Dan's NAS/media server stuff

[Ekona]

Soooooo update!


I finally purchased the full version of UnRAID and set about figuring out how to get it running, since I have to run the 5.xRC due to the 3TB drives I'm using. I tried the simple way, which was just c+p the license key over, and it worked first time. No ballache, no stress, just worked. Ace.

So after a full 24h parity check, I'm ready to start ripping the hundreds of DVDs I've got. Films are okay, about 20mins a pop, but sorting out the TV series could be interesting as they're not always as straightforward to rip as you may hope. Still, once this is all done I can bin the huge cupboard we use to keep them in, and then we can start thinking about advertising the house for sale.

[MEGAHYDER]

I need some minor help with a a network solution

My tv has a USB port that allows it to play movies off a USB stick.

Is there a network storage solution that also has USB connections? So i can connect my pcs to it via network and connect it to my TV via usb

[Ekona]

No ethernet in the TV?

[Polito45]

The Iomega® Home Media Network Hard Drive, Cloud Edition I have has x2 USB ports -

http://go.iomega.com/en/products/networ ... ewItem_tab

but I think they're more for inputs - external HDs/USB sticks/printers etc.
I'm not sure you could stream from it to your TV or what connecting a 2TB drive directly via USB to your TV would do to it.

Anyway, as Dan says - "How would you browse the Interweb Ladyboyz on your TV???"
Much better to get an old PC, hook that up to your TV, ethernet it to your router which is also etherneted to your NAS drive -
then Bob's your uncle and Fanny is available for adult viewing on the internet.

[Ekona]

I was thinking RPi and XBMC, yeah. All networked, just need a HDMI input.

[MEGAHYDER]

I dont need to browse the internet on my telly

It does have an ethernet connection, but it has 0 smart features and I can't find anything in the documentation that suggests it's able to play media through the ethernet

I also don't want to have an extra PC lying about. Media PCs are sooo early 2000s

[Ekona]

But you want a NAS, which is an extra PC, non? Seriously, grab an RPi and you're sorted, you can use any old NAS then. My one lives upstairs, the Pi behind the Xbox so you can't even see it.

[Polito45]

Media PCs are sooo early 2000s

Then do what Dan says foo.

XBMC really is the dogs bollocks. I figured out how to change the poster on my collections/box sets last night.
It was bugging the hell out of me. By default collections show the poster from the first movie in the collection.

You can get collection posters here -
http://www.themoviedb.org/search?query=the+dark+knight
Just hit "Collections" on the left to find the one you want -
and then use the menu on the actual poster in XBMC to change the artwork to the one you've downloaded.
They all have to be done by hand but I think it's worth it for the results.

[Captain Sisko]

I dont need to browse the internet on my telly

It does have an ethernet connection, but it has 0 smart features and I can't find anything in the documentation that suggests it's able to play media through the ethernet

I also don't want to have an extra PC lying about. Media PCs are sooo early 2000s

We have 2 Panasonic TVs both with Ethernet ports.
One is about 2 years old the other is barely a year old.
The year old one has a lot more "smart" functionality built in like the you tube TV pairing and being able to have video streamed to it.
The older one can access videos from the PC over the network

How mine is set up

Virgin Superhub DHCP that has a Panasonic TV, Virgin Tivo, Sony Blu-Ray and a cable going upstairs to a Linksys WRT54GS which in turn has a cable going into my room to a Netgear DG834 connected to that is another (newer) Panasonic TV, PC and XBOX 360

[Ekona]

MOAR UPDATES

So I binned the RPi since it wasn't manly enough to do the 1080p/5.1 stuff I needed it to, which it mainly down to the lack of gigabit ethernet than the unit. I've been using my old work laptop running Win7 for the past few months, which although has run XBMC perfectly, it doesn't handle closing the lid but staying on very well. It was always a temporary method, though.

I wanted to get a proper EeePc to run XBMC on, but never quite found the £400 or so to get the one I wanted. In the meantime, like yesterday, I discovered that Plex have released a client for the Xbone, which sounded intriguing so I looked into that a bit more. Long story short I installed the server side client onto my UnRaided NAS last night, and tried it on the desktop PC via browser. Whilst it wasn't initially as simple to use as XBMC, I got my head round it quickly and it worked a treat.

The next step is to get a Plex Pass for $4.99 a month (or $40 a year, or $150 lifetime) and see how the Xbone app works. If it does what I hope it will, then I'll get full access to my media with no extra box, and it'll all be voice and gesture controlled


MS are bringing out their own app for this soon, but I'm doubtful it'll work that well with UnRaid. Time will tell, and for $5 I think it's worth a punt. Using Plex also means I can run the app on iOS or anything really.

[kingweed]

You don't need £400, you'll get this set up if you hunt around for under £200 now, easily. I've had this set up for 3 years no, i think. Haven't had to upgrade it or change anything and it still works as good now as it did then - in terms of handling any film, I've thrown 30gb remuxed blu ray files at it.

On my ipad so bit of a pain to do a decent Linky list.

Case £40
Apu £70
Ram £30
cheap SSD - £30
Mobo £65

[Ekona]

But I want a specific model, I don't want some ugly POS that I could have issues with

Besides, if you want to use Plex you'll need something with a bit of grunt.

[siteguru]

I run Plex media server on my laptop, which has all my media on it. I then use the Plex app (cost about £2.90) on my Nexus 4 as the media selector/remote control and cast it to my TV via Chromecast. (The Plex app cost was covered by the £5 Play Store credit I got when buying the CC).

Don't see any need (or real benefit) to the Plex Pass.

[Ekona]

You need it for the Xbone app right now. They're releasing a free one soon, but it has other drawbacks.

Any downsides you've found to using Plex?

[siteguru]

None that I've noticed. Works really well with my setup. If I load any new media into my mapped folders the Plex server picks them up very quickly in the listings. And all the video files I have (AVI, MP4, MKV) are accepted fine by Plex. Playback is also very smooth, even though my whole network is wifi.