Why do people use plex for storing movies on a NAS? And why do they choose it over SMB sharing?

[Bean Cooling]

Besides the more proper UI, I have no clue why people use plex instead of watching movies from an SMB share. I have searched and couldn't find an answer. Streaming videos from my server to my phone with SMB and VLC mobile works just fine. And isn't plex gpu intensive? So I ask. Why?

[Eigenvektor]

Streaming a movie from SMB works if the movie is in a format supported by your device. It's also not the best when multiple devices want to stream at the same time.

 

The reason why PLEX may (optionally) use the GPU is because it can do transcoding into different formats while streaming (if needed). This adds support for additional devices that don't support the source format.

[Biomecanoid]

9 minutes ago, Eigenvektor said:

Streaming a movie from SMB works if the movie is in a format supported by your device. It's also not the best when multiple devices want to stream at the same time.

 

The reason why PLEX may (optionally) use the GPU is because it can do transcoding into different formats while streaming (if needed). This adds support for additional devices that don't support the source format.

To me it makes more sense to upgrade your devices to support all codecs or have your content in multiple versions

 

Having a high tdp nas for transcoding is a waste of electricity and your bill will go up

[WereCatf]

35 minutes ago, Bean Cooling said:

Besides the more proper UI, I have no clue why people use plex instead of watching movies from an SMB share. I have searched and couldn't find an answer. Streaming videos from my server to my phone with SMB and VLC mobile works just fine.

Proper UI, including keeping track of what has and what hasn't been watched, managing of extras etc. alone is a big deal. Plex also allows one to watch content even on devices that otherwise wouldn't be able to play the videos. Even more important, Plex allows me to watch content from my Plex-server over the Internet as well, no matter where I am, and to share the content with my husband.

37 minutes ago, Bean Cooling said:

And isn't plex gpu intensive?

Only if the server has to transcode the video.

[FloRolf]

I guess because of accessibility, for example from Mobile and because of the transcoding. 

 

Also the UI like you mentioned and the fact that it shows movie stats, let's you rate the movie etc. 

[Bean Cooling]

9 minutes ago, Eigenvektor said:

Streaming a movie from SMB works if the movie is in a format supported by your device. It's also not the best when multiple devices want to stream at the same time.

 

The reason why PLEX may (optionally) use the GPU is because it can do transcoding into different formats while streaming (if needed). This adds support for additional devices that don't support the source format.

Oh. That makes sense now.

Granted I still don't know anyone who would run into those limitations.

[WereCatf]

1 minute ago, Biomecanoid said:

To me it makes more sense to upgrade your devices to support all codecs or have your content in multiple versions

If you're swimming in money so you can afford to just upgrade all your devices, sure, and if you can afford to also buy enough storage-space to maintain multiple versions of everything. I, for one, am not swimming in money.

[Bad5ector]

Plex is great for organizing your collections,  sharing your collection with your friends and family.

 

That's it in a nutshell.  If you have an HTPC or some other streaming device like an android box or smart TV,  it will make your media collection your own personal Netflix. 

 

[Biomecanoid]

Just now, WereCatf said:

If you're swimming in money so you can afford to just upgrade all your devices, sure, and if you can afford to also buy enough storage-space to maintain multiple versions of everything. I, for one, am not swimming in money.

its more expensive to buy a good pc for transcoding

 

[WereCatf]

Just now, Biomecanoid said:

its more expensive to buy a good pc for transcoding

Nope. I paid 80€ for a Geforce GTX 1050. Hardly an expensive buy.

[Biomecanoid]

Just now, WereCatf said:

Nope. I paid 80€ for a Geforce GTX 1050. Hardly an expensive buy.

1050+pc  running 24/7 = expensive electricity bill

[WereCatf]

Just now, Biomecanoid said:

1050+pc  running 24/7 = expensive electricity bill

And? It would be running 24/7 even with your solution of just buying more storage-space and maintaining multiple versions of everything, so your argument is entirely moot.

[Bad5ector]

1 minute ago, Biomecanoid said:

its more expensive to buy a good pc for transcoding

I'm transcoding using an FX6100 CPU and an old 2gb quadro p600 card. Don't need much. 

[Eigenvektor]

9 minutes ago, Biomecanoid said:

To me it makes more sense to upgrade your devices to support all codecs or have your content in multiple versions

All fine and good if we're talking about a PC. But if you're talking about (older) mobile devices or TVs, then your options for upgrading codecs are somewhat limited. And having multiple versions of the same movie on your server increases storage requirements.

 

So it's a question of: Do you want to keep multiple versions, which requires additional space, or do you want a server that can transcode as needed, on the fly?

[Bad5ector]

1 minute ago, Biomecanoid said:

1050+pc  running 24/7 = expensive electricity bill

Well if you have a server / NAS that's usually what their purpose is 24/7 uptime. Not sure your point?

[Biomecanoid]

Just now, WereCatf said:

And? It would be running 24/7 even with your solution of just buying more storage-space and maintaining multiple versions of everything, so your argument is entirely moot.

I have an atom based NAS runing Centos it just uses 20watts no pc uses so low power + I download movies that play in all my devices. I have 2 android boxes a ugoos and a Wetek.

[Biomecanoid]

1 minute ago, Bad5ector said:

Well if you have a server / NAS that's usually what their purpose is 24/7 uptime. Not sure your point?

A beefy pc transcoding will not use just 20 watts to serve your files over SMB

[WereCatf]

1 minute ago, Biomecanoid said:

I have an atom based NAS runing Centos it just uses 20watts no pc uses so low power + I download movies that play in all my devices. I have 2 android boxes a ugoos and a Wetek.

How is that relevant? Oh, right, it's not.

[Biomecanoid]

A new android box will cost like 50-60$, having a beefy pc to transcode will "eat" up all the money for electricity 

[WereCatf]

1 minute ago, Biomecanoid said:

A beefy pc transcoding

Again this strawman: the PC doesn't need to be beefy. Even an Intel iGPU can do the transcoding-task, besides which, it only transcodes anyway when the client can't play the video as-is. You're only making yourself look stupid with these strawmen.

[WereCatf]

1 minute ago, Biomecanoid said:

A new android box

If you only watch content on an Android-box, that's on you.

[WickedStarfish]

2 minutes ago, Biomecanoid said:

I have an atom based NAS runing Centos it just uses 20watts no pc uses so low power + I download movies that play in all my devices. I have 2 android boxes a ugoos and a Wetek.

just the hands free nature of plex and having a pc with a bit of extra power is more important to me than a low powerbill (though my bill is like $50aud in 3 months and I have an aircon in my room on 24/7 as well as my pc)

like yes my pc will use 150ish watts on idle, but if i hit it with 7-10 1080p streams and a 4k stream it handles it just fine the only problem i run into then is my internet upload speed (as my plex is shared by a fair few close friends), and I can still play modern warfare while it is hit with streaming and transcoding

[Biomecanoid]

6 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

Again this strawman: the PC doesn't need to be beefy. Even an Intel iGPU can do the transcoding-task, besides which, it only transcodes anyway when the client can't play the video as-is. You're only making yourself look stupid with these strawmen.

Where is no PC requiring just 20 watts to run. You solution uses like 10x the power.  I can watch my movies on the Smart tv, on my phone, on my PC and on my android boxes. You are not thinking it through inflating you own electricity bill. Now who is stupid ?

[WereCatf]

Just now, Biomecanoid said:

Where is no PC requiring just 20 watts to run. You solution uses like 10x the power.

Nope. I have a box with an Intel Celeron J4115 which can run Plex perfectly well while also doing transcoding in hardware. That thing literally CANNOT reach 200W of power-consumption, ergo you are still throwing around strawmen and projections.

[Biomecanoid]

1 minute ago, WereCatf said:

Nope. I have a box with an Intel Celeron J4115 which can run Plex perfectly well while also doing transcoding in hardware. That thing literally CANNOT reach 200W of power-consumption, ergo you are still throwing around strawmen and projections.

If you knew how much watts it consumed you would tell me, so you don't know