Remote Streaming Media Server

[zyvx]

I'm looking for a solution to have a file server I can access from anywhere that won't cost me any more money. An integrated backup system would also be nice.

 

I currently have a whs 2011 rig

 

AMD Phenom II x4 810

16GB crucial ballistix tactical 1333 4x4

Asus M5A88-M

160GB WD Blue

250GB Seagate Momentus 5400.4

3TB Seagate Barracuda

 

All my media is on the 3TB drive shared with the homegroup and usually played straight from the HDD or through XBMC on my main rig (deets in profile.) 

My backup is a couple of 2TB external drives via CrashPlan.

I also have a pogoplug v4 I was considering putting arch linux on.

 

I had a hell of a time just trying to get whs to work at all and it still seems finicky (random reboots) but I would really like to be able to stream all of that content to both my phone (Vzw GS3 CM10) and my tablet (Note 10.1) or any other device I can pick up and log into from outside the LAN and without having to use IE (really microsoft...just let it go.)

 

I'm not afraid of linux if I have a good guide but I tend to be a bit n00bish when it comes to CLI. The easier the better of course but I would prefer to not have to mess with it all the time if possible. 

 

Any help is greatly appreciated. I seem to keep running myself in circles as to what implementation to use and what the advantages and drawbacks of them are. I'll put a brief list below of some builds I have been considering (In no particular order.)

 

WHS 2011

FreeNAS

ArchLinux

VMs through Xubuntu/Ubuntu

Stock Pogoplug

Plex Server

ZFS Server

 

 

 

[Atlantisman]

As far as media server software one of the best iv'e found is Plex Media Server, they have apps for android/ios devices, TVs, and some other smart devices, such as blue ray players, and etc. You also have a web client that you can access on any computer, and the software is DLNA compliant so it will work on things like Playstations, Xboxes and etc.

 

EDIT: I am sure freenas would fill all your needs, including backups and the plex media server.

[zyvx]

Thanks!

I've spent that last few days setting up FreeNAS (mostly moving files) so hopefully it ends well.

My only concern is that the Plex app costs about $5 and I really don't want to make the investment only to find out its lacking in some major way (pretty much always seems to happen.)

Do you have personal experience w/ it? And were there any limitations you came across?

[Blade of Grass]

I actually quite like Plex, it works quite well for me (I only use it locally though, as my 2Mb/s up isn't sufficient to stream anything).

Any particular feature you want?

[xXxYOLOxSWAGxXx_420BlazeIt]

I use VLC to transcode and stream TV over the internet so that I can watch Sky TV while at uni. 

 

I can help you set it up if you want? Its pretty simple, and would be very similar to what I have set up.

 

Ive made an IRC bot so that I can change channels remotely as well. It would be easy to turn into a web interface.

[Hikaru12]

Thanks!

I've spent that last few days setting up FreeNAS (mostly moving files) so hopefully it ends well.

My only concern is that the Plex app costs about $5 and I really don't want to make the investment only to find out its lacking in some major way (pretty much always seems to happen.)

Do you have personal experience w/ it? And were there any limitations you came across?

 

I mean it isn't as feature rich as something like XBMC but it can stream pretty much whatever you want and it offers transcoding. As far as I know you can't really do TV recording or anything too advanced as it's only still a W.I.P.