Strange question does Emby server on windows work better than on NAS?

[ng4ever 39]

Like synology or any prebuilt nas? Not a custom one. 
 

Should my question be windows vs Linux server instead? 

[pwhodges 1532]

I think all work equally well, from what I read in the forums.  The server's facilities are essentially identical on any platform.

Any platform should be OK so long as (1) the cpu and networking performance is sufficient, (2) graphics hardware capable of transcoding can be included (if required), and (3) the user is sufficiently fluent in administration tasks on the platform concerned.

The last point seems to be an issue with some NAS users (which may have very restricted low-level access) and some users of docker (which may require extra network configuration).  Setting up extra security - https, reverse proxy, VPN - also requires some confidence with admin tasks.

In short, use the platform you are most comfortable with.

Paul

[Ronstang 202]

I'm not sure one works better than the other but I think the question comes down to your level of experience of the platforms.  Most people will know and be comfortable with Windows and some with Linux.  As for standalone NAS boxes there are a host of options for software etc. and most of us, including me, probably have no experience with them.  That doesn't mean you cannot learn and it could be a fun project but for ease of use the average person probably has an older Windows computer laying around so why not repurpose that has always been my approach.

I looked into NAS boxes, but they are expensive and they get more expensive when you get to one that has the specs to properly transcode video and audio, this added to the level of complexity made me stick with a Windows machine.  Some will say the NAS boxes are more energy efficient but it you already have an extra older PC the $300-1000 you won't be spending on the NAS sans hard drives would take decades to make up for in electricity so that is a bad argument in my opinion.

My beta server is a 9 year old i5 with Windows 11 and it plays everything I throw at it and you could buy an old machine like this at a garage sale for very little.  I actually picked up several older PCs for free from friends who were throwing them out over the last 10 years which I repurposed into emby server boxes.  I usually had to add minimal components to get them to do what I wanted but it was very cost effective.  I already had the hard drives but if you don't those have to be bought for the NAS anyway.

The nice thing about having multiple Windows boxes with emby is you can still use them for other tasks as well as being the emby server.  I spread my daily tasks across two different machines that each run a different emby server.  One box I record TV content on and then because my network is wired and fast I edit and encode the content on the other box because it is much faster....which is also why it has my stable emby server on it that I share with others.  My beta machine is only for me to use for testing purposes and to organize content.

[Gilgamesh_48 944]

The best comparison I could make is that the actual server is not what causes most traceable failures of any Emby server. When considering that it seems clear that a lot more people running an Emby server have trouble under Windows than under other operating systems I believe mainly because they are much more likely to run additional programs on the server than on other operating systems. 
My belief is that this tendency causes a number of operational problems.

Also the fact that Linux usually isolates programs from each other much better than Windows makes Linux based systems somewhat more stable. 

Having said that I choose Windows as my operating system mainly because I understand it a lot better than I do Linux, so I am more likely to successfully handle problems under Windows than Linux. 

So, my suggestion is that unless you have a real pervasive reason to go with a different system use the one you are most comfortable with. 

BTW: I have a pretty large system and I need a system that combines drives so i do not have to track where my files are and, to accomplish that, I use StableBit's Drivepool. I have found that, as long as i do not do something stupid, DrivePool is very very reliable. And, even though I have done some things that are quite stupid, I still almost never actually lose a file. 

So my bottom line recommendation is both Windows and Linux (NAS) are plenty reliable and the choice should be made based on your familiarity with the OS involved. 
I use Windows but i do not think I would have more trouble if I used an NAS.