Home storage and Media system (suggestions needed)

[tripex]

Hey guys

It's been a loong time

I'm looking for suggestions on how to build my home storage and media center system.

Let me start by saying what I currently have:

1) a local gigabit network.
2) a Sammy Smart TV FHD (2014 model with smart hub 2.0), with a LAN port.​

My content consists of:

1) SD and HD video content (movies, tv shows, my own videos, travels, family stuff etc)
2) SD and HD documentaries (full featured movies and short clips).
3) Photos (personal stuff)
4) Video Tutorials (computer courses, etc).​

All the video stuff is in different formats (mpeg, mp4, avi, mkv, mov, but mostly MP4, AVI and MKV)

It's neatly stored in different USB external drives at the moment (which are kept on a drawer and connected only on demand to the computer (for updating stuff) or directly to the TV for watching).


My needs:

1) Make all the Video and Photo content available at once on the network. That means move away from the USB drives into a NAS.
3) Subtitle support is a MUST. Basically all the movie stuff has at least one SRT file alongside. I need this to work perfectly (it currently does, when connecting directly via USB port on the TV)
3) No need for internet (remote) access. I don't need to watch my content on the move, at all.
4) No phone-home software (i would prefer if my database was NOT saved on anyone's internet server). The less online accounts i have to create, the better.
5) Internet connectivity for updating the software platform and for metadata aggregation and updating is OK.
6) The NAS will also be used as a destination for Windows Backups from 2 laptops (running Windows 7).​

 

[tripex]

So, I'm looking for suggestions from the well experienced home theater / media center / streaming peoples.

What hardware to use for NAS? Brands and Models. I've looked into Synology. A bit expensive eh?

Build my own? Would prefer something that is small, low maintenance and low-energy-consumption. Building computers is so 90's and I don't have the patience i used to have
Is there anything from the Dell/HP/Asus i can get that isn't very expensive?

What media server software given my needs?

What client app on the TV? If any at all?

Does a gadget like Roku have any importance in my scenario? Or a waste of money? I would like to avoid more remote controls


I'll be keeping an eye on the thread, interacting with you all.

 

[timta2]

I would look into using XBMC (soon to be Kodi) with whatever kind of server you want to use on the other end.

http://kodi.tv

 

[Dangman]

For NAS, I highly recommend Synology: Their UI is dead simple to use and relatively reliable. Just slap in the hard drives, boot, and setup and there you go. Fast and relatively simple to do. However, can't recommend a specific model since I don't know how much storage do you want and whether or not you want to do some form of RAID. With that said, from a price to performance value in terms of hardware, they're not that good.

For the DIY route, this is the better bang for the buck in terms of hardware (more storage and faster CPU) but definitely requires far far more time to properly setup and use than a Synology.

As for the prebuild route, in general for the home user, it's the worst of both worlds: Not only do you have to do the OS and software setup yourself, you're also paying a significantly higher price to the point that its bang for the buck hardware value is almost as bad as the Synology. With that said, there were a few pre- or now expired BF sales on certain Dell and Lenovo servers that would have made the last point almost moot.

So it basically comes down to how much ease of use you want and how much bang for the buck hardware do you want. In addition, just how much storage do you want?

As for the software and app, I recommend Plex. It also works with the Roku.

 

[tripex]

I would look into using XBMC (soon to be Kodi) with whatever kind of server you want to use on the other end.

http://kodi.tv

Is KODI totally local? It's been a while since i followed XBMC stuff.
How are the software updates applied? Like a service pack that you download and install offline?

No central online server and phone-home connections like Plex?

I really don't like the idea of a 3rd party company having a database of all my media. Besides it seems like they're increasing the prices and might (in the future) abolish the free tier or cripple it. So then you're kinda stuck with them...

 

[tripex]

For NAS, I highly recommend Synology: Their UI is dead simple to use and relatively reliable. Just slap in the hard drives, boot, and setup and there you go. Fast and relatively simple to do. However, can't recommend a specific model since I don't know how much storage do you want and whether or not you want to do some form of RAID. With that said, from a price to performance value in terms of hardware, they're not that good.

For the DIY route, this is the better bang for the buck in terms of hardware (more storage and faster CPU) but definitely requires far far more time to properly setup and use than a Synology.

As for the prebuild route, in general for the home user, it's the worst of both worlds: Not only do you have to do the OS and software setup yourself, you're also paying a significantly higher price to the point that its bang for the buck hardware value is almost as bad as the Synology. With that said, there were a few pre- or now expired BF sales on certain Dell and Lenovo servers that would have made the last point almost moot.

So it basically comes down to how much ease of use you want and how much bang for the buck hardware do you want. In addition, just how much storage do you want?

As for the software and app, I recommend Plex. It also works with the Roku.

Thank you very much for your input. This discussion is very valuable to me, it allows me to understand the options i have.

My analysis is this:

Sinology:

1. Expensive
2. Less work setting up and less maintenance i suppose, which is all good.
3. Not much to learn in terms of IT knowledge.

Server from HP or whatever brand:

1. No hassle on building from scratch. Picking a motherboard, then a CPU, then cooling, then a fugly case, then fighting blue screens and sudden shutdowns due to temperature, etc. I would like to avoid this.
2. I believe brand server would offer more reliability than building my own?
3. Small form pretty case.
4. I don't know about price but I think i saw some promotions for HP Microserver (G7 or G8 i dont recall).
5. Some learning to do (might be interesting), installing whatever operating system you suggest.

Build my own:

1. I would need to do everything.
2. Price must be really appealing in order to go with this route.
3. Cheaper price, but more work. But at the same time the oportunity to do everything myself. Interesting but I'm not sure. I'm kinda tired of computers, everytime i embark on projects like this i feel like there's always a ton of bugs and shit to troubleshoot..

 

[tripex]

So it basically comes down to how much ease of use you want and how much bang for the buck hardware do you want. In addition, just how much storage do you want?

My current content is:

1) SD and HD video content: 3 TB
2) Personal photos and videos: only 50 GB
3) Video Tutorials (computer courses, software utils, etc): 500 GB
4) Audio content: only 50 GB

5) computer1 backup: 500 GB
6) computer2 backup: 500 GB

So the minimum space is around 4.6 TB. Then on top of it, whatever space needed to grow over the next years.

I do want redundancy. At least one drive for it. Otherwise it's a big risk if things go the wrong way.

All suggestions and input is welcome.

 

[tripex]

I don't know about price but I think i saw some promotions for HP Microserver (G7 or G8 i dont recall).

Ok i checked quickly

The promo is still on and the product costs around 267 USD. Is this a good deal?

HP MicroServer Gen8, ProLiant

- CPU Speed: 2.3 GHz
- Processor family: Intel Celeron
- Processor model: G1610T

- Hard disk size: 8.89 cm (3.5 ")
- Host Interface: SATA
- Maximum storage capacity: 12 TB

- Internal memory: 2 GB
- Internal memory type: DDR3-SDRAM
- Maximum Memory: 16 GB

- Graphic adapter: G200
- Graphics adapter Family: Matrox
- Network: 10/100 / 1000Base-T (X)

So on top of that i would have to add a few drives.Apparently it supports up to 4.

 

[tripex]

I checked on a HP distributor and its more expensive with them (double the price). Their servers comes Microsoft Azure though. Not sure the value of that.

So this promotional price these other guys are selling for is actually very good. Almost too good.

 

[skiddy]

One of the main reasons I went with Synology was for its implementation of 'SHR' RAID, which is basically Linux RAID + volume groups. It allows you to use mixed drive sizes with maximum usable disk space; while having 1-2 disk redundancy of RAID 5/6. See more: https://www.synology.com/en-us/knowledgebase/tutorials/492. Also note that this is not a proprietary format, so there are methods to recover data with non-Synology equipment.

This was great for me because I started out with a few 4TB drives and mostly 2TB drives. I replaced a 2TB drive about once per month, and I was able to use the increased capacity immediately (rather than waiting until all disks are the same size). Now I'm at all 4TB drives, and will eventually progress down the 6TB path. In other words, these products are awesome for gradual, home-use upgrades.

I can't comment on the do-it-yourself-methods, but I would like to play with FreeNAS at some point. If I recall, one of the downsides about FreeNAS is complexity or the inability to expand arrays.

As far as the media server end, I absolutely love Plex. To my knowledge, your database/metadata information is not permanently stored on Plex servers with the cloud service - it's only view-able while your server is online via SSL connections. The biggest concern I have with Plex is that streams over the internet are unencrypted, but it's not a deal breaker for me.

 

[Dangman]

On my phone so I will be back later with a more in-depth analysis. But there are a few things missing from your analysis:

A pre-built system is only more reliable than a DIY setup if you don't know how to select good parts. DIY setup with good parts can be just as good as a prebuilt server.

With a prebuilt server, you also have limited expansion since there's usually only space for 4 hard drives. A DIY setup can easily have double or triple that amount.So with a prebuilt, you have to knowbfor sure that you won't ever need more space.

Another thing about DIY: You'll more than likely end up spending the same amount if not more of money as a prebuilt setup. But you can get far better quality parts with far more expansion.

 

[tripex]

On my phone so I will be back later with a more in-depth analysis. But there are a few things missing from your analysis:

A pre-built system is only more reliable than a DIY setup if you don't know how to select good parts. DIY setup with good parts can be just as good as a prebuilt server.

With a prebuilt server, you also have limited expansion since there's usually only space for 4 hard drives. A DIY setup can easily have double or triple that amount.So with a prebuilt, you have to knowbfor sure that you won't ever need more space.

Another thing about DIY: You'll more than likely end up spending the same amount if not more of money as a prebuilt setup. But you can get far better quality parts with far more expansion.

Again thank you.

 

[tripex]

I can't comment on the do-it-yourself-methods, but I would like to play with FreeNAS at some point. If I recall, one of the downsides about FreeNAS is complexity or the inability to expand arrays.

Yeah, i'm afraid of it getting too complex or a timewaste everytime a task like that has to be done.

 

[tripex]

As far as the media server end, I absolutely love Plex. To my knowledge, your database/metadata information is not permanently stored on Plex servers with the cloud service - it's only view-able while your server is online via SSL connections. The biggest concern I have with Plex is that streams over the internet are unencrypted, but it's not a deal breaker for me.

Thanks, thats interesting..

If that proves to be true, then Plex could be 1st contender.
I've checked some videos of it, it looks good and easy to use. I was reluctant because of the phone home.

I believe there's an official Plex app for Samsung Smart TV's, but I dont know what it does exactly.

Btw, how's the subtitle support? Go into details please.


Last, I have to say because I forgot before, I do not want to use a computer at all, to watch stuff. I mean, i dont want any wireless keyboard+mouse solution to browse on XBMC or Plex or whatever platform.

I would like to turn on the TV, launch the app (or something like that), browse my collection and watch.

 

[skiddy]

Thanks, thats interesting..

If that proves to be true, then Plex could be 1st contender.
I've checked some videos of it, it looks good and easy to use. I was reluctant because of the phone home.

I believe there's an official Plex app for Samsung Smart TV's, but I dont know what it does exactly.

Yeah, I'm 99% certain you can use Plex local-only so your server would never communicate with the Plex cloud. I also know that if my Plex server is offline, none of my content/metadata is viewable via external. I would research it more though.

There is a Samsung Smart TV app, but to my knowledge it is not officially supported - I believe there is a 3rd party developer that handles it. I only used it for testing a few months back, and it was not very good. UI is clunky, slow and unorganized. Plex on streaming players or an HTPC will give you a much better experience. It plays back your media library like any other player, but I'm not sure if there are any caveats.

Btw, how's the subtitle support? Go into details please.

Subtitle support is great. Personally I only playback lossless DVD and BD rips in .mkv's, so my experience is with VODSUB or PGS subtitles, but to my knowledge, SRT's are fully supported. The only thing to take into consideration is that certain players may need the subtitle streams transcoded. Meaning if your Plex server does not support transcoding (certain NAS devices), then subtitles would not work. I've had no issues playing back subtitles from all varieties of players. The only issue I sometimes run into is with forced subtitles no playing on BD rips, but there are work arounds to fix this, or you can manually enable the forced subtitle stream. (forced BD subtitles can be a pain in the ass since the providers can implement them in multiple ways).

Last, I have to say because I forgot before, I do not want to use a computer at all, to watch stuff. I mean, i dont want any wireless keyboard+mouse solution to browse on XBMC or Plex or whatever platform.

I would like to turn on the TV, launch the app (or something like that), browse my collection and watch.

Well, there are a few options here. As you may know, Plex server can perform on-the-fly transcoding to change bitrate/container/codec for compatibility with your player of choice. In order to do this for high bitrate 1080p media, you'll typically need an i3 or better processor on the server. Most Synology or consumer NAS's use atoms that can't handle this (even the new 1515+ & 1815+ with quad core atoms can't handle high bitrate 1080p transcoding), meaning you'll typically want Plex server running on dedicated hardware. Keep in mind with this method that you can still use a NAS for storage, and run Plex server on different hardware.

With that in mind, you have a few options for players:

• Plex Home Theater running on a Windows or Linux PC:
  This gives you the best experience in my opinion. You can direct play (no transcoding) pretty much any media asset. You also get the benefit of HD audio codec support if you have applicable home theater hardware, and quick rewind & fast forward performance. It is possible to have the PC boot straight into PHT, and use an IR dongle + universal remote to give you a seamless, non-mouse/keyboard experience. You can also run this on a Mac mini, but you don't get the HD audio support.
  
  
• Streaming Players (Roku, Fire TV, Chromecast):
  These give you the easiest and cheapest player options. To my knowledge, Chromecast requires transcoding of all video to take place, and the Roku and Fire TV need the video to be in specific codecs/containers to play without transcoding. So you'll want a plex server that transcodes if you use any of these. I'm personally not a fan of the Roku UI.

You also have mobile device support, a Windows 8.1 app, and a handful of 3rd party options that I'm not familiar with.

 

[Dangman]

Sinology:

It's spelled Synology.

[*]Cheaper price, but more work. But at the same time the oportunity to do everything myself. Interesting but I'm not sure. I'm kinda tired of computers, everytime i embark on projects like this i feel like there's always a ton of bugs and shit to troubleshoot..
[/LIST]

I wouldn't really say "cheaper price". I would say more bang for your buck than a lower price. It's basically akin to spending $30K on a Prius (Synology) or a $30K on a BMW (DIY).

As for your hesitation on embarking on such a project, it really depends on how close to you want to come to your goals. The simplest and easiest route but the one that's actually farthest IMO from your goals and has limited expansion is this:
Synology DS412+ with Plex App installed.
4 x 4TB Hard drives in RAID 5 at a minimum. RAID 6 if possible. That means 12TB and 8TB of available data respectively.
Roku if the Plex App for the Samsung Smart TV doesn't work that well.

Main issues besides ones already described earlier:
- Maxed out at 12TB of available data. Any additional expansion options will cost more.
- You might not be able to play back some of your media files and there's the possibility that some of the supported media file types may actually play choppy. In fact, on Synology's own blog post on Plex points out that possibility.

But if 12TB is all that you need, the first issue is moot then.

For the DIY route, I would recommend something like FreeNAS with Plex installed running on a DIY server with the following specs:
$85 - AMD A10-5800K APU
$75 - Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H FM2+ / FM2 AMD A88X mATX Motherboard
$71 - Crucial Ballistix BLS8G3D1609DS1S00 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite Black ATX Case
$69 - XFX P1-550G-TS3X TS 550W PSU
----
Total: $350 shipped

The above mobo has 8 SATA ports. The case also supports 8 SATA hard drives as well. Combined with this Coolermaster module, you're looking at 12 hard drive capacity for the case in the future:
$29 - Cooler Master STB-3T4-E3-GPc w/ 120mm Fan

As for the storage setup itself, if you want maximum safety of your data, I highly recommend running ZFS. This article explains why ZFS deserves a look. It definitely requires a lot more setup but your data will be as close to safe as possible.

Alternative and easier storage OS setup: any form of Linux combined with SnapRAID and Plex Media Server. An easier than that but more expensive route is getting Windows 8.1 for around $90 to $100 and running SnapRAID and Plex Media Server off that. Of course there's the issue of viruses and the possibility of a restart occurring during video playback.

For the player itself, again, try the Plex App for Samsung first. If that doesn't work out, flip a coin between the Roku and a full fledged HTPC.

 

[tripex]

...

There is a Samsung Smart TV app, but to my knowledge it is not officially supported - I believe there is a 3rd party developer that handles it. I only used it for testing a few months back, and it was not very good. UI is clunky, slow and unorganized. Plex on streaming players or an HTPC will give you a much better experience. It plays back your media library like any other player, but I'm not sure if there are any caveats.

...

First of all, thanks for your input.

I will test the Samsung app over the weekend. I've installed it on TV but didnt run it. I need to get Plex Media Server and install on my current Windows computer and just use a few movies to test. I just hope it works fine!!

Is installing Plex Media Server on a virtual machine a good idea? Just for testing.

...
Subtitle support is great.

Ok!

...

• Streaming Players (Roku, Fire TV, Chromecast):
  These give you the easiest and cheapest player options. To my knowledge, Chromecast requires transcoding of all video to take place, and the Roku and Fire TV need the video to be in specific codecs/containers to play without transcoding. So you'll want a plex server that transcodes if you use any of these. I'm personally not a fan of the Roku UI.

...

I'm very inclined towards simplicity and non-redundancy.

Having to go with a Roku or a computer is my last last option. I would like to avoid a 3rd device (and another remote controller) on top of the Smart TV (with its fancy Samsung interface) and cable TV set-top-box (again with its own fancy interface and features).

And from what I gathered about the Roku, it doesnt have Youtube app (not a big issue since I have that on the SmartTV) and it's support for media formats is quite limited (eg: no .AVI support). But perhaps that limitaton is for USB input only, and if its going through Plex app it might play everything. Is that right?


Overall, I'm starting to understand that the Synology is not going to be a good option in terms of performance.

 

[tripex]

...
I wouldn't really say "cheaper price". I would say more bang for your buck than a lower price. It's basically akin to spending $30K on a Prius (Synology) or a $30K on a BMW (DIY).

As for your hesitation on embarking on such a project, it really depends on how close to you want to come to your goals. The simplest and easiest route but the one that's actually farthest IMO from your goals and has limited expansion is this:
Synology DS412+ with Plex App installed.
4 x 4TB Hard drives in RAID 5 at a minimum. RAID 6 if possible. That means 12TB and 8TB of available data respectively.
Roku if the Plex App for the Samsung Smart TV doesn't work that well.
...

Thanks! I'm more than clarified now.

I understand the limitations and the Synology option is becoming more and more remote.

...
For the DIY route, I would recommend something like FreeNAS with Plex installed running on a DIY server with the following specs:
...
...
----
Total: $350 shipped

...

As for the storage setup itself, if you want maximum safety of your data, I highly recommend running ZFS. This article explains why ZFS deserves a look. It definitely requires a lot more setup but your data will be as close to safe as possible.

One thing i'm not sure. Can i have the DYI server running FreeNAS with Plex Media Server on the same machine?
That means the linux operating system itself (console and desktop) is fully open for use? I could also run apache webserver for my own tests, etc ?

...
Alternative and easier storage OS setup: any form of Linux combined with SnapRAID and Plex Media Server. An easier than that but more expensive route is getting Windows 8.1 for around $90 to $100 and running SnapRAID and Plex Media Server off that. Of course there's the issue of viruses and the possibility of a restart occurring during video playback.

Another question, if I go the Windows way (probably not 8.1 because i already have licensing for Windows 7 and i prefer that) could I be running Plex Media Server + SnapRAID + Plex Home Theater (running on startup) all on the same machine ?

...
For the player itself, again, try the Plex App for Samsung first. If that doesn't work out, flip a coin between the Roku and a full fledged HTPC.

Yeah, i'm checking it this weekend.

 

[ryang]

I run a Gen8 and 4 HGST 4TB NAS drives. It boots to a SSD and runs Win 7 Pro, I had it running 2012 Essentials but proved to be too much overhead for simple file sharing.

My client PCs all run Kodi. Native support for subtitles, doesn't phone home. Works like a dream!

 

[rhansen5_99]

Just in case you missed the awesomeness of Plex Media server, it basically can transcode all of your media for the device it is hitting. I believe that at some point in the past this was a fork of XBMC but became much more. I personally like it because it allows me to stream to the kids Ipads, and my phone while on the go over 4g. Additionally I have 3 rokus with the plex client on them to stream around the house. The navigation and use is very simple and don't really have to help the kids use.

That being said I initially had a Synology 1512+ for the task, while good running the plex server on there really tasked the Atom 525 in there. I have since migrated to an i3 server for the added transcoding duties. The newer Synology devices have better cpu's that can handle the transcoding a bit better or as an alternative you could have your desktop run the server and link the network shares from the Synology to it getting the best of both worlds.

 

[tripex]

I run a Gen8 and 4 HGST 4TB NAS drives. It boots to a SSD and runs Win 7 Pro, I had it running 2012 Essentials but proved to be too much overhead for simple file sharing.

My client PCs all run Kodi. Native support for subtitles, doesn't phone home. Works like a dream!

Nice
I've got a few questions if you dont mind.


1) What CPU on that server? How much RAM?

2) What do you mean NAS drives? Just regular SATA 7200 RPM ones? Which brand btw? [edit: i checked google, HGST is Hitachi... that is former IBM right? i could be making confusion.. in any case, urgh, had some bad experiences with that brand]

2) How come you have 5 drives in there if it only supports four? (from what i checked earlier)

3) You just have regular file shares? No "media server" software to parse and distribute the media?

4) Any RAID going on? Hardware or software? I know some server models come with the Smart Array B120i SATA Controller which supports RAID 0, 1 and 10.

5) You have Kodi running on different computers which are then attached to each TV or are you watchin the content on the computer?

 

[tripex]

Just in case you missed the awesomeness of Plex Media server, it basically can transcode all of your media for the device it is hitting. I believe that at some point in the past this was a fork of XBMC but became much more. I personally like it because it allows me to stream to the kids Ipads, and my phone while on the go over 4g. Additionally I have 3 rokus with the plex client on them to stream around the house. The navigation and use is very simple and don't really have to help the kids use.

That being said I initially had a Synology 1512+ for the task, while good running the plex server on there really tasked the Atom 525 in there. I have since migrated to an i3 server for the added transcoding duties. The newer Synology devices have better cpu's that can handle the transcoding a bit better or as an alternative you could have your desktop run the server and link the network shares from the Synology to it getting the best of both worlds.

Thank you.

I don't think we would tax it that much. This is a small family.
We watch stuff mostly at night and weekends. During the day no one has time.

Plus I've said before i'm not interested in watching on the go. But who knows, if I go ahead with Plex and the feature is there, i might change my mind later on.

Since you mention kids. With your Plex solution, do you have anything implemented that prevents them from accessing the whole library?

I mean, just create a walled garden of Disney for them, and block all Rambo violent stuff.

 

[ryang]

Nice
I've got a few questions if you dont mind.


1) What CPU on that server? How much RAM?
Pentium G20 @ 2.5Ghz 8GB RAM. This is the stock processor but it came with only 2GB, so I upgraded.

2) What do you mean NAS drives? Just regular SATA 7200 RPM ones? Which brand btw? [edit: i checked google, HGST is Hitachi... that is former IBM right? i could be making confusion.. in any case, urgh, had some bad experiences with that brand]
NAS specific drives:
http://www.hgst.com/hard-drives/internal-drive-kits/nas-desktop-drive-kit
I had bad luck with the WD Red drives. Recently the HGST have proven to be more reliable.

2) How come you have 5 drives in there if it only supports four? (from what i checked earlier)
The SSD is resting where the optical drive would have been. Check http://homeservershow.com/forums/index.php?/forum/88-gen-8/ for details on various mods.

3) You just have regular file shares? No "media server" software to parse and distribute the media?
I also run Plex on the side in case I ever want to stream remotely, but beyond this just simple fileshares. Client PCs have mapped network drives, XBMC/Kodi libraries are pointed to these shares. The server doesn't do any encoding unless I run Plex from the outside.

4) Any RAID going on? Hardware or software? I know some server models come with the Smart Array B120i SATA Controller which supports RAID 0, 1 and 10.
Using RAID 1 via Windows, two sets of drives for each array. (Mirrored Volumes). It has a built in controller that will handle RAID 0 and 1 but I opted to skip it and let Windows handle it. I wanted simplicity and immediate ability to restore/rebuild/swap drives and not be tied to a specific controller. The built in controllers are typically low end and not much better in comparison to OS based raid since there is no BBU.


5) You have Kodi running on different computers which are then attached to each TV or are you watchin the content on the computer?
Remote client PCs (Windows, will play with RaspberryPi soon). The HP has VGA and probably couldn't handle HD too well. I didn't get it with the intention of being plugged into a TV, rather sitting on my desk serving away.

See above

 

[Dangman]

One thing i'm not sure. Can i have the DYI server running FreeNAS with Plex Media Server on the same machine?
That means the linux operating system itself (console and desktop) is fully open for use? I could also run apache webserver for my own tests, etc ?

First and foremost: FreeNAS is based on FreeBSD, not Linux. You should look up the differences. They're not the same.

But to answer your questions: Yes to both.

Another question, if I go the Windows way (probably not 8.1 because i already have licensing for Windows 7 and i prefer that) could I be running Plex Media Server + SnapRAID + Plex Home Theater (running on startup) all on the same machine ?

Yes but you would need a slightly more beefier setup for that. A Core i3 and higher IMO.

 

[tripex]

First and foremost: FreeNAS is based on FreeBSD, not Linux. You should look up the differences. They're not the same.

But to answer your questions: Yes to both.

Thanks again.

So upon your suggestion of FreeNAS, I was watching a video about it, and they show it has addons and then even mention Plesk very very briefly.

So is this how FreeNAS can have Plesk Media Center?

Do you know if that addon is kept up to date ? In other words, do people, generally, use the addon or install PMS manually ?

 

[wirerogue]

if you are going to run windows 7 as a file server, you may want to perform the following registry tweaks. you may get alot of Event ID: 2017 in your system log if you don't. seems to happen mostly when performing multiple simultaneous writes over the network to the share.

both of these are dword values.

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters\Size=3

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\LargeSystemCache=1

 

[tripex]

if you are going to run windows 7 as a file server, you may want to perform the following registry tweaks. you may get alot of Event ID: 2017 in your system log if you don't. seems to happen mostly when performing multiple simultaneous writes over the network to the share.

both of these are dword values.

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters\Size=3

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\LargeSystemCache=1

Thanks but I will probably not follow the route of Windows 7 for file server. At the moment I'm more inclined towards a dedicated smallform server running FreeNAS.

 

[tripex]

See above

Ryang my man,

I've read all answers. Thank you.

 

[tripex]

Hello all

I've been testing the Plex app on Samsung Smart TV (along with PMS on a virtual machine and a few movies and tv shows) and I only have good things to say.

Yes, the interface (skin) is not the latest on the Sammy TV app. And people say there's only one guy coding for it, but for the few tests I made, so far, it works wonderfully

I'll post more tomorrow.

 

[Dangman]

Thanks again.

So upon your suggestion of FreeNAS, I was watching a video about it, and they show it has addons and then even mention Plesk very very briefly.

So is this how FreeNAS can have Plesk Media Center?

Do you know if that addon is kept up to date ? In other words, do people, generally, use the addon or install PMS manually ?

From what I can tell, they use the "add-on". You can manually update it to the latest version if need be.

Hello all

I've been testing the Plex app on Samsung Smart TV (along with PMS on a virtual machine and a few movies and tv shows) and I only have good things to say.

Yes, the interface (skin) is not the latest on this Sammy client. And people say there's only one guy coding for it, but for the few tests I made, so far, it works wonderfully

I'll post more tomorrow.

Cool.

 

[tripex]

Hi all

I've made a bunch of tests and the conclusion is... WHY HAVENT I TRIED PLEX BEFORE... LIKE 4 YEARS AGO OR SOMETHING? It's just too good


Overall experience:
I'm very pleased with Plex.

Configuring Plex Media Server (PMS) is easy and the few Youtube guides I watched helped me do the basic configuration, setup "agents" the right way, and tweak things like incorrect movie names and stuff.

I found how to Prepare my Media including How to name multi-episode files. These guys have thought of everything!



Plex app on the Samsung Smart TV (2014 model):
I'm totally new to Plex but I can see this app is not using their latest and greatest layout and "skin". Everything worked extremely well though!

SD, HD (720p) and Full HD (1080p) content all worked well (I'm using gigabit). Even 3D content was auto-detected.
A variety of formats are supported without any issues: AVI, MOV, MP4, MKV.

I loved that in MKV files with multiple audio and subtitle streams, it allows to select which one we want. It reads built-in subtitles nicely and external SRT files as well. And lets me pick which one I want before the movie starts or at anytime during playback (just press B button on remote control to bring the subtitle menu). During playback, changing subtitle language introduces no lag or extra loading time. It's applied instantly.



Subtitles support
I have to admit this was my biggest concern going in. I have no worries now.

Plex supports both internal and external subtitles. This is valid for all platforms, and the ones I tested are browser Streaming, Smart TV app and Android app.

By internal subtitle I mean those that come built-in on MKV files.
By external i mean SRT files (it supports other formats as well but I only tested SRT).

For those interested, instructions on proper file naming can be found here.

On top of that, and this is the best part, If I enable the OpenSubtitles.org "agent", PMS even downloads the subtitles automagically. This is like zero-effort. I tried a few different TV shows with many episodes and it worked very well!


So, for any media file that has more than one subtitle available, be it internal, external or automagical, the user always have the option to select which one he wants.
This kind of freedom, having all the possibilities there at my disposal, is in my opinion, what makes Plex great.



Android App:
In the meantime, I bought the Android app (they're having a holiday sale btw) just to test it. I have to say, it works very very nicely.

Found my server immediately. Didn't have to put any ip address.

Loading times are short, image quality and sound is very good (obviously this was all on wifi) .

Supports subtitles but I noticed that when you change from one language to another it stops showing subtitles altogether (i gather this is a small bug).


Video Channels:
Video Channels are 3rd party channels like Ted, Giant Bomb, Twit.tv, Twitch, etc. Plex has hundreds to select from.
You can install them on any of the clients (browser, TV app, etc) and it gets added to the server and immediately available everywhere.


I tested Giant Bomb and Twit and it works well. Twitch didnt work, none of the streams played, gave an error. I didnt care much to research on it.


This is it. My small review of the Plex system done over the weekend!

 

[tripex]

As this thread comes to a probable end, I want to thank all of those who contributed. I really appreciate it.

Plex is now certain

And since this project of mine might move into FreeNAS territory (not certain yet) I created a different thread where I'm posting new questions and discussing it (almost) exclusively.

It's at http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1843973 .

 

[Dangman]

Well glad to hear Plex worked out for you!

 

[rhansen5_99]

Yes glad to hear you were happy. To answer your question about content control, I believe the latest release has this, although I have not set it up. I guess my kids are just obsessed with cartoons so no real worry they will crank up Predator or something ... yet

 

[tripex]

I run a Gen8 and 4 HGST 4TB NAS drives. It boots to a SSD and runs Win 7 Pro, I had it running 2012 Essentials but proved to be too much overhead for simple file sharing.

My client PCs all run Kodi. Native support for subtitles, doesn't phone home. Works like a dream!

Hey guys

I'm definitely looking at buying this server:

HP MICROSERVER G8 - INTEL CELERON G1610T (2 CORE, 2.3 GHZ, 2MB, 35W), 2GB (1X2GB) UDIMM, 1GB 332I ETHERNET ADAPTER 2 PORTS PER CONTROLLER
Part number: 712317-421

On my regional HP's website, it says the memory this server comes with is 2GB (1x2GB) UDIMM of this type:
1R x8 PC3-12800E-11


Do you guys know if the above memory is ECC?

And if i wanted to buy another dimm of the same kind, in order to have 4 GB total, could i go with this? :

HP 2GB(1x2GB) Single Rank x8 PC3-12800E (DDR3-1600) Unbuffered CAS-11 Memory Kit
Part number: 669320-B21
Price: around 50 €

 

[tripex]

Btw

Does anyone know if the HP MICROSERVER G8 has an Intel NIC?

I cant find this spec on HP website.

 

[ryang]

It's an HP (Broadcom) 332i adapter, dual NICs. Also a dedicated iLO port.

I sent you a PM on the RAM. I pulled the stock RAM and put one 8GB stick in.

 

[tripex]

It's an HP (Broadcom) 332i adapter, dual NICs. Also a dedicated iLO port.

I sent you a PM on the RAM. I pulled the stock RAM and put one 8GB stick in.

Thanks ryang

These guys talk about it:
http://homeservershow.com/forums/index.php?/topic/6677-gen8-ram/

I think the part number i picked is correct.

 

[manilaboy1vic]

As this thread comes to a probable end, I want to thank all of those who contributed. I really appreciate it.

Plex is now certain

And since this project of mine might move into FreeNAS territory (not certain yet) I created a different thread where I'm posting new questions and discussing it (almost) exclusively.

It's at http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1843973 .

you can install plex on a windows box to just play around with it.. its very easy to use...

my plex media server runs on freebsd 10.1 release..

I found this thread while looking for a good 2 bay NAS.. i have some old dlink NAS that a buddy gave me and copying files to it is so slow.. and one of the bays is fried... i wanna upgrade... been looking at synology but they seem expensive..

when i copy a large file from the freebsd box to the D-link the max transfer rate is around 130mbps.. when i copy a large file from the freebsd share (samba) to my win box i get around 800mbps.. id like that kinda performace out of a NAS 2 bay system..

 

[Tozmo]

Btw

Does anyone know if the HP MICROSERVER G8 has an Intel NIC?

I cant find this spec on HP website.

If you have questions on the G8, Homeservershow has a good amount of data, there is also the N40L wiki that has some info on G8