Home servers (music/video/etc)

[BrianFromWA]

I really should rename this the @BobDobalina thread...

My family is moving into our new home this month. Basically, it's the first time in years that we're not living in an apartment, and I thought it'd be a good time to start setting up a home server-style system for pictures, videos, movies, etc. I have a couple of programs (like HandBrake) to transfer some of my DVDs over, and some files from "other sources", but I'm interested to hear the collective wisdom of what people are using (realizing that I probably would like to get as cable-provider-free as possible). We have Netflix and Amazon Prime, I'll get NBA League Pass next year when I get back, mlb.tv....any suggestions? Servers, terabyte hard drives, cloud, ???

Thanks in advance.

 

[blazerboy30]

It really depends what you are trying to do, but for MOST people, Google Drive gets them what they need.

Do you have specific use cases that won't work with Google Drive?

 

[magnifier661]

To be honest bro, the sound at technology these days are pretty awesome. I had a full denon pro system I used years ago and replaced them with sound bars. The new smart TVs give you all the netflix and apps these days too.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

Off topic but are "other sources" just a nice way of saying your homemade porn videos in a folder labeled "Taxes: 2003"?

 

[Bob Dobalina]

Right now what I have at home is a Windows 7 system I built several years ago. I installed a small antenna on the roof and have a Hauppage internal tuner (dual tuners) which let's me watch record two shows at once. I use Windows Media Center (WMC) for guide and recording duties. It works well. However Microsoft is/has abandoning WMC, so who knows what the future holds. The PC is connected to my main TV viewing area (family room) and I use a couple of Xbox 360's which act as WMC extenders and allow me to pause or stop a show in one room, then continue in another.

I think if I were starting this today, I'd probably head down the same path with a couple of changes (though I must admit I haven't kept up on the latest developments). I'd still go with an antenna if cutting the cord is your goal. Amazingly, there's still quite a bit of worthwhile programming on free TV, in HD no less. Instead of the Hauppage tuner, I'd probably go with a HDHomeRun from SiliconDust. This is a network tuner. It's external to the PC and connects to your network and distributes the tuners over the entire network. This means any computer, phone, tablet, etc in the house can watch TV (live or recorded).

The advantage of having a computer in the mix as opposed to only a media streamer (i.e. Roku) is the flexibility. You can install programs and extensions which would also allow this to become the media server and distribute your ripped movies, photos, videos. One of the downsides I've found to WMC is in it's video serving capabilities. When I try to stream movies via my HTPC over the Xbox 360, it struggles quite a bit. A solution I've found is to use Plex Media Server. It's a solid app for streaming over wired/wireless and even over the internet when out traveling.

I'm sure there's stuff I'm missing here, but hope this helps.

 

[Denny Crane]

iTunes.

I've imported movies into it on my Mac and can trivially watch them on TV via Apple TV. Can watch or listen to anything in the iTunes library on any device I have. I can move movies and tv shows to the iPad to watch while traveling.

http://www.apple.com/mac-mini/

For $499, you can get a cheap new Mac Mini to be your network iTunes server. It'll plug into the TV via HDMI so you can play directly from it and use the TV as your monitor for setting things up. Add USB 3 disk to hold your library.

You can get a cheaper used mini for as low as $150 that'll do the job.

Current gen Apple TV is $69.

 

[THE HCP]

^Apple TV here as well. All my movies, music and photos are on our upstairs computer. Just stream them to our TVs that have an appletv hooked up. We love it. Not as high tech as Bob though!

 

[Bob Dobalina]

Guess I had more of the "cut the cable" idea in mind. Streaming movies is fairly simple to achieve like y'all have shown. Recording live TV takes it to another level. Brian, let us know what you end up doing. I'm curious.

 

[Denny Crane]

https://www.elgato.com/en/eyetv/eyetv-3

Highlights

• Watch, pause, and rewind live TV on your Mac
• Search the Program Guide using multiple criteria
• Record one show or an entire TV series
• Edit out unwanted content and create clips from your recordings
• Export recordings to iTunes automatically for playback on an iPhone or iPad
• Share recordings with other Macs on your local network
• Stream live or recorded TV to an iPhone or iPad with the optional EyeTV app (available on the App Store for $4.99/ 4,99€/ £3.99 )