[hatchie]

Heya Xbmcians,

I've been using XBMC on and off for a while now, but I want to now have it set up as a more permanent media solution but have had a few nagging problems, so I thought I'd throw my questions out to the experts to help me out. I store all my media on a NAS (Synology DS212j) which is wired into my Gb LAN. I'm currently using an oldish HTPC (Asus Nova P20) which connects to my TV & Amp, which is running Ubuntu 12.10 with XBMC 11.0

I know there are a thousand ways to skin a cat, which is why I'm throwing out the questions here... I'm only familiar with the basic, default XBMC setup (ie installed as-is, no add ons or variations).

1. What is the best protocol for XBMC to talk to my NAS box? uPnP v NFS v SMB?
2. I have some very large libraries of music (300Gb+), and the wait between looking through lists (artists, folders, etc) when it displays the notice 'working' is frustrating (using uPnP). How can I speed it up? Is there a different way to index the data to avoid the delay?
3. A housemate also has a windows box and a NAS connected to my LAN. What is the best way to raid his media stash?
4. I regularly drop new albums & movies on my NAS box. How do I modify XBMC so it automatically adds new media without me having to do it manually?
5. I've done no tweaks or modifications to XBMC itself, but I've noticed it to be a bit glitchy and occasionally hangs. The ubuntu install is very recent and the machine was formatted only a few weeks ago. Are there any specific patches or versions that are worth using over others?

Thanks in advance for any responses, and apologies for any newbie-esqe questions!

hatchie

[T800]

I use SMB and have no problems. I don't think the watched flag works for UPnP yet.

I have about 300GB of music and never have to wait. Are you browsing through the file structure or via the library?

If your housemate shares his content add it as a share on your XBMC.

The addon 'Library Watchdog' will notice any changes in your shares and update XBMC accordingly.

Maybe try updating to XBMC 12.1. It could be XBMC or it could be your PC's not powerful enough.

[Kib]

1) SMB - This plays the best with the synology you have and will work the best under ubuntu as well. Because you will be accessing the files on a file level you will be able to build a local library on the xbmc box. Also see Video_library#Adding_and_managing_videos (wiki)
2) You experience the wait because you are probably using UPnP. With a local database the wait will be way less.
3) If your housemate has shares setup on his NAS you just add them to the correct source using SMB.
4) Use Library Watchdog, or schedule library updates with the Library Autoupdater addon
5) You might want to take a look at wsnipex' updated builds (choose the frodo stable) available here: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=116996, which are generally better on ubuntu than the 'normal' xbmc build but we need a lot more info on your system specs, especially the videocard you have.

[thethirdnut]

Share with both SMB and NFS if you can swing it.

NFS >> SMB than for *nix to *nix. SMB would allow you to share easily with Win PC's.

[nickr]

Nah IMHO you are better just to use one protocol or another, then mysql database works better because everyone has the same path.

[bluray]

From what I read lately, I noticed a lot of users having issues with uPnP/NFS but SMB works fine. I don't have NAS but all my blu-ray ISO files are stores in several USB 3.0 drives at the main HTPC. The other PC's links to it through SMB. I can playback blu-ray ISO files over the network as smooth as local file with these configurations- post #10.....

[Prof Yaffle]

I use NFS to linux boxes, SMB/CIFS to Windows - both work fine with DivX up to BR rips. No idea what my Android boxes use, probably CIFS, and they're limited by hardware more than anything, although WiFi can be a challenge sometimes. Either protocol is fast enough for most conceivable uses on a wired connection, though, the limitation will be systems, NICs and cables.

If it's a dedicated HTPC box, I'd recommend giving OpenElec a whirl, see if that helps any issues you have. And regarding (4), it depends on how often you reboot your box - if it's really quick to boot (as OE is), then you can update the library then easily enough.