What media server software do people use on these entry level NASes? Although I can use the direct DLNA apps like miniDLNA to play movies on my TV, I would love to have something like Plex running, with its smooth UI and extensive device support.
Unfortunately Plex insists on transcoding every file the moment I add subtitles, and my box is way to weak to do that. It's also annoying that I must pay a monthly subscription to stream my own music to my phone.
I understand Kodi is a usable alternative, but the 10xx-series isn't supported yet and therefore doesn't have an app to download. I also learned that my LG TV with its Web OS likely won't support it either, as I need an Android-based smart TV.
Media server on 10xx NAS
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Fossin
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sksbir
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Re: Media server on 10xx NAS
I also have a recent LG TV with webOS and an AS5002T.Fossin wrote:What media server software do people use on these entry level NASes? Although I can use the direct DLNA apps like miniDLNA to play movies on my TV, I would love to have something like Plex running, with its smooth UI and extensive device support.
Unfortunately Plex insists on transcoding every file the moment I add subtitles, and my box is way to weak to do that. It's also annoying that I must pay a monthly subscription to stream my own music to my phone.
I understand Kodi is a usable alternative, but the 10xx-series isn't supported yet and therefore doesn't have an app to download. I also learned that my LG TV with its Web OS likely won't support it either, as I need an Android-based smart TV.
I'm just using Upnp v1 on NAS, and integrated media player from TV.
I have tested plex. plex client exists on TV, and plex server (on NAS) is free of charges. I never registered a plex user. I used "manual configure your server", or something like that...
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MikeG.6.5
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Re: Media server on 10xx NAS
A lot of the transcoding requirements with subtitles are dependent on the type of subtitles you use, and what your client app is. For instance, with an official Plex Client App on most smart TV's, you can use the SRT type of subtitles. If your subtitles are an image based one, then you are going to need transcoding no matter which client app it is going to, in most cases.
DLNA is a protocol that is, well, problematic at best, and outright dangerous at worst case. There are a number of bugs, hacks and exploits that use this protocol as a back door into your network. Enabling it can lead to issues, not just with exploits or hacking, but also with network speeds and a dirth of other issues.
For instance, prior to starting to use Plex Media Server, I tried running uPnP servers for streaming my media. This was with under 1000 movies and under 400 or 500 TV episodes. (Organized in a manner I later found out was incorrect, even for this protocol, but nonetheless I had to do it my way.) I was running the uPnP server on a Win7 machine, and it wasn't able to show even a small portion of the over-all library I had on this machine to the client device. (An android tablet with a uPnP client app installed.) If I could find the media I wanted, the network over-head of populating the other things I didn't want to watch at the time consistently slowed the network down to unusable. Now, with over 2500 movies and over 10,000 TV episodes, I wouldn't ever DREAM to try uPnP again. The drain on my network would preclude any other activity at all.
Enter Plex, and my life streaming media changed dramatically. No longer a need for uPnP connections with dedicated apps for the devices I wanted to stream on. Metadata correctly updated to reflect what the media is, and backgrounds, cast info, etc, all properly filled in. Converting the media as I suggest in a number of threads on this forum (Including at least one in my signature.) reduced (or outright eliminated) the need of transcoding, except in very specific circumstances. Using SRT subtitles (or other text based) instead of image based subtitles further reduced the need for transcoding. Most Plex clients now put text based subtitles in on their own, instead of requiring them to be "burnt in" for the client to stream it.
Supposedly Emby is as capable in some departments, and better in other departments than Plex. As I have never tested it, I can't tell you one way or the other. It is available through the Asustor App Central, I have just not installed it.
DLNA is a protocol that is, well, problematic at best, and outright dangerous at worst case. There are a number of bugs, hacks and exploits that use this protocol as a back door into your network. Enabling it can lead to issues, not just with exploits or hacking, but also with network speeds and a dirth of other issues.
For instance, prior to starting to use Plex Media Server, I tried running uPnP servers for streaming my media. This was with under 1000 movies and under 400 or 500 TV episodes. (Organized in a manner I later found out was incorrect, even for this protocol, but nonetheless I had to do it my way.) I was running the uPnP server on a Win7 machine, and it wasn't able to show even a small portion of the over-all library I had on this machine to the client device. (An android tablet with a uPnP client app installed.) If I could find the media I wanted, the network over-head of populating the other things I didn't want to watch at the time consistently slowed the network down to unusable. Now, with over 2500 movies and over 10,000 TV episodes, I wouldn't ever DREAM to try uPnP again. The drain on my network would preclude any other activity at all.
Enter Plex, and my life streaming media changed dramatically. No longer a need for uPnP connections with dedicated apps for the devices I wanted to stream on. Metadata correctly updated to reflect what the media is, and backgrounds, cast info, etc, all properly filled in. Converting the media as I suggest in a number of threads on this forum (Including at least one in my signature.) reduced (or outright eliminated) the need of transcoding, except in very specific circumstances. Using SRT subtitles (or other text based) instead of image based subtitles further reduced the need for transcoding. Most Plex clients now put text based subtitles in on their own, instead of requiring them to be "burnt in" for the client to stream it.
Supposedly Emby is as capable in some departments, and better in other departments than Plex. As I have never tested it, I can't tell you one way or the other. It is available through the Asustor App Central, I have just not installed it.