Best Device for Mobile Content Sync

General Discussions
1

#I am looking for the best way to access Plex on the TVs in my RV, specifically with Plex Sync.

##Can anyone suggest the best option for a device that connects to the TV via HDMI and supports Sync?

I have a Plex server with a half dozen terabytes of content that I have been using for several years and share with many of my friends (FIOS ftw)! I primarily use a Roku to access my content at home and a phone or browser when traveling.

I’ve started using Roku in the RV, which works, but the internet connection in the RV isn’t always the best. I think being able to sync content (mostly just new on deck stuff) would be ideal since then I can avoid the battle between constant buffering vs low quality.

I was hoping the Nvidia Shield with a 500gb drive would be the ideal solution, but it seems to only want to act as another server and Sync is only supported by players.

2

@elitexen said:
#I am looking for the best way to access Plex on the TVs in my RV, specifically with Plex Sync.

##Can anyone suggest the best option for a device that connects to the TV via HDMI and supports Sync?

I have a Plex server with a half dozen terabytes of content that I have been using for several years and share with many of my friends (FIOS ftw)! I primarily use a Roku to access my content at home and a phone or browser when traveling.

I’ve started using Roku in the RV, which works, but the internet connection in the RV isn’t always the best. I think being able to sync content (mostly just new on deck stuff) would be ideal since then I can avoid the battle between constant buffering vs low quality.

I was hoping the Nvidia Shield with a 500gb drive would be the ideal solution, but it seems to only want to act as another server and Sync is only supported by players.

I’m in the same situation. We have a stationary camper and I want my kids (3 and 5) to be able to watch their movies there like they do athome while I have my morning coffee :slight_smile:

We don’t have wifi there, so tthatlimkts things there. The two best options I came up with are to use an Android device that can sync content, and then plugging in through HDMI out (slimport or MHL depending on the device), but my kids are not used to that. Otherwise, get an Nvidia shield tv anduse it as a server. Use your regular server to “optimise” whatever files you want in your RV and store them on a USB key. When you get to the RV, plug your USB key in your Shield, let it download metadata and artwork with a hotspot through your phone, and then use the Shield’s built in server…

4

You can also leave the Roku where it is. Get a portable Android, iOS, or Windows device (phone or tablet) and sync to it. If you are on your local network, it will transfer via WiFi so it will be fairly quick. If you know how to connect the device to your router, it can go even faster. You say you have some internet in your RV so I assume you have a router of some sort. Just connect your new device to this network then you can cast the video from the device to the Roku.

5

Intrigued?!

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Subject: Re: [Plex Forums] Best Device for Mobile Content Sync

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trumpy81 commented on Best Device for Mobile Content Sync

A lot of people like using two Raspberry Pi’s with USB storage. I’ve not tried it myself, but using an RPi as a client with RasPlex/OpenPHT works very well for me.

In this case, you would copy whatever you can on the USB drive and then have one RPi serve it to the other one that is connected to the TV.

They are small enough to be hidden in various places and the only obstacle would be actually connecting them via Ethernet or wireless.

Something to think about at least. :slight_smile:

7

@MovieFan.Plex said:
You can also leave the Roku where it is. Get a portable Android, iOS, or Windows device (phone or tablet) and sync to it. If you are on your local network, it will transfer via WiFi so it will be fairly quick. If you know how to connect the device to your router, it can go even faster. You say you have some internet in your RV so I assume you have a router of some sort. Just connect your new device to this network then you can cast the video from the device to the Roku.

Device needs to be plugged in to stay awake for this to work, no?

8

Yes, but with a phone/tablet, the power use should be small. You can still turn off the screen too so you won’t waste energy on either.

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@MovieFan.Plex said:
Yes, but with a phone/tablet, the power use should be small. You can still turn off the screen too so you won’t waste energy on either.

Oh ok, great. I tried a while back and as soon as the screen turned off (Android phone) the Steam would break… might be an AirPlay limitation.

10

One of my favorite things about Plex and what really keeps me here is how easy and seamless everything is while remaining feature rich. My less tech savvy friends can easily use Plex without any tutorial.

Anything involving USB or manually copying content is not an option. The RV is never on the same local network as my server and I’m mostly interested in watching the new content that is added while I’m traveling in the RV. I don’t mind watching it a few days late but by the time I get to the local network it would be weeks. Plus I absolutely must be able to sync the Watched status, with the amount of content I have that is a vital filter.

I have a couple raspberry pi’s for pet projects. I don’t see what benefits the pi has over the Nvidia Shield except for maybe cost at the expensive of more effort/headache from me.

I think using an Android device would be a good solution. The GEM Box looks good on paper. Android 4.4, microSD slot for storage expansion, remote. Anyone have any experience with it?

11

@elitexen said:
One of my favorite things about Plex and what really keeps me here is how easy and seamless everything is while remaining feature rich. My less tech savvy friends can easily use Plex without any tutorial.

Anything involving USB or manually copying content is not an option. The RV is never on the same local network as my server and I’m mostly interested in watching the new content that is added while I’m traveling in the RV. I don’t mind watching it a few days late but by the time I get to the local network it would be weeks. Plus I absolutely must be able to sync the Watched status, with the amount of content I have that is a vital filter.

I have a couple raspberry pi’s for pet projects. I don’t see what benefits the pi has over the Nvidia Shield except for maybe cost at the expensive of more effort/headache from me.

I think using an Android device would be a good solution. The GEM Box looks good on paper. Android 4.4, microSD slot for storage expansion, remote. Anyone have any experience with it?

Not that it REALLY matters with your use case, but I’d search for a box with a more recent version of Android. The android player has been modified a lot over the years, and especially since AndroidTV officially came out.

12

An nVidia Shield TV and a WD My Book 4 or 6TB drive make a nice portable server/player combination. Both can be run directly off 12 volts if needed. The Shield can be directly connected via HDMI to your main RV TV.

Forget about syncing content with you main server. This will drive you crazy. Just copy the files from you main storage system to the My Book and plug it into the Shield TV at home. Let it update all the meta data at home on your normal internet connection which will take time. (plan far ahead)

If needed you can run your own WIFI or hotspot from your RV and there are plenty of cheap wifi routers that will fit the bill just fine.

You can use 3rd party programs that will create NFO files on your MyBook which can allow Plex to read meta info from the NFO instead of using internet bandwidth as well. There are lots of tricks you can use once you get started.

The main thing I’d suggest is to abandon “Plex Syncing” in the sense talked about here. You can always create a “mobile” directory on your main storage system where you keep certain media that you want to sync and then use a util like RSYNC (fast) to keep your My Book in sync with your main storage.

Think outside the box and you can make this work quite well. You can use other drives and can use something other then the Shield TV but the Shield does HW transcoding which is nice if you travel with tablets or your WIFI isn’t super fast, etc

Basically in a nutshell you want to build a “mini portable Plex system” that can also serve as your main client while using 12 volts or 110 AC. If running on battery power 12 volts is much more efficient than running through a DC to AC converter or having to fire up the generator (if not needed).

I wouldn’t suggest ASSUMING you will have internet access so test before you leave. While you may be able to turn a cell phone into a hotspot or reconfigure your router as a repeater and hit an RV hotspot it’s better if you can setup your system to not need this.

A NUC can be substituted for the Shield TV if you have one as well.

Carlo

PS TIP: Whatever system you go with, do a couple of dry runs offline (internet) using the devices you plan to use so the login data is cached. I’d also suggest doing this the day before you leave and then “collecting and packing” said devices so nothing changes. Worst case drive a couple of blocks from your house the first time and test things.

PPS: While Plex has come a long way in allowing offline usage it’s not perfect. You may also want to install/play with Emby which works really well offline. Emby stores user information locally so even in the field you can make adjustments to user accounts/passwords without internet. It’s never a bad idea to have a backup plan!

13

@cayars said:
An nVidia Shield TV and a WD My Book 4 or 6TB drive make a nice portable server/player combination. Both can be run directly off 12 volts if needed. The Shield can be directly connected via HDMI to your main RV TV.

Forget about syncing content with you main server. This will drive you crazy. Just copy the files from you main storage system to the My Book and plug it into the Shield TV at home. Let it update all the meta data at home on your normal internet connection which will take time. (plan far ahead)

If needed you can run your own WIFI or hotspot from your RV and there are plenty of cheap wifi routers that will fit the bill just fine.

You can use 3rd party programs that will create NFO files on your MyBook which can allow Plex to read meta info from the NFO instead of using internet bandwidth as well. There are lots of tricks you can use once you get started.

The main thing I’d suggest is to abandon “Plex Syncing” in the sense talked about here. You can always create a “mobile” directory on your main storage system where you keep certain media that you want to sync and then use a util like RSYNC (fast) to keep your My Book in sync with your main storage.

Think outside the box and you can make this work quite well. You can use other drives and can use something other then the Shield TV but the Shield does HW transcoding which is nice if you travel with tablets or your WIFI isn’t super fast, etc

Basically in a nutshell you want to build a “mini portable Plex system” that can also serve as your main client while using 12 volts or 110 AC. If running on battery power 12 volts is much more efficient than running through a DC to AC converter or having to fire up the generator (if not needed).

I wouldn’t suggest ASSUMING you will have internet access so test before you leave. While you may be able to turn a cell phone into a hotspot or reconfigure your router as a repeater and hit an RV hotspot it’s better if you can setup your system to not need this.

A NUC can be substituted for the Shield TV if you have one as well.

Carlo

PS TIP: Whatever system you go with, do a couple of dry runs offline (internet) using the devices you plan to use so the login data is cached. I’d also suggest doing this the day before you leave and then “collecting and packing” said devices so nothing changes. Worst case drive a couple of blocks from your house the first time and test things.

PPS: While Plex has come a long way in allowing offline usage it’s not perfect. You may also want to install/play with Emby which works really well offline. Emby stores user information locally so even in the field you can make adjustments to user accounts/passwords without internet. It’s never a bad idea to have a backup plan!

How do you get the Shield working on 12V?

And how do you do with emby? Can it sync to AndroidTV?

14

@cayars said:
Forget about syncing content with you main server. This will drive you crazy. Just copy the files from you main storage system to the My Book and plug it into the Shield TV at home. Let it update all the meta data at home on your normal internet connection which will take time. (plan far ahead)

Setting up a second server is not an option. Copying files onto external harddrives is not an option. Both of those choices would drive me crazy. I was very successful in the past with Plex syncing to my phone, I’d like to continue that trend.

I’ve got Verizon unlimited data hotspot and router in the RV (soon to have solar), I intend to leverage that heavily. If I can’t find a user friendly “box” to get Plex on my TV with Plex Sync then I’ll set up an old tablet with Plex sync to that then cast to my TV.

15

Mobile Sync only works on devices that will run the mobile layout. Generic Android boxes that run Android TV or report themselves as a set-top-box (i.e. touch actions disabled) won’t be able to sync. A small phone or tablet running a recent version of Android with a really large SD card, USB thumb drive, or external hard drive would probably be easiest.

1 other solution, though still has some quirks, is the Western Digital Passport Pro. It’s basically a hard drive that can run PMS. There are a couple of ways to automate getting the data onto it. Once it’s there, connect to your RV’s network and your current Roku can stream directly from it. Or if the RV’s network goes out, the Passport Pro can become it’s own hot spot and your Roku can connect to it directly.

16

@MovieFan.Plex said:
Mobile Sync only works on devices that will run the mobile layout. Generic Android boxes that run Android TV or report themselves as a set-top-box (i.e. touch actions disabled) won’t be able to sync. A small phone or tablet running a recent version of Android with a really large SD card, USB thumb drive, or external hard drive would probably be easiest.

1 other solution, though still has some quirks, is the Western Digital Passport Pro. It’s basically a hard drive that can run PMS. There are a couple of ways to automate getting the data onto it. Once it’s there, connect to your RV’s network and your current Roku can stream directly from it. Or if the RV’s network goes out, the Passport Pro can become it’s own hot spot and your Roku can connect to it directly.

Would be truly awesome if someone explained to me why perfectly good Android devices like the ShieldTV, with all the required code built-in, can’t sync content. I can’t understand how you/devs came to the conclusion that it shouldn’t be made available.

17

As the name of the feature goes, it’s called Mobile Sync. An Android TV device (like the Shield) are not really designed to be mobile, although they can. There is a feature request to extend syncing to desktop clients, which could be expanded to cover all Plex clients.

And the code i snot built in. The different layouts use different code. If you can get the mobile layout on a device (or even the old TV layout), then yes you would have syncing capabilities.

18

@MovieFan.Plex said:
As the name of the feature goes, it’s called Mobile Sync. An Android TV device (like the Shield) are not really designed to be mobile, although they can. There is a feature request to extend syncing to desktop clients, which could be expanded to cover all Plex clients.

And the code i snot built in. The different layouts use different code. If you can get the mobile layout on a device (or even the old TV layout), then yes you would have syncing capabilities.

Obviously mobile sync is for mobile devices… But since the android code for sync already existed what’s the hold up besides an ideological decision? It’s very possible there is on, but I can’t see it.

19

Just thought I’d report back that Plex works on the GEM Box and I’m able to use Plex Sync! I’m still trying to get it to recognize my SD card. Android sees the card but Plex only let’s me save to the internal storage.

I’m glad @“MovieFan.Plex” mentioned that it has to be MOBILE layout because I started off with TV layout. It let’s you switch between layouts in the settings. Now this makes me wonder if you can switch layouts on the Nvidia shield since that was my preferred device.

Mobile layout isn’t great on the TV, but if I can get the SD card issue sorted then I’ll pick up a GEM Motion Remote and that should definitely help.

20

Ended up switching to a t95z with an airmouse remote. It’s a generic Android box that is label by various brands.

The GEM was too slow and I noticed stuttering at times, this t95z is significantly faster and buttery smooth at all times. It also runs a newer version of android that let’s me format USB drives as internal storage so Plex sees my 128gb flash drive. Sync is working well and this is definitely the route to go @KarlDag.