Media player/storage with plex app?

cheddar · 14 Nov 2016 at 13:17

Hopefully someone can help me out here. I live in the USA and at the moment for TV I use the following mess of a setup:

1. Main PC which runs Plex server (TV libary is stored on old PC)
2. 2nd old PC which I use as storage for TV shows etc
3. 65" 4K TV with a Roku 2 connected to it

Everything works, though I need to buy a 2nd roku to stream TV to the bedroom.

What I kind of want to do is get rid of my old pc and simply have a device like a Roku but with it's own storage. eliminating the need for the old PC.

I was thinking of simply making a small PC and connecting that to the big TV, but that sounds like a lot of hassle at the moment. Are there any out of the box solutions out there that will simplify this.

I've looked at the Roku Ultra but that doesn't have the onboard storage.

I'm rambling now, but basically I just want some ideas that won't cost a fortune. I don't mind spending $300/400 on a media PC but i'd prefer it to look smart and be somewhat small as it's going in the living room.

Thanks in advance

dbmzk1 · 14 Nov 2016 at 16:15

No small device will have much storage, few GB built in and maybe the ability to access a USB drive but that's your limit.

You could get a NAS to store all your stuff on. Some can even run a Plex server, though not many can transcode.

Or you could just ditch the 2nd PC and put all it's storage in your main PC.

There's other things to think about, maybe something like a Nvidia Shield to replace one of the Rokus, it can run Plex server and transcode so you wouldn't need your main PC on all the time, but doesn't have it's own storage so would need access to a NAS or similar...

cheddar · 15 Nov 2016 at 01:18

I was looking at something like a Intel NUC, does anyone have any experience with those?

HungryHippos · 15 Nov 2016 at 01:41

You shouldn't need to transcode anything really, the Nvidia Shield TV can even direct play 4K, although on the whole I found the Nvidia Shield TV to be incredibly buggy with Plex, and 4K not really worth it without the HDR/Dolby Vision.

I use a Synology DS1815+ NAS

In my front room I have a Raspberry PI2 running Rasplex, which works pretty much flawlessly for 1080p direct play without transcoding.