because I want this data stored in a RAID 1 configuration for obvious reasons).
Most of my movies are bit-for-bit bluray dumps. I don't employ any compression. The video looks great.
With my setup, I'm not restricted to specific client devices. All major devices are supported.
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well for my estimate that would be good for the NAS (can be lightweight), one or two Kodi boxes, and 8 to 20 tbs of storage. Now this is a wired solution. I haven't tried wireless with this config but I doubt it would work. So my 600-700 estimate is all in for a start-up. There is no subscription fee, I imagine the plex you are using is the premium edition. Yes? I also wonder about the transcode Plex is doing. How does it look? I am looking at native files and generally the results are good.
Yes in my config, as far as I know, I need a box with every monitor. However I have some old boxes that are working very well. Especially the old school wdtv boxes are marvelous and they handle full DVD rips with DVD folders better than any software I have tried on a pc. The wdtv boxes do not run on kodi, they have their own interface which plays just about anything. And these are old boxes that you could probably pick up used for 30 bucks or less. Point being there are cheap options if you want to put a box at every tv/monitor. And again no monthly subscription.
I am curious to hear a little more about your config. You use Plex on mobile device to send media to a selected monitor over lan?
I use the free Plex version.
The desktop computer (what I call my "Plex Server") has the Plex server software installed on it. I then install the Plex client software/ app on any device that I want to watch media.
So, I have the Plex app installed on my AppleTVs, Rokus, iPad, iPhone and Andriod table (full disclosure, you do have to pay for the iPhone/iPad app; something like $5).
Whenever you open a Plex client, it searches for all available Plex servers via LAN. Once a connection is made, you can browse all available media on the Plex server that is available within the library metadata.
My movies and TV shows are stored locally on the Plex Server/desktop. My home videos are stored on a NAS (because I want this data stored in a RAID 1 configuration for obvious reasons).
Most of my movies are bit-for-bit bluray dumps. I don't employ any compression. The video looks great.
With my setup, I'm not restricted to specific client devices. All major devices are supported.
Sounds like a good solution if you are talented enough to build a $400 computer, which I don't think I am. I am handy with a PC, and I have built a few high end computers, but I have another guy put it together. I have two more questions:
1) Do you have a different plex account on each device or only one account on your server and then log in with same account on other devices.
2) how do you choose which screen to stream to?
I'd suggest if you don't know what you're talking about, you should reconsider trying to give a lesson.
I'd suggest you actually try implementing this stuff and stop taking the manufacturer at their word.
The DS218play has a 1.4 GHz quad-core processor which the manufacture claims to support 4K transcoding!
I have 4.0 GHz quad-cores that can't even handle such a task.
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In comment 14294746 jcn56 said:
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Again, grossly generalizing and not doing your argument many favors.
There are a ton of NAS devices on the market. Most of them are lightweight, low cost glorified routers that have squat for processor power. That doesn't mean there isn't a large selection of NAS units that do have strong enough processors to do the job, just that you have to be sure to select one for that purpose.
You are talking about enterprise-level NAS for home use. That's not an apples-to-apples comparison.
It's like arguing I should buy a Mack truck to transport my family places. Yes, that is a solution, but one that's not reasonable for the scenario.
Again, you don't need an enterprise class NAS to do this either.
I'd suggest if you don't know what you're talking about, you should reconsider trying to give a lesson.
I'm a NAS user as well. I think his general point is that a NAS can never have the power of a cheap PC, which is accurate. But I also agree with your general point that for just a few dollars more you can get a very powerful chip in a NAS that can do a lot of work. Whether it can transcode and stream full Bluray, I'm not sure. I kind of doubt it would be reliable. Though I do know from experience that any NAS can stream full BD without transcoding.
1) Do you have a different plex account on each device or only one account on your server and then log in with same account on other devices.
2) how do you choose which screen to stream to?
I use one account for all devices, but I'm not sure if you need to log-in in order to connect to the server. Some of my clients might connect anonymously.
I don't understand the "screen to stream to" question.
The client requests the content and the server supplies it in the correct format (insert transcoding).
I open the Plex app on my AppleTV, it connects to my Plex Server, a Plex UI is displayed on the AppleTV, I select the media to play and it plays.
It's incredibly simple and intuitive.
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Sounds like a good solution if you are talented enough to build a $400 computer, which I don't think I am. I am handy with a PC, and I have built a few high end computers, but I have another guy put it together. I have two more questions:
1) Do you have a different plex account on each device or only one account on your server and then log in with same account on other devices.
2) how do you choose which screen to stream to?
I use one account for all devices, but I'm not sure if you need to log-in in order to connect to the server. Some of my clients might connect anonymously.
I don't understand the "screen to stream to" question.
The client requests the content and the server supplies it in the correct format (insert transcoding).
I open the Plex app on my AppleTV, it connects to my Plex Server, a Plex UI is displayed on the AppleTV, I select the media to play and it plays.
It's incredibly simple and intuitive.
so you need a box (like an apple tv) at every television?
But it's not just a few dollars, it's hundreds to thousands of dollars!
Below is a comprehensive list of NAS devices that can support transcoding.
Any of them that can fully support "HD 1080p" START at $800. And a lot of them aren't even available for purchase.
If jcn56 can provide any substance to his claims, I'm more than willing to review; but he keeps replying with empty, passive-aggressive responses.
NAS transcoding list - ( New Window )
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Again, you don't need an enterprise class NAS to do this either.
I'd suggest if you don't know what you're talking about, you should reconsider trying to give a lesson.
I'd suggest you actually try implementing this stuff and stop taking the manufacturer at their word.
The DS218play has a 1.4 GHz quad-core processor which the manufacture claims to support 4K transcoding!
I have 4.0 GHz quad-cores that can't even handle such a task.
I have implemented - using cloud instances that run inside of a ThinkServer that's running a ton of other stuff, as well as on two different Synology devices.
Of course, I - like most other people - have no need for 4k transcoding.
The OP asked a question and basic fit for purpose, limited effort solutions were presented to him. Low cost, from both an equipment and power utilization perspective.
You want to run an old Optiplex you have lying around? Fantastic - just expect that the electricity costs in the first year will exceed whatever you saved on the NAS, there won't be any out of the box redundancy for any photos stored, and it'll be more effort to maintain.
Correct. Unless you have a Smart TV that supports a Plex app. I've had mixed-results with Smart TV Plex apps.
Any non-smart TV is going to need an external device in order to stream. This isn't unique to Plex.
The real benefit is that Plex doesn't restrict the type of external device; all major devices are supported.
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so you need a box (like an apple tv) at every television?
Correct. Unless you have a Smart TV that supports a Plex app. I've had mixed-results with Smart TV Plex apps.
Any non-smart TV is going to need an external device in order to stream. This isn't unique to Plex.
The real benefit is that Plex doesn't restrict the type of external device; all major devices are supported.
ah ok so the cost of boxes is almost a wash. For three tvs you're buying three boxes, I'm buying three boxes.
Are you using external drives for your server or internal? Have you ever had the problem of internal drives over 3TBs disappearing and not coming back without a restart? I have found large internal drives to be unreliable. It is one of the reasons I bought the NAS in the first place. I must say in terms of reliability, in my experience, the large drives in a NAS has been better than in a PC.
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I'm a NAS user as well. I think his general point is that a NAS can never have the power of a cheap PC, which is accurate. But I also agree with your general point that for just a few dollars more you can get a very powerful chip in a NAS that can do a lot of work. Whether it can transcode and stream full Bluray, I'm not sure. I kind of doubt it would be reliable. Though I do know from experience that any NAS can stream full BD without transcoding.
But it's not just a few dollars, it's hundreds to thousands of dollars!
Below is a comprehensive list of NAS devices that can support transcoding.
Any of them that can fully support "HD 1080p" START at $800. And a lot of them aren't even available for purchase.
If jcn56 can provide any substance to his claims, I'm more than willing to review; but he keeps replying with empty, passive-aggressive responses. NAS transcoding list - ( New Window )
The very first cheapo NAS I thought of that didn't have an ARM processor was on your list - the QNAP 251. Does 1080P hardware accelerated transcoding, costs less than $300.
Do I need to keep doing this, or do you feel like reading the stuff you yourself are linking?
Do I need to keep doing this, or do you feel like reading the stuff you yourself are linking?
The SOFTWARE TRANSCODING requirements need to be satisfied.
An Intel Celeron J1800 @ 2.41GHz doesn't have nearly the required processing power:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Celeron+J1800+%40+2.41GHz&id=2167
Try again, please.
Internal SATA HDDs...I think 2 @ 4TB each.
I haven't had any HDD issues. I think once or twice the server didn't recognize them, but a hard-reset fixed the problem.
I do store my home videos on a NAS because I want RAID 1 protection, but there is a noticeable delay when trying to stream such content to Plex.
For my movies, RAID 0 or 1 isn't required, so it's easier and more energy-efficient to put those HDDs inside the plex server directly.
Best thing I ever did with my Plex server.
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The very first cheapo NAS I thought of that didn't have an ARM processor was on your list - the QNAP 251. Does 1080P hardware accelerated transcoding, costs less than $300.
Do I need to keep doing this, or do you feel like reading the stuff you yourself are linking?
The SOFTWARE TRANSCODING requirements need to be satisfied.
An Intel Celeron J1800 @ 2.41GHz doesn't have nearly the required processing power:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Celeron+J1800+%40+2.41GHz&id=2167
Try again, please.
Really? Why, when you have hardware capable of transcoding natively, would you fall back to software transcoding?
Do you really think that Celeron processors aren't capable of transcoding 1080p?
Can I just get a WD Easystore drive, put all my movies on that and run the server off of my Kodi? Easy to setup? Can I still access my library through kodi from outside my network?
Correct, they can't.
An AMD Athlon 5350 couldn't handle such a task and it has a much better benchmark scores than an Intel Celeron J1800 (2,605 vs. 1,027).
You see, I actually built a rig with an AMD Athlon 5350 and it couldn't keep up with 1080p source material. I wish to hell that it would because it's a super efficient CPU, but it couldn't.
I don't think you understand what transcoding true 1080p source materials entails. It's not a DVD. No one is streaming 640×480 content, it looks like garbage on a 55" TV.
For fuck's sake, I've got an ancient Synology box that does a passable 720P transcode after installing FFMPEG, and that thing cost peanuts years ago.
Of course, considering you're new to the concept of hardware acceleration in transcoding, I'm not surprised.
Can I just get a WD Easystore drive, put all my movies on that and run the server off of my Kodi? Easy to setup? Can I still access my library through kodi from outside my network?
The Easystore is a drive and not a NAS I believe. So if it is a drive you cannot access the media on the drive on your network without connecting it to a computer first. If it is a NAS you can connect directly to your router and you should be able to access the media from your kodi box, as long as that is also wired to your network. The difference between a drive and a NAS can be googled but a drivbe needs to be connected to a computer or other compatible media device and a NAS can stand alone on your network and serve files.
I think Kodi has the capability to allow access to media from outside the home network but i think it is complicated. That is why people pay for Plex, I believe. Plex has similar functionality to Kodi but I think accessing media away from your network is one of the big premium features and probably works better than Kodi. I'm guessing here as I don't have a need to access movies away from home. I'm sure this can be googled and you would get a better answer, but it's a start.
Fair enough, I didn't realize we were talking about outdated resolutions. Yes, a NAS could probably support a 720 file; but I like to live in 2019, not 2005.
When I say that it requires an internet connection, I mean even the server itself cannot start up Plex Pass, let alone anything on the LAN being able to access it.
I actually had to direct connect one of the hard drives on my home media server to our Roku just to be able to watch anything at all. Really sucked.
It's a reminder to me that this summer I have a project planned to replace Plex with something NOT internet dependent. Not sure what that solution is yet.
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For fuck's sake, I've got an ancient Synology box that does a passable 720P transcode after installing FFMPEG, and that thing cost peanuts years ago.
Fair enough, I didn't realize we were talking about outdated resolutions. Yes, a NAS could probably support a 720 file; but I like to live in 2019, not 2005.
Of course we weren't - we were talking about how a Celeron processor can easily handle 1080p transcoding since this is 2019 and CPU instruction sets now including specific instructions to enable hardware acceleration. That a 9 year old NAS that cost a few hundred bucks back then is capable of doing close to that entirely in software was just pointing out how ridiculous what you're claiming is.
But keep at it - assuming you stop including information that proves your own point wrong, maybe one of these days you'll sound accurate.
But keep at it - assuming you stop including information that proves your own point wrong, maybe one of these days you'll sound accurate.
You do realize transcoding load scales with bitrate, right? A lossless blu-ray rip is going to have a bitrate in the 30K+ kbps range. That is going to require significantly more CPU resources to transcode than a blu-ray that has been compressed to a bitrate of 30K+ kbps.
I shouldn't have to tell you this, because you built "3 low powered (N3050) based NUCs" and "cloud instances that run inside of a ThinkServer".
Here's some advice, superfluous devices and technologies don't mean you know what you're talking about.
I'll just have to deal with my $300 dedicated desktop media server that streams my entire 30K+ kbps bitrate library to all devices in my household.
Watched a 40,116 kbps movie last night without issue; but hey, I'll just have to struggle with not knowing what I'm doing.
What you seem to be unfamiliar with is that streaming has become so popular, more and more of the load has been implemented in hardware, resulting in devices streaming at higher bitrates much more efficiently.
That's why you can pick up a networked wifi cam that streams at 1080p for next to nothing, and 'stick' devices are ubiquitous, and how you can pick up OTA transceivers that receive signal, encode and flip it back onto a wireless network for a hundred bucks. You don't need that much processing power any more, because the hardware implementations are much more efficient and cost effective than ones that rely on software alone.
Yet you charge forward cluelessly with some point about needing to do software transcoding as an excuse for looking past the requirements you yourself linked here.
When that doesn't work, you try a lesson on bitrates. Impressive.
Thank you all for the info, although now I'm debating htpc vs NAS. Argh
Now all of you please hug it out
Thank you all for the info, although now I'm debating htpc vs NAS. Argh
Now all of you please hug it out
such an entertaining thread but there is a lot of useful info here too. I think an out of the box htpc solution is going to cost you more bucks. If I'm not mistaken the cost is more than a NAS alone and you still have to get some mega storage. Seriously, check out the synology boards. A lot of people are doing this and you can get insight whether you can go with an ARM processor or something more powerful. If you have Kodi on a front end box you won't need to transcode. good luck!
No, examples of how devices can encode video on the fly with minimal resources using hardware assisted encoding. To the clueless, superfluous.
Thank you all for the info, although now I'm debating htpc vs NAS. Argh
Now all of you please hug it out
This one's pretty simple - you're either on the hook for a prebuilt HTPC (which will run you more) or you're building your own.
A NAS is an out of the box solution. Add a drive to it and off you go.
If you're not sure the NAS is the way you want to go, then try picking one up from somewhere with a generous return policy (like Amazon). Try it out for a week, see if it does what you need it to do. You don't have to spend a ton of time setting it up, all you'll need is a few media files to throw on there to test it out and see if the performance and UX is to your liking. If it doesn't cut mustard, return it and build a HTPC.
Uggh, now I'm all confused on which route to go... lol. I may just put together a gaming / DAW and keep the home files on a NAS. Would be cool if I could get the DVR to use the NAS.
Uggh, now I'm all confused on which route to go... lol. I may just put together a gaming / DAW and keep the home files on a NAS. Would be cool if I could get the DVR to use the NAS.
I am, have two devices that are configured to drop to NAS, one is a MythTV instance and the other is a HDHomeRun DVR. My situation is a little unique though, and the MythTV box was built a long time ago when it was the best solution. What were you looking to do exactly?
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... is anybody doing DVR to NAS?
Uggh, now I'm all confused on which route to go... lol. I may just put together a gaming / DAW and keep the home files on a NAS. Would be cool if I could get the DVR to use the NAS.
I am, have two devices that are configured to drop to NAS, one is a MythTV instance and the other is a HDHomeRun DVR. My situation is a little unique though, and the MythTV box was built a long time ago when it was the best solution. What were you looking to do exactly?
So, that's a good question. I was trying to kill 17 birds with one stone basically... lol
Initially I was going to set up a simple NAS for file storage for the wife and kiddies. Eazy peazy. But then I started thinking, get rid of the cable box and add a home media server, and get rid of the cable box/DVR. Oh and while I'm at it, I won't mind doing a little gaming (I am jonesing to try the new RE2) and you can get RE2 free with a home PC or AMD Radeon card. And did I mention, I want to attach some speakers and run a DAW and transcriber software like Reaper, and rip some audio files from the USB port on my looper? LOL
And all for under $500 bucks!
Case Micro-Atx
Intel Xeon X3440
NVIDIA GT 630
8GB dual channel DDR3 memory
Intel LGA 1156 motherboard
1TB HDD
GENUINE WINDOWS 10 PRO
5.1 Channel surround HD audio
Realtek Ethernet controller, WiFi ready
HDMI, DVI Connectors
802.11 a/b/g/n Wireless (WIFI) Adapter
Mid Tower case or a Small Case
Then I can load PLEX, and my DAW software. The only thing I need to decide on is storage for serving pics and home movies... do I want to build out a RAID subsystem in the PC (or as external hard drive system) or just spend the money on a NAS like Synology DS218...
Any thoughts from fellow geekers here? lol
My choice has been a full windows "server" made with leftover parts that I've collected over the years. Win10, 6x 3TB HDDs, Stablebit Drivepool to pool them all together. Is it the most elegant solution? No. Is it the easiest for my situation? Yes.
Emby is my go-to choice for media library management.
Now for the "client" devices, I have a mix. I have 2x FireTVs for the bedroom and the office - I don't need anymore horsepower for those. Then in the living room and the finished basement, I have full HTPCs. Partially due to video game emulation w/ LaunchBox (which needs a lot of resources) and partially because when I'm entertaining at the house, I want the system to be nice and zippy. All the clients run Kodi.
Are the HTPCs a bit overkill? Yeah. I could see in the future migrating to something like an nVidia Shield. But for now everything works without any hiccups.