I have used Plex for many years and was thinking of building a bigger better setup.
In the past I have used FreeNAS, Linux, and Windows. It is great that Plex works on so many devices and setups.
Is there an actual setup recommendation from Plex themselves? Or better yet what do the paid Plex employees use for their home config that they love. Otherwise in the forums I see 100 suggestions for each device type.
Majority of users are on either a Mac or Windows - these are the main two platforms for Plex Media Server
So no actual setups that anyone would want to post or brag about.
sa2000 you set a perfect example of giving a general suggestion.
It is nearly impossible to give any suggestions without knowing a LOT more about what you want to do.
The “best” solution for you depends on many things and it also depends how strongly you wish to future proof your setup.
Thins like size of library, number of probable streams, media format and maximum bitrate and which clients you will be using all impact what would be best for you. Of course how much you wish to spend is also a factor and “could” impact all the other choices.
My recommendation is start with the operating system you are most comfortable with (this is why I abandoned plans to try Linux. I know Linux but I know Windows a LOT better) and then plan on getting the best core system you can afford. As far as storage goes many people recommend raid systems using various NAS system and those are not bad but I find the external USB drives work fine (I have 12) and I use pooling software (DrivePool) to combine them together. I recommend against most raid systems because in a catastrophic loss of the support system (that is all you have left are the drives) the files are not readable while with DrivePool (as well as some of the other choices) the files on the drives can be read by just attaching the drives to another computer.
I do not share my system with anyone and the maximum streams I could have active at one time is three and that only when my granddaughters visit. But with that I chose a server with a processor a little above 10000 Passmark to future proof my system.
As I said I have 50gb of storage currently and adding more is just a matter of buying a new drive and plugging it in and adding it to my pool.
As far as exact model numbers go I would not even try there. I recently looked around and the system I have is not even available and there are many that can be had for less that are more powerful.
The main recommendation I will give to anyone is do NOT scrimp on the server. Once you set a minimum system you need then beef it up by 10% and then and only then shop for price. I see WAY too many people saying thing like “Can you recommend a cheap server?” Or “What is the least powerful system I need for my needs?” Those questions can only lead, down the road, to frustrations and being unable to use the system the way you want or need.
@Elijah_Baley is exactly correct.
My requirements were mostly the ability to have many users running at once (I have 5 rooms with TVs running Plex clients as well as several remote share users)
For me I chose to use an i7 laptop with 16gig ram and 256gig SSD (passmark around 9K)
I run Windows 7 and have 100TB of HDD all attached USB.
Laptops are relatively inexpensive as I spec’ed and use much less power than a tower (My PMS runs 24/7)
I can concurrently stream 4-6 transcodes simultaneously with several Direct Plays (Including 4K direct play) also running.
Choose decent clients so that transcoding is not required & your setup can be much simpler & cheaper with a NAS as a single box solution. I am using a Seagate Personal Cloud 4TB NAS which must be the lowest powered NAS that will run PMS & can happily stream four simultaneous 1080p streams to different devices (Roku 3, Amazon Fire TV 4K, iPhone 6s Plus, MacBook Pro).
However as @Elijah_Baley recommended, “Pick an OS you like and are familiar with”.
NASes are very low powered and not very future proof BUT they run Linux.’
Just thought one should know that…
A low powered NAS as an entry level Plex server may not be future proof (but what system will truly be so?) but if plans change it can later be re-purposed as just a NAS serving media to a more powerful Plex server if transcoding is required.
LOL
I was trying to point out also that NASes are a ridiculous choice for most consumers since they run Linux and are Much more complicated to maintain than most setups.
The average person has no or limited knowledge of Linux (Or Networking for that matter). So why create a headache.
Most folks are not Byteheads like us… LOL
I run a NAS as my PMS machine, but mine isn’t a low powered one, either. It’s only got a 5K or so passmark CPU in it, but it also has over 30TB of drives on it. (most of that external USB enclosures.)
As has been suggested above, without knowing what you want to stream to, what those client apps requirements are, and what media you want to stream, suggesting a server platform is, well, rather difficult. @cayars has a truly HUGE amount of media he streams from a PMS machine with about the same CPU specs as my NAS. He gets by with this because he optimizes his media to fit most of the clients that stream from him.
Ultimately, this is the way to successfully stream to many different clients across local and remote connections. Put the media into a format that is the most Direct Playable, and optimized for the bitrates your users are most likely to use. Then the actual loads on the server are minimal, instead of always pegging it out.
NASes can be a good intro to PMS, as they are generally fairly easy to set up. You don’t need to know a lot about the underlying OS to get PMS working. Most of the PMS options can be found in the Web App. But they can also have a steep learning curve to maximize the media you stream. Here is where you are going to have to struggle a bit to learn a few new things. Still, there are a lot of folks out there that have been down that road, and are willing to help people out.
My rule of thumb in this is simple. H264 only, MP4 only and at least AAC stereo English as the first audio track. Anything else is automatically converted to this before Plex ever gets it. This gets done through automation and scripts take care of a lot of the tasks. (Again, thanks to @cayars for this! his scripts are completely idiot proof! Hey, I got them working!) 
BUT don’t expect a $200 NAS to do what the heavier duty machines are capable of doing. Expect to spend at least $800-$100 for the BASE NAS before drives to get something that’s going to handle most streaming/transcoding anyone is likely to ask your system to do. (And, even though you may have maximized your media, you are always going to have SOME transcoding happening. It’s just a fact of streaming media…)
I suggest looking at Asustor (7004T is what I have), QNAP or Synology as these manufacturers build top quality machines, with CPUs that can do the job. I wouldn’t recommend anything from drive manufacturers, as those usually have a CPU that’s not much better than a repurposed cell phone CPU… (That means stay away from WD, Seagate, NetGear and similar NASes… They just don’t have the guts to do the job. My opinion, for what that’s worth…)
I consider my NAS pretty well future proof. The only thing I might need to do to it in the future is upgrade the socketed CPU with something a bit heavier duty. And throwing more drives onto it’s USB/eSATA ports as storage requirements increase. Other than that, it’s going to be just as capable in 3 years as it is now, for my needs. (No 4K content planned and I seriously doubt it’s going to happen before I need to think about replacing the NAS.) Of course I have close to $3K into mine, including drives, so…
@jjrjr1 said:
LOL
I was trying to point out also that NASes are a ridiculous choice for most consumers since they run Linux and are Much more complicated to maintain than most setups.The average person has no or limited knowledge of Linux (Or Networking for that matter). So why create a headache.
Most folks are not Byteheads like us… LOL
That’s ridiculous. You don’t need to know a single thing about Linux to use a NAS as they are designed as a simple appliance. I have NAS from both Synology & Seagate & have never accessed them via Linux command line it’s all done through a simple web interface. It’s far simpler to manage a NAS than a Windows PC. The amount of management is in any case minimal as I said a NAS is an appliance that just works.
@MikeG6.5 said:
BUT don’t expect a $200 NAS to do what the heavier duty machines are capable of doing. Expect to spend at least $800-$100 for the BASE NAS before drives to get something that’s going to handle most streaming/transcoding anyone is likely to ask your system to do. (And, even though you may have maximized your media, you are always going to have SOME transcoding happening. It’s just a fact of streaming media…)
If you choose the right clients that can Direct Play all your media then there will be no transcoding. I have about 12TB of media collected or ripped by me over a period of years before I started using Plex & have no problems playing any of it except the few DVD ISOs that I had to convert to MP4. I do not share my media or stream outside my home. I have one TV & use either a Roku 3, Roku Ultra or Amazon Fire TV 4K as the client. I do have an iPhone & a couple of Macs that I have streamed to for test purposes but there is no way that I would sit down & watch a movie on my iPhone instead of the 60" TV. I suspect my setup will be typical of many users.
@nigelpb said:>
If you choose the right clients that can Direct Play all your media then there will be no transcoding…
While that is perfectly true I really think the choice of client should be based on personal usability and not the ability to play certain formats.
Also I do not believe that any extraordinary efforts, if it be transcoding ahead of time or setting up automated processes or whatever, should be needed. I believe that I should just be able to place media in any reasonable format in my media directories and from there Plex, or whatever media player I want to use, should take it from there.
That is why I recommend getting the best server one can afford and allowing the server to do the work and then choosing the player based on personal preference.
But everyone has to decide for themselves where their priorities lie and where they want to place their effort.
For new content I always rip it into Roku compatible mp4 or mkv formats because it is no harder to do that than it is to rip it into any other format. But I have a huge library that I inherited and it was ripped/compiled by someone else and contains a number of different formats and encodes and I do not really want or need to re-rip that content.
My recommendations are based on what I find to be the easiest for me and others may set their priorities differently. For me I do not want to spend much time on media preparation and I am willing to allow my server to do work when it is time for playback.
My server runs Plex and a few necessary support programs and nothing else. I have other, less powerful, computers to perform daily tasks.
My setup is, probably, atypical in a lot of ways but it works VERY well for me and every time I look at some alternative I find that I do not think it is worth the investment of time it would entail.
As was said…
If it meets your requirements and you are comfortable with the OS… You have found your ideal PMS box…
LOL
@Elijah_Baley said:
Also I do not believe that any extraordinary efforts, if it be transcoding ahead of time or setting up automated processes or whatever, should be needed. I believe that I should just be able to place media in any reasonable format in my media directories and from there Plex, or whatever media player I want to use, should take it from there.That is why I recommend getting the best server one can afford and allowing the server to do the work and then choosing the player based on personal preference.
But everyone has to decide for themselves where their priorities lie and where they want to place their effort.
Keep in mind one other thing. If the server has to transcode on the fly the result is NEVER going to look as good or have the quality that an offline transcode will have that is setup for a high quality encode. Your real-time transcode will often times have excess banding and bit blocking which is par for the course.
By transcoding offline like with my scripts you get the highest quality encodes, AAC audio plus other tracks, removal of languages you don’t need/want plus subtitles pulled out of the media file and put in their own SRT files. No sense streaming more info that isn’t needed.
Also some media files just can’t be converted real time for many people since they don’t have robust enough CPUs. HEVC is a prime example as well as 10 bit color files and 4K videos.
Just thought I’d play devil’s advocate.
@cayars said:
@Elijah_Baley said:
Also I do not believe that any extraordinary efforts, if it be transcoding ahead of time or setting up automated processes or whatever, should be needed. I believe that I should just be able to place media in any reasonable format in my media directories and from there Plex, or whatever media player I want to use, should take it from there.That is why I recommend getting the best server one can afford and allowing the server to do the work and then choosing the player based on personal preference.
But everyone has to decide for themselves where their priorities lie and where they want to place their effort.
Keep in mind one other thing. If the server has to transcode on the fly the result is NEVER going to look as good or have the quality that an offline transcode will have that is setup for a high quality encode. Your real-time transcode will often times have excess banding and bit blocking which is par for the course.
By transcoding offline like with my scripts you get the highest quality encodes, AAC audio plus other tracks, removal of languages you don’t need/want plus subtitles pulled out of the media file and put in their own SRT files. No sense streaming more info that isn’t needed.
Also some media files just can’t be converted real time for many people since they don’t have robust enough CPUs. HEVC is a prime example.
Just thought I’d play devil’s advocate.
The files I have in old formats are all old files and fairly poor encodes to start with but how good does “Plan 9 From Outer Space” really need to look to get good enjoyment from it? The new, advanced, video formats, like HEVC, just do not exist in the parts of my library that are in the old formats, in fact they do not exist in my library period. The slight loss of quality from on the fly encoding will never be noticed.
You will note that I said all my new encodes are in a Roku compatible format and I do try to keep them at pretty good quality but I will say that, for me, content is MUCH more important than visual quality. Once the video is at a certain point my old eyes cannot see any difference that maters.
In fact I really see no need, for me, to ever encode at better than a good 1080p. I can barely tell the difference between 720p and 1080p. I only have a VERY few movies that I encoded at higher resolutions and those were just to test but, after they were finished, there was no real reason to reencode them.
I have my library to please me and no one else and I just see no point in even wasting my or my computer’s time for the dubious improvements that higher resolutions bring.
LOL
If I was the OP here I would be cracking up.
Started as a simple question. Had a simple answer…
Now it has gotten into a plex muscle contest talking bits and bytes and configurations et.al.
Nature of the beast I guess
Well, I’ll brag about mine. But yes the OP was very much like, “I want to build something. What tool would you recommend?”
I still take issue with claims like “NASes are too under-powered” and “all NASes run Linux”. Wrong and wrong. My NAS is neither. I know some people on here don’t like being reminded of it, but a “NAS” isn’t just the subset category of off-the-shelf low-end consumer appliances. It’s what you do with it, not what it said on the outside of the box at Best Buy. If I put a computer together and use it as server, it’s still a “server” even though it wasn’t a turnkey HP ProLiant or Dell PowerEdge.
