Which storage solution is right for me?

[AD.the.coder]

Hi,

I have difficulty deciding which storage solution is right for me and my situation.

Here are the case details:

Windows PC - bedroom.

Smart TV (LG OS) - living room.

 

The Windows PC has a 1TB SSD, and I am running out of space.

I want to stop moving files from the PC drive to an external SSD drive for watching stuff on the TV. Moreover, the external SSD is only 1TB, running out of space.

 

Networking-wise:
A wireless router from my ISP (it is not so good, and I am thinking of connecting to its ethernet port a different one, not sure which model) - it has some WiFi-6; I think I would like to have WiFi-6 as my (Android) smartphone has it.

The TV is connected to the router via cable.

The PC is connected via WiFi.

 

I do not know how complicated or if it is a good idea to have access to the storage when I'm away from home (my parents' house, for example).

 

Another thing to consider is that I want a sound system connected to a computer to play my music - Is there a way to combine those two, or should the media center and the storage be separate?

 

If possible, I want to have a few options budget-wise.

I live outside of the US and Canada, so name-brand products and custom builds are probably the best bet, as per availability.

 

Thanks 

[leclod]

The easiest would be another SSD or HDD depending on size and budget

(I'd even replace those external drives with that internal drive)

Edited September 13, 2023 by leclod

[AD.the.coder]

10 minutes ago, leclod said:

The easiest would be another SSD or HDD depending on size and budget

(I'd even replace those external drives with that internal drive)

However I am looking to have much more storage space, and I don't want to keep moving files from one drive to another.

[leclod]

10 minutes ago, AD.the.coder said:

However I am looking to have much more storage space, and I don't want to keep moving files from one drive to another.

And why don't you simply buy a big SSD (4TB) or even a big HDD (16TB) ?

[Bersella AI]

Pick up a used office PC, make it running 24/7, then pair it with a hard drive with 4TB of capacity (or more) & CMR recording. I personally have an HP 800 G3 SFF computer running as my server. You may wish to utilize services like Plex or Jellyfin to manage all media properly, and access them more conveniently.

 

For the TV side, purchase a budget TV box like X96 X4, and an AV receiver supporting either HDMI eARC passthrough or web/bluetooth streaming. For reference, recently I'm considering an upgrade on my father's home theater, and some mid-tier alternatives like Denon AVR-X1700H have been spotted.

Note that the TV box could be capable of music playback, although I have not attempted to do such, and the actual quality may be sub-optimal. In such case, a mini PC paired with a USB DAC could be considered.

[AD.the.coder]

20 minutes ago, leclod said:

And why don't you simply buy a big SSD (4TB) or even a big HDD (16TB) ?

I would still have to connect the drive to my PC and then disconnect it to plug it into the TV, and I also want to be able to access the files on a media center PC to play my music.
I believe that I am looking for a shared network kind of solution. However, I am unsure if it should be a NAS or a PC acting as my media center and a shared network storage. Moreover, I wish to have the option of expandability in the future.

I hope I have explained myself more clearly.

[AD.the.coder]

12 minutes ago, Bersella AI said:

Pick up a used office PC, make it running 24/7, then pair it with a hard drive with 4TB of capacity (or more) & CMR recording. I personally have an HP 800 G3 SFF computer running as my server. You may wish to utilize services like Plex or Jellyfin to manage all media properly, and access them more conveniently.

 

For the TV side, purchase a budget TV box like X96 X4, and an AV receiver supporting either HDMI eARC passthrough or web/bluetooth streaming. For reference, recently I'm considering an upgrade on my father's home theater, and some mid-tier alternatives like Denon AVR-X1700H have been spotted.

Note that the TV box could be capable of music playback, although I have not attempted to do such, and the actual quality may be sub-optimal. In such case, a mini PC paired with a USB DAC could be considered.

Could I use the PC as a media center and skip the mini-PC, meaning, one PC as NAS & media center; What would be the specs needed?

 

Or is it better to have a separate NAS and a mini-PC?

 

Also, do I need a USB DAC if the PC has a 3.5mm audio output?

[dogwitch]

qnap,terramaster,synolgy

[Bersella AI]

3 minutes ago, AD.the.coder said:

Could I use the PC as a media center and skip the mini-PC, meaning, one PC as NAS & media center; What would be the specs needed?

 

Or is it better to have a separate NAS and a mini-PC?

 

Also, do I need a USB DAC if the PC has a 3.5mm audio output?

1. Yes, this option is feasible as long as you wish to leave the PC power-on 24/7. Since your TV should be able to access contents from the PC via Samba, all you need is to install a hard drive (>=4TB), then make a folder to share with the TV.
2. In case you are not willing to leave the PC running 24/7, a second PC would be required.
3. The DAC is meant to convert music with the best quality, especially those in DSD or High-Res FLAC formats. It's quite useful in an enthusiastic sound system, and unparalleled comparing to those integrated in the PC. An example of such DAC is the XDuoo TA-10.

[AD.the.coder]

1 minute ago, dogwitch said:

qnap,terramaster,synolgy

Can you recommend a model of QNap or Synology? (Those are the brands I have in my country.)

Plus, can a custom-build PC work as a NAS and a media-center?

[dogwitch]

7 hours ago, AD.the.coder said:

Can you recommend a model of QNap or Synology? (Those are the brands I have in my country.)

Plus, can a custom-build PC work as a NAS and a media-center?

a 4 bay model with a intel chip inside. for transcoding.

last 3 years of either 2 of the companies product would do.