Media Server

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gcorgnet

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#132323 17-Oct-2013 14:26

Hi guys,

Sorry if this is not the right forum but this thread will likely be cutting across several topics and I couldn't decide where to put it..

I just grabbed an old box that my compay was getting rid of (Core2Duo 1.9Ghz, 2GB) and am trying to decide what to do with it...

First I thought I might use it to replace my really nice but too slow (e35m1-Deluxe) HTPC. I slapped Win 7 on it and the NVidia Quadro FX 370 that came with it seems to handle DXVA properly and I was able to watch a 1080p movie (across the network, even) without problem. Problem is: The mobo does not output optical and the graphics card does not output HDMI so no digital sound output unless I add another component (new GPU ?, some sort of sound card?). Also, the box itself is a bit too bulky and noisy to go in my lounge and still keep the wife happy.

My second thought was to use this as a media server and put it in a cupboard and store all my stuff (movies, music, photos, etc) on it. I would then be able to share all that media to my HTPC and mobile devices. I would also like to put Plex server on there and stream to mobile devices, Xbox 360, etc...
Question here is what OS would be recommended for this? I have a MSDN sub so have a choice of Win 7, Win 8 or even Server 2012 essentials R2. Any preferences?
Server 2012 Esssentials seems nice but I am not sure whether it will be overkill for my needs... Also nt sure about having to configure a domain, etc... I curently have my HTPC (e35m1-deluxe, Win 7 32bit) and a desktop (Gen1 i7 Win 8.1 x64)
Anything to know if I am going to dive into the server route?

Also, do you guys think that machine will be grunty enough to handle transcoding on the plex server?

Any other thoughts?

Thanks,

Guillaume

CraigHumphrey

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#916626 17-Oct-2013 14:57

Hey Guillaume,

I recently replaced my aging Windows HomeServer v1.0 with Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials and would agree, going the domain route is not for the faint hearted. Though if you Google around, there are ways to set it up without domain joining your PCs/Laptops... Having said that, I wouldn't want to run it on a 2Gig RAM machine, 4Gig is probably a more realistic minimum.
I'm running Serviio ontop of it to dish out my media via UPNP/DLNA as (at least until the official launch date) the UPNP/DLNA services have been disabled on Essentials. I don't run the transcoding in Serviio, I wouldn't want to put that kind of stress on my CPU (GPU assisted might be OK, there's a Radeon HD5670 in there, if supported) particularly for mulitple streams.

If you do go down the Essentials route, hit me up and I can give you a few pointers...

Later'ish
Craig

kiwijunglist

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#916648 17-Oct-2013 15:51

Not sure if it's grunty enough to transcode, since you already have the hardware you should just try it and find out. (I'm thinking it might be too slow, but it also depends on what format your movies are in etc.)

If you wanted it is an HTPC and needed HD Audio over HDMI then a HD6450 for $60-70 would sort that out, as well as doing a better job of DXVA.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

gcorgnet

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#916651 17-Oct-2013 16:01

Thanks for the answers guys.

I will give it a try tonight to see if the computer can handle transcoding. I will probably also be able to get my old dev machine from work, which is a Core2Quad, 8GB of RAM so that should be good enough for transcoding, right? I was hoping to use this as my new HTPC because I am getting sick of the e35m1-deluxe-based one which is too slow at times.

What would you guys do?

shrub

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#916669 17-Oct-2013 17:13

get the core2quad put a new video card in $80 + nice case $150 and sell the core2duo box for $230 problem solved at no extra cost.

gcorgnet

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#916672 17-Oct-2013 17:31

shrub: get the core2quad put a new video card in $80 + nice case $150 and sell the core2duo box for $230 problem solved at no extra cost.

I like the way you think but this does not give me a media server (unless I keep the core2duo for this)...

What about trying to use the e35m1-deluxe as a server, would that be totally stupid?

kiwijunglist

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#916682 17-Oct-2013 17:59

I run a HTPC + media server + tv server in one box.

It is quiet, close to silent.
It actual has 5x 3.5" HDDs in it now.
All the fans are temperature controlled so are always very very quiet.
The PSU fan is always off

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pgs2050

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#916707 17-Oct-2013 20:03

kiwijunglist:... HD6450 for $60-70 would sort that out...

If you're going to use Plex on this setup, a Gpu may not work since plex transcoding uses only the cpu, not Gpu. At least this is what I understand from a recent check. I was considering adding a gpu to a C2D e4600 system that has had issues with x264 video encoded at higher than normal bit rates/high quality audio. Not sure if more ram will help.

kiwijunglist

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#916723 17-Oct-2013 20:40

Kiwijunglist: If you wanted it is an HTPC and needed HD Audio over HDMI then a HD6450 for $60-70 would sort that out, as well as doing a better job of DXVA.

pgs2050: If you're going to use Plex on this setup, a Gpu may not work since plex transcoding uses only the cpu, not Gpu. At least this is what I understand from a recent check. I was considering adding a gpu to a C2D e4600 system that has had issues with x264 video encoded at higher than normal bit rates/high quality audio. Not sure if more ram will help.

The HD6450 was suggestion for use if the OP wanted to create an HTPC either an HTPC running Plex or anyother client (rather than a server, and needed HDMI audio). An HTPC as the media playback device wouldn't need to transcode as it can decode all formats directly.

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shrub

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#916741 17-Oct-2013 21:27

gcorgnet:
shrub: get the core2quad put a new video card in $80 + nice case $150 and sell the core2duo box for $230 problem solved at no extra cost.

I like the way you think but this does not give me a media server (unless I keep the core2duo for this)...

What about trying to use the e35m1-deluxe as a server, would that be totally stupid?

Put all your hdd's in it and its a powerful media server/HTPC i use ps3 media server / mediaportal for tv tuner. Also does all my torrents off a rss feed.

Im using a c2q 9450 4gig ram p5q pro and HD6770. Pretty stock system and it can play games on med settings.

pgs2050

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#916900 18-Oct-2013 10:17

kiwijunglist:The HD6450 was suggestion for use if the OP wanted to create an HTPC either an HTPC running Plex or anyother client (rather than a server, and needed HDMI audio). An HTPC as the media playback device wouldn't need to transcode as it can decode all formats directly.

Thanks for pointing that out. I am only just getting into the HTPC complexities and have a fair amount of research to do. At the risk of hijacking the OP's thread, please can you offer some advice for the following situation:

I expect that I will soon be in a similar situation as the OP, although my setup is not as complex. I have a C2D E4500 desktop running Win 7 64 with a Gigabyte G31 motherboard. One of the USB ports is causing problems (system freezes which can only be sorted by restarting with all USB devices disconnected) so I intend to replace the desktop with something current. I would like to use the existing system as an HTPC and therefore investigated whether adding a cheap graphics card would improve the performance in any way but I am unsure how to proceed.

In addition to the graphics card, what else is needed? I thought that I could continue to run Plex server and access this via Plex clients on a Roku 3 / Samsung Smart TV and a few smart phones - note: all clients connect via WIFI (Orcon Genius modem/router). At this stage I do not record any TV via PC. I would like to setup the HTPC to record from Freeview UHF, so obviously I will need a TV tuner card as well. Once the graphics card and TV tuner are setup, what software system will I need to access the HTPC? I would like to continue with Plex but not sure how the occasional issue with large files can be overcome. Do you have any suggestions for a simple and cheap setup? Will I need to include the new system in this setup?

Does the wireless connection affect this? Perhaps I should connect the Roku via ethernet cable, this is not practical for the Samsung Smart TV (other end of the house).

Please let me know if I've let out some important information or matters to consider.

kiwijunglist

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#916920 18-Oct-2013 10:27

ok.

e4500 + transcoding with plex - I don't use plex, so I'm not sure of minimum specs for transcoding, however I would bet that it would struggle/fail to transcode to a device and watch something at the same time.

e4500 + cheap graphics card (eg. HD6450) - This should be fine to playback 720p / 1080p / 1080i video files.

Wifi - Situational, depends on the bitrate of the video, signal strength and wireless spec (speed). Some users are ok, some are not.

Live TV - I think plex has support for this now, but I'm not sure if this is still beta support and how stable tv is with plex, it might be lacking a lot of features too. I use MediaPortal, however your computer might be a bit slow to run the latest version of MediaPortal adequately.

You asked about a a new cheap htpc system, If you were to buy new and wanted to keep things as cheap as possible (but still good performance) I'd recommend
AMD A6-5400K CPU + Cheapest FM2 Motherboard + 2x2GB DDR3 1600 RAM + Integrated graphics + Integrated sound

http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_MEDIAPORTAL_1/15_Customization/98_Localization/4_By_Country/New_Zealand/1_Buying_HTPC_Hardware

Regarding TV Tuner:
Lots of people seem to be happy with HDHomeRun network attached tv tuner. This is supported by MP and I think also works with Plex. Personally I use HVR2200 (replacement model is HVR2210)

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pgs2050

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#916941 18-Oct-2013 11:17

kiwijunglist: e4500 + transcoding with plex - I don't use plex, so I'm not sure of minimum specs for transcoding, however I would bet that it would struggle/fail to transcode to a device and watch something at the same time.

Thank you for the quick reply and the advice. Plex only transcodes when the payback device is unable to play a direct stream (not sure if I am using the right terminology here). The Plex server on the e4500 has been able to play most media files, even simultaneously on 2 devices. I do not know when it is a transcode or direct stream.

e4500 + cheap graphics card (eg. HD6450) - This should be fine to playback 720p / 1080p / 1080i video files.

I've looked this up again but am not sure that Plex will use the GPU during transcoding (when transcoding is needed). A few sources state that Pleax only utlises CPU for transcoding. I will have to look into this a little more as the software is continually updated.

Wifi - Situational, depends on the bitrate of the video, signal strength and wireless spec (speed). Some users are ok, some are not.

Is there a way to measure the data transferred to a device via the stream. The problem only occurs when the filesize (and presumably bitrate) is larger than normal - >3GB for a 3 hour movie. I'll need to test with a wired connection for more on this issue.

Live TV - I think plex has support for this now, but I'm not sure if this is still beta support and how stable tv is with plex, it might be lacking a lot of features too. I use MediaPortal, however your computer might be a bit slow to run the latest version of MediaPortal adequately.

I suppose I could use the new desktop to record live tv then transfer to the /server - so in effect I would be using 2 desktops for the HTPC!

You asked about a a new cheap htpc system, If you were to buy new and wanted to keep things as cheap as possible (but still good performance) I'd recommend
AMD A6-5400K CPU + Cheapest FM2 Motherboard + 2x2GB DDR3 1600 RAM + Integrated graphics + Integrated sound

http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/1_MEDIAPORTAL_1/15_Customization/98_Localization/4_By_Country/New_Zealand/1_Buying_HTPC_Hardware

Thanks for this link, I see there's lots of information that will be useful to me to setup the HTPC. If the 2-desktop-HTPC setup gets too cumbersome and budget permits I will get a new single system HTPC.

I have not looked into Live TV on Plex as yet, and since it may be new to Plex, I expect that other systems like Media Portal, etc. will be easier to implement. I would like to stick to Plex though as I have found it to be much simpler than XBMC, so much so that I have not bothered to keep up to date with XBMC, MP in recent times.

Thanks for the useful advice.