Hi all,
My aging HP NL54 Microserver on Ubuntu seem to be low on horsepower (cannot stream 1080) and I am looking to replace it with something new. Looking to future proof the whole thing.
All my media is on a separate NAS and I am not interested in running PMS on the NAS, I want a dedicated server for PMS. Nor do I want a PC, I want a proper server.
The small format of the Microserver is perfect so if there is something similar, it would be good.
Saving money is not really a priority.
Most of the time, its only 1-2 streams at a time but I want the option to stream more. Mostly via local LAN. The media is mainly movies and transcoding must be fully available.
The client is usually the Samsung built-in to the TV.
A server recommendation depends on several factors, including budget and expectations of what the new hardware needs to do.
Before you upgrade the server, first look at your current network to find if perhaps it is the cause of any problems you have.
Is it all wired? Or is it wireless?
If it’s wired, are you using hubs or switches? Is it at least 100Mbps?
If it is all wireless, or the video clients (your TVs, tables, phones, etc.) consuming video using a wireless connection? If this is the case make sure you are constantly hitting at least 10 to 20 Mbps over your wireless connections, more if your files are encoded at higher bit rates.
If your network is the problem, you can get yourself a super powerful server and you would still not notice any difference.
Everything is wired, 100 Mbps via switch. I don’t believe the network is the problem here.
Like I said, budget is not a consideration. I am prepared to spend whatever it costs.
Our NUC expert posted results of the NUC type: NUC7PJYH
it does 2 transcodes of full UHD remuxes (4K HEVC to 1080p AVC) at once
The CPU supports these codecs in hardware.
All this without getting loud with fan noise.
That way you use a traditional NAS as media file storage. Plex data are stored on a m2.SSD within the NUC.
The NUC is a very good recommendation performance-wise and it is also small form factor like your current Microserver.
The flip side is that it is closer to a PC than a proper server. Although for me personally it is neither. I consider these types of systems more like a desktop bound laptop since they do tend to integrate laptop grade hardware.
They are also not very scalable. This particular NUC model supports a maximum of 8GB and it only has a single SATA port for a regular laptop hard drive or regular SSD, I couldn’t find any information on it supporting m.2 though.
On the other hand you can’t beat the price. They are priced at around 200 USD.
@OttoKerner: I suspect that you need to make sure to enable Quick Sync in order to hit those two transcodes, is that right? Or is Quick Sync no longer a factor?
Of course. This kind of transcoding performance for 2x 4k UHD remuxes is only possible with hardware transcoding. The same with pure cpu/software would require an absolute high-end cpu.
Thanks.
I wasn’t sure what the ‘state-of-the-art’ is with the latest Intel CPUs. I think this NUC probably has a Gemini Lake Pentium CPU. But I didn’t know whether Quick Sync is still something that needs to be enabled or if it became an ‘always on’ feature in the latest generation.
