New server advice

[gillmacca 17]

It's time for me to upgrading my old server (readynas nv+) to something that can run emby and has more power.

I've seen this one, and was wondering what you guys think of it:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B015CDDIMQ/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3SBFIH4LPV5YW&coliid=I1TRVCOBXKN3IZ&psc=1

 

I have a couple questions about it, before I buy it.

 

1. Is it powerful enough to transcode 2 HD video files?

2. It will also be used for downloading as well, so would need to be able to handle downloading, files moving, as well as transcoding.

3. I have some windows programs I would like to install on it. It say it can run multiple Windows, Linux, UNIX and Android based virtual machines with the Virtualization Station. Would I be able to boot up the server directly into the virtualization station & would I see any serious performance losses by running emby and and a couple of small programs in this way. 

3. Is there any other server you would recommend over this. Don't really want to go above the price of this server

 

I want to make sure I get the right server for what I need, so I don't find myself having to upgrade it again in a few years.

Thanks for any info/help you can give

[legallink 187]

I don't have personal experience with this NAS, but based on the passmark benchmarks here, http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Celeron+J1800+%40+2.41GHz, I think it would be tough for it to transcode 2 streams at the same time.  That being said, some of the reviews say that it can, but amazon reviews are very circumspect.

 

The above is caveated with the fact that "transcoding 2 HD video files" is highly dependent on what your original source file is and what you are outputting to.  For instance, transcoding a raw 4K video to play on an iPad is much more demanding that serving an mp4 to an iPad or an MKV video to a NUC.  If I were you, and I was buying this particular NAS, I would pre convert all my media to a streaming friendly format.

[gillmacca 17]

Currently I only have SD content, and only need to transcode to 1 device, but I am thinking about what I may do in the future

[gillmacca 17]

@@legallink

Unless I am misunderstanding the information (don't know much about processor's), the passmark benchmark says no of cores:2, but amazon says processor count is 4. 

To me that means, the passmark benchmark is measuring a dual core, when this nas has a quad core. Have I got this right or not? 

If I am right, will that make a difference with the transcoding part. It would be transcoding to laptop's and phone's only.

 

As all my content is currently SD, I guess it would have no problem transcoding 2 files, or transcoding 1 HD file

Edited March 8, 2016 by gillmacca

[dark_slayer 103]

FWIW, mjb2000 was running a j1900 and reported it couldn't transcode a single video until using quicksync http://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/10723-gpu-transcoding-intel-quicksync-and-nvidia-nvenc/?p=137245 However, quicksync is not really ironed out and may not be the answer. The methods and results throughout that thread haven't been consistent, nor is there any real indication that it can do the job for you. I'd say just bump up and build a server

[legallink 187]

@gilmacca

 

When I looked up the unit and the processor, I believe it is a 2 core unit with 2 HT cores, aka 2 physical and 2 virtual cores, but not a true 4 core processor.  I could be wrong, that is just from a quick look.

 

As to whether it would have a problem with the transcoding, I'm still not confident, but others may have direct experience with this processor, which I do not.  The passmark score doesn't seem to indicate that it would do very well.  SD is not the only component in the decision process. You need to look at container, codec, etc.

[gillmacca 17]

Well can't afford anything more expensive, so if it isn't guaranteed to help with buffering during transcoding, I guess I might as well stick with what I currently have

[dark_slayer 103]

Building should lower that price significantly. Even buying someone's used Intel gaming PC and selling off the external graphics card should be easy to do. Heck, I've got an ivy bridge i5 box I'd let go of for less than that, but shipping on used PC stuff typically kills deals, especially across the pond

 

The j1900 is actually an atom processor with Intel HD graphics. Not at all relatable to desktop class processors when comparing number of cores. Cheap case, motherboard, CPU, PSU, RAM and SSD should run into that price range if you build. If you go with Windows don't buy the os retail. If you go with unraid the OS will be more but it's also more contained with less guess work as far as redundancy goes. You'll end up with a much better CPU this way, which is what you need most if you end up wanting to visualize and comfortably transcode

Edited March 9, 2016 by dark_slayer