Server Recommendation

[jmassaro87 28]

Of the supported NAS type servers, which one plays best with Emby server. Like if Emby were to endorse everyone to buy a specific machine, what would it be? If any. 

 

Looking to transition from a PC type setup to a server setup using TV and Mobile device apps to access my content. TIA

[PenkethBoy 2063]

Budget?

Commercial NAS or home built?

Number of streams/transcodes needed?

 

Remember most NAS's which are in the region of reasonable prices generally have a low power CPU so transcoding even one stream is going to max them out.

 

Yes there are NAS's with i3,i5,i7 and Xeon's as well as Ryzen 5 and 7 CPU's but they cost a lot (i.e. a lot more than a moderate PC to do the same job)

 

Also the HDD you use for storage in a NAS need to nas rated drives - desktop drives are not rated for 24/7 use and will end in pain.

[jmassaro87 28]

Budget?

Commercial NAS or home built?

Number of streams/transcodes needed?

 

Remember most NAS's which are in the region of reasonable prices generally have a low power CPU so transcoding even one stream is going to max them out.

 

Yes there are NAS's with i3,i5,i7 and Xeon's as well as Ryzen 5 and 7 CPU's but they cost a lot (i.e. a lot more than a moderate PC to do the same job)

 

Also the HDD you use for storage in a NAS need to nas rated drives - desktop drives are not rated for 24/7 use and will end in pain.

I haven't really excluded anything price wise yet. Although, reasonably priced (needs to be wife approved) is ideal. 

 

We are a small family of 3, with #4 on the way, 2 Samsung TVs (1 4k UHD, other 1080p), and iphones. Maybe 2 streams at a time, on a fairly rare occurrence. 

 

Kind of looking at this with WD Red NAS drives. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JHHGFU0/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I35XGHA6IEKILW&colid=FR4ZRT1BDGJW&psc=1

[mediacowboy 438]

If you don't mind building I've been happy with this build.

 

https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/43169-Future-build-and-gaming-system-rebuild

[PenkethBoy 2063]

You have three basic ways to do this.

 

1) QNAP or Synology both give you a wide range to choose from - just make sure the CPU is powerful enough - that qnap cpu is at the low end but if you have your media in formats that do not require transcoding then two streams should be fine.

2) Build your own - possibly using the pc you have now - but use something like Xpenology (based on Synology OS and Firmware) or another linux based os that supports emby

3) Build your own - using win10 and drivepool/drive bender - advantage is you can use any existing disks you have - they dont have to be NAS disks - both pool software are cheap to buy and mature. They are easy to add extra disks to as well as you will always want more in the future same applies to 2) - the commercial boxes from qnap and Synology have expansion boxes but they are currently not worth the money and generally have poor performance.

 

I have a QNAP - TS-853A and use Drivepool on my 2012r2 server (32 disks ) and have used Xpenology in the past and may again soon as its improved a lot recently.

 

option 2) and 3) are both the cheaper option but come with the need to learn (assuming you do not know how to do this already) lots of how too's via google

 

option 1) is the most expensive and you need NAS disks but will work out the box (generally) although there will also be a steepish learning curve on raid and how the UI works and whats the best way to do things etc etc - both have good forums to ask you questions etc.

 

As for NAS disks Seagate or WD are fine - The WD reds run cool and quiet - the Red Pro's are considered noisy and run hotter as they are 7200rpm drives - similar will apply to Seagate.

 

If you go with the QNAP 451 it should be generally fine or if you want something with a bit more horsepower have a look at the SMB product line (good luck with the wife ) https://www.qnap.com/en-uk/product/items_by_series.php?CA=2&ref=header

 

With a four bay nas raid5 will be fine - if you go with anything larger go raid6

 

Good luck

[mastrmind11 717]

FYI you're going to get a million opinions about this, as there are several threads covering this topic already, but it comes down to whether you have a need to transcode content.  If you're just going to stream locally, you can use pretty much anything.  If you want to access your content outside of your home, you'll need something a bit beefier.  You need to specify your actual use case(s) before you'll get any decent recommendations.

[clarkss12 295]

IMHO, find a client that plays all your codecs natively, and that will determine your transcoding needs. Streaming outside your local network, means different criteria, such as your ISP upload capicity.

 

Ultimately, NO transcoding needed for any of your media. In my case, almost there.

[mediacowboy 438]

IMHO, find a client that plays all your codecs natively, and that will determine your transcoding needs. Streaming outside your local network, means different criteria, such as your ISP upload capicity.

 

Ultimately, NO transcoding needed for any of your media. In my case, almost there.

I couldn't second this more. If all your media directs plays then your better off no matter what route you go on a NAS(build or buy).

[tdiguy 96]

If you have all your media in formats that do not need to be transcoded you could get away with using a pi3 set up as a headless server to conserve usb ports so you can connect external drives.

Transcoding is where cpu / gpu and or hardware acceleration matters. 

Myself i have a cheap rig: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157727

with 4gb of ram. 

with hardware acceleration it works great for my family of 4 its pretty light power wise also.

I do regret how few sata connections it has though now that i am considering expanding and setting up a software raid but i have found there are ways around that.

[wp.rauchholz 5]

I need also some help to setup to figure out HW config of my server.

I run a Linux Home Server that is modem/router and hosts a series of services, amongs others emby.

I want to build a new Linux headless server exclusively for emby. What are HW requirements for such a server that should be able to stream movies and live TV, radio, songs, etc.. We have 2 Samsing smart TVs to be served.

 

Thanks, Wolfgang

[mastrmind11 717]

I need also some help to setup to figure out HW config of my server.

I run a Linux Home Server that is modem/router and hosts a series of services, amongs others emby.

I want to build a new Linux headless server exclusively for emby. What are HW requirements for such a server that should be able to stream movies and live TV, radio, songs, etc.. We have 2 Samsing smart TVs to be served.

 

Thanks, Wolfgang

Try reading this thread starting from the top.