@Mgott said:
I know this is an old thread but, it started to answer my questions.Here is what I think I understand:
- If an NAS drive is used as storage only, it doesn’t matter if it is on the Plex compatibility list and doesn’t need to do any transcoding.
Correct - as long as the filesystem is one handled by Plex Media Server
@Mgott said:
2. NAS is connected to the router and does not need a direct connection to the computer running PMS. PMS can access the media through the wireless network connection.
I would not recommend wireless. Ethernet wired is preferred
If media is not on the server you have double the network traffic / packets
NAS → Server → client app
@Mgott said:
Here is what I have questions about (please be patient, I do not know a lot about networking):
- There was mention of mapping. What is that, how do I do it and why does it work?
That is referring to Windows Map Network Drive action
@Mgott said:
Someone stated that they pointed Plex to a specific folder for Movies/TV/Shows etc.
“On a PC it is best to put the media into shares on the NAS and map them to drives on the Server.
I have all my media in a single share and have separate folders for the different types (movies, Music, TV Shows, etc…)
I map that one share to Drive M: and point Plex to the folders for each library.”
I would have one share on a NAS / Storage eg Mapped Network Drive M:\ to share \\NAS-Name\Share-Name
Then each library would access one or more folders on that share
eg M:\Music for Music, M:\TV Shows M:\Movies M:\Photos etc
It is is better to have folders for library because scanning makes use of Last Modified Date and Time and this attribute would not be available for M:\ for example but would be for directory/folder
@Mgott said:
2. Is putting media into shares the same as marking a file folder as shared through network sharing?
Yes
@Mgott said:
3. Again, mapping?
Mapped Drives are ok - but if you plan to run Plex Media Server as a Service (eg adopting this solution http://forums.plex.tv/discussion/93994/pms-as-a-service/p1) then you should use unc paths and not a mapped betwork drive
eg ``NAS-Name\Share-Name\Musicinstead ofM:\Music`
@Mgott said:
4. And the last sentence totally lost me. How do you point Plex to a folder, why/how does this work (theoretically?) ?
When you create a library in Plex you have Add Folders and you can type path names or drill down to the folder required
@Mgott said:
Please point me to an article that can explain this to someone who doesn’t understand coding but knows enough to build a computer. Or if you are in the mood to be a teacher I would greatly appreciate it.
https://support.plex.tv/articles/200264746-quick-start-step-by-step-guides/
