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I'm currently using my main PC for storing and serving media to my smart TV. This is not a great solution for a few reasons, #1 of which is that the computer is upstairs in the office with no wired internet connectivity between it and the router and I frequently have bandwidth issues. I would like to solve this by hosting and serving my media from a small form factor PC next to the TV and router in my living room. This is what I want this thing to do: - Be small and cheap - Store media (I don't need a RAID or backup solution) - Handle torrenting - Display media with a nice UI to my TV via HDMI (right now 1080P, 4K nice to have but not a requirement) - Serve out media via Plex (this is just a nice to have) I was thinking about just an Intel NUC + external hard drive. Any thoughts?
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Jul 27, 2016 15:34
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Should work just fine. I got a Skylake i3 NUC for mostly that (though I don't use it for display since I have plenty of other devices that run Plex clients) and it works great.
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Jul 27, 2016 15:55
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My last gen NUC would drop my external Seagate, even after futzing around with the power settings. Pushed me to building a real nas. Maybe they sorted out the USB issues with the Skylake ones. Still love my NUC tho!
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Jul 27, 2016 15:59
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dy. posted:I'm currently using my main PC for storing and serving media to my smart TV. This is not a great solution for a few reasons, #1 of which is that the computer is upstairs in the office with no wired internet connectivity between it and the router and I frequently have bandwidth issues. I would like to solve this by hosting and serving my media from a small form factor PC next to the TV and router in my living room. - Will an i3 NUC have enough power to transcode 1080p? Not a requirement, just curious. - What would I lose by going with a much cheaper rpi3 instead? Obviously it will not be able to transcode.
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Jul 27, 2016 16:00
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An i3 is more than powerful for at least a single 1080p stream, and can probably handle more than that. I can't really help you on the RPI front. EDIT: I got one of these (I had a 120 GB SATA SSD sitting around, else I wouldn't have bothered with the 2.5" drive space) with 8 GB of RAM and stuck Lubuntu on it. Runs PMS and Linux ISO downloading services without a hitch and I can administer it remotely from my MBP. Endless Mike fucked around with this message at 16:09 on Jul 27, 2016 |
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Jul 27, 2016 16:05
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Looking for some advice on whether to use Kodi or Plex on a new setup I have. I have a NAS for storage and an Intel NUC running ubuntu server. The NUC runs SABnzbd, Sonarr, and the Plex server. I used to have a server for storage and those apps plus a Windows 10 HTPC that ran Kodi so I could also just use a browser to get things like ESPN3, CBS Sports, Twitch, or other unofficial streams. Now I'm wondering if I should just boot into Plex to stay consistent in one player in case I start using Plex while on the go or is Kodi a better option? I've never really used the additional plugins that I briefly just googled for both. I also even saw a plugin that is Plex for Kodi... Other things like Google Play Music or Google Photos would be something in addition to tv/movies I'd be interested in.
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Jul 29, 2016 21:23
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I guess it depends on the format of your media and whether your server is powerful enough to transcode the streams for playing on the other devices.
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Jul 29, 2016 21:37
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It's all x264 mkv for the most part. I already use Plex when watching from my desktop for example. Currently my upload isn't fast enough to watch when not at home.
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Jul 29, 2016 23:32
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KingKapalone posted:Looking for some advice on whether to use Kodi or Plex on a new setup I have. I have a NAS for storage and an Intel NUC running ubuntu server. The NUC runs SABnzbd, Sonarr, and the Plex server. I used to have a server for storage and those apps plus a Windows 10 HTPC that ran Kodi so I could also just use a browser to get things like ESPN3, CBS Sports, Twitch, or other unofficial streams. I switched from Kodi to Plex last year. And now I'm switching from Plex to emby because I'm sick and tired of Plex being down == I can't view my media. Bullshit.
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Jul 29, 2016 23:45
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I use a Roku as my plex player because then I have easy access to all of the other apps I need like ESPN and HBO. It's all in one place and it is just one remote and I don't need a keyboard or anything You could use any standalone player you want I just prefer Roku because it is pretty agnostic when it comes to services. KingKapalone posted:Looking for some advice on whether to use Kodi or Plex on a new setup I have. I have a NAS for storage and an Intel NUC running ubuntu server. The NUC runs SABnzbd, Sonarr, and the Plex server. I used to have a server for storage and those apps plus a Windows 10 HTPC that ran Kodi so I could also just use a browser to get things like ESPN3, CBS Sports, Twitch, or other unofficial streams.
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Jul 30, 2016 00:38
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xgalaxy posted:I switched from Kodi to Plex last year. And now I'm switching from Plex to emby because I'm sick and tired of Plex being down == I can't view my media. Bullshit. Not that it isn't bullshit that it works that way, but if you turn off Plex Home, Plex will work offline.
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Jul 30, 2016 13:46
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KingKapalone posted:Looking for some advice on whether to use Kodi or Plex on a new setup I have. I have a NAS for storage and an Intel NUC running ubuntu server. The NUC runs SABnzbd, Sonarr, and the Plex server. I used to have a server for storage and those apps plus a Windows 10 HTPC that ran Kodi so I could also just use a browser to get things like ESPN3, CBS Sports, Twitch, or other unofficial streams. Another option (and my personal favorite) is Emby and Kodi Emby plugin. Emby handles your library and you can use their clients for mobile streaming, and Kodi stays in sync with your Emby library. Plex has something similar but I'm unfamiliar with it.
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Jul 31, 2016 03:22
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Thermopyle posted:Another option (and my personal favorite) is Emby and Kodi Emby plugin. The Plex plugin for Kodi is based on the Emby Kodi plugin (with their permission) and more or less works the same way, the difference being the Plex plugin is still new/beta and a lot of issues are still being ironed out. The Emby/Kodi plugin has been through the bug hunt wringer already and works really well. For me, Plex vs. Emby comes down to: Emby has better "native" Kodi support (though Plex as noted is catching up) Emby has a much better/full featured web client and web based server management. I'll concede this is somewhat in the eye of the beholder but things like metadata management, for example, are unequivocally better with Emby Server. Emby's mobile sync (which like Plex is a paid feature) is nicer, if you are in to offline viewing. Primarily because they use a standard naming/folder format, which makes the transcoded videos easier to use outside of their client. Plex buries offline media in their own metadata structure/naming convention. Emby server has a better plugin system with more plugins available for things like Coverart customization, etc. Plex has better mobile clients, for the most part. Their Android/Android TV client in particular is very good and has excellent video controls, an area Emby still needs to work on. Plex has more clients for more devices, like the Xbox One (Emby has a web client specifically for XB1 that works, but it's not as nice). Plex and Emby both have good clients for the Apple TV (4th Gen), it's worth noting. Plex Media Server has been around longer, is very stable, and does an excellent job transcoding on demand (though Emby has started to close the gap here) Plex Media Server now runs on the Shield TV, albeit with some limitations, meaning when it is combined with local USB storage can make for a nice all-in-one solution that doesn't require a separate server and can still serve light duty for mobile clients. Generally speaking, if you are mostly watching in-home, use a NAS/central storage for media, have Kodi clients and want something like the old-school MySQL distributed sharing method for Kodi but with transcoding, some mobile/streambox usage, and a really nice front end to manage it all, then go with Emby. Their clients for Roku, FireTV, and Android TV are decent and get the job done but their Kodi support is what shines. If you don't care as much about Kodi and are more interested in streaming box/mobile device viewing then Plex has the edge simply because their clients are a little nicer/mature for those kinds of devices. Everyone's use case is different and both options are free (with paid functionality for things like offline video syncing that have no effect on the core functionality) so if all else fails, try them both, they are super easy to set up. Other notes that matter mostly to demagogues: Emby is fully open source and the huge majority of their userbase uses it for free. They do have some paid options, like for offline syncing and a few "premium" plugins but the free product has a lot of functionality. Emby is developed in .Net/C# and under platforms other than Windows runs on Mono (there is talk now of moving to .Net Core for native Linux support, but that is probably a ways off). Some people get chapped asses just thinking about this (Mono is chewing up my precious resources!) but it really doesn't matter when it comes to using it. Plex is not fully open source. PMS and many clients are "free" but Plex leans more towards a commercial model than Emby does particularly on the client side. Again, day to day this doesn't matter much but if you are a card carrying member of the Richard Stallman fanclub you might get a little chapped rear end thinking about it. Though to be fair members of that club can find reasons to hate Emby too (and, for that matter, most things).
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Aug 1, 2016 19:11
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My parents just bought an RV and I just bought a new PC so I'd like to give them my old one to serve as an HTPC. They don't have any devices to stream to, so I don't know if Emby or Plex is what they need. They mostly need a program that will browse their video collection for them. Do you guys think Kodi would be the best way to go here? I've never used Kodi before so I don't know how easy it is to use.
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Aug 1, 2016 20:34
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If they're not very good with computers then Plex is the easiest by far, but then you need something to run the PMS. I put it on a Fire Stick for my parents and there are literally 2 options, Movies and TV, so it's hard for them to gently caress up. I already has PMS on my NAS because my sister's Smart TV had a Plex app and this was the easiest way for them to watch stuff. Kodi is better imo if you're only going to be running a single device, especially if it can play anything, but there is more config. You can actually put a skin on it that hides all the menu options they don't need so it's much less complicated for them If I was in a situation where I had multiple devices that needed to share watched/unwatched status I'd probably try Kodi and Emby since I prefer it over Plex, it's much easier than sharing the SQL database and I think it's better if you know what you're doing and don't mind tweaking it, even if you're just using it for skins. I use Kodi on my RPi2 and don't need Emby yet since I only watch in one room
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Aug 2, 2016 10:47
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Zero The Hero posted:My parents just bought an RV and I just bought a new PC so I'd like to give them my old one to serve as an HTPC. They don't have any devices to stream to, so I don't know if Emby or Plex is what they need. They mostly need a program that will browse their video collection for them. Do you guys think Kodi would be the best way to go here? I've never used Kodi before so I don't know how easy it is to use. Assuming the HTPC you are giving them has internal or USB storage for the media? Do you have an IR remote for it? Kodi, the default skin, and all menu options other than "movies" and "tv" (and settings) turned off is as simple as it comes for Windows/Linux HTPCs and it will play anything the hardware is capable of. Unless it is a 5+ year old Atom box that probably means everything. OpenElec (or LibreElec now, I guess) is the simplest way to set this up on a small HTPC and is also the most solid/hardest to gently caress up day to day. All it does is run Kodi.
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Aug 2, 2016 13:58
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Yeah, I'm talking about internal storage. I guess a lot of people aren't using actual PCs for this stuff anymore, but it seems the most convenient. I'd like to get something that will let them stream movies and tv as well, I think you can do that through Kodi. I wish Plex had a standalone client. They have one TV in their RV and I can plug the PC in through HDMI. All it needs to do is let them browse and play movies in something slightly nicer than file explorer, and let them use a remote. But with Plex you've got to have a server and a client you launch separately and honestly, the desktop client is pretty bad. I'll look into OpenElec, I've never heard of it before.
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Aug 2, 2016 15:52
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Zero The Hero posted:Yeah, I'm talking about internal storage. I guess a lot of people aren't using actual PCs for this stuff anymore, but it seems the most convenient. I'd like to get something that will let them stream movies and tv as well, I think you can do that through Kodi. A HTPC running Kodi (OpenElec, Windows, Linux) isn't going to have many options for streaming content. Legal streaming content, anyway. There are ways to get things like Netflix, etc. to work with them, and people do, but it is hacky and not really user friendly, particularly if we're talking an older couple tooling around the country in their RV who just want to watch some shows during their downtime. The most straightforward path for the kind of hands off, parents in retirement kind of situation you have going is: Install OpenElec (or LibreElec, someone here can probably tell you which is better these days) on your little HTPC that has all the movies and tv shows on it, and set that up. Then buy a FireTV stick or Roku stick for $50 and let them use that for streaming services (assuming we're talking legit ones like Netflix, etc.). They may have to deal with two remotes, and switch HDMI inputs on their TV, but that is about as complicated as it will get. Both solutions will more or less "just work" once you have them set up. There are other ways to do this but for this situation simple is best.
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Aug 2, 2016 16:59
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Ixian posted:A HTPC running Kodi (OpenElec, Windows, Linux) isn't going to have many options for streaming content. Legal streaming content, anyway. Can you use a Fire stick without a router?
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Aug 2, 2016 17:23
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Zero The Hero posted:Can you use a Fire stick without a router? Not sure what you mean. If you mean, can you connect it to a local hotspot at the RV park/etc. without another device, sure. If you mean, is it useful without internet at all, then no, not really. Since you said streaming I assumed your parents would at least occasionally have internet access/wifi of some kind (if they stop in RV parks/campsites most do these days).
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Aug 2, 2016 17:59
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Can you cast from a PC to a Fire stick without using a router as an intermediary?
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Aug 2, 2016 18:00
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Oh I see, you mean more like a Chromecast. I don't know that the FireTV Stick can act like a Chromecast (maybe it does) but if that is what you are after, just get a Chromecast, they are even cheaper. I think there is a way to direct broadcast to a Chromecast but don't remember off hand. However the FireTV stick, it's worth mentioning, will run apps right on it, you don't really need to cast anything to it from a phone/etc.
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Aug 2, 2016 18:06
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Ixian posted:Oh I see, you mean more like a Chromecast. I don't know that the FireTV Stick can act like a Chromecast (maybe it does) but if that is what you are after, just get a Chromecast, they are even cheaper. Then how does the Fire stick play movies from my PC's hard drive?
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Aug 2, 2016 18:09
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Zero The Hero posted:Then how does the Fire stick play movies from my PC's hard drive? It doesn't. That's why I recommended you have *both* the HTPC, running OpenElec/Kodi, with your local media on it, and a cheap streaming stick for streaming services. There are ways to combine functionality but that is where things start to get complicated, or at least complicated from a retired parents in an RV point of view  You want something that just works, all the time, with a couple button presses.
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Aug 2, 2016 18:15
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HTPCs are really only useful for edge cases at this point, especially in a world where the ShieldTV is a thing.
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Aug 2, 2016 20:52
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TheScott2K posted:HTPCs are really only useful for edge cases at this point, especially in a world where the ShieldTV is a thing. I agree that the Shield TV would be more of an ultimate solution for him, since he could run PMS on it locally and use a simple USB drive for media storage. With that you get a true all in one device that handles streaming too (except Prime Video) and is very easy to use/has a simple remote. PMS has some limitations around local USB storage but for his use case probably not too onerous. However that goes for $250 ($200 if you can find it on sale) which doesn't sound like something he is looking for. Zero if that cost isn't a problem then by all means get a Shield TV, they are pretty awesome and as noted would give you "one box, that just works" for your parents RV.
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Aug 2, 2016 20:59
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Ixian posted:I agree that the Shield TV would be more of an ultimate solution for him, since he could run PMS on it locally and use a simple USB drive for media storage. With that you get a true all in one device that handles streaming too (except Prime Video) and is very easy to use/has a simple remote. PMS has some limitations around local USB storage but for his use case probably not too onerous. My parents actually use Prime Video though. :x
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Aug 2, 2016 22:49
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Zero The Hero posted:My parents actually use Prime Video though. :x loving Amazon Prime is fast becoming the new CableCard, where there are all these awesome boxen that do everything but that.
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Aug 3, 2016 00:02
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Zero The Hero posted:My parents actually use Prime Video though. :x FireTV (and stick) can sideload Kodi, though it's harder than it used to be since they started blocking apps that simplified doing that part and alternate launchers to run it. However it doesn't play well with local (usb) storage, meaning you'd need a network drive/share, meaning for parents/RV things get complicated, quick. So we're back to my first suggestion, which is just take the old htpc you already have, install OpenElec/LibreElec on it (it's stupid easy to do) which will give you a solid option that runs Kodi (by default, meaning it boots to it) and works well with local/usb media. Trickiest part might be figuring out remote control unless you have an IR remote dongle already with that HTPC (Open/LibreElec work with most IR receivers out of the box). For streaming, buy them either a Roku or FireTV stick, which are cheap, easy, have simple interfaces, and support all the major US streaming services, including Amazons. At worst they'll have to juggle a couple/three remotes and remember to change the inputs on the TV. You can go the universal remote route and eliminate even that - the Harmony supports both streaming sticks, and can be made to control most HTPC IR receivers too - but that will take more setup. Also the cheapest Harmonys run around $60.
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Aug 3, 2016 00:33
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Ixian posted:FireTV (and stick) can sideload Kodi, though it's harder than it used to be since they started blocking apps that simplified doing that part and alternate launchers to run it. I miss that week we had about a month ago where Kodi was once again back on my recently used apps. 
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Aug 3, 2016 12:35
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Zero The Hero posted:Can you use a Fire stick without a router?
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Aug 4, 2016 06:22
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g0del posted:From personal experience, the fire tv/stick are virtually useless without an internet connection, so I wouldn't rely on them in an RV. They won't even launch already downloaded apps like kodi without the internet. I was assuming his (her?) parents would use it when stopped. Just about every RV park in the US offers wireless these days, just like hotels. You can even get it in some Walmart parking lots (which in some areas are de facto RV lots for retired wanderers, go figure). Quality, of course, varies, but that's nothing new.
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Aug 4, 2016 13:53
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I've got the MariaDB SQL setup and it's almost perfect. How do i fix movies that are appearing out of order? For whatever reason "London Has Fallen" is showing up first in my film list. Edit: I guess I should get a GUI DB tool and take a look at the table values listed here: http://kodi.wiki/view/databases#The_Video_Library toplitzin fucked around with this message at 15:10 on Aug 5, 2016 |
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Aug 5, 2016 15:05
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My Multichannel HDMI volume has taken a dump. its really low, never been this low ever. Bitstreaming Dolby and DTS are at normal levels, but regular multichannel youtube and other viewing has me cranking above reference level for normal listening levels. My levels in the mixer are high and I've checked in the playback device settings. What gives? This is an Nvidia card with windows 10. I feel like this problem developed over night. edit: watching the volume mixer levels nothing wants to hit above 50 percent. Aeka 2.0 fucked around with this message at 03:32 on Aug 20, 2016 |
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Aug 20, 2016 03:30
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Have you seen my apex seals? I seem to have lost them.
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Looks like my old Acer Aspire Revo with Kodi is dying, I'm looking into cheap replacements. I mostly stream 1080p content from my Synology NAS via Samba. This was great for my roommates since they don't have access to the NAS, they just pick up the remote for the Kodi box and go. This also means casting from a PC is difficult. I'd like something with minimal end user effort required. Unfortunately last time I checked the NAS wasn't powerful enough to decode 1080p at full FPS, so Plex doesn't really work for me. Any suggestions? I'm kind of lost with all the new tech from the last couple years. EDIT: a bonus would be something I could cast to from my Windows PC or that will let me use proxy services for MLB.tv and NFL Game Pass. Trillest Parrot fucked around with this message at 23:38 on Sep 1, 2016 |
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Sep 1, 2016 23:34
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Trillest Parrot posted:Looks like my old Acer Aspire Revo with Kodi is dying, I'm looking into cheap replacements. I mostly stream 1080p content from my Synology NAS via Samba. This was great for my roommates since they don't have access to the NAS, they just pick up the remote for the Kodi box and go. This also means casting from a PC is difficult. I'd like something with minimal end user effort required. Unfortunately last time I checked the NAS wasn't powerful enough to decode 1080p at full FPS, so Plex doesn't really work for me. Any suggestions? I'm kind of lost with all the new tech from the last couple years. Shield TV as it will run Kodi or plex and give you access to the Google Play Store. Edit: if you want cheaper you can do a fire TV and sideload Kodi onto it pretty easy. Burden fucked around with this message at 01:04 on Sep 2, 2016 |
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Sep 2, 2016 01:00
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Looks like there's a new Shield coming so maybe the original ones are on sale and you can grab one before they're gone.
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Sep 2, 2016 01:55
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wolfbiker posted:Looks like there's a new Shield coming so maybe the original ones are on sale and you can grab one before they're gone. Source?
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Sep 2, 2016 10:46
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http://androidtv.news/2016/08/nvidia-shield-2nd-gen-shown-new-fcc-documents/
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Sep 2, 2016 11:12
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Shield TV's already the beefiest TV device around, including 4K support, wonder what they could add. I guess More GPU, for those fabulous android games they keep pushing.
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Sep 2, 2016 23:31
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