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Message
Help me refine my home media and file server
Posted on 1/17/20 at 9:42 am
Posted on 1/17/20 at 9:42 am
Currently I store and stream all of my music and movies in iTunes on a Mac mini (Late 2012), and have Apple TVs for Home Sharing. I'm looking to refine my entire setup to make a "better" media server. I also don't have any significant complaints about using iTunes as my main hub.
I'm also using Channels DVR to record and stream live tv to the Apple TVs. I want to make sure before my DVR library grows too much that I have a good way to incorporate all of my media together for simple, nice home streaming. The Channels interface does a great job of unifying my Live TV and my DVR shows as we are accustomed to being able to access by our typical television companies.
Main Goals:
-Decide best hardware option of 2012 Mac mini as server VS NAS
-Easy/nice home streaming of ALL media (purchased digital songs/movies + DVR content) to Apple TVs throughout the house.
-Replace cloud services such as Dropbox using a local storage with a good remote interface similar to Dropbox. My main goal is not BULK file storage, but I do have certain home and work files that I like to always have accessible.
Questions:
1) I'm needing new hardware, and am considering using my existing Mac mini more strictly as a server VS getting a Synology NAS to use as my media hub. If I use the Mac mini, I would still be in need of purchasing additional externals to expand my storage.
Is one option a better direction to head in particular?
2) As far as alternative options for the media server software, as aforementioned, I have no major complaints using iTunes but surely there are more capable options. I'm unaware of the real benefits to changing. I know Plex is a popular option, and also stumbled across InFuse. Please note that Apple TVs will continue to be my main access point for the TV connection.
What's best from a software standpoint and why?
3) One of my peripheral goals is to perhaps replace/consolidate my Dropbox/other cloud services with a more local option with good software (I believe Synology Drive may be able to accomplish this?). Something that is important to me is to be able to easily "Save to Dropbox (or alternative "cloud" storage)" on the iPhone from Safari.app.
Are there good enough options for replacing Drobbox for cloud storage and are there other benefits I should be considering that I'd be able to accomplish by using NAS over a Mac mini or vice versa?
I'm also using Channels DVR to record and stream live tv to the Apple TVs. I want to make sure before my DVR library grows too much that I have a good way to incorporate all of my media together for simple, nice home streaming. The Channels interface does a great job of unifying my Live TV and my DVR shows as we are accustomed to being able to access by our typical television companies.
Main Goals:
-Decide best hardware option of 2012 Mac mini as server VS NAS
-Easy/nice home streaming of ALL media (purchased digital songs/movies + DVR content) to Apple TVs throughout the house.
-Replace cloud services such as Dropbox using a local storage with a good remote interface similar to Dropbox. My main goal is not BULK file storage, but I do have certain home and work files that I like to always have accessible.
Questions:
1) I'm needing new hardware, and am considering using my existing Mac mini more strictly as a server VS getting a Synology NAS to use as my media hub. If I use the Mac mini, I would still be in need of purchasing additional externals to expand my storage.
Is one option a better direction to head in particular?
2) As far as alternative options for the media server software, as aforementioned, I have no major complaints using iTunes but surely there are more capable options. I'm unaware of the real benefits to changing. I know Plex is a popular option, and also stumbled across InFuse. Please note that Apple TVs will continue to be my main access point for the TV connection.
What's best from a software standpoint and why?
3) One of my peripheral goals is to perhaps replace/consolidate my Dropbox/other cloud services with a more local option with good software (I believe Synology Drive may be able to accomplish this?). Something that is important to me is to be able to easily "Save to Dropbox (or alternative "cloud" storage)" on the iPhone from Safari.app.
Are there good enough options for replacing Drobbox for cloud storage and are there other benefits I should be considering that I'd be able to accomplish by using NAS over a Mac mini or vice versa?
4
Posted on 1/17/20 at 9:58 am to AGreySlate
plex
Posted on 1/17/20 at 10:12 am to AGreySlate
I use a 2011 Mac mini as my Plex server. I made the switch from iTunes to Plex in 2013 or 2014. I prefer Plex because
a) I can stream remotely
b) it pulls down all the metadata for me
c) it transcodes automatically if it has to
d) I have different user accounts for each family member.
e) I have a great audiobook library that I stream remotely from
f) Wireless media syncing to iPads & iPhones works much easier than it did with iTunes
g) it's not platform dependent (not all users have to have an Apple device)
h) I'm sure there are more reasons, but I can't think of them right now and I haven't used iTunes for local media streaming in 5-6 years so it's hard to remember all of the shortcomings.
The 2012 Mac mini is probably still more powerful than a Synology NAS. My 2011 really doesn't have any problems, even with 4k content going from my external through the USB 2.0 on the Mac mini.
Not that I know of. I use iCloud for most everything to keep it simple. I do have a whole media server back up on back blaze.
a) I can stream remotely
b) it pulls down all the metadata for me
c) it transcodes automatically if it has to
d) I have different user accounts for each family member.
e) I have a great audiobook library that I stream remotely from
f) Wireless media syncing to iPads & iPhones works much easier than it did with iTunes
g) it's not platform dependent (not all users have to have an Apple device)
h) I'm sure there are more reasons, but I can't think of them right now and I haven't used iTunes for local media streaming in 5-6 years so it's hard to remember all of the shortcomings.
The 2012 Mac mini is probably still more powerful than a Synology NAS. My 2011 really doesn't have any problems, even with 4k content going from my external through the USB 2.0 on the Mac mini.
quote:If you are a Redditor, sub to /r/datahoarder . That way you can be alerted to when externals go on sale. I picked up a 14TB WD external last month for $159.
If I use the Mac mini, I would still be in need of purchasing additional externals to expand my storage.
quote:
Are there good enough options for replacing Drobbox for cloud storage and are there other benefits I should be considering that I'd be able to accomplish by using NAS over a Mac mini or vice versa?
Not that I know of. I use iCloud for most everything to keep it simple. I do have a whole media server back up on back blaze.
Posted on 1/17/20 at 10:14 am to djangochained
quote:
plex
there is no step 2
Posted on 1/17/20 at 2:02 pm to CAD703X
QNAP and PLEX. Done!
Posted on 1/17/20 at 4:18 pm to AGreySlate
I’ll probably be counter to most, but I run both Emby and Plex and I prefer Emby.
I have a QNAP NAS that I run Plex on, but I have a Windows box that I run Emby on.
I have a QNAP NAS that I run Plex on, but I have a Windows box that I run Emby on.
Posted on 1/17/20 at 4:25 pm to LSUDropout
quote:
I run both Emby and Plex and I prefer Emby.
Emby pros vs Plex?
Posted on 1/17/20 at 4:44 pm to CAD703X
quote:
Emby pros vs Plex?
For me I think it comes down to customization.
Emby offers a lot more knobs that you can tweak to your liking.
Like Plex it’s free to use, but a license needs to be purchased for premium features.
I’ve had a lifetime premium license for a couple of years. I use it for OTA DVR functionally primarily, though, like Plex I think you need it for media playback on some mobile devices.
I don’t think Emby is supported on quite as many devices as Plex, but it’s on most of them (Roku, FireTV, iOS, Android, etc). Works with Chrimecast too.
This post was edited on 1/18/20 at 8:20 pm
Posted on 1/18/20 at 6:33 pm to AGreySlate
I've tried both Plex and Emby and found Emby much better for me. Its a personal choice, both are fine for what they do.
As for hardware, I tried to get both Plex and Emby to run natively on a couple of NAS pieces with mixed success. I ended up buying an old mini pc ( a Lenovo ThinkCentre ) and initially tried to run Emby/Plex inside Windows, again with mixed success. I then tried Ubuntu Linux. Having never really fooled with Linux, it was actually very easy, and its rock solid.
If I were you I would stick to having your MacMini as the server and host of Emby/Plex and use the NAS as your storage space for your media.
As for hardware, I tried to get both Plex and Emby to run natively on a couple of NAS pieces with mixed success. I ended up buying an old mini pc ( a Lenovo ThinkCentre ) and initially tried to run Emby/Plex inside Windows, again with mixed success. I then tried Ubuntu Linux. Having never really fooled with Linux, it was actually very easy, and its rock solid.
If I were you I would stick to having your MacMini as the server and host of Emby/Plex and use the NAS as your storage space for your media.
Posted on 1/18/20 at 8:48 pm to colorchangintiger
Appreciate the detailed response, and other responses as well, all very helpful.
After a full day of research I'm going with a Synology DS1019+ and WD Red Pro drives.
My current desktop is virtually impossible to get wired ethernet to in an acceptable manner, I would have had to spend a fortune replacing it, in addition to the external storage that would've had to be duplicated in moving it to a wired location (plus it will always be available if the NAS doesn't work out as planned AND I'd have the necessary storage space).
The NAS made more sense, kills 3-4 birds with one stone, and I'm excited about the possibilities. It has decent specs for what it will be used for (8GB RAM, 1.5 GHz Intel Celeron J3455 Quad-Core Processor, 5 Drive Bays).
I've installed Plex and it looks like I'll have quite a bit of reorganizing of my file structures since iTunes just tends to hide the chaos of things. I had things much better organized back in the days of Winamp.
Anyone else here use Channels as a DVR software? I don't have any other computer based experience, but I'm loving it so far.
After a full day of research I'm going with a Synology DS1019+ and WD Red Pro drives.
My current desktop is virtually impossible to get wired ethernet to in an acceptable manner, I would have had to spend a fortune replacing it, in addition to the external storage that would've had to be duplicated in moving it to a wired location (plus it will always be available if the NAS doesn't work out as planned AND I'd have the necessary storage space).
The NAS made more sense, kills 3-4 birds with one stone, and I'm excited about the possibilities. It has decent specs for what it will be used for (8GB RAM, 1.5 GHz Intel Celeron J3455 Quad-Core Processor, 5 Drive Bays).
I've installed Plex and it looks like I'll have quite a bit of reorganizing of my file structures since iTunes just tends to hide the chaos of things. I had things much better organized back in the days of Winamp.
Anyone else here use Channels as a DVR software? I don't have any other computer based experience, but I'm loving it so far.
Posted on 1/19/20 at 10:39 am to AGreySlate
I don’t do home media servers but I’m pretty impressed with Synology’s software and reliability, in general.
Posted on 1/20/20 at 8:58 am to CAD703X
quote:
there is no step 2
Oh yeah there is. Look up UnRAID and build the NSFW build from serverbuilds.net. I've had it up and runnin for a month or so and I'm still configuring things and streamlining the process.
Also, research newsgroups. Torrents are great and all but I've moved procuring media to 95% on usenet now. Everything is completely automated.
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