My twist on a Media Server Build

EndersShadow

Similar to many of the other folks on this forum I work in IT. As such I know my way around a computer and have built quite a few. I’ve chronicled my move from physical disc media to digital only for my movies.

Currently I use the WD Live TV + a external Seagate 3 TB USB drive. This works well for my single room, however I am running out of space on the current hard drive. Additionally if I want to stream these movies to another location I do not have that ability.

I’ve toyed around with the idea of a media server/HTPC for quite some time. I’m familiar with JRiver (from reading all the reviews out there), XBMC (now Kodi), and some of the other programs and devices.

I’ve decided to copy Ryan (@ZLTFUL) with my media server in some regards and differ in others. I am looking for comments on implementation but I think I have my self squared away. Here is my plan which has mutliple stages.

Stage 1: Build HTPC

My goal with this computer is to 2 fold. I will put it in my main HT setup. That is where it will be utilized the most and since my house isnt wired for Cat 5e (see stage 2) it keeps me from dealing with buffering and wireless issues.

Hardware:

For parts, I plan to use a Micro ATX motherboard with 6 SATA 6 gigabyte per second connectors. A single SSD (leaning toward a Samsung 840) ~120 - 240 gig will be used for the OS, a set of 4 TB harddrives for my media to start with, and a internal 5.25 blu-ray player. I plan on using a 450 - 500 watt powersupply. All of this will be housed in a HTPC case.


I am going with a ASRock Micro ATX motherboard so I can later expand my storage using a PCI to SATA adapter. ASRock is a brand I'm familiar with as I have run their boards in the past as well as Asus. It was one of the cheaper boards out there by a bit of a margin, but I know their build quality is top notch. I looked at the board Ryan was running, but it didnt offer much other than a smaller form factor and dual gigabit connections. For the 40 dollar price difference I opted to go with a bigger board with more connectors. Unlike Ryan I am NOT planning on using RAID at the present time. It creates too many potential problems and headaches for me personally. Additionally the case can handle up to a ATX motherboard & 11 Hard drives so not using RAID allows me to utilize more storage in the unit, and the motherboard wont be cramped either.

I am copying Ryan in that I am likely buying his old Intel G3220 processor to start with. I dont see the need for something much faster initially as it can play 1080p rips with lossless audio well enough, and I dont forsee myself streaming to 2 locations at the same time often initially. If that becomes a issue, I can always upgrade the CPU as prices will continue to drop on the CPUs for this socket. There wont be any gaming on this machine so I plan to use its onboard graphics as well.

I am using 2 4 TB HGST drives for their reliability. It was either those drives or WD Red, and I am trusting Ryan and the BlackBlaze data on HGST drives to have my back. Each drive will be devoted to movies, one for kid movies, one for non kid movies.

The reason for the internal blu-ray drive is simple. I dont plan to rip EVERYTHING, and the ability to redbox something or get it from netflix dvd and just watch it is nice. Additionally because its behind a locked door, Skye cant get into it without unlocking it. I plan to use my office computer upstairs to rip the movies I want to keep and transfer them down to the HTPC as they complete overnight. My office computer has more horsepower and I will also be keeping backups of the movies on external drives as a precaution.

I'm likely using a 450 - 500 watt powersupply from Corsair. I am probably going with a Modular version to help clean up the cables inside to eliminate the ones I dont need intially as its a small case to work in. I dont anticipate gaming, so I dont anticipate needing more wattage than that as all I am driving is the HDD's, a couple fans and the optical drive. I am open to thoughts on this if I am going to come up short.....

The case will be a Silverstone GD07b case because I wanted something that had room for a TON of storage. I either found cases that were awkwardly shaped (Fractal Design Node 304), or did not contain enough space for the hard drives I needed (Fractal Design Node 605, Silverstone Grandia GD04, GD05, etc). It seems that most people do what I would love to which is house their data/server in a alternate location (mostly in a ATX tower case) and use a media player to simply serve that data up. This is a possibility for me long term once I wire my house with Cat5e. I have my current office computer in its brother case the GD-08b which has 2 external 5.25 drive bays and front USB ports, and while it would work, I want the locked door.

Software:

I will be running Windows 7 as the OS. For Media I will be utilizing Kodi. Kodi does offer a OpenELEC version that can run AS the OS, however it requires more work to get it to work with devices and I'm not sure if it will run PLEX or Logitech Media Server.

PLEX server on this machine will serve up compressed movies to my Roku in the bedroom where quality is secondary to ease of use. I forsee expanded need for a chromebox in the future in this location (so I can get 1080p), but presently simply having access to the digital rips will be enough since I dont currently. Additionally I just like that I can use this as a full on computer if needed in a pinch. I wont be loading much software other than these programs. Kodi will be loaded into the startup menu and should basically be what you see everytime you restart the computer with windows requiring extra work to get to.

Utilizing the latest release of XBMC/Kodi (Isengard) I will set up 2 profiles, one for Skye & Scarlett (who arrives in November), one for us parents. Each profile can have access to the same OR DIFFERENT data. So the kids will only be able to see the movies on the kid drives and the adults can watch movies from all drives. I have configured this on my office PC to verify it works. Additionally my Harmony One remote can control everything when I add a Windows Media Center remote and IR USB receiver. There is also a remote that lets you control playback via a iOS app which works quite well.

Playing around with the way Kodi looks, I've got it to show all the movies in tiles similar to the WD Live, but it is much more smooth when playing back, fast forwards better and overall has a cleaner look than my WD Live TV. There is a LOT more to this software that I will need to dive in a learn, but I am happy with what I can see right now after a couple hours playing around

You can configure Kodi to see and aggregate different media sources into one library as well, so should either of us fill up our 4 TB drive, I simply add another one and then add it as a source for the HTPC for whatever profile and away we go. Any movie added to that drive will show up in the corresponding library. At this junction I am not sure if I will move my ENTIRE media library to the HTPC and run the Squeezebox server off of it, or just have a copy of my music for access downstairs on the HTPC, or even mess with it at all.

For streaming with PLEX server I dont imagine multiple hard drives will create problems at my secondary viewing location for the Roku, but I will be consulting with Ryan on this and doing some reading.

EndersShadow

Stage 2:

Wire the house with Cat 5e this fall when its cooler outside. I currently have 2 free Ethernet ports on my Uverse router. I plan to run one cable up through the attic and drop it into my office closet (on the top level as well) to a 8 port gigabit switch. This switch will then serve up wired access to each of the childrens bedrooms for their squeezebox radio's, or other devices in the future, as well as my office x 2 and leave expansion for more devices or even some security cameras in the future. I may have to upgrade to a larger switch at some point but thats years off.

The second empty port from my router will run up into the attic, through a hole in my sofit, outside the house (wrapped in conduit) around the side and then into my HT setup where I already have a switch in use.

This will then wire my entire house for Cat 5e and give me more than enough space to do what I want.

Here is a idea of what I plan using a alternate photo. Where it says HTPC in my office, thats just my normal office computer. The WD Live TV connection would be replaced with this HTPC.

EndersShadow

Stage 3:

Once I have the house wired at this point I could pull the HTPC up into the office and in the HT run a chromebox or other piece of hardware with with Kodi on it to access all my movies. With a hardwired Cat 5e connection it shouldn’t be a problem to pull down that data. Then I will also have access to all my moves it in my loft (and all the bedrooms) which will eventually hold a large TV and a couch/viewing area.

EndersShadow

Any thoughts or comments appreciated. I have not yet bought parts so you can save me if I am making a huge gaff or mistake in my selections.

msg

Plan looks pretty good so far; subscribed.
Curious to see how the machine build comes along.

I had several points/questions at first, but reading back it looks like you've already considered and addressed them.

1. I usually go from a modem directly to a switch. Reading back I see that most of your traffic is going to be LAN side, and not necessarily streaming of external services, so the potentially "weaker" hardware of the modem/switch combo traffic does not seem to be a concern at this point.
2. Storage. I was wondering at your decision to forgo RAID. I, too, have seen issues with RAID, though usually when not using enterprise class hardware. Linux NAS devices, cheaper RAID controllers, etc. It can be a pain trying to get these things back up and running, so I understand your decision to go with independent disks. The other question here was for backup of this data, which you have addressed with externals.
3. The machine build itself. So, I see that size and background noise is a consideration for some when building. I personally don't mind the addition of another box, however, having a look at your plan, I like the idea of this remote box, and how this is possible with your intended use, since it does not need AV connections to your system. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think I'd like a simpler, cleaner presence for my gear in the end, as well, and that I'd probably want a machine like this set up in a remote location as well, and possibly build a smaller footprint box for anything that had to be local to the AV system, say, requiring an HDMI connection or digital audio; it could always connect to the media server.

Which LAN switches are you going with?

Nice work so far. Looks well thought out.

EndersShadow

msg wrote: »

1. I usually go from a modem directly to a switch. Reading back I see that most of your traffic is going to be LAN side, and not necessarily streaming of external services, so the potentially "weaker" hardware of the modem/switch combo traffic does not seem to be a concern at this point.

Correct. My bedroom and HT which both stream at the same time occasionally never have problems so I’m not too worried about that, and most of my traffic will be through the local network. Additionally my router is a Wireless N capable and decent enough to handle all that traffic AND streaming to multiple clients.

msg wrote: »

1. Storage. I was wondering at your decision to forgo RAID. I, too, have seen issues with RAID, though usually when not using enterprise class hardware. Linux NAS devices, cheaper RAID controllers, etc. It can be a pain trying to get these things back up and running, so I understand your decision to go with independent disks. The other question here was for backup of this data, which you have addressed with externals.

[/list]

Well this one was a combination of multiple things. The RAID options I were looking at were RAID 0 (one big disc) which would give me maximum performance, however if there was a disc error the entire array would fail and that would take time to redo. Then there was RAID 1 (I think) which required a parity drive (so a min of 3 drives to start) but the likelihood with a large data array of having an unrecoverable error and making the parity drive moot was high enough to be an issue for me. Plus I just am not super familiar with RAID and wanted a more plug and play solution, which this is.

So for me the lack of RAID means on the main client side (in the HT) I will see no difference between the movies on multiple drives (since its aggregated into one library in the software), and it means I can use drives of different sizes in a pinch without any problems. For the PLEX streaming devices I don’t think it will change anything either. Additionally if one drive fails, I will lose JUST whats on that drive rather than everything. But I don’t anticipate that happening often, and I plan to do some backups on external drives (which will be cheaper drives that don’t run 24/7 but just backup the movies every once in a while). Likely will use Western Digital externals since they seem to sell for cheap for big sizes.

Right now I have a single 3 TB drive which has about 1.25 TB of Kid and 1.25 non-kid movies. So moving to just 2 4 TB drives should give me more than enough increased capacity for the near future, with 2 more drives I can add off the motherboard, and then extra that could be added using PCI to SATA cards (which are MUCH MUCH MUCH cheaper than PCI RAID cards).

msg wrote: »

1. The machine build itself. So, I see that size and background noise is a consideration for some when building. I personally don't mind the addition of another box, however, having a look at your plan, I like the idea of this remote box, and how this is possible with your intended use, since it does not need AV connections to your system. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think I'd like a simpler, cleaner presence for my gear in the end, as well, and that I'd probably want a machine like this set up in a remote location as well, and possibly build a smaller footprint box for anything that had to be local to the AV system, say, requiring an HDMI connection or digital audio; it could always connect to the media server.

Which LAN switches are you going with?

Agreed. At the end I will have a HTPC in my office (along with my office computer) and a Chromebox in my HT which will stream from it. Chromebox’s are like 200 or less and can be hacked to boot into Kodi with no problem at all. You can make them dual boot as well if needed. Then I will have a silent HT client with HDMI output, multiple USB ports (WMC Remote + keyboard, etc).

I also forgot to mention I am planning on re-using some existing equipment for this build. Mainly I have some Noctua 120mm fans that are DEAD QUIET and undervolt quite well. So I can keep the build cool without a ton of noise. I love my Noctua fans! I also will likely buy a Noctua heatsink as I’ve had good luck with those as well. With those in place and the HTPC in my rack initially I will see if I even want to move it out later on. I may just leave it the way it is depending on things…… I do like the idea of a smaller footprint, but its also an additional cost I may not want to pay.

I plan to use Netgear GS108 switches as its what I’m using already in my HT. I only need one more and they are fairly cheap. I initially wanted to consolidate to one switch in my office only, but I’d need to run enough wires from my office to the HT to make it counterproductive to do. Later on I may consolidate but once you get to 16 port switches the prices start to get much higher, and I already have a switch in my HT as it is.


The biggest debate TBH was do I go with Cat 5e or Cat 6. I ended up deciding to go with Cat 5e as its cheaper, provides MORE than enough bandwidth over the distances I need. Cat 6 would be more future proof, but if I really need 10 gigabit per second speeds, there is a limit to how far its upgraded speed goes (174 feet) and then its just as fast as Cat 5e. Plus it costs more…. I am going to go with Belden cable as I want good quality cables and terminations to ensure I don’t have any problems.

tonyb

I'm no guru on this, but....what does your cable provider give you in terms of speed and bandwidth ? No matter how much you build the system, aren't you limited to what comes in the door ?......and, how much is being eaten up by multiple devices at the same time ?

EndersShadow

tonyb wrote: »

I'm no guru on this, but....what does your cable provider give you in terms of speed and bandwidth ? No matter how much you build the system, aren't you limited to what comes in the door ?......and, how much is being eaten up by multiple devices at the same time ?

DSkip wrote: »

The network is separate of Internet speed.

Tony you somewhat right. If streaming Netflix, Hulu, On Demand, etc, then I'm using the bandwidth of my ISP and subject to the speed I'm paying them for. However if I'm playing movies off one computer in one place to another device elsewhere in the house I'm on the LAN (Local Area Network) and that speed is no not dependent upon the speed going into my router from the ISP.

nguyendot

This is similar to how I have mine set up. I've got ISP coming in (~100mbps) to my SonicWALL firewall, feeding to my gigabit switch (PowerConnect 5524). From there it feeds into every bedroom and living room with CAT5e. I have a pair of Ruckus R500 access points powered with POE, one for each floor. they are controlled by my Zonedirector 1125. I have zero buffering issues unless I am using a crappy wifi client (like an OUYA or PS3). My FREENAS is sitting next to the switch with a single 1gbps connection, with 4x3TB drives. It runs PLEX but I've never really set it up.

Nightfall

nguyendot wrote: »

like an OUYA

I thought I was the only person on the planet to actually own an Ouya.

drselect

Have you given any thought of adding security cameras to your system?

EndersShadow

drselect wrote: »

Have you given any thought of adding security cameras to your system?

Eventually I will be adding a few and my 8 port switch in the office will be where that hook up. At that point I will need to get a POE switch which I don't currently have.

drselect

EndersShadow wrote: »

drselect wrote: »

Have you given any thought of adding security cameras to your system?

Eventually I will be adding a few and my 8 port switch in the office will be where that hook up. At that point I will need to get a POE switch which I don't currently have.

If thats the case wouldn't cat6 be worth the extra cost?
And for full disclosure I just finished wiring my my condo with cat6 mostly because I know I would be adding cameras.

msg

Interesting. I didn't realize IP cams required CAT6, but see now that it is recommended. I've only seen one implementation of a security system with eight HD IP cams, and it's on its own network. Depending on the number of cams, quality/resolution, recording, etc., can cams not be crippling for small gigabit networks with all devices on the same subnet?

I'd probably want to at least VLAN the cams. Depending on time to implementation, considerations may be in order for locations, networking equipment, and cable runs, possibly multiple cable drops to certain locations?

The "might-as-wells" on projects like this can get outta hand pretty quickly, huh?

tonyb

EndersShadow wrote: »

tonyb wrote: »

I'm no guru on this, but....what does your cable provider give you in terms of speed and bandwidth ? No matter how much you build the system, aren't you limited to what comes in the door ?......and, how much is being eaten up by multiple devices at the same time ?

DSkip wrote: »

The network is separate of Internet speed.

Tony you somewhat right. If streaming Netflix, Hulu, On Demand, etc, then I'm using the bandwidth of my ISP and subject to the speed I'm paying them for. However if I'm playing movies off one computer in one place to another device elsewhere in the house I'm on the LAN (Local Area Network) and that speed is no not dependent upon the speed going into my router from the ISP.

Yeah, I understand that much, maybe I'm just a simpleton and see too many things that need to talk to each other and the aggravation that sometimes goes with that. Hope it works out for you though....carry on.

EndersShadow

Cameras will work over CAT 5e as you can do power over Ethernet on it.

EndersShadow

So bit of an update. My parts list has been mostly ordered and finalized. I should have the computer assembled later tonight as the last of the parts should arrive today.

Purchased:

• Case: SILVERSTONE GD07B – Chosen due to its locking front door and the fact it can hold up to 10 3.5” drives if needed. I also have the other version of this case the GD08b for my system upstairs and I like it, but this one is better for downstairs given the locking front door so Skye can’t play with the disc drive
  
• Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary – 6 SATA 6 gps ports, HDMI out, Micro-ATX board in case I need to add some aftermarket cards (Graphic or otherwise) after the fact. Has some USB 3.0 connections, gigabit NIC, and decent layout as far as SATA, power and other connections go.
  
• OS SSD: Crucial BX100 CT250BX100SSD1 2.5" 250GB – Good brand, got on sale for a lower price than many 120 gig SSD’s such as the Samsung Evo 850’s
  
• Optical Drive: ASUS Internal Blu-ray Drive Model BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS – purchased because I wont be ripping ALL my movies, so if I have one I just want to watch I can use this to do so. Also purchased on Sale for some additional savings
  
• Powersupply: CORSAIR CX series CX430 – More than enough SATA cables and power cables for my needs. Purchased on sale with Mail-In Rebate.
  
• Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 – Fast enough for my needs, enough memory for my needs, and from a decent brand. Small enough to fit under the CPU cooler I am using as well.
  
• CPU & GPU: Intel Pentium G3220 - Purchased from @ZLTFUL

Current cost all in (before rebates): 475 - Not bad at all considering these are all new parts so I have warranties on all of it (baring the CPU) should there be issues.

Already own:

• CPU Cooler: Scythe SCBSK-2100 BIG Shuriken 2 Rev. B – One of the better coolers out there, small enough to fit in my case with more than enough room above it.
  
• Case fans: Noctua NF-P12-1300 x 4 (only need 3 max) – These fans are WORTH the 18 bucks a pop. I’ve had these since about 2011 running 24/7 with no problem. Handle under-volting very well and any noise they generate is very gently and non-bothersome.
  
• Windows 7 license – reusing the one from my broken laptop that died about 5 months ago.

Left to purchase:

• Storage Drives: HGST Deskstar NAS 4TB x 2 – For how will plug the 3 TB external drive into the computer and use that for my movies. Going to wait a bit to try and find them at a decent price. May also consider starting with 2 2TB drives instead if absolutely necessary.
  
• Fan Splitters: Coboc Fan Power Splitter Cable – Motherboard only has 1 Chassis fan header so to get all 3 fans to work need these.
  
• SATA Splitters: Coboc SATA Power Male to 2 x Female Splitter Cable – These will help fit the SATA connections into the right place as the SSD and Optical drive cant use 90 degree cables so well.

EndersShadow

And just like that the HST drives are on a promo sale for 150 after promo code (instead of 170). That brings 2 of them in at around 320 (I have to pay tax unfortunately ) but thats still a savings of about 35 bucks.

So I might just order those tonight.

nguyendot

Finally found some time to put mine together.
MSI Z97 PC Mate
Intel i3-4370 3.8ghz dual core
8gb ddr3
Corsair GTX 512gb SSD
Stock HSF for now, Stock DVD player
Zalman HD160 (super old but got cheap locally)

Going to set this up as my XBMC machine. It's got Windows 10, and Kodi is installed. I need to find a wireless AC card so I don't have to wire it in where it goes (bedroom has no CAT5 in that corner). Storage is on my NAS, which I will be expanding out soon.

It will be nice to not have my mini-itx cube sitting on the floor by the receiver now.


Also, yes I have 3 OUYAs, and I hate them all. Maybe PLEX will breathe new life into them.

EndersShadow

nguyendot wrote: »

Finally found some time to put mine together.
MSI Z97 PC Mate
Intel i3-4370 3.8ghz dual core
8gb ddr3
Corsair GTX 512gb SSD
Stock HSF for now, Stock DVD player
Zalman HD160 (super old but got cheap locally)

Going to set this up as my XBMC machine. It's got Windows 10, and Kodi is installed. I need to find a wireless AC card so I don't have to wire it in where it goes (bedroom has no CAT5 in that corner). Storage is on my NAS, which I will be expanding out soon.

It will be nice to not have my mini-itx cube sitting on the floor by the receiver now.


Also, yes I have 3 OUYAs, and I hate them all. Maybe PLEX will breathe new life into them.

Nice. If I didnt have to worry about my daughter opening the trays and breaking them I would go with something like you did.

My upstairs case is this one, which I would have liked better since it would have front USB ports for the WMC Remote dongles and any keyboard dongles as well.



I also liked this one but because this is a NAS + HTPC, I needed HDD space so it didnt have enough.



The last real contender was this one but again due to HDD bay's not really an option. All three were from brands I knew were good.

Zalman is also good but dont think they have many HTPC cases on the market that would have worked or looked as good as these either...




The one I have now I will have to get some USB extension cables for and put the IR dongles in the space between the feet and the bottom of the case. Not super ideal, but they are small so it shouldn't be an issue.


I've been using this in my office for the last year plus and its quite nice. In my case my slowdown is more due to the Uverse Router I have than the Network Bridge or wireless card my desktop uses.

nguyendot

Nice. I upgraded to dual AC access points so I want to stick with AC cards if possible. Any card will work honestly, but why not? My daughter doesn't play with my gear (what a blessing) so I don't have to worry so much. The case I got is really old, like 2008 old. It was $40 so it saved a ton of money. The cpu/mobo I chose was mainly due to Microcenter having a deal on the mobo + G3258 for like $80, and then I bought another Z97 + this i3 for like $110. Basically the CPU/mobo were free.

I already have another HTPC that's also a NAS, so I didn't in this case care that the enclosure only has 3 HDD spots. It runs super quiet and has no heat signature.

Here's the other one: You'll notice I'm a huge fan of Lian-Li cases. This Q25 is amazingly small yet I have 5x 3TB drives + 1 SSD. I can fit 2 more SSD in there.
There's a 750GTX and 16 gb of ram hidden behind the PSU. All running on a 350w PSU with no GPU connector and it consumes about 85-92w of power running a 1080p video in H.264.

EndersShadow

nguyendot wrote: »

Nice. I upgraded to dual AC access points so I want to stick with AC cards if possible. Any card will work honestly, but why not? My daughter doesn't play with my gear (what a blessing) so I don't have to worry so much. The case I got is really old, like 2008 old. It was $40 so it saved a ton of money. The cpu/mobo I chose was mainly due to Microcenter having a deal on the mobo + G3258 for like $80, and then I bought another Z97 + this i3 for like $110. Basically the CPU/mobo were free.

I already have another HTPC that's also a NAS, so I didn't in this case care that the enclosure only has 3 HDD spots. It runs super quiet and has no heat signature.

Here's the other one: You'll notice I'm a huge fan of Lian-Li cases. This Q25 is amazingly small yet I have 5x 3TB drives + 1 SSD. I can fit 2 more SSD in there.
There's a 750GTX and 16 gb of ram hidden behind the PSU. All running on a 350w PSU with no GPU connector and it consumes about 85-92w of power running a 1080p video in H.264.

Looks good. I was limited to this case mainly for storage and layout. I didn't want a case next to my rack but in it. And for my other one I was working with an existing ATX motherboard so I didn't have much of a choice. And I also wanted it in my rack.

Otherwise I would have just stayed with my Antec P182.

oldrocker

Hey neighbor. 2 thoughts on this.

1. I have NO idea on what your talking about.
2. If I ever get into this I'm calling you for advice.

EndersShadow

oldrocker wrote: »

Hey neighbor. 2 thoughts on this.

1. I have NO idea on what your talking about.
2. If I ever get into this I'm calling you for advice.

Basically imaging having your own custom on demand box with all the movies you own in 1080p and lossless audio. Someone comes over and wants to watch a movie none of this.... let me tell you what I have and you pick...

You give them the remote and they pick. Movie starts right up with no previews at all.

Then imagine also having profiles (like netflix) where you can make it so your kids cant see the stuff you dont want them to see (so mostly Disney/Pixar movies)...

Thats what this will do..

oldrocker

That sounds neat to have that capability. My cousin who's having all the "dental" work needs something like that. He's got a boatload of Dvd's that he's about to get rid of due to just storing the things.

EndersShadow

oldrocker wrote: »

That sounds neat to have that capability. My cousin who's having all the "dental" work needs something like that. He's got a boatload of Dvd's that he's about to get rid of due to just storing the things.

If nothing else I can show you a cheaper alternative to what I'm doing. DVD's are small enough you could likely fit them ALL on a small external hard drive (or two) and watch them through a WD Live TV.... Total cost all on in that is less than 200 (~60 for WD Live TV + 110 for 3 TB external HDD).

Read more about THAT here...

I am moving away from it as I need a solution capable of scaling to a LOT more storage as I add more movies. Blu-rays ripped the way I do it are around 30 gigs a pop if not more.... DVD's are like 6........

oldrocker

Thanks for the info.

nguyendot

Yeah that was another reason why I made the desktop orientation unit. It will go in the rack likely. My other option is to find an actual rack mountable unit, but most of those cases are more industrial than consumer in terms of actually building the unit.

EndersShadow

Understand my man. Mine is up and running and installing updates as we speak.

A single 4 TB hard drive has been ordered and should be here next week giving me time to get things installed on the computer in advance.

For now I will play with it using my external 3 TB drive which will then become my backup storage device once I get the new drive installed.

I will say it's MUCH quicker then my old machine but I'd hoped t would be given its double the SATA transfer rate for all devices.

EndersShadow

Its been a day or so, got all the updates done and most of the programs installed. I am not going to install it until after I get the 4 TB drive in, movies transferred over and a couple last things worked out.

I'm still trying to figure out where in my rack it will fit ... I forgot to account for the door opening in the amount of room it needed. I've got some places that should work, but until I get there I wont know.....

I also need to double check getting blu-rays to play through Kodi so I am doing my research there. It wont happen often, but being able to do it easy (without a keyboard) would be nice...

I also bought a 2.5" HDD enclosure to re-purpose the old 640 gig drive I have into a portable drive for use when transferring movies from the loft computer (where I will rip new additions) to the HTPC where they will live long term, with some of them getting backed up to the 3 TB external for backup reasons...

nguyendot

I got my last install done in about 20 minutes. Updates about 1.5 hours. I had a spare Neutron GTX 480gb laying around so I used that. Just picked up another 16gb of ram for the NAS/Plex server. I finally got PLEX installed and have no idea why i waited so long. The minor loss in quality is more than made up for by the ability to play on any device so easy my wife can do it.