The Ins & Outs of Implementing a NAS Into Your A/V System
- Thread starter yromj
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Snowman_
Active Member
Re: The Ins & Outs of Implementing a NAS Into Your A/V Syste
thanks for brainstorming this for me, guys. To be clear, this is what I'm trying to do:
I haven't ripped my CD collection yet so I'm starting fresh with a new server. I want to use a lossless format that the PS3 can play through my rig from the server.
I downloaded media monkey and ripped a disc to FLAC onto the server and it worked like a charm. But apparently the new PS3 will not support FLAC although my old one did. Now, since it also will not support WMA-lossless, is WAV the only lossless option for me?
Also, I just found out that the new PS3 will not play SACD's while the old one did. :handgestures-thumbdown:
thanks for brainstorming this for me, guys. To be clear, this is what I'm trying to do:
I haven't ripped my CD collection yet so I'm starting fresh with a new server. I want to use a lossless format that the PS3 can play through my rig from the server.
I downloaded media monkey and ripped a disc to FLAC onto the server and it worked like a charm. But apparently the new PS3 will not support FLAC although my old one did. Now, since it also will not support WMA-lossless, is WAV the only lossless option for me?
Also, I just found out that the new PS3 will not play SACD's while the old one did. :handgestures-thumbdown:
Doghart
Well-Known Member
Re: The Ins & Outs of Implementing a NAS Into Your A/V Syste
I was just looking into this today and vaguely remembered this thread.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this unit:
http://www.amazon.com/Buffalo-Technolog ... 608&sr=8-4
I could actually get it empty for about $200 and I already have 4 - 2TB drives to put in it?
Anyone have any experience with this or similar network storage?
D
I was just looking into this today and vaguely remembered this thread.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this unit:
http://www.amazon.com/Buffalo-Technolog ... 608&sr=8-4
I could actually get it empty for about $200 and I already have 4 - 2TB drives to put in it?
Anyone have any experience with this or similar network storage?
D
yromj
Well-Known Member
Re: The Ins & Outs of Implementing a NAS Into Your A/V Syste
DH, that device appears to be very similar to what I have used at my office and the other setup I discussed. I'm not sure why it's so expensive, though. Snowman's NAS was $180 w/ a single TB drive in it. The 2nd drive was $80 and it has all the functionality he or I would need.
John
DH, that device appears to be very similar to what I have used at my office and the other setup I discussed. I'm not sure why it's so expensive, though. Snowman's NAS was $180 w/ a single TB drive in it. The 2nd drive was $80 and it has all the functionality he or I would need.
John
Re: The Ins & Outs of Implementing a NAS Into Your A/V Syste
I agree. Using a PC also allows you to use some more intensive server applications such as PlayOn, which needs enough horsepower to transcode Flash video to mpg. DLNA in general can require transcoding, depending on the file type and the device you are streaming to. Unless you are only streaming files in formats native to your client boxes, you really need more power than a NAS can provide.
My personal answer is going to be the purchase of four matched hard drives and a hardware RAID controller for my PC (I'm currently using an external RAID 1 mirror set). That would give me at least 6TB of RAID 5 goodness for storing my movie library, while providing enough horsepower to support multiple transcoded streams.
Flint said:
I agree. Using a PC also allows you to use some more intensive server applications such as PlayOn, which needs enough horsepower to transcode Flash video to mpg. DLNA in general can require transcoding, depending on the file type and the device you are streaming to. Unless you are only streaming files in formats native to your client boxes, you really need more power than a NAS can provide.
My personal answer is going to be the purchase of four matched hard drives and a hardware RAID controller for my PC (I'm currently using an external RAID 1 mirror set). That would give me at least 6TB of RAID 5 goodness for storing my movie library, while providing enough horsepower to support multiple transcoded streams.
Re: The Ins & Outs of Implementing a NAS Into Your A/V Syste
And you also lose the ability to scan forward/backward through tracks because of that transcoding. Granted, you can only scan at x2 speeds, but that still might be important info for some people.
Haywood said:
And you also lose the ability to scan forward/backward through tracks because of that transcoding. Granted, you can only scan at x2 speeds, but that still might be important info for some people.
Voodoo
Active Member
Re: The Ins & Outs of Implementing a NAS Into Your A/V Syste
I'm going to bump this topic.
:text-bump:
There.
I've been living with an Acer Aspire WHS (Windows Home Server) and a Win 7 HTPC for about 18 months now. Both are very small and use about 40 watts when running full tilt. My home server houses all my files. Music, movies, photos, ebooks... everything. The nice thing about it is that it's small, has an Intel Atom proc, 2 GB RAM and mine currently has 4 TB of storage and cost $300. The box comes with 4 drive bays, eSATA, gigabit and USB for even more storage. One feature I really like is folder duplication. The machine will duplicate any folder you designate. And if you have two drives it will create that duplicate on the second drive.
I also have MyMovies installed on it. Which keeps track of all my movie files. It links to IMDb for all movie metadata and watches the folder for when I add movies. It handles ripping and everything. I also have all my DVDs cataloged in it.
WHS works perfectly with my Win7 box. I use this as my DVR. Any shows that are recorded get automagically moved to the server. There is a MyMovies client installed on the Win7 box. Which then access everything on the server (which is located in my office).
An old pict of my Win7 HTPC
Also watch my NetFlix on it.
WHS has an iTunes server on it. Which manages all my iTunes files. My wife and I can see all the iTunes files from our work laptops. I can also access everything from my XBOX. WHS will also backup every computer in the house at night. Even my work laptop.
It's a pretty easy way to have everything in one place and everyone can access it. Did I mention it was $300?
V
I'm going to bump this topic.
:text-bump:
There.
I've been living with an Acer Aspire WHS (Windows Home Server) and a Win 7 HTPC for about 18 months now. Both are very small and use about 40 watts when running full tilt. My home server houses all my files. Music, movies, photos, ebooks... everything. The nice thing about it is that it's small, has an Intel Atom proc, 2 GB RAM and mine currently has 4 TB of storage and cost $300. The box comes with 4 drive bays, eSATA, gigabit and USB for even more storage. One feature I really like is folder duplication. The machine will duplicate any folder you designate. And if you have two drives it will create that duplicate on the second drive.
I also have MyMovies installed on it. Which keeps track of all my movie files. It links to IMDb for all movie metadata and watches the folder for when I add movies. It handles ripping and everything. I also have all my DVDs cataloged in it.
WHS works perfectly with my Win7 box. I use this as my DVR. Any shows that are recorded get automagically moved to the server. There is a MyMovies client installed on the Win7 box. Which then access everything on the server (which is located in my office).
An old pict of my Win7 HTPC
Also watch my NetFlix on it.
WHS has an iTunes server on it. Which manages all my iTunes files. My wife and I can see all the iTunes files from our work laptops. I can also access everything from my XBOX. WHS will also backup every computer in the house at night. Even my work laptop.
It's a pretty easy way to have everything in one place and everyone can access it. Did I mention it was $300?
V
Re: The Ins & Outs of Implementing a NAS Into Your A/V Syste
I forgot about this thread. Thanks for the bump Voo and nice looking setup.
I have a Netgear ReadyNAS Duo with a 1TB drive in it (link). I plan on getting another TB to add to it for back up. I have it setup where both the desktop and laptop see it on the network. On my desktop, I have dB Poweramp set to rip to my music folder on the NAS. Some issues I have noticed.
1) Ripping a CD to a folder on the NAS seems to take longer than ripping to a folder on my desktop. However, copying files to the NAS seems faster than copying files to a USB based external HDD. Is this normal? All of my folders on the NAS are not showing up on my wife's laptop via WMP. How can I fix that?
2) How can I get my PS3 to play my Flac files from the NAS? I have the PS3 Media Player on it, but the files are shown as "unsupported data". Also, since I have my media separated in different folders, the PS3 doesn't seem to see the folder structure correctly. All my pics and music seem to be lumped under one folder in the PS3.
So far I am pretty happy with it, but I feel like I'm not really seeing this unit's full potential. I appreciate any pointers offered, especially with the two issues above.
I forgot about this thread. Thanks for the bump Voo and nice looking setup.
I have a Netgear ReadyNAS Duo with a 1TB drive in it (link). I plan on getting another TB to add to it for back up. I have it setup where both the desktop and laptop see it on the network. On my desktop, I have dB Poweramp set to rip to my music folder on the NAS. Some issues I have noticed.
1) Ripping a CD to a folder on the NAS seems to take longer than ripping to a folder on my desktop. However, copying files to the NAS seems faster than copying files to a USB based external HDD. Is this normal? All of my folders on the NAS are not showing up on my wife's laptop via WMP. How can I fix that?
2) How can I get my PS3 to play my Flac files from the NAS? I have the PS3 Media Player on it, but the files are shown as "unsupported data". Also, since I have my media separated in different folders, the PS3 doesn't seem to see the folder structure correctly. All my pics and music seem to be lumped under one folder in the PS3.
So far I am pretty happy with it, but I feel like I'm not really seeing this unit's full potential. I appreciate any pointers offered, especially with the two issues above.
Voodoo
Active Member
Re: The Ins & Outs of Implementing a NAS Into Your A/V Syste
Yesfan,
Some numbers will help your transfer times make sense. The thing to remember is that you experience bandwidth, not the theoretical transfer rate.
A 100mbps lan connection will have a max of 12.5 Meg/sec transfer rate. A gig lan max is 12.5Gig/sec, but depending on you HD you will get less. The average 7200 rpm drive are around 50-60 meg/sec. If you have 5400rpm drive its around 25-30. USB connections will slow this down a little more. USB transfer rates are 60MB/s minus the speed of your drive. So the moral of the story is, the more components you are transferring data through the slower things will be.
My guess on your wife not being able to see files would be her permissions on the NAS?
Regarding the PS3... I have no idea. I don't have one.
V
Yesfan,
Some numbers will help your transfer times make sense. The thing to remember is that you experience bandwidth, not the theoretical transfer rate.
A 100mbps lan connection will have a max of 12.5 Meg/sec transfer rate. A gig lan max is 12.5Gig/sec, but depending on you HD you will get less. The average 7200 rpm drive are around 50-60 meg/sec. If you have 5400rpm drive its around 25-30. USB connections will slow this down a little more. USB transfer rates are 60MB/s minus the speed of your drive. So the moral of the story is, the more components you are transferring data through the slower things will be.
My guess on your wife not being able to see files would be her permissions on the NAS?
Regarding the PS3... I have no idea. I don't have one.
V
Re: The Ins & Outs of Implementing a NAS Into Your A/V Syste
So I guess for the PS3, I'll have to tweak the settings on the desktop PC. I had thought all I would have to do is install the server app on the NAS, which I did.
I am able to log into the NAS front view through the laptop and view its status, but as far as I know, I can't make any changes. Guess I'll just have to play around more and see.
The desktop is a very old PC, so I'm wondering (with so many other programs on it) the slow bandwidth is more of me using this machine to rip CDs, encode to Flac, than "downloading" to the NAS.
I have just added a wireless printer to my network and it seems maybe the old Dell desktop is finally revealing how weak it really is in the network chain. I have, counting everything connected:
desktop PC, where the majority of my programs reside
laptop
NAS
2 Sqeezeboxes (one wired, one WiFi)
PS3
2 Dish receivers
our 2 cellphones
printer (WiFi)
I guess with my desktop at the heart of the network, its age is beginning to show.
So I guess for the PS3, I'll have to tweak the settings on the desktop PC. I had thought all I would have to do is install the server app on the NAS, which I did.
I am able to log into the NAS front view through the laptop and view its status, but as far as I know, I can't make any changes. Guess I'll just have to play around more and see.
The desktop is a very old PC, so I'm wondering (with so many other programs on it) the slow bandwidth is more of me using this machine to rip CDs, encode to Flac, than "downloading" to the NAS.
I have just added a wireless printer to my network and it seems maybe the old Dell desktop is finally revealing how weak it really is in the network chain. I have, counting everything connected:
desktop PC, where the majority of my programs reside
laptop
NAS
2 Sqeezeboxes (one wired, one WiFi)
PS3
2 Dish receivers
our 2 cellphones
printer (WiFi)
I guess with my desktop at the heart of the network, its age is beginning to show.
Re: The Ins & Outs of Implementing a NAS Into Your A/V Syste
Can/does this work with Mac? I see you mentioned an iTunes server..but I'm trying to put together a NAS that works for Win7/Mac/PS3/XBOX 360 and shares all files. I am in the process of buying a barebones pc kit and loading it up with FreeNAS. Just wondering if the Acer WHS is a viable option for what I want.
Voodoo said:I'm going to bump this topic.
:text-bump:
There.
I've been living with an Acer Aspire WHS (Windows Home Server) and a Win 7 HTPC for about 18 months now. Both are very small and use about 40 watts when running full tilt. My home server houses all my files. Music, movies, photos, ebooks... everything. The nice thing about it is that it's small, has an Intel Atom proc, 2 GB RAM and mine currently has 4 TB of storage and cost $300. The box comes with 4 drive bays, eSATA, gigabit and USB for even more storage. One feature I really like is folder duplication. The machine will duplicate any folder you designate. And if you have two drives it will create that duplicate on the second drive.
I also have MyMovies installed on it. Which keeps track of all my movie files. It links to IMDb for all movie metadata and watches the folder for when I add movies. It handles ripping and everything. I also have all my DVDs cataloged in it.
V
Can/does this work with Mac? I see you mentioned an iTunes server..but I'm trying to put together a NAS that works for Win7/Mac/PS3/XBOX 360 and shares all files. I am in the process of buying a barebones pc kit and loading it up with FreeNAS. Just wondering if the Acer WHS is a viable option for what I want.
yromj
Well-Known Member
Re: The Ins & Outs of Implementing a NAS Into Your A/V Syste
A NAS is, by definition, simply a storage device (NAS = Network Area Storage). Because the NAS doesn't actually run programs, you can't really "install" the PS3 server on it. You need to install the PS3 server on a PC and have it reference the data on the NAS.
John
Yesfan70 said:
A NAS is, by definition, simply a storage device (NAS = Network Area Storage). Because the NAS doesn't actually run programs, you can't really "install" the PS3 server on it. You need to install the PS3 server on a PC and have it reference the data on the NAS.
John
Re: The Ins & Outs of Implementing a NAS Into Your A/V Syste
Ok, by "install" I meant I copied everything in the Media Server's folder under Programs and just pasted it in a same named folder in the NAS. Not doubting your word, but why is there the option to download the SB Server during NAS setup and install?
I did do what you suggested. I went into the PS3 Media Server (one on the desktop) and had the music folder on the NAS added thinking it would fix my flac problem. There's no change. How can the same files be streamed from my PC with no problem, but those same files being streamed from the NAS show as "unsupported data" and won't play on the PS3? The Media Server supposed to let you view jpgs too, but I have been unable to get that going as well.
yromj said:
Ok, by "install" I meant I copied everything in the Media Server's folder under Programs and just pasted it in a same named folder in the NAS. Not doubting your word, but why is there the option to download the SB Server during NAS setup and install?
I did do what you suggested. I went into the PS3 Media Server (one on the desktop) and had the music folder on the NAS added thinking it would fix my flac problem. There's no change. How can the same files be streamed from my PC with no problem, but those same files being streamed from the NAS show as "unsupported data" and won't play on the PS3? The Media Server supposed to let you view jpgs too, but I have been unable to get that going as well.
Voodoo
Active Member
Re: The Ins & Outs of Implementing a NAS Into Your A/V Syste
It does work with Mac. Now, I've never used it but it's supposed work.
I will say this. I bought my Acer on Cyber Monday for $300, received it, pulled the 1TB drive, installed two 2TB drives and reinstalled the OS software. I wanted to start off with more storage. One more thing. Acer doesn't have the best tech support, I've never needed it, but they have a rep for not being good.
I think the hardware from Acer is good, and I really like WHS. There is a new version out, WHS 2011 but I haven't used it yet. The reviews I've read say WHS 2011 works even better with Win7 and XBOX360.
V
The DirtMerchant said:
It does work with Mac. Now, I've never used it but it's supposed work.
I will say this. I bought my Acer on Cyber Monday for $300, received it, pulled the 1TB drive, installed two 2TB drives and reinstalled the OS software. I wanted to start off with more storage. One more thing. Acer doesn't have the best tech support, I've never needed it, but they have a rep for not being good.
I think the hardware from Acer is good, and I really like WHS. There is a new version out, WHS 2011 but I haven't used it yet. The reviews I've read say WHS 2011 works even better with Win7 and XBOX360.
V