Help with media server

[RobDogDog]

Hi folks,

I'm looking at finally digitising my old DVD and CD collection (around 300 DVD's and 100 CD's) to a home media server but I don't really know where to start.

Can I just run something like Plex on a small form Dell Optiplex (Ubuntu, I5, 8GB ram, 256 SSD as a test - would upgrade the storage), rip the content to the computer, point the folders in the right direction and download the app for the TV?

It will just be one TV that the content would be streamed to.

 

[RobDogDog]

Synology is a decent storage method without needing Windows etc. It's pretty much set and forget. Worth looking into.

Looks interesting and affordable. Thanks.

Hornet, with regards to the DVD ripping, are you saying don't bother at all with it and look to get higher quality versions? Sorry, I'm not 100% sure what you meant.

I'm not overly fussed if the DVD looks like a DVD as such. My mum is basically telling me she wants rid of them from her house and the wife does not want them in our house as we have nowhere to store them lol.

 

[RobDogDog]

I've gone done the rabbit hole this weekend.

A while back I acquired a Dell 7040 mini from work that was surplus to requirements (all above board). It's got an i5 processor in so should be okay - I'd just need to upgrade the storage

I think I'm going to initially try using that, as for my requirements which, after some more thought, will probably just be DVD and Blu rays rips, and there's no real need for me to have it on 24/7. More of a turn it on on a Friday evening job. Would probably run Ubuntu which also looks to be supported.

Films I really enjoy will get upgraded to Blu-ray and given the below treatment but obviously with adjusted settings.

I've been playing around with Maker MKV and Handbrake and can get a DVD to look fine for my eyes' quality at H264 codec using some instructions I found online. The same place also had H265 instructions that did reduce the size down even more by a little over 200mb, but the time it took to do this was also just over double at around the hour mark for The Fast and The Furious. So it's a space Vs time and cost conundrum.