I’m new to Plex and a n00b at most everything when it comes to networks.
Long story short.
I recently had someone gaining access to my NAS (a Zyxel NSA325-V2) and deleted a bunch of files. I’ve now begun a complete overhaul of how I’m storing stuff on my network.
From here on out, everything will be done through ethernet cables exclusivly at my home, there will be no Wi-Fi.
I only care about being able to play HD movies. I recently bought a new projector, which does 1080p at max, so I’ll be stuck with that for a few years, so I’m NOT interested in being able to playback 4K stuff. I’m also NOT interested in being able to view/listen to my stuff while I’m not at home, so no streaming over the internet to my phone or anything lile that.
I want to switch over from using Kodi to Plex, and I’m looking to buy a NAS to work as a Plex Media Server, and to do all the transcoding and what not.
Which NAS should I choose? I looked at QNAP TS-251+ and Synologi DS218play/DS218+, but not sure if they are the right thing for me. I’m not looking for any extra fancy features, only a NAS to act as a Plex Media Server and able to handle HD stuff.
It’s a big plus if there’s a good budget alternative, but I’ve also come to the conclusion that I might need to invest in something that’s more than a budget solution.
If you plan on using this day to day and get easily upset… I’d hold of on that particular piece of hardware.
If you’re ok with some days things not working and owning a brick from time to time but get warm fuzzies from helping/tinkering… by all means jump on
Reason I mentioned it is this is still in Alpha/Beta testing so always need to factor that in and if you’re willing to put up with the ups and downs that comes with it.
Out of the box and just works… I’d recommend NVidia Shield
It can handle 2-3 transcodes I believe and lots of people here use it so support/help would be better
Other options are i3 NUC or similar but that is more of a hands on thing.
You could still do the Synology route but if you want something that works as is then it’s pricey
The standard Shield, or the discontinued Shied Pro? I’ve heard that the Pro is far better at handling heavy tasks than the standard option… unless they have some sort of new offering that is an amped up model?
I already own a Nvidia Shield TV Pro (2015 model), so you might have saved me a lot of money! But what should I do with all my content? Put everything on external HDD’s and connect via USB? I rather not depend on merging my USB HDD’s with the Nvidia Shield, will it work if they act as removable storage also?
Currently my content is all over the place. Previously, everything was stored on an older NAS (a Zyxel NSA325-V2). I’ll might have to move everything back, but I’m gonna reformat my NAS HDD’s first, as it wouldn’t hurt.
Before answering the question, why you need transcoding if it’s all home network esp with Ethernet? Direct play mode is much easier and hassle free. In that case just pick any basic NAS , I actually had a lot of fun with WD’s low end models before and they work great, even with some torrenting. A higher end Synology with no need for transcoding sounds like overkill and they are expensive
I have two shields at home and they aren’t stable enough to use as server for me but it might work for you. I assume it’s because the content isn’t local to shield in that case. You could try using a basic NAS server first, direct play needs very little resource
