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Progressing towards Plex (or alternative) + Auto RIP setup...

Izerous

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So the 5.25 external enclosure hasn't shown up yet but i fiddle some more withe the QNAP and I swapped out plex for it's native DLNA. It is a celeron instead of an atom and 8GB ram but I didn't get on the fly transcoding working. I did get watch folder transcoding working so I can just bulk transfer the existing media from the synology into the watch folders and it will handle it. And when i have the other machine backing up the physical media i'll probably have it pre-transcode it and by-pass the watch folders. Big enough difference in CPU power between the qnap and the xeon based machine.

There is support for premium TwonkyDLNA instead of the built in version not sure if it is worth pursuning that since it looks like the free native version will cover what I was after.
 

Skippman

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It's been forever since I messed with TwonkyDLNA, but I remember that being more for running on a server than something you'd want to do with the NAS. I remember it being particularly picky so I ended up using TVersity instead. This was back when I was using the 360's as set top boxes.

I think your solution of pre-transcoding the video is the best option. I'm unsure what format you're converting to. If you have the choice I'd recommend H.264 based MP4. This format will have the best video quality, good audio quality, and is in general the most supported video format thanks to mainstream adoption of MPEG based hardware decoders in TV's and other devices. It also has the byproduct of being a supported format for most tablets and cellphones in case you ever decide to load up a couple movies for a flight.
 

Izerous

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Enclosure arrives and I made a cat5e cable to run to the one TV (only thing in the house with VGA port) and fiddled with the server that I intended to do the ripping on. It has troubles booting after updating.

Fresh install of Ubuntu, grab updates and restart and it will just go black. Forcefully killing power and turning it back on i'll get the purple ubuntu screen without the text for a moment and then it goes black again. Have some more fiddling to do before I try installing ARM/MakeMKV etc.

Without updating it will sit on the ubuntu loading screen for at least 10 minutes before I killed it if the network cable is plugged in. Not plugged in and not updated boots fine, which is why I was trying to update it.
 

lowfat

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The constant asking to subscribe, the re-jigging for content, the lack of wife support, and a computer to run it which needed to be in the same room. I could go on.

I can teach a 7 year old to cast to chrome
Are you thinking of the right software? Plex asks to subscribe as does Emby. Kodi definitely doesn't. Kodi is just a media front end. It can be used on the same computer that has the media. Or another other (including Raspberry Pi's and dozens of different 'Android boxes'). You can easily use Kodi as a front end for Plex. IMO Plex front end UI is terrible. A 7 year old absolutely could use Kodi.

If you meant Emby, I honestly don't see much of a difference between it and Plex. It never asks to subscribe if you use Kodi as the front end. I didn't think the TV or Web UI was any worse than Plex.
 

Skippman

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The constant asking to subscribe, the re-jigging for content, the lack of wife support, and a computer to run it which needed to be in the same room. I could go on.

I can teach a 7 year old to cast to chrome

Pretty sure you're misremembering which software was doing that. KODI is open source freeware. I've never seen it ask for a subscription, nor am I sure that's even an option. It can run on Android, Pi, and a ton of other boxes. It's really no more complex than say Netflix.
 

JD

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Kodi's default theme isn't that great though IMO, but that's easily remedied by installing a theme you like the interface of.
 

clshades

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I tried using it several years ago and stopped using it. I downloaded it for streaming free content which constantly needed the stream servers updated. Playing files I already had on hard drive was fine. Had the media computer under the stairs behind the TV wall and it barely ever got used. The streaming side of it wanted subscriptions to various sites to improve quality, audio, and speed. I'm running plex off an APU 6600 steaming HEVC content to chromecast which is far simpler imo.

Chromecast is used constantly in my house. Every TV has one.
 

JD

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Well, Kodi isn't meant for all those illegal IPTV streams, so that makes sense. All the ones I tried were notoriously bad and I had no idea how people used them. They've done their best to try to ban those as it was hurting their brand/image.
 

Skippman

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I'm with JD. I don't use the illegal streaming services. I also haven't tried to integrate things like Netflix or HBO Go into it either. I use it exclusively for playing back local content (MKV's, FLAC, etc) from my NAS. It's ability to scrape media is unparalleled as far as I've seen. I believe I'm running the Confluence skin right now and it's pretty near perfect.

TBH, the second I hear someone say they run PLEX I instantly assume they're using it to either view pirate streams or stream content from a friend. I'm, in general, not a fan of piracy at all. I'm also a video/audio snob and prefer having the content local and in it's original format. With the way I rip things I'm getting the exact same experience as having the BluRay in the drive minus the menus and intro videos. (Yes, I own all of my movies, some 700+ of them)
 

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