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Post by LuisV on Jan 8, 2018 23:06:09 GMT -5
unRaid runs on PC hardware. It boots off of a USB thumb drive so 100% of your HDD space is available for storage. My unRaid box is an ancient Dell 700 server pentium chip. I hacked the case to mount ten drives. I recently built an unRaid box for a friend out of a refurb HP desktop that I bought for about $100. With drives, the USB thumb drive and unRaid license we were well under three hundred bucks. If you have an old dog PC lying around you can get started for free. lime-technology.com/Ha, exactly what I just recommended. Glad to see another unRAID user in the Lounge.  |
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Post by kybourbon on Jan 8, 2018 23:14:33 GMT -5
If I was building today I would use a Synology NAS and a Nvidia Shield at each tv running Kodi. Pretty much plug and play with minimal fuss once it's setup. I used to run FlexRaid and it was a pain in the rear end. unRaid and others aren't as slick either.
With Synology it's kind of like Apple... You are paying for the software more than the hardware. And the software is fantastic and extremely well supported. Auto picture backup from your phone, Google Drive, etc. Can use it for home security cameras. Tons more stuff.
My wife and kids have full access to our 1000+ movies this way. Its been years since I got the "I can't get the movie to play" phone call. I used to get that call all the time when I used to run a DIY server.
Not a huge fan of Plex personally but I do recognize that it's a good product for many.
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Post by LuisV on Jan 8, 2018 23:17:51 GMT -5
Agreed, DSM is great and I used to run Kodi on my FireTVs, but I switched to Plex as it gave me more options. I also use Nvidia Shields; hands down the best streamer.
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Post by kybourbon on Jan 8, 2018 23:23:19 GMT -5
Agreed, DSM is great and I used to run Kodi on my FireTVs, but I switched to Plex as it gave me more options. I also use Nvidia Shields; hands down the best streamer. How does it give you more options? Plex is dependent on the hardware in the server. Kodi dependent on the hardware in the client. |
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Post by LuisV on Jan 8, 2018 23:40:56 GMT -5
Kodi, when I ran it, was client specific as you said, so for that it was great as the client did all of the heavy lifting. However, I grew tired of managing multiple instances of Kodi and themes, with Plex it's one upgrade. Unless I VPN'd into my home network, I couldn't stream my content when I wasn't home, Plex provides that flexibility. I can sync content to my mobile devices and take my content with me, not sure if Kodi has it now, but it didn't when I was using it. Again, nothing wrong with Kodi, I used it for years. In regards to Synology vs build your own, if you like DSM, you can always download Xpenology and get the best of both words: xpenology.org/xpenology-explained/ |
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Post by LuisV on Jan 8, 2018 23:43:20 GMT -5
Forgot to mention, the OTA TV options and DVR functionality Plex has; again, not sure if Kodi has that now, but it didn't when I was running it.
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Post by creimes on Jan 8, 2018 23:51:41 GMT -5
I basically just need it for storage, I would want to hod some mkv files for plex though, I won't be running the server on it as I have been using my main PC for that and I won't need transcoding as I ony stream to either my main theater area and my upstairs TV, I have Plex set to maximum quality and only stream 1080p files max. I just grabbed my old PC from the in-laws, I'll turn it on and see what it is as I can't remember as I built it prob about 9 years ago lol Hey Chad... Prior to the system that I am running now, I had a Synology DS412+ with four 3TB WD Red Drives giving me just under 9TB of storage. I had it for 4+ years and it worked out great. Very reliable, silent beyond words and worked great as a NAS. I tried to run various apps and or dockers on it and it simply didn't have enough power for my needs. It couldn't run Plex at all. I've since sold the Synology and built my own NAS around a Ryzen 7 1800x CPU, 32GB of RAM, two 500GB SSDs for dockers / VMs and six 4TB WD Reds for a total of 20TB. It runs unRAID for the OS and has enough power to run multiple VMs, Plex, MakeMKV, Unifi Video Controller and other dockers without issue. With the various dockers running, it can handle 8 transcoded streams without issue and many more direct play streams at the same time. I know your requirements might be different, but I went with unRAID as you can mix and match drive sizes, brands, etc. and add to the array at any time without fear of loosing data. unRAID uses parity instead of traditional RAID and you can have multiple parity drives to help in the event of one or multiple drive failures. With unRAID, if you loose a drive and can't rebuild it, you only loose the data that is on that drive and not the entire array. You can mount the drives in another system and read your data. With unRAID you can pass through a GPU and run a Windows 10 baremetal VM, so the system can do double duty as your main PC. Since I have a separate PC, I am not passing through a GPU Example of GPU Pass through: I purchased four HGST 6TB drives during the holidays and will be adding them to my unRAID server shortly. The only caveat with unRAID is the parity drive(s) need to the be the largest sized drive in the system; however, adding and changing parity drives is relatively easy with unRAID. If you're running Windows 10, you can try Storage Spaces and get a RAID like setup; however, I would recommend a dedicated NAS like Synology and QNAP or build your own and run unRAID, FreeNAS, Rockstor and or other operating systems. It all depends on your requirements and no you don't need a CPU / motherboard combo as I went with... unRAID will run fine with an Atom processor and motherboard. It all depends on your use case. Here's some more additional info: emotivalounge.proboards.com/thread/50483/htpc-media-server-discussionDrive reliability data: www.backblaze.com/blog/hard-drive-failure-rates-q3-2017/One PC, VR Party with unRAID: www.pcworld.com/article/3222652/gaming/how-we-hosted-a-star-trek-vr-party.html |
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Post by creimes on Jan 8, 2018 23:54:05 GMT -5
Agreed, DSM is great and I used to run Kodi on my FireTVs, but I switched to Plex as it gave me more options. I also use Nvidia Shields; hands down the best streamer. My Nvidia Shield should be here tomorrow, but my Anthem MRX310 not till like Friday  haha |
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Post by LuisV on Jan 8, 2018 23:55:48 GMT -5
I basically just need it for storage, I would want to hod some mkv files for plex though, I won't be running the server on it as I have been using my main PC for that and I won't need transcoding as I ony stream to either my main theater area and my upstairs TV, I have Plex set to maximum quality and only stream 1080p files max. I just grabbed my old PC from the in-laws, I'll turn it on and see what it is as I can't remember as I built it prob about 9 years ago lol For basic storage needs Synology and QNAP are hard to beat... set it and forget it type devices. Just get the largest drives you can afford... you'll be amazed how fast it goes. |
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Post by novisnick on Jan 8, 2018 23:58:11 GMT -5
Agreed, DSM is great and I used to run Kodi on my FireTVs, but I switched to Plex as it gave me more options. I also use Nvidia Shields; hands down the best streamer. My Nvidia Shield should be here tomorrow, but my Anthem MRX310 not till like Friday haha Looking forward to this review. 😁 |
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Post by creimes on Jan 9, 2018 0:00:56 GMT -5
I basically just need it for storage, I would want to hod some mkv files for plex though, I won't be running the server on it as I have been using my main PC for that and I won't need transcoding as I ony stream to either my main theater area and my upstairs TV, I have Plex set to maximum quality and only stream 1080p files max. I just grabbed my old PC from the in-laws, I'll turn it on and see what it is as I can't remember as I built it prob about 9 years ago lol For basic storage needs Synology and QNAP are hard to beat... set it and forget it type devices. Just get the largest drives you can afford... you'll be amazed how fast it goes. Someone buy my headphone amps so I can grab a NAS or do a build haha  |
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Post by creimes on Jan 9, 2018 0:02:19 GMT -5
My Nvidia Shield should be here tomorrow, but my Anthem MRX310 not till like Friday haha Looking forward to this review. 😁 I'm excited to try ARC and it will be nice to have some network functionality for controlling zone 2 outside in the summer, that's about the only thing I liked about the Marantz I had haha |
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Post by creimes on Jan 9, 2018 0:22:43 GMT -5
Well I powered up the old PC that hasn't been on in like 3 years and it shut down after like 15 or 20 seconds and now it smells like burning electronics in here haha, so that's a no go |
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Post by creimes on Jan 9, 2018 0:32:03 GMT -5
Agreed, DSM is great and I used to run Kodi on my FireTVs, but I switched to Plex as it gave me more options. I also use Nvidia Shields; hands down the best streamer. I'm chatting with Ivor right now and he says to check out Plex Kodi Connect, it uses the Plex server to catalog all your media but allows kodi functionality in skins and addons |
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Post by LuisV on Jan 9, 2018 0:35:10 GMT -5
Say hello to Ivor! Is he still using the Titans? I've never tried nor used Plex Kodi Connect.
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Post by creimes on Jan 9, 2018 0:38:52 GMT -5
Say hello to Ivor! Is he still using the Titans? I've never tried nor used Plex Kodi Connect. Sent you a PM |
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Post by pknaz on Jan 9, 2018 1:55:49 GMT -5
I’ll add my opinion here, I’ve been in IT world for several decades, I recently decided to go the server build route, but I thought long and hard about a Synology. In the end, the only reason i didn’t go with a synology is because of a few corner use cases where I needed a few features they wouldn’t provide. I think for most people, a synology is the way to go. Have a look at the many YouTube videos that walk through the interface, setup, and features they provide, very awesome devices.
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Post by creimes on Jan 9, 2018 2:44:00 GMT -5
I'm already reaching to do this build or NAS and the Synology's seem that much more out of reach, the QNAP TS-431P is $349 while it seems like the starter lower end Synology DS418 is $539, that's the issue I'm trying to figure out as well is how to afford to do this if I can at all www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822107533&cm_re=TS-431P-_-22-107-533-_-ProductAnd www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA7RD6HB0140I’ll add my opinion here, I’ve been in IT world for several decades, I recently decided to go the server build route, but I thought long and hard about a Synology. In the end, the only reason i didn’t go with a synology is because of a few corner use cases where I needed a few features they wouldn’t provide. I think for most people, a synology is the way to go. Have a look at the many YouTube videos that walk through the interface, setup, and features they provide, very awesome devices. |
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Post by kybourbon on Jan 9, 2018 9:07:19 GMT -5
I'm already reaching to do this build or NAS and the Synology's seem that much more out of reach, the QNAP TS-431P is $349 while it seems like the starter lower end Synology DS418 is $539, that's the issue I'm trying to figure out as well is how to afford to do this if I can at all www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822107533&cm_re=TS-431P-_-22-107-533-_-ProductAnd www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA7RD6HB0140I’ll add my opinion here, I’ve been in IT world for several decades, I recently decided to go the server build route, but I thought long and hard about a Synology. In the end, the only reason i didn’t go with a synology is because of a few corner use cases where I needed a few features they wouldn’t provide. I think for most people, a synology is the way to go. Have a look at the many YouTube videos that walk through the interface, setup, and features they provide, very awesome devices. Save up for a bit. Worth it. Do it right the first time. My $.02. |
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Post by LuisV on Jan 9, 2018 9:08:54 GMT -5
The QNAP you're comparing to the Synology is using an ARM processor, while the Synology is using a Celeron. It might be best for you to compare similarly priced and spec'd NAS devices. Here's a lower powered Synology: www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822108624&ignorebbr=1If I was looking to purchase a Synology, I would go with this one: amzn.to/2CVUtG44 bays today, with the ability to add an external chassis for future growth. A little more expensive I know, but if you need to save another couple of weeks, well worth the price difference to me. Just my humble opinion... |
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haha
