basic NAS?

[macv 2]

Any recs for a basic NAS? Some considerations:

• M.2 or USB flash drive is sufficient, main criteria is just to have always-on access for Emby Server, even a 256GB SD card is enough storage.
  • if I plug in my USB-A external HDD, will it power down when not used, or spin 24/7?
• since I don't need bays, smaller is better
• if no direct options exist (saw the Asustor 12-slot version but I just need 1 slot), is Raspberry Pi the best option for low price / small size / low power?
• want to be capable of playing 4K HDR files; would Raspberry Pi be powerful enough, if having to DIY?

[RanmaCanada 494]

No a Pi would not be powerful enough if you need to transcode.  If you can directplay, yes, but any transcoding and it will barf.  If you're in the USA look on ebay for used micro systems from Dell, Lenovo of HP that have at least an 8th gen processor. I would suggest something like this. The core i3-8100T uses 35 watts at peak, and has full quicksync capabilities.  It can hardware decode and encode x265 10bit. As it's a full PC (but the size of your average pocket book) you don't have to worry about ARM garbage, and can install whatever the heck you want on it.

Conversely you can use the build guides at serverbuilds forums to make something from used parts.

[matsonjr 6]

Definitely not a pi.  

I run truenas on an old xeon with a nvidia pascal gpu for transcoding.  Heck, theoretically you can use an amd rx 480 to transcode and you can get those cheap.  It doesn't have to be fancy for truenas.

 

No external drives and then they are raided.  If you've ever had your collection on a drive go bad and have to re-rip everything you'll appreciate the redundancy.

[CassTG 113]

I mentioned these in a different thread but you could look at the Tiny Mini Micro machines which are 1L ex business units and cost circa $120-150 on Ebay. I use tonnes of these for homelab stuff and they are great, deffo more powerful than a PI.

I run one as a NAS using Virtual DSM docker (synology) and that has 2 nvme slots and a SSD, i5-8500T 16GB Ram and runs like a champ all for just a bit more than the PI.

If only running emby server on it, then could just install headless linux i.e Debian 12 and run Emby server either direct or via docker.

They also sip power so cheap to run ongoing