Need suggestion help

[hussain]

I am building a new house and plan to run a wired networking setup throughout the house. Futhermore i plan to add network media streamers and tv's in atleast five rooms.

I was wondering whether i should go with a dedicated nas with four 2 tb hard drives and have a separate computer for downloading, ripping, , gaming etc or build a core-i3 2100 pc and add four hardrives to it and use the same pc as nas as well as a computer. Is this possible?

Also if i go with second option would it be possible to map these drives directly with media streamer so that i can see all the files in jukebox type interface. Would any media streamer be able to wake up the computer from idle.

I would appreciate recommendation for media streamer as well, should i go with pch, wd or boxee.

 

[stevech]

Opinion:
A NAS lacks the resources to do transcoding, ripping, etc.
The computer that does the above could well use the NAS' storage.

As to media streamers... I know little, but it seems that the small market for these has left Boxee and others without updates, follow-on product improvements, etc. Lots of Netflix streamers selling, for a while- until everyone has a TV with a LAN connection. Free Boxee on a PC is kind of neat, but it too is unloved.

 

[hussain]

Anyone who could b of more help

 

[Terry Kennedy]

Anyone who could b of more help

Consumer NAS systems from most manufacturers have about enough CPU to do the job of serving files to clients. Some are under-powered, fewer are overpowered.

Even in the case where the manufacturer lets you install your own packages (or where there's 3rd-party support to do so), the average NAS won't have enough CPU power to do transcoding on-the-fly.

So you may need a PC to handle that sort of work. The question then becomes whether you should just put the storage on the PC or if you should still use a NAS for files.

How much of your usage will involve processing the files on the PC? If you're using the storage for other things like backups, storing digital photos, and so on it probably makes sense for you to use a separate NAS. If most of your usage will be streaming with transcoding, there probably isn't any point to keeping the files on a NAS, having the PC read them over the network and then stream the converted files back out on the same network.

A NAS has the advantage of being optimized for what it does - there's very little unnecessary hardware in the box (it doesn't need a video card, for example) and will generally have more flexibility to configure the storage how you want it (RAID, online capacity expansion when you add an additional disk, etc.), and wraps the whole thing up in a nice graphical user interface. On a PC you're likely going to use the BIOS and/or vendor programs to initially configure and maintain the storage, while using Windows components to handle the file sharing. If you want things like FTP access, you'll need to install them on the PC, while they're standard on most NAS devices. And you need to set everything up to restart by itself, since otherwise the first "Your system was restarted to install important updates" may mean you need to manually start up any services that don't start by themselves.

On the other hand, you probably already have the PC, and can experiment with setting up a media server using space on the existing hard disk - you can get familiar with what's needed at no cost other than your time.

In either case, unless you're only storing files which can be trivially re-created (for example, by ripping the CDs again) you need some way of backing things up in case of a hardware problem or accidental file deletion.

 

[hussain]

Maybe i wasnt clear

Media streamers of today dont need any trancoders, they are able to play everything that you throw at them.

I understand that nas are better however they r expensive plus shall require me to buy 4 drives of same size and specification. Ii was wondering if i can build a core i3 computer with windows7 and have drives of the computer "appear" on the network as they would those of dedicated nas.

This way i shall sve on cost as well as save on electricity because my computer runs 24/7 anyways for torrent downloading

 

[GregN]

Yes and Yes.

You can run a windows machine and just advertise the storage, and because windows does CIFS natively, it can actually be about as fast as a NAS, faster given a nice CPU and tuning.

You might even want to take a look at WHS, Windows Home Server.

You can also install something like Mezzmo, or other UPnP/DLNA software and stream to your destination.

A NAS is ideal at providing more reliable, quick storage over your network, be it commercial or homebrew. At less than five disks, this isn't as compelling.

My choice of media serving is an HTPC running an older Pentium, 7MC and something called MediaBrowser. This gives me an AppleTV like interface and allows me to manage my stored media (like ripped DVDs and recorded TV).

It is very simple to use, and provides more functionality then you will find in any streamer, and I don't have to worry about the transcoding cycles that are being expended to work around the playback capabilities of hardware that is suppose to take care of that in the first place.

 

[matthelm]

Media streamers of today dont need any trancoders, they are able to play everything that you throw at them.

You mean like the Roku, that can't handle MPEG-2 video?

 

[matthelm]

... network media streamers and tv's in at least five rooms.

What kind of TVs. HDTV, SD. Smart or dumb? I'd go dumb, and add a box. Easier to upgrade.

I was wondering whether i should go with a dedicated nas with four 2 tb hard drives and have a separate computer for downloading, ripping, , gaming etc

That would be the lowest power option.

or build a core-i3 2100 pc and add four hardrives to it and use the same pc as nas as well as a computer. Is this possible?

Very much so. This would use a little more power, but is much more flexible. But, it would also cost more. (this would be my pick, but that is me)

Also if i go with second option would it be possible to map these drives directly with media streamer so that i can see all the files in jukebox type interface. Would any media streamer be able to wake up the computer from idle.

Almost all can do this. Or you just install a Plex or DNLA server.

I would appreciate recommendation for media streamer as well, should i go with pch, wd or boxee.

Again, the PC will be the most flexible, but in most cases use a LOT more power and cost more. (OS price alone is almost the price of some of the players)

The WD will play back almost anything, including files with small problems. But, the interface is so-so.

The Boxee Box has problems with glitches in files, but is has a better interface.

I would NEVER recommend a Roku for playing back your own media. If you are getting it all from the web, it'll be OK. (BTW, they just added a Plex client, so that might fix the local playback stuff)

I'm kind of hoping the gen 2 Google TV boxes come out soon, so we can see how they do. (if they have store Android support, you'll have tons of apps to pick from)

Oh, do NOT buy off brand media players, you'll never know what support you'll get.