TP-Link Deco mesh nodes - possible library pathway?

[frasermitcham 0]

Hi, 

Hope you're all well! Just a quick question. Long-time lurker, first-time poster, so go easy on me! 

For a long time, I was using Emby with my Macbook Air M2 as the server, then usually streaming from my server to my OLED (with my SSD full of movies plugged into the laptop). That worked flawlessly - and it still does. But the issue is that - as said - I need my laptop on, SSD plugged in, server on. 

I also own an Nvidia Shield Pro and Apple TV 4K. I've never had as much luck with the Mac version of Emby, so for now, it's the Shield I'm using. 

Now for the question - I recently bought 3x TP-Link Deco wifi mesh units. There is one at where the ISP point is, next to the OLED. There's another in each bedroom. The connection and speeds are flawless, but this is the thing - I just realised that they all have a USB A 3.0 input on the rear, next to the WAN/LAN ports.  

Does anyone know, or think, whether it would be possible to plug my SSD into e.g. the mesh node next to the OLED, then somehow direct a new library via Emby towards said mesh node/SSD? 

I've installed the latest Shield version, of Emby, so that's sorted, but I'm not having too much luck getting Emby to work with with the BE65. On my Macbook, I can easily navigate to the SSD and stream things flawlessly (as in, purely going through Finder, finding the mesh node + SSD, finding a movie, and playing it via VLC).

But on the Shield... sometimes it works, often it will log itself out, or I can't log into its settings on my Macbook, so often the server itself barely works... but most importantly, I'm still not in the place I want to be. I want to get home from work, take off my shoes, collapse on the couch, turn on the Shield, and stream away via Emby. No need to touch my damn Macbook, I just want it to work. 

Thanks so much for any help, and apologies to the mods if this has been posted in the wrong sub! 

Please let me know if any of you have any experience or advice about this. 

[Carlo 4484]

Hi,

Yes, it's possible but I'd highly suggest using an Ethernet cable between the ShieldTV Pro and router for fastest/reliable network connection.

Have you tried the USB port on the ShieldTV Pro itself?

The ShieldTV config for external storage is a bit bazaar, so have patience if things don't work on first try.

Check out our knowledge base article on ShieldTV setup.
https://emby.media/support/articles/Server-Installation-Shield.html?q=shield

Step 8 will link to Nvidia's site with pertinent info on USB storage config as well as network mounting.

Carlo

PS, I don't know if this has changed in recent Shield updates or not, but it was previously required to have the device in all caps. You would also use all caps in any UNC used as well.

Keep in mind the ShieldTV is going to be limited in what it can support compared to a real PC and setup/configuration isn't the easiest.
Try and make sure your media is using H.264, H.265 (HEVC) or MPEG 2 since these are the video codecs the hardware transcoder supports.
If you need use of subtitles, make sure you have external SRT version as internals subs will not transcode in HW.
Following the above recommendations the HW transcoder should be able to handle 2 or 3 1080 source transcodes.
Compared to typical PC installs, things like library scanning and building take a lot longer to accomplish. So, this setup isn't going to be ideal for large libraries.
4K transcode success will be hit or miss depending on the source bitrate and what else the device is doing requiring IO resources.
The ShieldTV may not be reliable for LiveTV or DVR use as these are pretty IO heavy, but your milage may vary.

Don't get me wrong, this is a fine setup for personal/home use without large libraries or demanding use. I love being able to pack the ShieldTV with a couple SSDs for traveling. It' makes a great portable server for "off grid" (auto/RV/camping) use, using a cheap (<$20)  95%+ efficient 12V to 19V or 20V step up boost converter.