# PMS Hardware Recommendation for a Newbie **URL:** \ **Category:** Plex Media Server\ **Tags:** server-windows\ **Created:** [December 23, 2023, 4:59am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/pms-hardware-recommendation-for-a-newbie/863759 "2023-12-23T04:59:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kdma74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f19dbf/32.png) [@kdma74](https://forums.plex.tv/u/kdma74)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2023, 4:59am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/pms-hardware-recommendation-for-a-newbie/863759/1 "2023-12-23T04:59:45Z")
I was looking for a way to stream my live and recorded OTA TV from my home to my cottage that has no OTA reception. About 2 months ago while I was researching the solution to this problem, I discovered Plex. As a “proof of concept”, I installed the Plex Media server on an old Windows 10 laptop. From my cottage, I used a 2nd old Windows 10 laptop to access my Plex Media Server at home using my home routers VPN that I set up. It worked without issues - I was able to watch live TV at my cottage. I am now ready to move beyond the “proof of concept” and start using real hardware. I am going to start with the Plex Media Server. I know I can’t use my old Windows 10 laptop - it is not powerful enough to do the job long term. Therefore, I need to acquire new hardware - but what should I use? I tend to lean towards a Windows or Linux desktop or mini PC since I am very familiar with using both of those operating systems at work. But I have also seen discussions indicating the an Nvidia Shield TV Pro also makes for a good PMS. I know nothing about this device - but if it is good for my use case of streaming live and recorded OTA TV to my cottage, I will study the details to learn how to use it. I am leaning away from using a NAS since I have never used one - I assume learning how to use a NAS would be more complex than learning a Nvidia Shield TV Pro. I anticipate having only 1 client accessing my PMS at any given time. And when I am not at the cottage, I wouldn’t have any clients accessing my PMS. At home, I have an old Magnavox DVR that I use to record OTA TV - I don’t need my PMS for streaming at home - at least not now. That could change if my Magnavox DVR dies. I have read posts describing transcoding with a 7th generation or later Intel processor or an Nvidia GPU graphics card. I think I understand that issue. At my cottage, I have a Samsung smart TV. I could either install the Plex app on that TV to use as a client. Or maybe I should use a 2nd Windows or Linux desktop/laptop or perhaps an Nvidia Shield TV Pro. I don’t know yet. I was also thinking of using Tailscale to access my PMS from the cottage since I wouldn’t need to punch a hole in my home firewall to allow access. But I don’t know if I can get Tailscale to work. I suspect only some devices will support Tailscale - I doubt I could use Tailscale if I used the Plex app on my smart TV. I would appreciate receiving some insight from experienced Plex users as to what hardware setup I could use to achieve my objective of streaming live and recorded OTA broadcasts from my home to my cottage. I have already purchased the Plex Pass needed for the DVR function. Thank you. Kevin ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2024, 5:00am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/pms-hardware-recommendation-for-a-newbie/863759/2 "2024-03-22T05:00:15Z")
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