Will the Emby server on nVidia Shield work in this setup?

[Marsovac 0]

I'll have to move my TV and computer from one room to another, and won't be able to have it all connected where it was before.

I'm planning to buy an nVidia Shield to host an Emby server and connect it to the router and NAS. They will both be connected directly to the router.

And I would then use the TV app to watch my collection, through wireless.

Will this setup work, and will it have hardware acceleration on the nVidia shield (without subscription)?

 

Regards

Edited March 27, 2023 by Marsovac

[GrimReaper 3308]

How many clients you'll have? What are your transcoding requirements, as apparently you do have some as per:

1 hour ago, Marsovac said:

and will it have hardware acceleration on the nVidia shield (without subscription)?

As awesome a client device Shield is, as a server... not so much. But yes, HWA on Shield (you might get 2-3 1080p transcodes, not sure you'd manage a single 4K transcode (aside the general consensus that 4K content shouldn't ever be transcoded)) doesn't require Premiere subscription. 

[Marsovac 0]

36 minutes ago, GrimReaper said:

How many clients you'll have? What are your transcoding requirements, as apparently you do have some as per:

As awesome a client device Shield is, as a server... not so much. But yes, HWA on Shield (you might get 2-3 1080p transcodes, not sure you'd manage a single 4K transcode (aside the general consensus that 4K content shouldn't ever be transcoded)) doesn't require Premiere subscription. 

I have two 4k TVs in the house.

So transcoding 4k (HDR) -> 4k (SDR) is not possible on the nVidia shield?

Edited March 27, 2023 by Marsovac

[Marsovac 0]

Is there any difference when using the nVidia Shield Pro?

[GrimReaper 3308]

33 minutes ago, Marsovac said:

So transcoding 4k (HDR) -> 4k (SDR) is not possible on the nVidia shield?

Playing on which client device? If playback on Shield, Shield would tonemap natively, so no transcoding will occur in that scenario. If playback on other devices, not sure how much success you'd have, never endeavored into such undertaking, and tbh not even sure is Emby's tonemapping implemented for X1 in SW or HW - @softworkz

28 minutes ago, Marsovac said:

Is there any difference when using the nVidia Shield Pro?

Everything mentioned was for Shield Pro, Tube should generally be avoided (32-bit, memory leak issue...).

Edit: Iskreno, ne znajući vašu kompletnu instalaciju, mislim da biste bolje iskustvo imali sa serverom na vašem kompjuteru i Shieldom kao klijentom, jer bi 99% toga vjerojatno bilo reproducirano direktno. Koje su marke vaše dvije televizije, koji SmartOS? 

Edited March 27, 2023 by GrimReaper
Append

[Marsovac 0]

16 minutes ago, GrimReaper said:

Playing on which client device? If playback on Shield, Shield would tonemap natively, so no transcoding will occur in that scenario. If playback on other devices, not sure how much success you'd have, never endeavored into such undertaking, and tbh not even sure is Emby's tonemapping implemented for X1 in SW or HW - @softworkz

Everything mentioned was for Shield Pro, Tube should generally be avoided (32-bit, memory leak issue...).

Edit: Iskreno, ne znajući vašu kompletnu instalaciju, mislim da biste bolje iskustvo imali sa serverom na vašem kompjuteru i Shieldom kao klijentom, jer bi 99% toga vjerojatno bilo reproducirano direktno. Koje su marke vaše dvije televizije, koji SmartOS? 

The client device would be the TV app or another emby client on a laptop.

To run a computer as a server I would need to run it over the wireless in both ways or on another floor where I have lan cable or buy a computer capable of transcoding that is extremely small and quiet, because the room where I can access the lan and the router is becoming a bedroom. This is why I tought of the Shield, since it costs around 250e and if it does hw transcoding no subscription.

[GrimReaper 3308]

5 minutes ago, Marsovac said:

on a laptop

Which CPU (and discreet GPU, if any) does your laptop have? 

[Marsovac 0]

10 minutes ago, GrimReaper said:

Which CPU (and discreet GPU, if any) does your laptop have? 

I dont remember the exact cpu, it is a quad core intel cpu with 8gb ddr3 ram. I think it is 4xxx.

But probably gonna usa the tv app.

Edited March 27, 2023 by Marsovac

[GrimReaper 3308]

13 minutes ago, Marsovac said:

I think it is 4xxx

That won't do, had something else in mind. 

In any case:

28 minutes ago, Marsovac said:

since it costs around 250e

for that amount of money you can get QS-enabled Intel laptop with damaged screen off of Ebay which would run circles around the Shield AND lifetime Premiere subscription, which will give you incomparable advantages compared to Shield-as-a-server setup and future-proofing, as Shield alone might not be the only cost, certain client platforms require either Premiere subscription or one-off app unlock, for full list of per-client/per-platform requirements/capabilities, see:

https://support.emby.media/support/solutions/articles/44001173099-emby-premiere-feature-matrix

Edit: @RanmaCanadaany tips on used laptop market nowdays? 

Edited March 27, 2023 by GrimReaper
Shout

[Marsovac 0]

9 minutes ago, GrimReaper said:

That won't do, had something else in mind. 

In any case:

for that amount of money you can get QS-enabled Intel laptop with damaged screen off of Ebay which would run circles around the Shield AND lifetime Premiere subscription, which will give you incomparable advantages compared to Shield-as-a-server setup and future-proofing, as Shield alone might not be the only cost, certain client platforms require either Premiere subscription or one-off app unlock, for full list of per-client/per-platform requirements/capabilities, see:

https://support.emby.media/support/solutions/articles/44001173099-emby-premiere-feature-matrix

Edit: @RanmaCanadaany tips on used laptop market nowdays? 

That seems a reasonable compromise. The only problem i see is that laptops are quite loud when they are doing something. It will be in my bedroom and if it activates while sleeping could be a deal breaker.

For the per client unlocks... that is something i cannot avoid in any case, and shield or pc doesnt change much.

[softworkz 3338]

1 hour ago, GrimReaper said:

If playback on other devices, not sure how much success you'd have, never endeavored into such undertaking, and tbh not even sure is Emby's tonemapping implemented for X1 in SW or HW - @softworkz

What is X1?

On Android, there's only sw tone mapping, but IIRC it requires a Premiere subscription even on Android. SW tone mapping for ARM is not optimized like our x86 sw tone mapping, so it might(!) work when transcoding to low resolutions (e.g. for watching on mobile), where the image is scaled down before tone mapping, but surely not for 4k (as target resolution). 

18 minutes ago, Marsovac said:

For the per client unlocks... that is something i cannot avoid in any case,

Why? With Emby Premiere you don't need any client unlocks.

[GrimReaper 3308]

14 minutes ago, Marsovac said:

That seems a reasonable compromise. The only problem i see is that laptops are quite loud when they are doing something. It will be in my bedroom and if it activates while sleeping could be a deal breaker.

For one or two odd transcodes I reckon your CPU wouldn't even break a sweat, so I'd assume fan noise wouldn't be an issue. Of course, your mileage may vary. 

16 minutes ago, Marsovac said:

For the per client unlocks... that is something i cannot avoid in any case, and shield or pc doesnt change much.

With Premiere subscription (which you'd need for HWA) there are no additional costs incurred, all client apps are 'unlocked', even if you opt for monthly (cca. 5 bucks) subscription, you'd get few years of Premiere to justify Shield cost alone. 

[GrimReaper 3308]

Just now, softworkz said:

What is X1?

Tegra X1 is Shield's CPU. 

[softworkz 3338]

6 minutes ago, GrimReaper said:

Tegra X1 is Shield's CPU. 

I knew "Tegra", but didn't remember that it's called 'X1'. Thanks!

[ebr 14923]

Hi.  The problem we've seen with this setup is I/O bottlenecks with higher bitrate content because both the server and Shield on on the same device with the same I/O channel doing at least double duty.  YMMV.

[Marsovac 0]

And what would be the cheapest/oldest intel cpu that would handle 2 4k transcodes?

[RanmaCanada 345]

@GrimReaperlooking pretty good for even refurbished laptops right now on fleabay.  $200 USD for a i3-1115G4 fully working.  It does only have 4 gigs of ram, but bumping it up is no big expense.

@MarsovacNewer laptops are quiet as heck.  You will not hear it, period.  As for what it is the oldest/cheapest intel CPU that can handle 2 4k transcodes, that would be an i3-8130u.

[Marsovac 0]

23 minutes ago, RanmaCanada said:

@GrimReaperlooking pretty good for even refurbished laptops right now on fleabay.  $200 USD for a i3-1115G4 fully working.  It does only have 4 gigs of ram, but bumping it up is no big expense.

@MarsovacNewer laptops are quiet as heck.  You will not hear it, period.  As for what it is the oldest/cheapest intel CPU that can handle 2 4k transcodes, that would be an i3-8130u.

Ok i will check in my country. The us prices are unrealistic here.

[RanmaCanada 345]

56 minutes ago, Marsovac said:

Ok i will check in my country. The us prices are unrealistic here.

I did a test of the sound level of my server and my laptop, as the laptop is on top of my UNRAID server which hosts my files, and it peaked at 38.4db from 6 feet away.

https://soundproofingguide.com/decibels-level-comparison-chart/  So for both to be at that level, it tells you how quiet things are, as my UNRAID server is far louder than my Emby laptop.

What country are you in, I can see if I can possibly locate something.

[Marsovac 0]

5 hours ago, RanmaCanada said:

I did a test of the sound level of my server and my laptop, as the laptop is on top of my UNRAID server which hosts my files, and it peaked at 38.4db from 6 feet away.

https://soundproofingguide.com/decibels-level-comparison-chart/  So for both to be at that level, it tells you how quiet things are, as my UNRAID server is far louder than my Emby laptop.

What country are you in, I can see if I can possibly locate something.

Thats too loud, but if it is about your nas then it is fine. Mine is dead silent in a custom foam enclosure, ripped the circuit board and put silent wd drives into and swapped stock fan with silent 92mm and custom fan duct with wool filter.

I'be be more interested in just the laptop when doing transcoding. It will be around 6 feet from the bed.

[Marsovac 0]

6 minutes ago, Marsovac said:

I'be be more interested in just the laptop when doing transcoding. It will be around 6 feet from the bed.

Or better yet, maybe i can mod a broken laptop to five it passive cooling, but it would have to be a 15w or less one to be feasible easily.

[RanmaCanada 345]

If they can do it to laptops for ETH mining, I am sure you can do it for quicksync encoding.