Setting up a solution to access view and play all my electronic media.

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Setting up a solution to access view and play all my electronic media.

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#825724 26-May-2013 20:55

From computer lounge + paradigm PCs (for the case)

AMD A6-5400K CPU - $99
Gigabyte GA-F2A55M-DS2 Motherboard - $99
Kingston 2x2GB DDR3 1600 Mhz ~ $55
Antec NSK2480B 380W HTPC Case - $158

Add:

What ever hard drive(s) you want
MCE IR Receiver + remote control via ebay for $25

^ Google the htpc case, that is what it would look like.

(or)

You can build a tiny HTPC for similar price + buy a NAS (storage only)

(or)

Buy a Roku / other extender / smart TV + buy a NAS that runs plex server (either a NAS or server style PC)

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

chevrolux

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#825729 26-May-2013 21:18

The reason I picked Plex for my parents is they already had a desktop PC. So all that was needed was a bit more storage jammed in and then grab a Roku (about $130) and hide it behind the TV and everything is done 'out of the box' essentially. Do you currently have a desktop that could just have some more storage put in it?

In terms of seeing the gear.. Silverstone make some wicked looking cases that look awesome sitting with the other stereo gear in a cabinet.

xena7051

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#825730 26-May-2013 21:19

Yep the case looks the part.

For most of my normal compute work, I just use my PC (HP pavilion Slimline) to use MS Office (mainly mail (Outlook), with Word, Excel and a little bit of powerpoint, occasionally play with videos and put family photos together using windows movie maker... the rest of its browsing the web or possibly watching ISky when the wife doesn't want to watch sport on our TV.....

Does it still make sense to have a separate PC for this..or combine this use with the HTPC and have one machine......and just up spec the HTPC.....

I see you run Windows 7 rather than 8...is this a preference or you haven't yet upgraded?

What does the NAS software do i.e. its purpose on the HTPC.... presume gives a layer of security....what else if the PLEX server manages accessing to the files when there is a request from the client

How much storage is enough......what size drives are best (performance vs cost).....what type of fault tolerance do you use...and how do you back up that much data and where to?

Can you get things like Netflix via the internet or is that banned out of the US to access..... some mention to me you could setup a VPN server in a locus that is US based and connect that way

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#825742 26-May-2013 21:31

Tell us the specs of your HP Pavilion:

CPU / RAM / Video Card / Hard drives

If you run plex server on your HP Pavilion then your HP has to be on whenever you want to use plex client, is this ok?

I use Win7 because Win7 is best for Mediaportal

NAS software - depends on the device. It shares the files over the network, it might also have a method of backup / mirror built in to protect against data loss. If your NAS is a fancy one it can run the plex server software (negating the need for your home PC to be on to use plex)

Plex server software - It looks on the internet and finds movie covers + other details for the movies you have. It then tells the plex clients what media is available and then sends them the files. If the plex client can't play certain files, it transcodes that files to a different codec/lower resolution.

Storage depends on the user, some people use 20TB... I would guess that most people use between 500mb - 2TB.

Performance for storage drives is not revelant as they are never used at max speed. So selection is based on size + power useage + noise + reliability + warranty + price.

For fault tolerance, I run snapraid, I have an extra 3TB hard drive that just runs parity for the other drives, so I will not loose any data for single drive fault.

To use netflix with plex you need a VPN and a plex client that can access netflix

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

xena7051

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#825748 26-May-2013 21:48

Hi

The slimline is very basic, it only has 1 GB RAM with Windows 8(32 bit ) so its pretty bad performance

It has Duo Cpu E4500 2.4 CPU

It has 1 TB drive..part of this is the recovering partition

The video card has died and I have removed and just running off the motherboard. (didn't replace as new I would be taking on this project)

I think its about 5-6 years old.

Can I get any software that allows me to capture the stream content and record it i.e. a hard disk recorder which can copy the streams content comubf..basically the functionality that mysky plus does

Cheers
Peter

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#825752 26-May-2013 21:53

Better to explain what you are streaming + what you want to do with stream.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

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xena7051

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#825763 26-May-2013 22:01

Good point...I don't really know what content is out there that I can get access to....obvious candidates e.g. Youtube etc....

I now listen to Pandora for a lot of my music....its pretty good to set up a heal of "radio stations" and hear lots of similar music but form artists I have never heard of.

For streaming video, I not sure ....e.g. can I watch sport from around the world....can I watch SBS channel in Aus....or pay for Netflix and be able to access this from NZ (i.e. via the VPN server?

So basically I not sure what the possibilities are

xena7051

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#825772 26-May-2013 22:03

It maybe like mysky.....can I get a feed for the Superbowl...but record it so when I get home I can watch it

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#825774 26-May-2013 22:07

- can I watch SBS channel in Aus

Only if they have a plex app and you already have access to SBS

- pay for Netflix and be able to access this from NZ (i.e. via the VPN server?)

Yes

- listen to Pandora

Probably has a plex app, might depend on the plex client, check google

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

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#825776 26-May-2013 22:08

xena7051: It maybe like mysky.....can I get a feed for the Superbowl...but record it so when I get home I can watch it

With Mediaportal + tvserver yes, with plex, depends.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

xena7051

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#825777 26-May-2013 22:16

Hey thanks for your help

You have given me plenty to think about....I will now put it down all on paper...one last question has anyone put down the feeds you can access and how to access them...at least the major ones.... so then I would understand what content is possible?

One area I haven't covered yet, we have an old dog who is blind, my wife treats her like one of the kids, so when she out she would like to check if she is awake etc.....one idea was having a camera where she sleeps during the day and access from her Galaxy S2 when out , just to check if the dog is awake (it sleeps a lot)....another requirement for me which if I deliver I get lots of brownie points when I go for more funding.... I presume this is simple enough and can be integrated into the Plex system i.e. live stream from a camera?

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xena7051

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#825780 26-May-2013 22:26

You mention around recording e.g. the Superbowl, your current solution can but Plex depends? Can you tell what has to be done so the plex system can...I have an old Samsung DVD HD recorder, which my wife uses a lot....but if we could justify the cost rather have the functionality mysky plus gives...

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#825781 26-May-2013 22:28

I'm pretty sure you can't integrate plex server with a web cams and stream the feed to plex clients over the net.

I don't use plex, so I don't know what internet based media services/content it supports.

Easiest way to do that is to buy an IP Web Cam that plugs directly into your router, then you access the web camera via a webpage. Advanced web cams have motors so you can remotely move the camera.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

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#825782 26-May-2013 22:29

Do you want to integrate Sky/Sky HD into a computer based PVR, or do you want PVR type functionality with freeview HD?

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

xena7051

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#825814 27-May-2013 06:13

To be honest both. Apart from the occasional movie, I like watching documentaries or sport. Like watching prime music documentaries while wife follows different music and talent competition shows and TV series. So not sure I can give up mysky due to the rugby ...ideally I would like to record any source that I am streaming be that coming from a sky feed or Freeview or some internet channel.

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