Mediacenter Project

You know, that is a great question --- and I'm surprised I haven't been asked. I started down the media server route because I have one at home. SSD prices dropped enough that I can mirror it, and take it with me. Back in the "big" RV days the NAS device it runs on would go with me --- but I really didn't want to bounce hard drives across the country....that's asking for data loss.

Why a media server? 2 reasons....Space and usability

Space. Storage space on laptops, and ipads is just too small. The 500 Gig hard drive on my laptop is larger than my iPad. I'd run out of space in no time at all.

Usabilitly. Shuffling through directories, and swapping out thumb drives is almost as bad as DVD's. Even if you are organized. Which I am not. A web based media server gives you a sick user interface, that in addition to any web browser, can also work with a firestick or HDMI streaming player. Which means theoretically I can plug in an LCD projector outside and play the movie "RV" at a gathering with ease.

Do I do that? Never tried --- I don't have space for the projector and screen But I have all the pieces to do it.

Right now, The server I have is about 80% full, and I have somewhere in the vicinity of 342 movies on it, complete runs of about 30 TV shows. When I get home, and hit my home wifi it automatically syncs (or it will) with my home NAS devices downloading any content I've added. Home "home" rig also acts as a DVR for off-air recording of my favorites shows.

Plus this stuff is just fun to do

Pardon the ugly hole -- my drill press wasn't setup and I thought a circular hole saw would cut this aluminum easier than it did.


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Thanks for that info Sweeney, I understand a bit better now.

I’d guess the storage issue is solvable… but I think I’m getting the picture that a good media server will scan a directory, slurp up all metadata, and give you a webpage interface with many methods of sorting, listing, searching and interface... with a good player as well?

I’m a bit of a newbie in thinking about media servers at this scale.

On the other hand, if there’s an media player app that runs on a tablet, with similar scanning/slurping of metadata, sorting… etc., would that serve? I think I’ve only used iPad Photos and VLC Player on iPad… I wonder how extensible VLC is?

 

DING DING DING --- that's exactly it. You CAN run Plex, EMBY, or Jellyfin (the latest one I am testing) on your PC just fine, and I'd do that to test something like this before you spend any money.

I just love having access to all of my media on all of the TVs in my house. I never have to dig through stacks of cases, spindles, or albums to find anything. It's just there.

Once that initial load is done I only have to RIP a movie when I find something in the $5 bin (You'd be surprised how many old movies I got that way over the years!) or when the latest blockbuster comes out. I"m currently waiting on Maverick and "Better Call Saul Season 6".

Ripping --- slow but painless. I use a mac, but the software is readily available for Windows and Linux as well. I use Handbrake, which is a free program. Insert the disk, load the template with the settings you like, and hit "go" Shortly, you've got an m4p file of your movie. TV shows are a LITTLE harder just because there are 4 tracks on a typical DVD. Keeping the episode order takes some discipline. But it's not bad.

From there, drop them in a directory on the server and it does the rest.

If you have Blu-ray disks, it is harder -- the encryption of those is better. I own a grand total of 3. I don't buy blu ray for the simple reason I don't see a big difference. My friends would disagree. But this is my personal choice.

I'd like to try a few more Blu-Ray rips --- but its not worth the money to me.

If you're at CICO I'll be happy to show you some of this, or anyone else. My only regret is that I hoped I would be able to put a LCD screen into the place the TV's were. I just am not a skilled enough maker to do it...

 

I've been using Plex and Handbrake for years. They're a great combination, and Plex is amazingly good at what it does. My kid in Boston streams shows from my Mac in California just like it's Netflix.

 

I've tested it just to see if that works, and it does --- on my last European trip --- Big Bang Theory with german voice actors isn't anywhere near as funny...well, it is for the first 2 minutes, and it most hotels other than BBC there is very little english TV.

I have run into about 4 or 5 disks handbrake couldn't deal with.
- Hell or High Water (Texas bank robbery movie)
- Once upon a time in Hollywood (I am not 100% on this one)
- "Schoolhouse rock" --- remember those 70's, and 80's PSA cartoons?
- Any "archive" service DVD. These are rare, but I have "Song of the south" from classic Disney days I'd love an MP4 of....

I had some trouble with "Passion of the Christ" -- they encoded the movie about 100 times, and only 1 of the movies had English or undistorted audio --- you had to find it :O I found the right "track" on about the 5'th try using a random pick, just trying to see if there was a pattern. Fortunately handbrake allows for ripping just a single chapter which takes just a minute. Also, to rip that one was tricking because the entire movie is filmed in Aramaic, not English Ultimately...I won

 

'hopper, don't let this intimidate you, none of this stuff individually is all that hard. Just like building lego, it's 1 block on another. Get a basic machine running and don't be afraid to try things...

I've been an IT geek sincethe 1980's when I was caught teaching a math teacher (who was tasked to teach their basic computing class) how to do some basic things. All because my parents bought me an Atari 2600 which I outgrew. Having an interest is the only prerequisite.

If you know Windows at all, you probably have the basics down, from there it is just learning how to do it on another operating system. There are a lot of people doing this, it's easy to find very readable documents. Mostly you can follow their steps just typing what they tell you, and it all will work. If you want to understand the "why" that is where it gets interesting...finding a mentor helps, but I think you've done that I'm happy to mentor anyone who is on this journey. I couldn't have gotten as far as I have without a couple very good ones.

I use a Nighthawk as well with a SIM from Nomad Internet which uses AT&T. I also have a backup SIM --- just in case there is some odd billing problem that interrupts service. Nomad had problems in their early days. BUt I've had good service for about the last year and a half...no complaints. Red Pocket is my backup --- they have a sim-only plan on their web site. I also use their phone service. I LOVE paying $20 a month for my phone

 

Small update here. I have just upgraded and installed the latest version of PLEX, Emby and Jellyfin media servers. All 3 seem to now work without an internet connection. Yeah! There was a delay in emby. I suspect that there is some name resolution taking place...but once it timed out, things seem to work normally.

If you know the Gartner magic, I think Plex is in the far upper right. Emby is probably not far off, though the ability to execute is a limitation. I think if they can get exposure they would be more of a threat.

Jellyfin -- I actually like the best. I'd use it exclusively I suspect, but as of yesterday, they do not have an apple TV app yet. They do have a ROKU app --- it crashes when I run it on mine, but it is ancient, I don't want to condemn Jellyfin yet. I THINK that when I am camping...this will probably be my tool of choice, still using plex at home.

Personally, once Jellyfin crosses the apple boundary, I'll probably move over to it. I LOVE the fact that it is an source code project. It is both free as in speech, as well as free as in beer. I like that.