Difference in Options for Plex Server?

Opaquer on 08/06/2021 - 13:17
Last edited 08/06/2021 - 13:22

Hey everyone

So, I've recently started getting into plex and using it for media management, and I was looking at getting a dedicated server for it, but not sure what the best way to run it would be. I'm currently running it off my laptop, but I can't always play things on it while the VPN is on unfortunately. This server is going to be for friends and family, so probably at most like 3 users at a time, though more realistically 1-2 if that makes a difference.

I was thinking of going with a dedicated computer (like this guy, and get like an 8TB external HDD to plug into. Since I've already got plex set up and running on my laptop, the major pro of this setup is that it'll be super easy to set up - basically copy/paste across. The major con is that I've read that some people have had quite a lot of issues running plex behind a VPN, which this would be.

The other option is a NAS set up (and this is where my knowledge becomes shaky as I don't know what they are or how exactly they work). Apparently though, they can be set up with a VPN running, and still have plex working great behind it somehow? The con though is that instead of just getting a cheap second hand computer and HDD, this would require the NAS, a bay and HDD apparently? I could be wrong though, this is super confusing to me :P. Also, I've googled how to set up plex with a NAS and the first couple of videos are like 40 mins long, which seems like an absolute pain to set up compared to copy/paste with a second hand computer.

My ideal budget for everything excluding storage would probably be around $300-$400, but if there's something amazing just outside my range I probably wouldn't be against it. I'm also not too fussed around power usage (I know the NAS is much better), but if there's anything else I should know about going with, let me know

If you have a setup that you use, or some ideas on what you can recommend, as well as how it is in terms of ease to set up/maintain, let me know!

Thanks in advanced!

EDIT: I should also mention I'm absolutely terrible when it comes to hardware related things and computers, and have never built my own computer, and don't want to yet for this.

Computing Plex

Comments

  • CyberMurning on 08/06/2021 - 13:20
    +3

    synology NAS
    or QNAP

    • Opaquer on 08/06/2021 - 13:23

      How easy is it to run plex on and have it manage everything? Do you have one you recommend more so than others?

      • CyberMurning on 08/06/2021 - 13:27
        +3

        very easy. thats why you pay premium. no hardware tinkering, just few basic setup if you need basic, and thats it. everything are well built, tested and just work.
        and yes, regular plex server update for sure.

        the only thing im not sure is the involvement of VPN. need ask someone else

        • Opaquer on 08/06/2021 - 13:29

          How was it to set up plex as a server on the NAS?

          Also not sure if you know, but I run sonarr and radarr - I don't suppose you know how they all work together in a NAS?

          • DreadPirateRoberts on 08/06/2021 - 16:26

            @Opaquer: I run sonarr and radarr in the Docker "app" on the Synology NAS. Only issue was getting file paths correct but everything else was pretty breezy

          • Bushbasha on 09/06/2021 - 19:01

            @Opaquer: How easy is sonarr and radarr to set up? I've got shows automated via my rss feeds into my download client. But I've never been able to automate movies. I downloaded couch potato at one stage but couldn't overly figure it out, lol

            • Opaquer on 09/06/2021 - 19:14

              @Bushbasha: Sonarr and Radarr aren't too bad to set up, but it can take a bit of tinkering to make sure it's all good. Nothing major though, just a couple of things depending on how you're downloading etc. When I first started with all this, I used couch potato and it absolutely sucked :P. But yeah, going to radarr is so much easier to use and set up.

      • pharkurnell on 08/06/2021 - 14:55

        very very easy… have mine running now as we speak.. nas full of movies :)

        • Opaquer on 08/06/2021 - 15:09

          What do you need to get it set up from a hardware point of view? I've heard of some that just sound like a case basically, and you have to get your own CPU and ram and whatnot to get it working? Or are there some that work nicely out of the box that I can just plug in HDDs for? Also, do you have yours running behind a VPN? If so, is plex affected in any way?

          • Soluble on 08/06/2021 - 15:29
            +1

            @Opaquer: Synology NAS + hard drives and you're done. Set-up is ridiculously easy. I still use sickrage/chill for TV shows and radarr for movies. If I was starting from scratch it would be sonarr for TV and radarr for movies. That's all you need!

            Seen below you sailing the high seas. You can set the NAS up to hide behind the VPN when downloading, I havent bothered due to the strike rule, if I get a strike, then I'll hide!

            • Opaquer on 09/06/2021 - 07:37

              @Soluble: Fair enough. That seems a lot easier than what I was thinking! Also, do you know with the VPN if you can you make it run things on the VPN without affecting plex? Or is it like a computer where it's all or nothing?

          • pharkurnell on 08/06/2021 - 16:58
            +1

            @Opaquer: I bought a NAS and some hard drives.
            Plugged em in
            turned on
            configured
            uploaded movies etc to the NAS
            added to plex indexed
            watched movies.

            • Opaquer on 09/06/2021 - 07:38

              @pharkurnell: Awesome, that's a lot easier than what I was led to believe. It's looking more and more likely that a NAS is the way to go

    • Caped Baldy on 08/06/2021 - 13:30

      I got a terramaster NAS. Added an 8gb stick of ram and put TrueNAS on it. Was a bit of a hassle to install and had to buy a mini flash drive but I saved a couple hundred dollarydos.

      I had zero knowledge going in and just followed some YT guides. If OP has set up sonarr and radarr it shouldn't be too tough.

      • Opaquer on 08/06/2021 - 13:52

        How much did all that cost you to set up yourself?

        • Caped Baldy on 08/06/2021 - 17:59

          F5-221 was $432, crucial ddr3 8gb $55 and around $10 for the compact flash drive. 16TB HDD was $425.

          Outlay is pricey but having low power consumption is better in the long run.

  • spackbace on 08/06/2021 - 13:27

    Nvidia Shield Pro can run a Plex server…?

    Also a damn good media player

    • Opaquer on 08/06/2021 - 13:28

      It can, but it can't do all the downloading I need unfortunately. Which means I'd need to have something to do that anyway. I did consider having a shield run the server and get a dedicated computer behind a VPN constantly on, but that's even more money unfortunately

      • spackbace on 08/06/2021 - 13:31

        It seems like it too might have an issue with the VPN

        • Opaquer on 08/06/2021 - 13:34

          Yeah, that's what people were saying may be the issue with plex behind a VPN. So far it's been fine in the same "network" I think (plex server on laptop through VPN, but watching on plex client on PS4 not through VPN? Not sure if that's considered remote or not?) but I just don't want an update or something to happen and have to spend ages trying to fix it if I can just avoid that whole thing anyway

  • samfisher5986 on 08/06/2021 - 13:29
    +2

    Why do you want to run it behind a VPN?

    If you can ensure everything is being direct played then literally anything is the perfect plex server. This may require you to tell your friends they can't use their old chromecast, apple TV, PS3 etc as these generally can't direct play.

    I wouldn't recommend external hard drives, they overheat and have a huge delay in spinning up to be ready to watch media or scan for new media.

    • Opaquer on 08/06/2021 - 13:32
      +1

      Because I'm going to be sailing the high seas, as it were - hence the need for it.

      Are there any types of external HDDs that would work? And with the delay in spinning up, I don't mind if it's not too long tbh. Also, will it matter if it's connected to the computer and on 24/7 in terms of spin up times and whatnot? Or is it more like once the HDD is inactive for a certain period, it'd need to spin up again next time plex boots or something?

      • spackbace on 08/06/2021 - 13:35
        +2

        Because I'm going to be sailing the high seas, as it were

        God knows the last time there was a reported fine in Australia for this

        • Opaquer on 08/06/2021 - 13:37

          True! But still, with torrents I just want to be safe, hence the need for a VPN

      • samfisher5986 on 08/06/2021 - 13:36
        +1

        You don't need it the way you are using it.

        If you are downloading something on the high seas, that might need a VPN if its bittorrent.

        Everything else won't need it and you are just making things slower, high latency and more problematic by doing it that way.

        • Opaquer on 08/06/2021 - 13:38

          I'm using qbittorrent, so same same unfortunately

          • samfisher5986 on 08/06/2021 - 13:39
            +3

            @Opaquer: In Qbittorrent you can set it to only use the network adapter of the VPN/Proxy you choose.

            Alternatively you can set up a virtual machine or something small like a raspberry pi just for your sailing of the high seas.

            • Opaquer on 08/06/2021 - 13:41

              @samfisher5986: I tried to set it up that way, and it just wasn't working. Then when I got it working, it stopped working with sonarr and radarr - apparently a known ish issue that each developer is throwing at the other developer to fix. Perhaps once that bug is fixed I can set it up that way, but until then I might have to just stick with the computer-wide VPN

              • samfisher5986 on 08/06/2021 - 13:46
                +1

                @Opaquer: The VPN shouldn't be affecting Sonarr/Radarr talking to it locally.

                Using a VPN is a pretty common setup so I'm quite sure you can get it working.

                Plex via VPN is not going to be a good experience.

                • Opaquer on 08/06/2021 - 13:51

                  @samfisher5986: I might have to have another look at the VPN settings I had then. If I remember correctly, the best I got was sonarr/radarr adding things in, and it would just get stuck at the downloading meta data forever. I would have to manually quit qbit and reopen it before it would kick in and start downloading for some odd reason, and people were saying it was a bug that needed to be fixed

            • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 08/06/2021 - 18:52

              @samfisher5986: Agreed, a VM is the easiest way to go. Leave all your other devices stock on your network.

  • CoronavirusVaccine on 08/06/2021 - 15:51

    If you're planning to do direct play only then you can skip the large desktop box and go with Lenovo Tiny / Dell Micro with 1-litre form factor. The desktop box gives you the possibility to add a low powered discrete graphics card for transcoding, but that form factor would likely idle at 50Watts minimum. Lenovo Tiny / Dell Micro can idle at ~10W.

    NAS is just another computer, so nothing you can't do with the normal desktop/tiny computer. However because it's specialised the dedicated software will save you a lot of time. Basically if you value your time at all (ie. not someone who enjoys tinkering with computer operating system / networking) then you are likely better off with a Synology/QNAP/ASUSTOR once you take into account the cost of your time.

    Also don't forget if you have an old laptop lying around they will likely make a very good Plex server with an external USB drive. It will idle at low wattage, and the battery is like a UPS.

    • Opaquer on 09/06/2021 - 09:11

      The main thing is that since I've already got plex set up on my laptop, I know how to set it up on a dedicated computer. Even if a NAS is simple to get going, I already know how to do it is the thing. It's a tough choice, that's for sure

      • CoronavirusVaccine on 10/06/2021 - 12:15
        +1

        If you are happy with Plex Server running on a laptop with external drive hooked onto it there's nothing wrong with that setup. Being a laptop it will have low power consumption and if it's a modern Intel CPU (probably 4th gen onwards) then its integrated graphics can probably help with transcoding fairly easily.

        VPN requirement on hardware depends a lot on how much bandwidth you want to push through, and dependent on the VPN protocol and whether the hardware supports hardware-accelerated encryption. 3 users with 1080p video has a very different bandwidth requirement to 3 users with 4K resolution streams.

        I'd say it's worthwhile to try to run both plex server and VPN server on the same machine, and if that turned out to be insufficient then explore other hardware options. A modern laptop within the last 5 years or so should likely be sufficient.

        • samfisher5986 on 10/06/2021 - 13:09

          If it were me I would remove the battery from the laptop and hope it still worked. No way I want a laptop battery sitting warm 24/7.

          • CoronavirusVaccine on 10/06/2021 - 13:52

            @samfisher5986: Once a battery is fully charged, I don't think the battery is actively working while the power is plugged in. The circuitry should just power the laptop from the power adapter without involving the battery.

            Can anyone confirm?

            • samfisher5986 on 10/06/2021 - 13:59

              @CoronavirusVaccine: It depends on the laptop.

              Some laptops use the battery to provide full power, some laptops are powered by the mains but will constantly charge the laptop as it constantly loses power due to not being used.

              The best case scenario is a laptop powered by mains that also has a feature to not charge the laptop unless its under 60%.

              • CoronavirusVaccine on 10/06/2021 - 15:31

                @samfisher5986: Thanks samfisher, that makes sense.

                At one stage I had a Lenovo ThinkPad that gave me an option to set the max % it will charge to - really useful when the laptop is permanently plugged in. Wish they make this kind of choice part of the OS that will save a lot of battery wear and tear. (although admittedly that's against the corporates' interest).

        • Opaquer on 10/06/2021 - 15:08

          That ain't a bad option. I wouldn't be downloading 4K since we don't even have a 4K TV yet. But I think I'm going to go with a reasonably powerful computer to handle everything, and if running plex and everything behind a VPN is too much, I'll get a cheap $200 download computer to then download everything before transferring into the server computer

          • CoronavirusVaccine on 10/06/2021 - 15:35

            @Opaquer: downloading and serving files (Plex) and VPN for up to three users won't actually use much CPU. There's a good chance that one single laptop (i3/i5/i7) will be more than enough to serve all three duties without sweating.

            transcoding without hardware acceleration is what will make the CPU sweat. so if bandwidth is no problem, run every plex client with Direct Play then you don't really need to shell out extra $$.

            keep us posted on how you go - I think your use case is a good example for many people who are just starting out. There is nothing wrong with trying to minimise spending and do away of a dedicated NAS. Just for as long as you're happy/willing to spend the time - and you'll likely learn quite a few things along the way.

            Do you mind to share what kind of CPU/RAM is the laptop you intended to use for this purpose?

            • Opaquer on 10/06/2021 - 17:00

              @CoronavirusVaccine: @CoronavirusVaccine Well, despite the laptop, I think I can actually get a pretty cheap, recent computer with last gen tech.

              The original plan was to have a single, large external HDD connected to the computer, and add more as needed. Obviously this has an issue with it being external, and on multiple drives if I ever wanted to copy shows across. Then I found a good looking 4 bay USB 3 HDD dock - plug in one end, and everything else is easy to manage. I found some second hand computers with 6th gen i5 in them that looked like they'd do it pretty well, but then I added the dock and the computer price together and it was a lot more than I was originally planning on spending :P

              Then I found a setup for last year's gen that seems to be pretty well priced (~$600), BUT it has a case with 4 internal HDD slots - which is a) much better than a dock, and b) much cheaper (about $200 cheaper) than the separate dock/computer set up. This will give me enough grunt for multiple people to transcode if they need to, and Windows 10 has an in built "storage spaces", letting you have multiple HDDs act as one big one - solving every issue with the multiple drives I had! It can even be expanded as needed with new drives, or bigger capacity drives

              So, while it's about double the price I was initially looking at spending on a cheap 4th gen Optiplex, if I go this way, it'll last me a much longer time :)

          • samfisher5986 on 10/06/2021 - 15:51

            @Opaquer: Actually if you have a decent 1080p TV and enough hard drive space, 4K is way better then 1080p.

            The reason for this is that Netflix and other streaming sites except for maybe Amazon use lower bitrates on their videos which means higher resolutions look a lot better.

          • spackbace on 10/06/2021 - 16:04
            +1

            @Opaquer:

            That ain't a bad option. I wouldn't be downloading 4K since we don't even have a 4K TV yet.

            Be careful, once you make the decision to boost your files to 4K, storage will be an issue. A 4K remux can be 60-100gb for each movie.

            • Opaquer on 10/06/2021 - 16:53

              @spackbace: Yeah, that's the bit that terrifies me the most :P. I'm kinda hoping to get a 4k TV with a good enough AI up scaling to make it so that I don't need to download 4K content except for things I REALLY want to :P

  • pegaxs on 08/06/2021 - 16:02

    I use the QNAP NAS and Plex is very easy to install, setup and run. Just make sure you buy a NAS that can work with Plex, as not all can.

    • Opaquer on 09/06/2021 - 09:11

      Noted, thanks!

  • Switchblade88 on 08/06/2021 - 16:38
    +1

    If the VPN is mandatory, you could get two devices:

    • Use a refurb 9010/9020 as the Plex server with the capacity storage
    • use a second old PC/laptop another 9010 as your 'pirate galleon' with the VPN, then transfer your 'booty' over the network manually/via script.

    This'll be cheaper and more flexible than a dedicated NAS, but it's still more effort than a VPN on demand (i.e. offpeak downloading during the day, turn off VPN for use) or just skip the VPN entirely as most do.

    • Opaquer on 09/06/2021 - 10:38

      That could work, though it's double the footprint. Definitely something to consider though

  • macrocephalic on 08/06/2021 - 17:27

    I am setting up basically what you're doing. I have an old Lenovo i5 that was surplus froma workplace. I've installed OpenMediaVault on it (linux distro) and am going to install the plex server when I have a spare hour to set it all up. There are youtube videos on how to do it and it seems pretty easy. Currently I just have a 10TB external drive plugged in and am serving the files with SMB.

    • Opaquer on 09/06/2021 - 10:47

      Yeah, doing it with a computer is definitely going to be super easy - though I haven't done it with Linux. Hopefully it's as easy as Windows is!

  • BigLeviathan on 08/06/2021 - 21:56

    I'm with most people here too.
    I have QNAP TS-453be connected the NAS to a projector so that it can serve as a Plex Media Server as well as media center, I also use it as a CCTV server and backup storage, and sometimes a docker container for occasional playpen.

    The upside of Nas, you don't have to tinkering about the hardware, plus it is relatively low wattage, and you get the support team if you have any issue

    The downside is cost, and it's rather a grey box, it has a stripped Linux back end, but there is no way to fully backup it's O/S + data in one go (you can backup the data, but to backup the data and O/S in one go, not possible, I think…)

  • MontyMacaw on 09/06/2021 - 08:19

    What is all the fuss about? Plex installed on my 2015 iMac just works. I have a stack of hard drives and teamviewer for remote access if I need to reboot remotely for any reason. Works perfectly for me and friends using it who understand that it can take a bit of patience for the handshaking to kick in sometimes. I keep my hard drives spinning and they seem to last longer than if they spin down. 8000 movies and thousands of TV shows. I wouldn’t overthink it. 60TB library.

    Pro tip: use the subtitles option before playing movies with some foreign language content. It’s right there with the movie artwork before you click play.

  • beatit99 on 09/06/2021 - 09:26

    Those with NAS how are you finding the transcoding?
    I'm still running Plex on my relatively well powered windows 8 box, and last time I looked at porting, the NAS's could struggle. I watch a bit of Live TV via plex and an HDHomeRun which is fairly intensive, and also 4K movies take a bit of effort to downscale. Cheers

    • samfisher5986 on 09/06/2021 - 09:49

      NAS's will generally struggle without hardware transcoding as they generally have weak CPU's.

      • Opaquer on 09/06/2021 - 10:50

        @beatit99 @samfisher5986 how do the CPUs compare to some older second hand stuff? Just because some of the second hand computers around have a passmark that's only good enough to handle a single 1080p transcode. Would a NAS tend to be weaker? Is it perhaps worth getting a cheap second hand computer to download, then a slightly more powerful one to hold everything and deal with transcoding?

        • samfisher5986 on 09/06/2021 - 11:26

          Completely depends on how much you want to spend on a NAS, but in general you have to spend an insane amount of money to just get moderate performance in a NAS, you should definitely be focusing on hardware transcoding if you want a good value device.

          But you should not be transcoding with Plex unless you have to for bandwidth reasons, its a waste of CPU power and electricity.

          • Opaquer on 09/06/2021 - 11:34

            @samfisher5986: Do I not need to transcode if my media isn't in H264 format and I'm watching on a phone? I'm not very good with hardware related things so may have misunderstood what it's used for?

            • samfisher5986 on 09/06/2021 - 11:38

              @Opaquer: Plex for Android can direct play almost everything, so no, you don't need to transcode.

              The only reason you might want to transcode is if you have slow internet or limited data. The power required to convert one 1080p stream to 480p is not much for one person so I wouldn't worry too much.

              Your average users should be using proper internet connections and should stream in original quality/direct play.

              Some people will have 5 year old apple tv's and other junk, you simply don't let those people on your Plex server without buying a newer device.

              • Opaquer on 09/06/2021 - 12:33

                @samfisher5986: What about Plex for iOS? And the only issue with that is that it's for friends and family - I wouldn't make them update their devices just to watch things when a solution to watch things does exist.

                Just to make sure I'm understanding this properly - transcoding lets plex convert files on the fly to the proper format needed by the device. Direct play is when everything is already perfect together and nothing needs to be done, and it just streams perfectly? Ideally, worst case, I would need some transcoding as a just in case - and I'd rather set it up now to be able to handle it than have to worry about it again later down the line

  • Drj55 on 09/06/2021 - 10:31

    You can do this a funny stop gap way or you can do it the right way with a nas server! If you go synology it's quite easy to set up but does require some IT skills. But if you do it this way it will last you for years. And it has lots of other use cases: file servers, backup, security cameras, 24hr download etc

    Just some comments

    You need a high end synology to allow 4k streaming /decoding. Mine is 918+

    You need high end wd red or ironwolf nas drives. Buy 2big drives rather than 4 small drives initially so you can upgrade later. Once you have a nas you'll never delete anything again and even 20-30tb will seem constrained!

    All up though this setup will cost you 1k+.

    You lan cable between nas and smart TV (there is no hdmi out)

    You need a smart TV that runs the plex client or a media box like shield.

    You need to buy plex pass to get most out of it including hardware decoding which is a must for 4k.

    Downloding is the tricky bit. Synology has a download station but it won't use socks 5 so you could either put whole nas/router behind a VPN (I don't know how to do that) or run deluge in a "docker". However this definitely takes some tinkering and use of SSH to get it set up (there is a YouTube video). Once working though it's on 24hrs a day.

    • Opaquer on 09/06/2021 - 11:10

      The thing is that's a huge upfront cost, especially considering that a second hand computer to set up would be ~$300 excluding some cheap HDDs. Also, we don't have a smart TV yet - can the NAS handle being it's own plex server? We tend to watch on the PS4, but that's just a client instead of a server.

      How does the docker stuff work? I've heard of it but don't quite get how it works or what to do with it

    • samfisher5986 on 09/06/2021 - 11:27
      +1

      The NAS is not the "right" way, its the expensive way that locks you into that NAS too much.

      Most other solutions will do a better job then a NAS, but requires more setup.

    • OzFrugie on 09/06/2021 - 22:36

      Why hardware decoding is a must for 4k?

  • Geoff897 on 09/06/2021 - 11:30

    I don't see a NAS especially a cheap one is going to stream 3 things at the same time especially with transcoding or with remote streams. I find a small formfactor pc with external drive or a cheap NAS for storage better. If you need more grunt you can upgrade a PC cheaply over a buying a powerful NAS.

    • samfisher5986 on 09/06/2021 - 11:31

      Even a raspberry pi can handle 10 remote streams if they are direct play, probably even direct stream.

      The best thing you can do is make sure nobody is transcoding, that way you don't need unnecessary power in your server and don't waste CPU/electricity.

      • Geoff897 on 09/06/2021 - 11:53
        +1

        Windows installer is much easier for less tech person then a NAS or PI setup, As its for Friends and Family they will likely need to transcode at some stage. Even just the odd holiday with a tablet/phone, A pc is cheaper/easier setup and has more upgrade paths

        • samfisher5986 on 09/06/2021 - 12:13

          If you just set it up not to transcode and just don't make it an option to be travelling around trancoding then things will be a lot easier.

          Remember who the owner of the server is ;)

          • Geoff897 on 09/06/2021 - 12:15

            @samfisher5986: I know what you mean until it doesn't work for your parents and you then become the IT person lol

            • samfisher5986 on 09/06/2021 - 12:31

              @Geoff897: Haha thats why I generally won't offer Plex to anyone for nothing as its just a bunch of work and responsibility and blame for no benefit

              • Opaquer on 09/06/2021 - 12:35

                @samfisher5986: @Geoff897 @samfisher5986 The more I read into things, the more I want a computer to handle everything now - especially if it can handle more transcoding as a just in case. Maybe something small out of sight, then some cool looking HDD bay that holds all the storage!

    • Opaquer on 09/06/2021 - 11:32

      That's what I'm starting to see. Not too long ago it felt like NAS was the way to go, but now it seems like I may end up just getting a second hand computer that can handle things as needed

      • samfisher5986 on 09/06/2021 - 11:40

        Your main aim should be an AMD 6 core CPU with 8GB of ram or higher and lots of internal hard drive bays.

        The CPU doesn't really matter for direct play, but its worth in the long run as you'll want to run all sorts of extra things, maybe SONARR/RADARR etc.

        Also be aware of power usage and electricity costs.

        • Opaquer on 09/06/2021 - 12:39

          Well instead of lots of internal bays, what about if it was just an SSD for the OS and plex and whatnot, then a HDD bay connected up?

          Also, not too worried about power usage and whatnot

          • samfisher5986 on 09/06/2021 - 13:22

            @Opaquer: As long as the HDD bay keeps the drives cool, and the interface is fast enough to handle the data you need, having a lot of shared drives on one USB interface isn't a great idea.

            • Opaquer on 09/06/2021 - 13:49

              @samfisher5986: Even if it's USB 3? Would that still not be fast enough to handle everything?

              • samfisher5986 on 09/06/2021 - 13:56

                @Opaquer: Sort of, USB has a lot of overhead and limitations, I'm sure four hard drives to a USB3 might be ok but I wouldn't go past that.

                But just make sure you have proper cooling and stay away from external hard drives.

                • Opaquer on 09/06/2021 - 14:19

                  @samfisher5986: Yeah, there's some good looking 4 bay USB3 enclosures around that could do the trick. And yeah, I'd stay away from external HDDs

        • askbargain on 10/06/2021 - 19:53

          AMD for a Plex server haha

          • samfisher5986 on 10/06/2021 - 23:12

            @askbargain: Uhh have you seen the multicore performance for encoding for the value? I don't think you have…

            • askbargain on 10/06/2021 - 23:14

              @samfisher5986: Have you seen QuickSync for Plex?

              • samfisher5986 on 11/06/2021 - 08:33

                @askbargain: Of course, but there is much more to a server then that. Plus transcoding in general is quite stupid and a waste.

                If you wanted to take encoding seriously you would use nvidia transcoding but again, transcoding is not necessary if everyone does things correctly.

                • askbargain on 13/06/2021 - 16:08

                  @samfisher5986:

                  Plus transcoding in general is quite stupid and a waste.

                  Tell the Plex devs to remove such a useless bug then.

                  • samfisher5986 on 13/06/2021 - 21:07

                    @askbargain: Transcoding is a backup if you can't direct play for some reason, just like the 2mbit plex relay exists, you don't want to use it if you can help it.

                    • askbargain on 13/06/2021 - 21:40

                      @samfisher5986: Except transcoding is the default. If you were a server owner that shares it with regular people, you would understand the importance of transcoding.

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