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J4N
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Just a small feedback:

I ended by buying a Qnap Ts-253 with 8 GB of ram, + imported the google nexus player, and well, I made jealous every person coming to my house since.

 

The QNAP is very powerfull(not as powerfull that could have been a custom server), but it allows me to easily admin the NAS(Watching the current status, getting email when anything could have an issue, installed an openVpn and downloaded the certificate easily, configure transmission). Plex scans the different folder every 15minutes and the user experience with plex on the nexus player is unmatched with everything I tried right now. In addition I can use the Nexus Player as a chromecast, which is a nice addition.

 

The only bottleneck I had was with the default download tool(impossible to select the destination folder properly), but I replaced it by transmission, which work like a charm.

Posted

Hi,

 

It makes one week that I'm searching and making some tests but I can't figure out which would be the better solution.

 

I'm looking for a device(either a standalone box, either a custom thing), which would cover:

  1. Raid(mirroring), with 2 disk(far enough for me)
    1. Share with windows
    2. Share with Mac
    3. Act as time machine
  2. Allow me to downloads bittorents files
    1. Allowing me to specify some seeding options(duration+ratio)
    2. Allow me to specify at the moment that I add the torrent, in which subdirectory it has to download the file
  3. Allow me to connect the NAS to the television through HDMI and present those media folders(XBMC/...) (= act as HTPC)

I know that usually, it's not recommended to have an HTPC + NAS on the same machine, but in my case:

  • I feel like having two different devices is slower than access directly on the disk
  • I've not huge needs, either for NAS, either for the HTPC part
  • It will take less space, less money, less power to have this at one place
  • I can live if the System crash(as far as some shares(not the one used by the HTPC) are not impacted
  • Currently I've a Synology, which gives access to my television(that is not so smart), but I've to transcode most of the format, which puts the NAS on his knees.

 

For now I checked:

  • Synology: Doesn't have the HTPC part
  • QNAP (in my case, the TS-253): Seems to fill my needs, but it looks like expensive compared to the same hardware that I can get with the same money
  • FreeNas: Currently in my tests with a Virtualmachine, I got a lot of errors, and I wasn't able to create the HTPC part, in addition I'm not very familiar with FreeBSD
  • OpenMediaVault: I wasn't able to test the HTPC part, since it requires a Graphic acceleration that I wasn't able to setup with VirtualBox, I had issues with the installation of transmission(Errors on activation).

So:

  1. Do you see any other distribution/system/box?
  2. Any advice on what to choose?

Thank you very much for your time

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A HP Microserver G7 with a dedicated graphics card would do well for this I'd say. That or a custom whitebox with a Pentium dual core. Really depends on your budget.

 

FreeNAS or windows if you happen to have a spare license. The one trouble is the HTPC part, most systems aren't designed to do both, outside of Windows really. (Unless you are a linux god at which point I bow before you)

 

If you have to transcode some of your media, then you are going to need a proper processor, I've tried quite a few prebuilt nas's for people who complain they can't do this, that, etc etc and 99% of the time it's down to lack of power.

 

You could take a look at Plex and using a chromecast or something similar in the back of the TV, works brilliantly with the system from what I've used.

 

I've got plex running on a whitebox prodigy case, 2x6tb drives with a pentium and 8GB ram, works brilliantly transcoding 1080p streams to two TV's, and as mines based on windows, I can just run what ever I want on there pretty much straight away.

Cartman - AMD Phenom II x6 1055T 3.1Ghz - 10GB Ram (Mwahahah) - 256GB Crucial MX100 Boot - 2TB WD Red - Gainward GTX 770 - Zalman Insanely Loud CNPS14X - Corsair 230T Orange

Stan - Intel Pentium G3320 - 8GB Ram - 128GB Intel 520 - Raid 1 6TB WD Reds - Bit Fenix Prodigy

Kenny - HP 14 Ultrabook (No name apperently) i3 4130 - 128GB Intel 520

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i use a QNAP box (ts-420) you can hook it up to your router obviously and have it stream to any wifi or connected LAN device. if you have something like a game console, tablet, small pc you can stream to that and output it on your tv.

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I have a qnap ts251 set up with plex media server. It works amazing streaming to chromecast and through dlna with my smart tvs that are connected through out the network.

 

I attempted to use my ts251 as a direct connection to my projector but it was not as fast as using chromecast with plex app.

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Thank you very much for all your responses!

 

 

A HP Microserver G7 with a dedicated graphics card would do well for this I'd say. That or a custom whitebox with a Pentium dual core. Really depends on your budget.

 

FreeNAS or windows if you happen to have a spare license. The one trouble is the HTPC part, most systems aren't designed to do both, outside of Windows really. (Unless you are a linux god at which point I bow before you)

 

If you have to transcode some of your media, then you are going to need a proper processor, I've tried quite a few prebuilt nas's for people who complain they can't do this, that, etc etc and 99% of the time it's down to lack of power.

 

You could take a look at Plex and using a chromecast or something similar in the back of the TV, works brilliantly with the system from what I've used.

 

I've got plex running on a whitebox prodigy case, 2x6tb drives with a pentium and 8GB ram, works brilliantly transcoding 1080p streams to two TV's, and as mines based on windows, I can just run what ever I want on there pretty much straight away.

Ideally I would like to put between 600 and 800$(depending on what I get in the end). What would bet the advantage of using a HP microserver? It will just cost more for the same thing? I'm really not affraid on having to build a custom thing(just don't know what kind of material to get to be compatible with the OS I choose).

 

I'm not very familiar with the combo Plex+chromecast, but can this be used with only the NAS + the chromecast? Without a computer/phone/whatever that says that I want to stream to the tv? Because it's what I would like to avoid: I'm not the only one in the house, and it has to be easily usable for the other people which have all very different kind of devices.

 

 

 

i use a QNAP box (ts-420) you can hook it up to your router obviously and have it stream to any wifi or connected LAN device. if you have something like a game console, tablet, small pc you can stream to that and output it on your tv.

Currently I've a synology DS212, but I've a TV which has already 6 years and isn't supporting most of the AVI codecs, so I had to make transcoding, and the synology was just not up to the task, and additionally, the user experience through the menu of the television was very bad(slow, no informations/descriptions, no cover, ...). One of my goal of moving from my "old" synology is to get a better end user experience(no matters if it is hard to configure), so I thought that XBMC was a nice idea since it doesn't rely on the TV functionalities.

 

 

 

I have a qnap ts251 set up with plex media server. It works amazing streaming to chromecast and through dlna with my smart tvs that are connected through out the network.

 

I attempted to use my ts251 as a direct connection to my projector but it was not as fast as using chromecast with plex app.

As I was saying to TheGeekster, I'm not familiar with this, but how do you indicate to the chromecast that it has to read the media X? Is there some kind of devices which would allow me to get the Plex experience on the TV with a chromecast without having to start another computer to stream to the device?

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Posted

Hi,

 

It makes one week that I'm searching and making some tests but I can't figure out which would be the better solution.

 

I'm looking for a device(either a standalone box, either a custom thing), which would cover:

  1. Raid(mirroring), with 2 disk(far enough for me)
    1. Share with windows
    2. Share with Mac
    3. Act as time machine
  2. Allow me to downloads bittorents files
    1. Allowing me to specify some seeding options(duration+ratio)
    2. Allow me to specify at the moment that I add the torrent, in which subdirectory it has to download the file
  3. Allow me to connect the NAS to the television through HDMI and present those media folders(XBMC/...) (= act as HTPC)

I know that usually, it's not recommended to have an HTPC + NAS on the same machine, but in my case:

  • I feel like having two different devices is slower than access directly on the disk
  • I've not huge needs, either for NAS, either for the HTPC part
  • It will take less space, less money, less power to have this at one place
  • I can live if the System crash(as far as some shares(not the one used by the HTPC) are not impacted
  • Currently I've a Synology, which gives access to my television(that is not so smart), but I've to transcode most of the format, which puts the NAS on his knees.

 

For now I checked:

  • Synology: Doesn't have the HTPC part
  • QNAP (in my case, the TS-253): Seems to fill my needs, but it looks like expensive compared to the same hardware that I can get with the same money
  • FreeNas: Currently in my tests with a Virtualmachine, I got a lot of errors, and I wasn't able to create the HTPC part, in addition I'm not very familiar with FreeBSD
  • OpenMediaVault: I wasn't able to test the HTPC part, since it requires a Graphic acceleration that I wasn't able to setup with VirtualBox, I had issues with the installation of transmission(Errors on activation).

So:

  1. Do you see any other distribution/system/box?
  2. Any advice on what to choose?

Thank you very much for your time

 

Hello J4N and welcome to Linus Tech Tips forum :)
 
I would suggest checking WD My Cloud Mirror and WD My Cloud EX2. They are 2-bay NAS devices, offer the features that you are looking for, easy to set up and support RAID1. 
 
Check them out and see if they cover your needs.
 
Your other option is to build a NAS yourself and use a highly-customizeable OS on it. 
 
Captain_WD.

If this helped you, like and choose it as best answer - you might help someone else with the same issue. ^_^
WDC Representative, http://www.wdc.com/ 

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Hello J4N and welcome to Linus Tech Tips forum :)
 
I would suggest checking WD My Cloud Mirror and WD My Cloud EX2. They are 2-bay NAS devices, offer the features that you are looking for, easy to set up and support RAID1. 
 
Check them out and see if they cover your needs.
 
Your other option is to build a NAS yourself and use a highly-customizeable OS on it. 
 
Captain_WD.

 

Thank you for your messages, I love your disks, but I don't see how your proposal can fits my needs:

 

The Cloud Mirror doesn't offers any bittorrent capabilities, the cloud Ex2 doesn't to even offer DLNA(and event if it was, its 1.2Ghz CPU will not be up to the task). Or did I miss something?

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Thank you for your messages, I love your disks, but I don't see how your proposal can fits my needs:

 

The Cloud Mirror doesn't offers any bittorrent capabilities, the cloud Ex2 doesn't to even offer DLNA(and event if it was, its 1.2Ghz CPU will not be up to the task). Or did I miss something?

 

WD My Cloud EX2 actually features a Twonky DLNA-certified media server. http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=dASqIZ
You can find more detailed description of its DLNA abilities here: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=VW97sYand how to enable it here: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=Iikm4x
 
It is true that hardware-wise the NAS is a bit weak, but it still functions properly for sharing media across multiple devices, synchronizes well with both Windows and Mac, supports Time Machine and other backup programs and has many different features that could be useful. 
 
You could check out WD My Cloud EX4, but the price raises significantly and has four bays, not two.
 
You know better thank anyone what hardware specifications would fit best your own requirements. A self-built NAS might be the better solution for you, as long as you find the proper OS for it.
 
Thanks for the kind words towards WD. :)
 
Captain_WD.

If this helped you, like and choose it as best answer - you might help someone else with the same issue. ^_^
WDC Representative, http://www.wdc.com/ 

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As I was saying to TheGeekster, I'm not familiar with this, but how do you indicate to the chromecast that it has to read the media X? Is there some kind of devices which would allow me to get the Plex experience on the TV with a chromecast without having to start another computer to stream to the device?

 

If all three things connected to the same network (plex media server,Chromecast, and the device you're running plex app) it should all work seamlessly.

 

On the app it will show an icon in upper right hand corner. The app should also automatically pick up the NAS/plex server if on the same network.

 

Getting plex to point to the correct location in the NAS where the media is being stored is just as easy as pointing it to the correct path on your network. EX: \\nasstorage\media\movies\ 

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WD My Cloud EX2 actually features a Twonky DLNA-certified media server. http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=dASqIZ
You can find more detailed description of its DLNA abilities here: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=VW97sYand how to enable it here: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=Iikm4x
 
It is true that hardware-wise the NAS is a bit weak, but it still functions properly for sharing media across multiple devices, synchronizes well with both Windows and Mac, supports Time Machine and other backup programs and has many different features that could be useful. 
 
You could check out WD My Cloud EX4, but the price raises significantly and has four bays, not two.
 
You know better thank anyone what hardware specifications would fit best your own requirements. A self-built NAS might be the better solution for you, as long as you find the proper OS for it.
 
Thanks for the kind words towards WD. :)
 
Captain_WD.

 

Yeah, the ideal case would be to build myself the hardware while having the software provided by a third party(free/paid)

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If all three things connected to the same network (plex media server,Chromecast, and the device you're running plex app) it should all work seamlessly.

 

On the app it will show an icon in upper right hand corner. The app should also automatically pick up the NAS/plex server if on the same network.

 

Getting plex to point to the correct location in the NAS where the media is being stored is just as easy as pointing it to the correct path on your network. EX: \\nasstorage\media\movies\ 

 

The thing is, you take by example my wife, she doesn't have a smartphone, so with what will she launch the movie?

 

Another thing: I've the impression that the media does the way: Plex server -> Android Plex -> Plex Theater, instead of having the android plex binding the server and theater(in my case, theater and server are the two wired, but the android is on wifi(and far from the router), was lagging :(

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The thing is, you take by example my wife, she doesn't have a smartphone, so with what will she launch the movie?

 

Another thing: I've the impression that the media does the way: Plex server -> Android Plex -> Plex Theater, instead of having the android plex binding the server and theater(in my case, theater and server are the two wired, but the android is on wifi(and far from the router), was lagging :(

 

I am assuming your wife will have access to a pc or laptop that can use the google chrome browser which in turn you can then cast it from there by launching plex through the browser. It should also appear with same icon your phone will have.

 

How the chromecast works is that it intially first is launched by the app. The app that launched the media can then be shut off completely and the media will continue to play. In essence the app creates the handshake between plex server and goole chromecast dongle which comminucates directly to the server not to your device after.

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I use my Synology as an HTPC with apple TV. Works great.

CPU - 4790k / GPU - EVGA GTX 980 / Case - NCASE M1 v3 / Board - ASUS Impact VII  / PSU SFX 600w Silverstone / Storage - 2x500GB EVOs / Windows 8.1,OS X 10.10 / Full Water Loop

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I am assuming your wife will have access to a pc or laptop that can use the google chrome browser which in turn you can then cast it from there by launching plex through the browser. It should also appear with same icon your phone will have.

 

How the chromecast works is that it intially first is launched by the app. The app that launched the media can then be shut off completely and the media will continue to play. In essence the app creates the handshake between plex server and goole chromecast dongle which comminucates directly to the server not to your device after.

 

Well, this is my issue, because if I have to ask all the other people using the tv to bring their laptop to just check their series, no way they will be happy, which is the point.

 

I saw their is a "Plex Home Theater", is there any way to install it on OpenMediaVault/... ? which would be directly connected to the TV?

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I may have found a solution which would match my needs:

 

  • Use a NAS without GUI
  • Buy a Google Nexus player to have the FrontEnd

So now I'm looking on which case to use to make my NAS, since I have to fit it in a space where I've only 20cm of height(width and depth isn't an issue).

 

For now, I didn't found any matching case, something to advise me?

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Just a small feedback:

I ended by buying a Qnap Ts-253 with 8 GB of ram, + imported the google nexus player, and well, I made jealous every person coming to my house since.

 

The QNAP is very powerfull(not as powerfull that could have been a custom server), but it allows me to easily admin the NAS(Watching the current status, getting email when anything could have an issue, installed an openVpn and downloaded the certificate easily, configure transmission). Plex scans the different folder every 15minutes and the user experience with plex on the nexus player is unmatched with everything I tried right now. In addition I can use the Nexus Player as a chromecast, which is a nice addition.

 

The only bottleneck I had was with the default download tool(impossible to select the destination folder properly), but I replaced it by transmission, which work like a charm.

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Just a small feedback:

I ended by buying a Qnap Ts-253 with 8 GB of ram, + imported the google nexus player, and well, I made jealous every person coming to my house since.

 

The QNAP is very powerfull(not as powerfull that could have been a custom server), but it allows me to easily admin the NAS(Watching the current status, getting email when anything could have an issue, installed an openVpn and downloaded the certificate easily, configure transmission). Plex scans the different folder every 15minutes and the user experience with plex on the nexus player is unmatched with everything I tried right now. In addition I can use the Nexus Player as a chromecast, which is a nice addition.

 

The only bottleneck I had was with the default download tool(impossible to select the destination folder properly), but I replaced it by transmission, which work like a charm.

 

Great choice. I am also thinking about purchasing a nexus player since I do like the functionality(physical remote) that the chromecast does not have.

 

A Qnap nas is very powerful. Its very user friendly but still if you want can expand on its usage. Make sure to set up the cloud for your qnap I use it frequently when I want to access my NAS from anywhere.

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Great choice. I am also thinking about purchasing a nexus player since I do like the functionality(physical remote) that the chromecast does not have.

 

A Qnap nas is very powerful. Its very user friendly but still if you want can expand on its usage. Make sure to set up the cloud for your qnap I use it frequently when I want to access my NAS from anywhere.

A side note: I owned a Synology and a qnap, synology has a small advantage on the software, but qnap beat them largely on the hardware side.

 

The nexus player has really a great end user experience, and since it's only the beginning, I know it will improve over the time :)

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