I’m looking to build a Plex system for my boss’ jet. I’m not getting too ambitious trying to connect something passengers can use with portable devices to start. I’ll need it in as small a package as possible. I’m thinking a loaded i7 Intel NUC would do the trick with a 1 or 2 4xTB that don’t require a power source.
I won’t have a monitor onboard to hookup and monkey with an OS so I’ll need it to be as stable as possible with minimal pop-ups/upgrades messages, etc.
What if you looked into the Nvidia Shield and then ran storage to it.
If you are doing this for a “private” aircraft that’s one thing but if it’s a charter aircraft with different passengers you should check with Plex to see if this fits the terms of use.
With that out, keep in mind that each person accessing this Plex server will have had to access this server while on WIFI before they can use it. Once you are in the air and don’t have WIFI they will not be able to connect. If this is a smallish jet you could always have some type of tablets running Plex on them with a default username that’s been logged in to give to passengers. That’s assuming the idea is to allow people to choose what to watch. If you are going to connect this to a “big screen” that everyone watches it’s a different story.
You have to think of the environment this system will get used in. I’ve done similar type systems and can tell you normal HDDs aren’t ideal and you will have a higher than normal failure rate. The best thing you can do (although a bit more expensive) is to use SSD drives instead of platter drives.
You can get 2TB SSD drives that will fit the bill from $550 (crucial) to $700 (Samsung EVO).
If possible give us a better idea of what you are trying to do.
What size or kind of aircraft is it? (jet or Prop) Do you know the make/model?
How many movies or TV Shows did you want to have loaded?
Will the system be pulled from the aircraft and taken home to load additional movies?
Will the system have WIFI or Internet access when on the ground?
Is there going to be a “tech person” who is going to be available to baby sit the system?
How often will the system get used?
You get where I’m coming from hopefully. Give us more info and we can help you better,
Carlo
PS I’ve got 3 corporate jets under my belt running Plex & Emby so I’ve learned the hard way what works and doesn’t.
Depending on your actual needs you could be better of with a couple of tablets and 128GB thumb drives that you can load a couple of movies on and have a notebook or similar system to pull movies from.
Before you do too much planning on this you may also want to check with an FAA DER to make certain this is going to be Kosher.
AFAIK the FAA bans permanently installed after-market computer equipment unless you’ve been issued a Supplemental Type Certificate for the aircraft allowing the installation. A DER can check that out for you and tell what you’d be allowed to install without a STC, if anything, before you go out and start putting parts together.
You may be able to get away with a laptop that’s stuck behind a seat somewhere without any issues but once you start drilling holes and connecting permanent wiring the FAA starts to get interested pretty quick. You don’t want to go through all this only to have the aircraft fail its next annual and get grounded. Your boss will surely not be too pleased with that!
Perhaps PlexCloud?
LOL.
Since this will likely be for offline use, I wouldn’t recommend PLEX at all. The server doesn’t like to be offline.
No you don’t want it to be permanent as previously mentioned. You can treat it like it’s a laptop and you should be ok. The same rules would apply to it’s use as well as the clients during flight/taxi, etc.
Clear this with an expert of course. We can help with the hardware/software choices to design the system but the install is up to you. 
Thanks to everyone for the excellent feedback!
If possible give us a better idea of what you are trying to do.
What size or kind of aircraft is it? Falcon 20. It has a 110 plug installed in a cabinet that hasn’t been used, was planning on installing an Intel Skull Canyon with a couple of Seagate portable drives.
How many movies or TV Shows did you want to have loaded? About 1,000 movies
Will the system be pulled from the aircraft and taken home to load additional movies? Yes, probably once or twice a year.
Will the system have WIFI or Internet access when on the ground? Yes, our hangar is close enough to pull FBO wifi.
Is there going to be a “tech person” who is going to be available to baby sit the system? Ha, me.
How often will the system get used? 3-4 times a month
My plan was to install a Google router on board in addition to the NUC, both could be easily removed and would use the existing approved 110.
I would run only iTunes and Plex on the NUC. I’d configure a few iPads to live on board for those who didn’t have the plex app. I’d also install the Apple Remote app to listen to iTunes
The one thing you have to understand is that the user must have your server as the last server it has connect to. So this user and his app must be setup and login while you have internet access.
You will probably have to allow the server to connect to the internet often so it can update things it needs to update with Plex.
Plex really doesn’t play great over long periods of time when not connected to the internet. Emby is far better for pure offline use although it’s not as nice as Plex. You could have both Plex and Emby installed on the NUC. With Emby you can create local (to your server) user accounts and passwords while not connected to the Internet which could allow a user to be setup mid-flight if you have the apps available to download on the NUC.
Your best bet is to setup a “lab environment” using some computer at home. You can load up 10 movies or so. Put it on a WIFI network that is not connected to the internet (to simulate WIFI in air) and play with a tablet or smart phone to test things out. If using a smartphone turn off the cellular connect (no internet).
As long as you can connect the Plex server to the Internet a couple of times a month and have a couple of tablets preset up you should be fine.
Cayars already knows this (and a lot more than me but I thought he was “beating around the bush” (I love that English idiom) … so I’d just say it straight out - Plex needs codecs to transcode. These aren’t downloaded until you play a media item that requires it. So, if the server is going to transcode stuff offline - you need to play said media before when online so that the codec downloads. Otherwise it won’t work. As an alternative, I’d suggest using Cayars excellent script to make all media you add direct playable on all devices.
Now I’ll bow out of this thread because I have no idea about anything close to private jets hah.
@Peter_W I didn’t know if that is common knowledge or not so yes I was beating around the bush on the codecs.
@jmail1 Don’t know if you know this or not but the Falcon 20 was the aircraft first used by Fedex.
Some other ideas:
If you are using a NUC you should be able to get by without a separate WIFI router. You can setup either Windows or Linux to function as a “virtual” WIFI for connecting to it. You might find it best to pick up a small flat panel 5.8GHz antenna setup in the front of the aircraft pointing rearward so all the signal is optimized. There is nothing wrong with having a separate WIFI router but you may not need it if using a NUC.
I know you mentioned using a NUC but you may also want to consider a smaller size laptop. At least this way you would have a monitor, keyboard, trackpad if needed.
My portable setup doesn’t require the router,
Carlo
