So, after moving houses I finally have to give up my Dell PowerEdge R410 as a server to host Plex! It is too big and way too loud! And, yes it is overkill in most cases too!
I am looking for a decent x86 set-up, that can be stowed away inside the apartment. I do need it to transcode, occasionally 2 to 3 streams concurrently. 4K is underway so it must support that.
So far there are several good options, but the tricky part is when I factor in that I have a library containing 6TB of media files on a raid5 array, and I just wonĀ“t give that up! The redundancy saved my media already two times, lastly a month ago.
I guess one can go with something small and relatively modern to have access to transcoding power, and an external Raid enclosure? Thats is where I am lost!! Up for a bit of DIY, if it is required.
Looking for a point in the right direction here, not really a lengthy discussion, but others with similar challenges and set-ups are welcome to share ideas and experiences!
One of the more powerful intel NUCs is a popular companion for a NAS which in itself is unable to transcode.
Donāt provision cpu power for transcoding 4K just yet. You donāt want to afford this sort of CPU right now. Just wait until 4K is more prevalent and cpu prices have dropped.
Until then, get clients which can direct-play 4K.
So, you would suggest a NUC (would love to see a suggestion) for the server and a NAS as media storage? I guess that would work! How would you handle remote users trying to play 4K in a scenario like this?
@magnusoverli said:
So, you would suggest a NUC (would love to see a suggestion) for the server and a NAS as media storage? I guess that would work!
I canāt recommend you a particular model as I personally donāt have one. Wait until someone chimes in here with more experience or search the forums with āNUCā as the search term.
How would you handle remote users trying to play 4K in a scenario like this?
Put 4K files into a separate library for now and donāt share it with remote users.
Let Plex generate a 1080p version of the video and put this into the ānormalā movie library.
Why do you need to transcode? Are you streaming outside your home? If not & you are just playing locally then there is no need to transcode at all if you have a decent client like a Roku 3.
@nigelpb said:
Why do you need to transcode? Are you streaming outside your home? If not & you are just playing locally then there is no need to transcode at all if you have a decent client like a Roku 3.
Hi! Yes, There are several remote users on this server, but only occasionally more than 1 remote stream in addition to local playback. Was thinking of the Nvidia Shield for home theater client, maybe something Kodi-based, now that there is such good integration with the new Plex add-on!
@magnusoverli said:
So, you would suggest a NUC (would love to see a suggestion) for the server and a NAS as media storage? I guess that would work!
How would you handle remote users trying to play 4K in a scenario like this?
Put 4K files into a separate library for now and donāt share it with remote users.
Let Plex generate a 1080p version of the video and put this into the ānormalā movie library.
Can Plex do that? How? That would solve the issue with streaming 4K remotelyā¦
Put 4K files into a separate library for now and donāt share it with remote users.
Let Plex generate a 1080p version of the video and put this into the ānormalā movie library.
Can Plex do that? How? That would solve the issue with streaming 4K remotelyā¦
Put 4K files into a separate library for now and donāt share it with remote users.
Let Plex generate a 1080p version of the video and put this into the ānormalā movie library.
Can Plex do that? How? That would solve the issue with streaming 4K remotelyā¦
Ok. I am familiar with creating various libraries. I was mostly interested in what you said: āLet Plex generate a 1080p version of the video and put this into the ānormalā movie library.ā
I didnātĀ“t know Plex could create these āversionsā.
@magnusoverli said:
Ok. I am familiar with creating various libraries. I was mostly interested in what you said: āLet Plex generate a 1080p version of the video and put this into the ānormalā movie library.ā
This thing will be on the fringe. It might work in general with precompressed movies, but as soon as you encounter a BluRay with VC-1 video codec or are trying to use subtitles in VOBSUB or PGS format, you may get stuttering. http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i3-6100U+%40+2.30GHz
Always look up your prospective server cpu and do not only look out for the overall passmark score but also for the āsingle thread ratingā.
If you want to play 2 simultaneous transcodes from full BluRay rips with subtitles in the VC-1 video codec, you need > 8000 passmark points and a āsingle thread ratingā of >=1350.
And this doesnāt take into account the HEVC video codec. (This bugger needs a lot more cpu power, just for decoding it. So general advise is to stay away from it for some more time.)
@magnusoverli said:
Ok. I am familiar with creating various libraries. I was mostly interested in what you said: āLet Plex generate a 1080p version of the video and put this into the ānormalā movie library.ā
This thing will be on the fringe. It might work in general with precompressed movies, but as soon as you encounter a BluRay with VC-1 video codec or are trying to use subtitles in VOBSUB or PGS format, you may get stuttering. PassMark - Intel Core i3-6100U @ 2.30GHz - Price performance comparison
Always look up your prospective server cpu and do not only look out for the overall passmark score but also for the āsingle thread ratingā.
If you want to play 2 simultaneous transcodes from full BluRay rips with subtitles in the VC-1 video codec, you need > 8000 passmark points and a āsingle thread ratingā of >=1350.
OK. Good info btw!
Getting something as small and silent as a NUC with the requirements I have might prove a challenge I suppose.
Super secret option #2ā¦
I have an āoldā box, currently being used as firewall/router with pfSense. It has a i5-3570K CPU (PassMark - Intel Core i5-3570K @ 3.40GHz - Price performance comparison)
It is just shy of the 8000 mark, but features an unlocked multiplier, and (if I remember correctly) can go beyond 4GHz with the current cooler. That in combination with said NAS might be an optionā¦? Or even add a hardware raid card to it? Any suggestions on that perhaps?
It certainly isnĀ“t a NUC but it is far away from the 1U rack server I have now!
And this doesnāt take into account the HEVC video codec. (This bugger needs a lot more cpu power, just for decoding it. So general advise is to stay away from it for some more time.)
And by āitā you refer to NUCĀ“s?
It might actually work for you. Donāt overclock though. It just makes the server loud.
Or even add a hardware raid card to it? Any suggestions on that perhaps?
Hardware Raid is not necessary for a simple thing like storing a bunch of video files, IMHO.
Itās insanely expensive when done right and the cheap ones are not advisable.
And this doesnāt take into account the HEVC video codec. (This bugger needs a lot more cpu power, just for decoding it. So general advise is to stay away from it for some more time.)
And by āitā you refer to NUCĀ“s?
Sorry, I meant the HEVC (H.265) video codec. It saves on filesize, but requires magnitudes more cpu power to encode and also decode.
@magnusoverli said:
Getting something as small and silent as a NUC with the requirements I have might prove a challenge I suppose.
And this is where I chime in.
See my sig. You mention being willing to āDIYā. How much? Mine is a unified PMS+NAS solution in a small 8.27" x 9.84" x 14.72" box.
Oh! Thats interesting!
This level of DIY is no problem!!
The size of it isnāt really that big an issue, but your build seems very nice!
Oh, and I think FreeNas might be a possible route. Fiddled with it a few years ago for another NAS-only project, but I have no experience with ājailsāā¦
For CPUā¦ Wow! Do you need all that power? I for one would probably go for something a lot cheaperā¦
Building from scratch does give me access to 2nd hand hardware thoughā¦ Hmmmā¦
@magnusoverli said:
For CPUā¦ Wow! Do you need all that power? I for one would probably go for something a lot cheaperā¦
Knowing Plex, you want to be on the safe side here. For all these occasions where you need the transcoding feature.
His cpu can handle at least 2 āworst case transcodesā (1080p VC-1 full bitrate and PGS subtitles)
@magnusoverli said:
For CPUā¦ Wow! Do you need all that power? I for one would probably go for something a lot cheaperā¦
As a percentage of the over all cost, the cost of āgoing all the wayā with the CPU wasnāt a big deal and ensured Iād future-proof the build as much as I could at the time. The CPU isnāt the easiest thing to get down to and upgrade later in life (like adding more RAM or upgrading the HDDs).
At this point, if I was to build this box, Iād be updating the components appropriately:
@magnusoverli said:
For CPUā¦ Wow! Do you need all that power? I for one would probably go for something a lot cheaperā¦
As a percentage of the over all cost, the cost of āgoing all the wayā with the CPU wasnāt a big deal and ensured Iād future-proof the build as much as I could at the time. The CPU isnāt the easiest thing to get down to and upgrade later in life (like adding more RAM or upgrading the HDDs).
At this point, if I was to build this box, Iād be updating the components appropriately:
You have some experience with FreeNas and jails, rightā¦?
This morning I repurposed the machine being used as firewall/router mentioned further up (way overkill), and I now have a working FreeNas install with Plex running in a jail. Not that hard actually!
I was wondering, how is your jail configured to ensure maximum performance?
I also have a second NiC (as it was a firewall previously). Do you think it wise to dedicate that NiC to the jail, as opposed to shared networking?
Another thingā¦ If/when I need to upgrade the hardware. How hard/easy is it to move the install to new hardware?
I have some experience, but I also was using FreeBSD ages ago too so thereās that.
I will say: FreeNAS is picky about hardware. If you have issues, thatāll be the #1 thing to look at first.
Iāve done no special tweaking to my jail.
And a regular single 10/100 NIC is more than sufficient to keep up with the demands of Plex. If youāre saturating your NAS for other non-Plex stuff, only then would I consider a 2nd NIC just for Plex but make sure you actually have a problem first to make the effort worth it.
