My ex-boyfriend usually dealt with this stuff...and I know enough to figure out a bit here and there but...It's overwhelming. I need hardware and software advice.
I have an hdtv w boxee and digital media such as movies and music on 8 external HDDs, for around 3GB of used space ...so I'd need at least 4-5TB, or double that to backup via raid I think? I game, but I have an Xbox. Not sure I need access to steam, although playing wow might be fun on the big TV. I download torrents on my Mac mini. I don't want boxee anymore and my Mac mini is dedicated elsewhere.
Wishlist::
-storing 3TB+ of mixed media
-backing up via raid or something
-Kodi to organize movies
-downloading torrents on htpc or nas would be cool
-streaming movies and mp3s to iPads is cool but not required
-if nas then seamless easy playback of files on tv
-want to sometimes use the htpc or nas to surf the net, YouTube, Netflix, etc. on my tv
-possible gaming in WOW on htpc (not a requirement though)
-3D doesn't matter since I hate it, and 4k proof would be cool but not required
My thoughts:
1. Nas + htpc would be good. But do I build a nas or buy a Qnap or Synology? I need my media to work with Kodi easily. And for the htpc, what system would be best...Mac, raspberry Pi or pc?
2. Only NAS ok? Is there a nas that can do it all and is quiet since it'd have to be in the living room?
3. only htpc ok? Cooling and noise issues? And which hardware/software?
4. If pc, do I need a great video and sound card for HD sound via receiver?
sometimes I wonder if I couldn't just plug 2 4TB Hdds in my router and somehow get stuff backed up via my Mac mini then stream to my smart tv via PC based htpc hooked to TV and receiver.
I think Qnap then worry about fan noise and costs being more than necessary. Then I think build your own but raid software scares me. Then I think all in one htpc w 2 hdd with 1 acting as a backup, but the heat and noise in living room scares me.
Help?
Chronically indecisive Canadian
I have a Core I3 server with 2 TB internal hard drives that runs 24/7. I use win 7 as the OS. It is powerful enough. Total cost is about $500
I use it for:
Streaming my own personal music collection
To store a lot of my rips (DVD and BD)
for downloading torrents
As a DVR for home security cameras
As an FTP server
I also have a 6 different external HDD's for a total of 6TB which I do not have running all the time to store my movie collection.
I plug them in to my server as I need them and unplug when I don't need them.
Then as a playback machine I have a laptop as my HTPC and I play files from my server through my home network (ethernet). For this I use Kodi but I could play directly. I use an external sound card (USB) with digital optical out that runs to my AVR and my surround system.
So your server...is that something you built? is it a nap or synology? I kinda want to get rid of my external hard drives. so tired of figuring out where movies are, running out of space on hard drives, media being all over the place.
I'm so close to getting qnap 451 (i think that's the model) so I can just play kodi out of the box. dunno. have no idea if i'll need to transcode things or if dnla will just let me stream everything smoothly. Never seen or done any of this so flying blind! lol
Thanks so much for the info on your setup. nice to know that Core I3 with windows 7 will do the job. i have an old computer somewhere that's 5 yrs old, so I might try to dedicate it. But the box is soon big
and I love having an excuse to buy new tech.
(2015-11-16, 10:46)Acadia Wrote: [ -> ]Wishlist::
-storing 3TB+ of mixed media
-backing up via raid or something
-Kodi to organize movies
-downloading torrents on htpc or nas would be cool
-streaming movies and mp3s to iPads is cool but not required
-if nas then seamless easy playback of files on tv
-want to sometimes use the htpc or nas to surf the net, YouTube, Netflix, etc. on my tv
-possible gaming in WOW on htpc (not a requirement though)
-3D doesn't matter since I hate it, and 4k proof would be cool but not required
If you're just looking for a solution, a Chromecast, Netflix subscription and OTA antenna is pretty hard to beat.
Kodi is great if you want to curate a personal media collection; its raison d'être is local media playback. The cheapest way to accomplish this is with a HDD attached to a quality router and streamers at each TV. My solution was an Airport Time Capsule (~$350) for storage, Raspberry Pis for streaming (~$60 each) and a network tuner for OTA broadcasts (~$50). Storage sizes are increasing fast enough that I intend to expand storage by cloning/replacing the Time Capsule drive. Backup is with an external HDD (i.e. rip movie to external HDD --> copy to network drive).
Complication adds cost and failure points. Complication is fine if you want a hobby, but it quickly gets aggravating if you're just looking for something that works.
Just moved my HTPC (Esx server, Media library NAS, Kodi front end, etc) to a Qnap TS-451+ so i can answer pretty much all your questions
Regarding your points:
- Storing 3TB+ => Check
- Backing up via raid => Check but NEVER EVER consider raid for backup. First rule of every data integraty book but i get what you mean.
- Kodi front end => Check.... it's good but IR via my logitech harmony remote could be faster. Movies, etc all run well.
- Downloads => Check via third party apps OR you can run VM's on the NAS and have a full fledge OS managing that stuff.
- Streaming movies and mp3 => Check
- Surf => Check via Chrome OR VM ... bla bla bla
- Gaming Wow.... => NOT Check .... even via VM's you won't be able to run WoW on a NAS... my HTPC was able to play WoW but never ever bothered since i had reg pc
- 3D => Not sure... don't care myself
Sound? With smart fan activated you wont hear it but you definatly hear the fan when it's running full fledge.
Do not get into building an HTPC if you don't love hardware and like to get your hands dirty... if you wan't something plug and play (even if it's never pnp) then by that Qnap TS-451+ with a couple of WD Red and you will be happy.
Might get a Wetek core if i do not like the IR but it is definatly really good and of course super usable as a day to day movie box.
Well, this is a difficult choice for me either. For now I already have a desktop with 3TB HDD (1+2), 2 external 2TB HDD SATA and some smaller 1TB, 350GB, etc. I have an old (USB2) docking station in which I put (like bread in toaster) what HDD I want to copy or stream media. A NAS I think will cost too much to justify and there are some limitations (some players .
I know it's somehow ugly but as a reliability point I think it's better to keep online only drives that you need at that moment. So in your position I will buy somethink like
this or
this.
For important data I have a special folder that I manual copy/update on more than 2 drives.
Maybe I'm wrong but a HDD it's more prone to damage when in use than not in use.
(2015-11-18, 09:30)Acadia Wrote: [ -> ]So your server...is that something you built? is it a nap or synology? I kinda want to get rid of my external hard drives. so tired of figuring out where movies are, running out of space on hard drives, media being all over the place.
I'm so close to getting qnap 451 (i think that's the model) so I can just play kodi out of the box. dunno. have no idea if i'll need to transcode things or if dnla will just let me stream everything smoothly. Never seen or done any of this so flying blind! lol
Thanks so much for the info on your setup. nice to know that Core I3 with windows 7 will do the job. i have an old computer somewhere that's 5 yrs old, so I might try to dedicate it. But the box is soon big and I love having an excuse to buy new tech.
I bought a barebones server, a Lenovo TS140. I paid around $240 for it. The only thing lacking was HDD's and an OS. So I added (2) 1TB drives, installed Win 7 and that's it. 2TB is more than enough for my needs. I have more needs than just storage for movies and media. As I stated I keep my music collection on it which I stream mainly to my phone, wherever I am, at the office, in the car etc. So in essence it's like Pandora but I pick and choose what I want to play. The server has multiple functions and runs 24/7. It consumes little power and is designed to run all of the time. This machine sits in my office (extra bedroom). As for running Kodi, you can do it for as little as $40. (Fire TV Stick or Nexus Player) and play movies from NAS. So it all depends on your needs.
Thanks so much for all the different advice. I'm just so excited about getting Kodi up and running and spending days organizing my media (yes, I'm a freak!!) lol I think I'll buy the 451 and some Hdds. See what I can do with it. I know it's likely overkill for my needs, but I want to see what it can do that I might like.
I basically want all media in one place, organized (kodi) to download it automatically, have it backed up automatically and to access it from everywhere (Qnap or htpc w 2 drives or time machine). What makes it challenging is that I have more than a few gigs of media and I plan on expanding my collection. Qnap seems like it will easily allow me to upgrade my drives down the road (fingers crossed).
I hope I don't have to upgrade my airport express router...I suck at setting those up.
ive never heard of a fire stick so I'll check that out.
thx again
+1
These days the popular choices are a NAS + a set-top-box media player.
For the NAS, it all depends on your requirements and budget.
For the Media player, don't spend more than $200. There are plenty of options, from the Fire TV stick, Google Nexus player and Pi2. which are less or around $50, to mini PCs and android boxes under $200 such as Chromebox, Wetek, Nvidia shield, , Zotac BI320, HP Stream Mini, ASrock Beebox, Tronsmart Ara X5, etc. All have threads out there.
Now if gaming is a requirement, it changes completely.
Get a NAS and let it to the heavy lifting. You can build your own and run
Xpenology which is basically the synology OS, or buy either the QNAP or a Synology and install and run
Emby on them which makes things pretty flawless with the
emby for kodi add-on.
Then you can play around with your htpc and trick it out however and game/browse/etc.
good luck
Emby? Cool. Never heard of that.
I'm trying to find information on the difference between 251 and other qnap models. I'm not sure what I need but I like the idea of hdmi as a 'just in case' feature. In case I want to hook it up to my tv near my router.
After reading wayyyyyy too much information, I'm now leaning on a:
qnap 251
2 western digital reds (3 or 4 gb, that I will mirror/raid 1? I think thats what I need to do.)
and maybe a Chromebox since ppl seem to have issues with Raspberry Pi that they don't with chrome boxes. I'm thinking an asus one, maybe dual core.
I'd love to build my own nas but someone would literally have to tell me exactly what parts to buy. LOL I could figure out how to put them in but I'm a deer in headlights when it comes to the tech part, what works with what.
My fear with building my own is the cooling and noise ...my friend water cools his (?) but man that sounds so advanced lol.
Bry- why would I want Emby if qnap already has xbmc (kodi) on it?
The chromeboxes are definitely the way to go, but the Pi's are not bad either, I have both and have no issues with my Pi's other then they are sometimes a little sluggish compared to the chromebox. I also have a few Qnap's and Synology NAS's as well, love them both. I recently built an UnRaid server as my backup for my NAS's and that is going very well. What sort of features are you want/need/nice to have in a NAS? Also if the budget is there, go for a four bay model over a two bay, you will likely outgrow the two bay quickly and then what?
Thanks ashman.
I am now debating a:
451
451+
453 pro
I think the 451 might be enough for me since I doubt I'd need to do virtualization - I have a Mac and an old pc laptop. I wonder if transcoding to iPads would be slowed down by 2gb ram vs 4 or 8gb. I will likely get 2 WD Reds (4tb). And an asus chrome box. Now I need to figure out a gigabit router and I'm all set. I think.
+ 1 for emby. ..it has a great metadata system and built in web interface for management, great integration with kodi + makes it very easy to stream your media to almost any device with a network connection
It is similar to Plex except it's open source like kodi and has more features
Think of emby as a server with kodi being one of the available clients
So you could be watching a show on kodi , stop it, pick up your tablet and continue from exactly the same spot and when complete it will get marked as watched so then off you go back to kodi, the next up widget will be showing you the next episode in the series to continue watching
Something else you may want to consider is the nvidia sheild with game stream look into that.