NAS for transcoding?

[zPanic]

Hi!

 

I'm a total rookie at servers and NAS.

I, without any prior knowledge, gave in to the sales guy's talk and bought myself a Seagate Personal Cloud.

I wanted to use it to stream media anywhere in the world, preferably using Plex.

However, I totally forgot that Plex requires a CPU with a passmark of at least 1000+ (for 720p 4mbps) to transcode media properly.

Of course, this consumer grade cloud storage tool, does have the option to install the Plex app on its Linux system, but doesn't have the processing power to transcode media.

 

Now, I'm looking to refund my purchase as I wasn't well informed, and to buy a new NAS device with enough processing power to run a Plex Media Server properly.

I would like it to be somewhat compact. If it supports switching HDD's, I would like that too. Doesn't matter if it supports 3,5 inch or 2,5 inch SATA drives, but I have a supply of the latter due to old laptops.

 

To summarize: I would like to replace my Seagate Personal Cloud with a NAS device capable of running a Plex Media Server, with the processing power to transcode media to at least 720p 4mbps.

Alternatively: I would like to be able to play all of my media files (I have movies and TV shows on the cloud) on my mobile device while out of home, or simply be able to leave my computer off and use the cloud to cast media to my chromecast. 

A question: Is there any way to change the entire OS of the NAS to something more compatible with my wishes? 

 

All I want is to be able to play my video files on my mobile device (as would my friends and girlfriend, Android/iOS), and cast the media to our TV's without having to go through the trouble of having to transcode the files.

On Android, I was able to play most of the files through the Seagate Media app on my Chromecast device without any problems or buffering. Some video types aren't supported by our phone's native players, but should that pose a problem for casting the videos to our Chromecasts?

 

Thank you for reading this far if you have. 

 

Mild Seagate rant: 

Spoiler

Seagate is a good brand, however, the customizability of the Personal Cloud is lacking. I'm sharing my cloud with my girlfriend and some friends, allowing them to have a private drive/folder. On top of that, there's a Public folder I can make accessible to everyone. However, that makes it so anyone with access can change/upload stuff in the Public folder at will, while I want to be the only one with the ability to upload/change stuff in that folder. Now, they won't change anything in that folder on my request, but I guess this is just a management tick of mine. On top of that, people's private folders aren't available through the Seagate Media app, even when said person logs in through the "Remote access" thing with their credentials. I contacted Seagate for all of the above, but they simply can't, or won't add those options. 

 

[79wjd]

Plex can stream outside of your house, and plex can also stream directly to android tv/fire stick/other -- not sure about a chromecast.

 

You can also just let the destination device handle the transcoding (at least for inside your network).

 

I know you mentioned wanting something compact, but none of the pre-built NAS's is going to have a very strong CPU, have you considered building a custom NAS?

[Simon771]

I was hosting Plex server on my PC, and it was using around 40% of my i5 3350p CPU.

Not sure if you can find anything like that in prebuild NAS devices.

 

LIke @djdwosk97 said, you might want to look into build your own NAS. Just get some half decent hardware, add as many HDD drives as you can, and install plex server. Then you also need to do some adjustments for your router, so you can stream outside of your home network aswell.

But you would need pretty decent internet connection for that. 

I had no problems with that since I have gigabit ethernet at home, and streaming localy wasn't any issue at all. But streaming outside of my network ... well it was kinda bad with 20Mbps uplink. Around 2MB/s acctually upload speed. Simply not enough for any decent quality.

[zPanic]

25 minutes ago, djdwosk97 said:

Plex can stream outside of your house, and plex can also stream directly to android tv/fire stick/other -- not sure about a chromecast.

 

You can also just let the destination device handle the transcoding (at least for inside your network).

 

I know you mentioned wanting something compact, but none of the pre-built NAS's is going to have a very strong CPU, have you considered building a custom NAS?

 

18 minutes ago, Simon771 said:

I was hosting Plex server on my PC, and it was using around 40% of my i5 3350p CPU.

Not sure if you can find anything like that in prebuild NAS devices.

 

LIke @djdwosk97 said, you might want to look into build your own NAS. Just get some half decent hardware, add as many HDD drives as you can, and install plex server. Then you also need to do some adjustments for your router, so you can stream outside of your home network aswell.

But you would need pretty decent internet connection for that. 

I had no problems with that since I have gigabit ethernet at home, and streaming localy wasn't any issue at all. But streaming outside of my network ... well it was kinda bad with 20Mbps uplink. Around 2MB/s acctually upload speed. Simply not enough for any decent quality.

 

Thank you both for your replies.

I don't want anything that takes up as much space as my current PC, regrettably.

How much would it cost me to build a half decent NAS?

On another note; would it be possible to install a different NAS OS on my PersonalCloud device, so I can manage permissions?

 

[79wjd]

3 minutes ago, zPanic said:

Thank you both for your replies.

I don't want anything that takes up as much space as my current PC, regrettably.

How much would it cost me to build a half decent NAS?

$330+drives, and that's with a small case. If you choose an OS like FreeNAS, then you can run the OS off of a pair of mirror'd flash drives. 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($59.48 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: ASRock - B250M-HDV Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($62.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Crucial - 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($54.77 @ OutletPC) 
Case: Fractal Design - Node 804 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: EVGA - 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($46.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $329.22
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-09 07:18 EDT-0400

Quote

On another note; would it be possible to install a different NAS OS on my PersonalCloud device, so I can manage permissions?

 

I doubt it. 

[leadeater]

Have a look at XPenology, it's the same software that is on Synology NAS's which is very good. XPenology and FreeNAS have their own pros and cons so I'd suggest trying them both if going a build your own NAS.

 

My gut feeling is XPenology might be a slightly better pick for this as it's a bit more user friendly when it comes to expanding the system with more disks and it also has native support for Plex Media Server. http://xpenology.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4995 (find the most up to date download link ofc).

[Guest]

2 hours ago, zPanic said:

On top of that, people's private folders aren't available through the Seagate Media app, even when said person logs in through the "Remote access" thing with their credentials

You can try using another folder browsing tool for mobile devices because after all, they're all standard protocols - SMB, FTP ect.

 

Have you got any spare hardware around? You could even look at simply getting an Intel NUC or Gigabyte Brix and pointing Plex at the existing Seagate storage target.

 

Which model personal cloud do you currently have and with what drive configuration?

[Knux]

On 5/9/2017 at 7:19 AM, djdwosk97 said:

$330+drives, and that's with a small case. If you choose an OS like FreeNAS, then you can run the OS off of a pair of mirror'd flash drives. 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($59.48 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: ASRock - B250M-HDV Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($62.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Crucial - 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($54.77 @ OutletPC) 
Case: Fractal Design - Node 804 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: EVGA - 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($46.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $329.22
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-09 07:18 EDT-0400

I doubt it. 

Hello is this build good for any person would like to star a plex server or would you recommend another build.

[79wjd]

1 hour ago, Knux said:

Hello is this build good for any person would like to star a plex server or would you recommend another build.

That was from a year ago, so things have changed since then, but there isnt any one build for a plex server -- it depends a lot on your needs and preferences.

 

Namely, how many simultaneous streams will there be and at what resolutions (will they be transcoded by the server or the viewing device -- will you be watch on a browser, TV app, phone, etc...)? How much storage do you need? Does redundancy matter to you? Do you care about the form factor? How much are you looking to spend? Are you willing to pay more for extra convenience like hardware-level remote management?

[Knux]

6 hours ago, djdwosk97 said:

That was from a year ago, so things have changed since then, but there isnt any one build for a plex server -- it depends a lot on your needs and preferences.

 

Namely, how many simultaneous streams will there be and at what resolutions (will they be transcoded by the server or the viewing device -- will you be watch on a browser, TV app, phone, etc...)? How much storage do you need? Does redundancy matter to you? Do you care about the form factor? How much are you looking to spend? Are you willing to pay more for extra convenience like hardware-level remote management?

Ok, i have a 804 fractal node and recently i got a shipment of red rives fro western digital 2x8tb just me and 2 other so 3 connections and price its a long project i have g4560 doing nothing so im missing a psu mobo and ram

[79wjd]

7 minutes ago, Knux said:

Ok, i have a 804 fractal node and recently i got a shipment of red rives fro western digital 2x8tb just me and 2 other so 3 connections and price its a long project i have g4560 doing nothing so im missing a psu mobo and ram

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/b9PcWX

[Knux]

13 minutes ago, djdwosk97 said:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/b9PcWX

is ecc memory necesary just for plex and mayby some data.

and how about a (B250M PRO-VDH) i have tha one on a separate pc .

psu isn it a bit low im planing to stack hdd bays fully

[79wjd]

18 minutes ago, Knux said:

is ecc memory necesary just for plex and mayby some data.

and how about a (B250M PRO-VDH) i have tha one on a separate pc .

psu isn it a bit low im planing to stack hdd bays fully

450w would be more than enough for a few dozen drives -- it technically doesn't have enough SATA power cables, but you can always buy molex to sata, sata to muti sata, or pcie to sata adapters. ECC isn't required, but it is technically better and reduces the likelihood of a problem, however ECC will require a server chipset -- e.g. a motherboard with a C232 or C236 chipset. The B250 board you have would be fine, but it won't support ECC.