Advise setting up media server to watch on TV's

[uno99]

What I have - 3 household smart TV's, A very good asus router, a USB external 10TB HDD with movies, TV shows, a modern gaming computer (that I use for gaming and prefer to keep as barebones as possible).

What I want to achieve - Have the TV's be able to watch the content from the HDD. Bonus points for a nice interface like plex or whatever.

 

What's my best route? Do I need to buy a NAS or is the USB HDD good enough? I am a novice at best for setting up network stuff.

Can anyone recomend a tutorial for whatever would be the best solution?

 

Thanks for your help LTT brethren. 

[ToboRobot]

There are many paths to potentially take.  

You could get a NAS, server, or PC to act as a media server.  Software like Plex, or Jellyfin are popular.

You can setup media server software on your gaming PC, and use that to test out the software and see if you like it.  Then move it to a dedicated computer or appliance later.  

I ran Jellyfin on my gaming box for about a year while I saved up to build a dedicated linux box for it, and it was never a problem.

 

I am a big fan of getting a solution up and running for no or minimal investment and testing things out before making a big investment.

[uno99]

1 hour ago, ToboRobot said:

There are many paths to potentially take.  

You could get a NAS, server, or PC to act as a media server.  Software like Plex, or Jellyfin are popular.

You can setup media server software on your gaming PC, and use that to test out the software and see if you like it.  Then move it to a dedicated computer or appliance later.  

I ran Jellyfin on my gaming box for about a year while I saved up to build a dedicated linux box for it, and it was never a problem.

 

I am a big fan of getting a solution up and running for no or minimal investment and testing things out before making a big investment.

Yeah Im about to test out plex now on my TV using my gaming PC.

 

Is it possible to just plug in my HDD to my router and use plex that way or do I need a NAS appliance? 

[ToboRobot]

1 hour ago, uno99 said:

Yeah Im about to test out plex now on my TV using my gaming PC.

 

Is it possible to just plug in my HDD to my router and use plex that way or do I need a NAS appliance? 

im not aware of any ASUS routers that run plex nor would I want to for the best experience.  

You need some machine to act as a server, be it a computer or NAS appliance.

[Needfuldoer]

26 minutes ago, ToboRobot said:

You need some machine to act as a server, be it a computer or NAS appliance.

If your media is just on a USB hard drive, this could be something as simple as a small form factor office PC or off-lease corporate laptop. If you go that route, get an SSD as the boot drive, and put the Plex database and metadata on it. That will give you a snappier experience with whichever clients you choose.