home streaming server

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#2149586 23-Dec-2018 12:25

Plenty of nas's will have a server on them that will serve up over dlna, but the problem is that client devices support for different compressions are not really that well communicated so you will get things where they dont play etc. Plex is much better about sorting out what things will play what, and will transcode it down to a crappier compression for low-spec devices like older smart tvs which only deal in 1080, and converting the audio down to stereo when you dont need the 5.1 that the bluray rip you downloaded came with.

Also there is the ability to have it transcode down to really low rates so you can stream out to a phone or similar without blasting thru your phones small data cap. Friends love that to play crap for their kids on long drives on the ipad.

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#2149588 23-Dec-2018 12:27

Presumably transcoding on NAS = expensive NAS ?

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

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#2149589 23-Dec-2018 12:32

rb99:

Presumably transcoding on NAS = expensive NAS ?

if you want bufferless 1080p or 4k then yes

richms

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#2149590 23-Dec-2018 12:32

rb99:

Presumably transcoding on NAS = expensive NAS ?

I only transcode down to trash formats for the phone, everything else is at worst an audio transcode only since the mibox is quite capable of playing all the 4k I have thrown at it even when outputting to a low res TV. Thats been fine on the old clunker 2nd or 3rd gen i7, and the i3 8100 that replaced it when the mobo died. Transcoding from 4k to 4k never worked properly for me on bluray rips that were too high bitrate for the TV to handle. mibox FTW on that.

TBH now I am on fiber, I tend to just leave things on the seedbox which also has plex server and play it from there. Will get thru most movies in 1080 without a stutter and sensible sized 4k works fine as well. I hardly have time to watch stuff as it is.

Richard rich.ms

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#2149595 23-Dec-2018 12:58

Pinpoint:

Oh man, part of me wishes I'd never asked :D I do appreciate the replies a lot!

I thought I was asking something very simple here. Just this server connect to your network and you are done. Was I naive?
I guess so. You guys gave me a whole bunch of info which I all need to Google as it doesn't make any sense. It is like learning a new language :)

It probably will take me sometime to process this.

Ultimately, you can do what you want for very little money. I don't see the need for Plex type solutions (to be honest, I'm not even sure how it is different to Kodi, etc.)

I've been using a fanless Intel Atom motherboard (D510) with 500 megs ram for a NAS using OpenMediaVault (but previously used Windows 7 as a server). This has worked flawlessly for 7-8 years, and is plenty fast enough to serve even 10 gig rips of movies, etc. without issue over SMB shares, and it has gigabit Ethernet built in. (I have a spare one of these available if someone wants one.)

For the viewing end, I was using a Raspberry Pi plugged into the back of the TV playing through Kodi, but I have now changed to a Mi Box with Kodi installed. It is simple, and just works. I don't know anything about the audio side of thing, cos that stuff confuses me.

This is simple and cheap, and just plays whatever is on the NAS directly without fuss. As always, YMMV.

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#2149600 23-Dec-2018 13:08

xpd:

Yes, at its most basic, install the software you decide on using onto your "server" and depending on the client you wish to do the viewing from, either browse to the server or download the matching app for you client OS. Plex is more than happy to be used via browser on Windows etc, but there are dedicated apps on iOS, Android etc.

Plex is very easy to setup.

Plex can also be used outside of your network as well, so friends/family can view your library if you wish. This does require decent uplink however, and knowledge of how to port forward on your router etc.

If you want, drop me a PM and I'll give you access to an account on my server with a few things shared so you get a feel for it from the client point of view.

Thanks for that!!

I am currently looking at this option: https://www.noelleeming.co.nz/shop/computers-tablets/accessories/storage-memory/nas-storage/wd-wdbbcl0080jbk-sesn-my-cloud-pro-series-2-bay-gigabit-ethernet-external-nas-8tb/prod162718.html

Would this do what I want? Which is download a movie, safe it to the NAS and use an app to play that movie on the TV.
Run a HDMI from my TV to the Amplifier to have better sound.

Do I need anything else?

I do not need much storage, I delete mostly after viewing anyway.

When you say "depending on the client you wish to do the viewing from". What is the client?

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#2149601 23-Dec-2018 13:10

Jase2985:

rb99:

Presumably transcoding on NAS = expensive NAS ?

if you want bufferless 1080p or 4k then yes

What does this all mean?

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SirHumphreyAppleby

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#2149604 23-Dec-2018 13:20

Pinpoint:

Jase2985:

if you want bufferless 1080p or 4k then yes

What does this all mean?

It means spending more money for something you don't need to achieve your stated goals.

Storage plus a media player (typically Kodi on an external box) is all you need to do what you want. In fact, if you're not keeping the content you download (many of us rip our DVD/Blu-ray collections and require terabytes of data), you may only need a media player you can plug a USB stick in to. I.e. for about $200 you can buy a box that will play practically anything.

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#2149606 23-Dec-2018 13:27

SirHumphreyAppleby:

Pinpoint:

Jase2985:

if you want bufferless 1080p or 4k then yes

What does this all mean?

It means spending more money for something you don't need to achieve your stated goals.

Storage plus a media player (typically Kodi on an external box) is all you need to do what you want. In fact, if you're not keeping the content you download (many of us rip our DVD/Blu-ray collections and require terabytes of data), you may only need a media player you can plug a USB stick in to. I.e. for about $200 you can buy a box that will play practically anything.

I left out the part that I also want to use it as back-up for photo's and home videos as well as data.

So if I buy a my cloud pro series I need to install media player software like Kodi or Plex on there? Or am I as lost as I feel. Damn...complicated stuff

Gurezaemon

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#2149609 23-Dec-2018 13:41

Pinpoint:

SirHumphreyAppleby:

It means spending more money for something you don't need to achieve your stated goals.

Storage plus a media player (typically Kodi on an external box) is all you need to do what you want. In fact, if you're not keeping the content you download (many of us rip our DVD/Blu-ray collections and require terabytes of data), you may only need a media player you can plug a USB stick in to. I.e. for about $200 you can buy a box that will play practically anything.

I left out the part that I also want to use it as back-up for photo's and home videos as well as data.

So if I buy a my cloud pro series I need to install media player software like Kodi or Plex on there? Or am I as lost as I feel. Damn...complicated stuff

The same low-power, quiet NAS (either home built or bought as a unit) for storage, with something to connect to your TV (eg Nvidia shield, Mi Box, Raspberry Pi, etc.) will do backups perfectly, as well as the video streaming thing.

I have 2×2TB drives in my NAS. One has TV shows and movies, and the other is backups of various data from all my other computers (using Cloudberry).

For what you want, you could be up and running for maybe $200, depending on what parts you already have lying around.

SirHumphreyAppleby

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#2149611 23-Dec-2018 13:44

Pinpoint:

I left out the part that I also want to use it as back-up for photo's and home videos as well as data.

So if I buy a my cloud pro series I need to install media player software like Kodi or Plex on there? Or am I as lost as I feel. Damn...complicated stuff

In that case, you will want to go down the NAS route.

If I were setting this up for you, I would buy a Sony TV, OSMC Vero 4k+, and the cheapest Synology NAS I could find that met your capacity requirements.

If I were setting this up for myself, I would buy a Sony TV, OSMC Vero 4k+, and the cheapest Synology NAS I could find that met my capacity requirements.

Unless you actually need to watch content on your phone or other limited device, or absolutely must have access to your media library when you're away from home, I'd completely forget about any sort of media server like Plex.

surfisup1000

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#2149640 23-Dec-2018 14:54

gbwelly:

and a Nvidia Shield (Android TV based) as the client in the lounge.

How do you like the nvidia shield? I am considering one.

gehenna

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#2149652 23-Dec-2018 16:00

driller2000:

My set up:

unRAID server

IMO unRAID is perfect for media storage and access - given it is non mission critical stuff - but you still have some backup capability via parity - and also means you don't halve your storage volume like true RAID.

I went down this road with my recent server replacement. It's really great. I have Plex running in a Docker container, along with a few other utilities like Pi-Hole. There's an SSD that's sitting outside the array with Windows 10 VM on it, and 2x SSD's inside the array for cache parity. All told there's about 34TB of useable space with parity, split into various volumes for different purposes.

This is serving Plex clients at home on smart TV's (webOS), Apple TV, and iOS devices. Remotely it's serving a variety of clients and devices on browsers, mobiles/tablets and browsers.

I like that Plex has just released better insight tools, means I can do away with some other Docker containers like Tautulli. Also interesting to see how bandwidth hungry some media is! This is a 4K HEVC playing locally on Wi-Fi, and a 1080p HEVC playing remotely concurrently:

I've had no issues at all with the Unraid server that I haven't caused myself :) Unraid is AWESOME.

gbwelly

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#2149658 23-Dec-2018 16:22

surfisup1000:

How do you like the nvidia shield? I am considering one.

I love it. That said, I purchased the Mi Box (with USB ethernet adaptor) for a relative, and I think I could switch to that with no real issues.

The Shield is a little more polished, and can do things like run a Plex server (not just client). The remote can also turn on the TV via IR as the TV doesn't support CEC. I believe the BBC iPlayer app is not available for the Mi architecture.

The Mi Box previously had sand kicked in it's face for running Android TV 6, but they recently jumped to 8, putting it on a par with the Shield.

The Mi remote is better for range than the Shield.

The Shield (with Plex server and HDHomerun tuner) has given me a one stop shop for Live/Recorded Freeview, downloaded TV/Movies, Netflix, YouTube, BBC iPlayer.

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#2149682 23-Dec-2018 19:47

SirHumphreyAppleby:

Pinpoint:

I left out the part that I also want to use it as back-up for photo's and home videos as well as data.

So if I buy a my cloud pro series I need to install media player software like Kodi or Plex on there? Or am I as lost as I feel. Damn...complicated stuff

In that case, you will want to go down the NAS route.

If I were setting this up for you, I would buy a Sony TV, OSMC Vero 4k+, and the cheapest Synology NAS I could find that met your capacity requirements.

If I were setting this up for myself, I would buy a Sony TV, OSMC Vero 4k+, and the cheapest Synology NAS I could find that met my capacity requirements.

Unless you actually need to watch content on your phone or other limited device, or absolutely must have access to your media library when you're away from home, I'd completely forget about any sort of media server like Plex.

Ok, great. A few questions if you don't mind;

Why a Sony tv?

How do you connect the TV with the NAS. WiFi or ethernet cable I guess?

I looked at OSMC Vero but don't quit get why I need it?

Why not the WD NAS? (just curious why you go for Synology)

How important is the internal memory? I do not want buffering. As you can go as low as 256mb which seems to me as really really low?
This seems to be a good option. Agreed? https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NASSYN02186/Synology-DiskStation-DS218-2-Bay-NAS-Server-Dual-C (can't get a link working)
What would you recommend as minimum processing speed and internal memory?
Would you recommend at least two bays?

Could you explain maybe what Plex is, when you you say I do not need it. When would you need?
You don't need Plex to view your files from different devices? They all can connect to the NAS?

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