My Plex server runs on an Apple MAC 27" i7 with 32GB mem
The storage is on a Synology DS 1813+ (Plex uses almost 25TB of storage)
Now some problems with older Samsung TVs (I have a UE65HU8500 Samsung TV) got me thinking of changing my setup.
I have my MAC constantly running for Plex, I have had it in the past on my Synology but the performance especially when transcoding is crappy at best.
There are some alternatives to use as a Plex server, like the Netgear Nighthawk or an Nvidia Shield (or others).
What do you guys advice, keeping in mind that I must be able to connect to my NAS os there is too much data to store it anywhere else! And I want to be able to stream 4K UHD content.
FreeNAS - gives you the ability to use jails and i could teach my nan to set it up. It is quite lightweight but not good for the heavier 4K transcoding but i found it can cope with direct stream and direct play. Last i knew doesn’t leverage hardware acceleration very well if at all
Ubuntu Server - Uses hardware acceleration, again somewhat light weight. still can use virtualisation like docker. Your limitations depend on what hardware you give it
Cloud dedicated servers - Monthly payments, might find it hard to mount your NAS but shouldn’t be impossible (may even find a server large enough for all your data, i don’t know the capacity), normally a decent spec and good for 4K. You also don’t have to have a box lying around in your house that is running all the time. Your limitations are your internet speeds, especially if you are mounting a NAS to it, ideally i’d try avoid it and maybe go cloud storage like Google Drive (i say that not knowing the overall size of the data)
Windows - Widely used, not so lightweight. Pretty much the same advantages of Ubuntu
Don’t count me on all of that as they are just my experiences with it and different setups work with different people. I wouldn’t call myself an expert either
For hardware, you want something rather beefy for 4K as it is quite CPU heavy and more cores does not always mean better ability for 4K transcode although it helps, my dedicated cloud server uses an i7 (didn’t want ECC RAM) and it can cope with 3-4 4K transcodes but will try burn the place down
When i say more cores does not mean better 4K transcoding, i have had one of the intel ‘built-in’ processors transcoding 4K and i believe it was a dual core but ran at a cracking speed, could only handle 1 transcode but man did it do me proud, i had that for about 2 years.
Again, it is very much different strokes for different folks. What works well for one does not for another
