Media Streaming PC
Discussion
I have a late 27” iMac that serves this exact purpose.
It runs my Plex server from a USB attached HD. Lots of libraries set up for films (general plus us a couple of specific genres), tv series’, kids films, music, etc.
It’s been up and running for probably 5yrs now and has been flawless, serving a series a of Apple TVs, fire sticks, etc. in 5 properties (UK, Spain and US based)
I did have a windows based server on a Dell machine before this but I found it more flakey.
It runs my Plex server from a USB attached HD. Lots of libraries set up for films (general plus us a couple of specific genres), tv series’, kids films, music, etc.
It’s been up and running for probably 5yrs now and has been flawless, serving a series a of Apple TVs, fire sticks, etc. in 5 properties (UK, Spain and US based)
I did have a windows based server on a Dell machine before this but I found it more flakey.
Alorotom said:
I have a late 27 iMac that serves this exact purpose.
It runs my Plex server from a USB attached HD. Lots of libraries set up for films (general plus us a couple of specific genres), tv series , kids films, music, etc.
It s been up and running for probably 5yrs now and has been flawless, serving a series a of Apple TVs, fire sticks, etc. in 5 properties (UK, Spain and US based)
I did have a windows based server on a Dell machine before this but I found it more flakey.
That sounds good. I use a MacBook Pro atm. So maybe a Mac Mini would be okay. Or use a Synology NAS drive with Jellyfyn. It runs my Plex server from a USB attached HD. Lots of libraries set up for films (general plus us a couple of specific genres), tv series , kids films, music, etc.
It s been up and running for probably 5yrs now and has been flawless, serving a series a of Apple TVs, fire sticks, etc. in 5 properties (UK, Spain and US based)
I did have a windows based server on a Dell machine before this but I found it more flakey.
I have an old HP thin client running proxmox, with openmedia vault in a vm. This uses a USB attached SSD with all the media on it. Its also acts as my NAS. the HP also runs pihole and home assistant. It has been running like this for about 4 years now.
But there are so many ways to do this from simple windows setup with shared drives, through linux with shared drives on, next media server software like MediaPortal or Kodi, to the likes of plex or jellythin, which although they seem local want you to sign up to there services always, and will no doubt slowly become subscription services like everything else.
I have tried all of these solutions over the years and have ended up with a nas to share the media, which can be used by any device in my house.
But there are so many ways to do this from simple windows setup with shared drives, through linux with shared drives on, next media server software like MediaPortal or Kodi, to the likes of plex or jellythin, which although they seem local want you to sign up to there services always, and will no doubt slowly become subscription services like everything else.
I have tried all of these solutions over the years and have ended up with a nas to share the media, which can be used by any device in my house.
I have a HP Proliant server setup, I use UnRaid to run Plex and loads of other dockers manage media and run Home Assistant and PiHole and VPN stuff and anything else that people invent for me. Our phones backup photos to the server, if I plug my drone in all its files get synced to the server.
Use a NAS box if you want just Plex, but UnRaid or ProxMox if you want to use the hardware for all the other things you might want to learn about etc.
In theory you can search a film on your phone while you're out, have the server download and index the film in minutes, then have the server bounce it to the proper GPU in your PC to encode it into the best format for your playback device, then come home to it all ready to go.
Use a NAS box if you want just Plex, but UnRaid or ProxMox if you want to use the hardware for all the other things you might want to learn about etc.
In theory you can search a film on your phone while you're out, have the server download and index the film in minutes, then have the server bounce it to the proper GPU in your PC to encode it into the best format for your playback device, then come home to it all ready to go.
Don’t forget that Synology’s 2025 and later now force you to buy Synology storage, which has additional costs associated with it.
Also whatever platform is used you might want to consider backing up to a usb drive in case of user error, system failure, fire, flood, theft, etc.
It depends on how much effort goes into ripping the media/time spent.
Also whatever platform is used you might want to consider backing up to a usb drive in case of user error, system failure, fire, flood, theft, etc.
It depends on how much effort goes into ripping the media/time spent.
I think some people are using the Raspberry Pi 5 for this very successfully?
Come to that I think people use the Pi4 well enough.
I was doing this with audio, it got a bit messy with 'mission creep' wanting to distribute to multiple systems and all that.
Not sure if the OP wants a 'video jukebox' or more of a network server thingummy.
Alternatively if I had a lot of DVDs, I think I could rip them using a PC and play them via our Humax hard disk freesat recorder box.
We don't have many DVDs, those we do have we simply play with a DVD player.
A clear set of goals agreed by all users would be a wonderful thing.
Come to that I think people use the Pi4 well enough.
I was doing this with audio, it got a bit messy with 'mission creep' wanting to distribute to multiple systems and all that.
Not sure if the OP wants a 'video jukebox' or more of a network server thingummy.
Alternatively if I had a lot of DVDs, I think I could rip them using a PC and play them via our Humax hard disk freesat recorder box.
We don't have many DVDs, those we do have we simply play with a DVD player.
A clear set of goals agreed by all users would be a wonderful thing.
Mr.Nobody said:
I ll have a look at a Synology NAS. Would it not need some processing power for it to work effectively? Also what one would you go for as there s a few on eBay.
I have a DS220+ (quite old now) and it has all the power it needs for Plex (I don't do transcoding, but it is capable) - I just download torrents and plop them in either the Movies or TV series folder and it instantly adds them to my library, with artwork, the lot. I then stream at home via the plex client (its on all my devices, TV, Nvidea Shield etc) and also using a browser or the Windows app (my laptop)Mr.Nobody said:
The first one looks like a storage expansion unit, not a DS server. The second one is a Diskstation plus expansion unit. You really just need a Diskstation, should be around £100 on eBay plus the cost of disks (I use 6TB or 8TB WD Red drives)Edited by mikef on Sunday 28th September 13:22
mikef said:
The first one looks like a storage expansion unit, not a DS server. The second one is a Diskstation plus expansion unit. You really just need a Diskstation, should be around £100 on eBay plus the cost of disks (I use 6TB or 8TB WD Red drives)
I can t seem to find any for that price. Something like this:Edited by mikef on Sunday 28th September 13:22
https://ebay.us/m/IH6CXS
Edited by Mr.Nobody on Sunday 28th September 13:52
You’re looking for somethjing with two, maybe four drives
I may be out of touch on the price, maybe I got lucky (and I did have my own disk drives to reuse)
In terms of spec, something like this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/267400039240 although I would be looking for a bit better price…
I may be out of touch on the price, maybe I got lucky (and I did have my own disk drives to reuse)
In terms of spec, something like this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/267400039240 although I would be looking for a bit better price…
ARH said:
I have an old HP thin client running proxmox, with openmedia vault in a vm. This uses a USB attached SSD with all the media on it. Its also acts as my NAS. the HP also runs pihole and home assistant. It has been running like this for about 4 years now.
But there are so many ways to do this from simple windows setup with shared drives, through linux with shared drives on, next media server software like MediaPortal or Kodi, to the likes of plex or jellythin, which although they seem local want you to sign up to there services always, and will no doubt slowly become subscription services like everything else.
I have tried all of these solutions over the years and have ended up with a nas to share the media, which can be used by any device in my house.
Plex used have the odd push notifications about upgrading to subscription plan, but never Jellyfin. Jellyfin while the user experience isn't quite as good as Plex, is free and open source so I'd personally always try and support a project like that, even donating £5-£10 a year to help with any financials. But there are so many ways to do this from simple windows setup with shared drives, through linux with shared drives on, next media server software like MediaPortal or Kodi, to the likes of plex or jellythin, which although they seem local want you to sign up to there services always, and will no doubt slowly become subscription services like everything else.
I have tried all of these solutions over the years and have ended up with a nas to share the media, which can be used by any device in my house.
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