NAS Plex Server Video Streaming size

[Gk2011]

So about a year ago I posted about making a home server but I hadn't really gotten around to it till this week. I ended up buying a NAS(DS918+) instead of building a full blown custom built server unit for the house for the time being. I figure in the future worst case I can either keep it for storage or just sell the NAS and move the RAID over to another unit.

 

Anyway I started a Plex media server on it and it handles 2ish streams well enough which is really all I need right now. I have about a 45 disc Blu-Rei movie collection and a sizeable collection of TV show box sets to rip varying from DVD to Blu Ray on some of the older ones. 

 

As I am ripping them they are coming out to be large files(19GB to 22GB for the Blu-ray discs) which is fully expected. I also know that I can compress them with something like handbreak, but I had heard that I would need to convert them to a file format to something IOS could however my girlfriend's I-Pad can run them just fine. 

 

Do I need to convert them for something else to work correctly or is it just to reduce the size of the files over all for mass storage? Another question I have is related to the first is that when I am streaming something like "Spider-Man man homecoming"(22GB) over the net while I am at work is that streaming all 22GB over the net? I know that seems like an obvious answer but just asking to be sure.

 

Anyway thank you for you time in reading my post! 

[dalekphalm]

On 2/15/2018 at 9:34 AM, Gk2011 said:

So about a year ago I posted about making a home server but I hadn't really gotten around to it till this week. I ended up buying a NAS(DS918+) instead of building a full blown custom built server unit for the house for the time being. I figure in the future worst case I can either keep it for storage or just sell the NAS and move the RAID over to another unit.

 

Anyway I started a Plex media server on it and it handles 2ish streams well enough which is really all I need right now. I have about a 45 disc Blu-Rei movie collection and a sizeable collection of TV show box sets to rip varying from DVD to Blu Ray on some of the older ones. 

 

As I am ripping them they are coming out to be large files(19GB to 22GB for the Blu-ray discs) which is fully expected. I also know that I can compress them with something like handbreak, but I had heard that I would need to convert them to a file format to something IOS could however my girlfriend's I-Pad can run them just fine. 

 

Do I need to convert them for something else to work correctly or is it just to reduce the size of the files over all for mass storage? Another question I have is related to the first is that when I am streaming something like "Spider-Man man homecoming"(22GB) over the net while I am at work is that streaming all 22GB over the net? I know that seems like an obvious answer but just asking to be sure.

 

Anyway thank you for you time in reading my post! 

Okay so, when you "convert" a Blu-Ray rip to reduce file size, you're transcoding it.

 

When you're transcoding, you can opt to keep the original codec, or you can change it.

 

If you bother with transcoding, for compatibility and performance reasons, I would do the following in Handbrake:

1. Keep aspect ratio and resolution of source

2. Use H.264 codec

3. You can choose between MP4 vs MKV - I personally use MKV, but almost everything supports both these days - MP4 may have slightly better compatibility with obscure devices

4. For Blu-Rays, if you want really high quality, use Constant Quality RF setting of 18 - if you want to squeeze the size down, use RF 20 or even 22.

5. For DVD's, use RF 20, and also make sure to enable De-interlacing. Many software players can de-interlace (that's those fancy "progressive scan" DVD players of times gone by) on the fly, but it's much better to simply de-interlace the new file permanently.

 

It's best to test the output results of a given RF setting, and compare it to the file size. Re-transcode the same movie with a different RF size, and see which you prefer. You might decide that you don't mind the quality loss of a Blu-Ray at RF 22. Or you might decide you've got enough storage to just use RF 18 to get the best quality. There's little point in using a RF setting lower than 18 though, as the file size starts to blow up insanely large (potentially larger than the source, at a certain point), and the quality improvements are tiny.

 

You could also set a target bit-rate, but RF settings are more efficient, and result in better overall quality for a given file size.