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I'm sick of firing up a creaky old laptop to use as a media server (Plex). Do I need a NAS instead?
Maybe a WD My Cloud?
What will you be running the Plex server on? The NAS or another computer? IME, you need to check that whatever is running the Plex server software can decode the files, which I think you'll find most NAS's cannot do very well. They are good for storing the files, but you need to install the server software on a proper computer. An old laptop with Win10 installed and nothing running except Plex Media Server should be fine. There's no need to boot it up and shut it down constantly, just leave it running.
I was going to use the NAS drive as the Plex server:
https://support.plex.tv/articles/115003310834-western-digital-my-cloud-home/
The laptop is ready for the skip and I'm looking for something to replace it, not run alongside.
I'm not familiar with Plex but you can play content straight from the network drive. I've got a WD mybooklive, I presume the my cloud version is for cloud stuff, mine is just local. Its been pretty good after some initial issues. Reliable and easy to use. I can play content from it on my phone and pad. Some smart TVs will connect too. My old one would, need to check the new one (don't use the drive much for TV, mostly music)
I haven’t done it myself, but when I was looking into it, I found compatibility with Plex features varies a lot between NASs. Great resource here;
I’m not familiar with Plex but you can play content straight from the network drive.
You need something to decode it. If you install Plex on the NAS, it needs to be able to decode all the media files. You need to check compatibility on the link timmys gave above.
IME, the best solution is to put the files on the NAS and run Plex Media Server on a separate computer. An old laptop that has been wiped and with a clean install of Win10 should do it if it has 4GB of RAM. Or just plug a USB hard disk into that and use it for file storage as well.
So, looking at that spreadsheet, the W.D. My Cloud models with Realtek RTD1195 or Pentium N3710 CPUs should be able to transcode some media files, but not all. I think you would find an Intel NUC works much better for playing video. Something like this, for example, should playback anything without stuttering:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-mini-NUC7i5BNK-Core-version/dp/B01N4EP1N0
Hmm I just want to stream films to my TV (well fire stick).
Sounds like best solution is still some kind of PC. I looked at those NUC boxes but they look pricey.
I have a pretty old (5 yrs maybe) Qnap Silent NAS and it runs Plex perfectly. So yes, it probably is what you need!
Plex app installed on Qnap
Plex app runs from my Samsung telly - or laptop/iPad (cast to telly) - it’s brilliant. Supports all vid formats, (unlike direct from NAS, which is fussy).
Plex will run fine on the NAS if it's not having to transcode the video. If you're just feeding the files to something that can transcode them, it's not a problem. If the playback device can't transcode them, then you have a problem.
You need something to decode it.
Just checked mine (as I don't use it for video, as mentioned). I have WD mybooklive, plugged into router and a Samsung smart TV, also on the network. The WD drive shows up as a source on the TV. I can use the TV remote to scroll through the content. It played the video files I tried without any fuss. No extra software or set-up by me. All as it came out the box. No plex or extra computer required here. Very simple
The benefit of Plex is that it remembers where you left off watching any show, so you can resume from that point on any device on the network. So you can start watching on the living room tv, keep watching on your phone when you take a dump, then finish watching on a tablet in bed. When you finish one episode of a show, it will autoplay the next. It also makes it easy to organize and find content, instead of having to manually scroll through directories.
I use a nas with sonos to host my music library now I’ve taken it off the pc. Although with Spotify seems little pointless nowadays.
Also useful for documents when I am away from home.
Other plex benefits include;
- being able to stream files on your home storage from anywhere in the world
- one click to download selected files onto your mobile device
Plex will run fine on the NAS if it’s not having to transcode the video. If you’re just feeding the files to something that can transcode them, it’s not a problem. If the playback device can’t transcode them, then you have a problem.
Plex does the transcoding, surely? It’s the only app I’ve found that can stream all formats. Find it hard to imagine that its my TV transcoding video files.
Yeah the TV will just be playing (or not playing) whatever file is thrown at it, if you try and play certain file types on the native USB media player it won't like them all.
Plex comes into it's own when you want to play something over the Internet, or transcode a 1080p video to 480p or similar. For that you need the device that plex media server is holster on to have some cpu power in order to keep up with the transcode job.
I tend to use plex media server with the dnla server and file browser/player on my TV as, quite frankly, the Samsung TV app is a pile of garbage. It'll play 95% of the files I need.
My Synology handles transcoding without an issue, it’s the ds718+ model (from memory I think).
It wasn’t particularly cheap though
Plex will run fine on the NAS if it’s not having to transcode the video. If you’re just feeding the files to something that can transcode them, it’s not a problem. If the playback device can’t transcode them, then you have a problem.
Plex does the transcoding, surely?
It's not the playback device "transcoding," rather the playback device supporting whatever format it's being fed. If it doesn't then that's when transcoding becomes relevant, in which case your source needs to have sufficient grunt to be able to do that on the fly.
(... and realistically, are you likely to be transcoding at all, even?)
This sounds like a perfect job for a raspberry pi? I've not done it, but a quick google suggests it can be done (Plex). Whether or not this is a good idea depends on whether you have an aptitude or a desire to tinker with command line stuff.
It probably is a job for a Pi (I have a spare one and have used before for similar).
However, I'm currently lying in bed, recovering from surgery and want to get something working asap 😀
I have ordered a WD Home Cloud. It's got to be worth the £150 just for 4TB storage, hasn't it?
Mick