Options for configuring home tv, nas, pc and internet

danlightbulb

danlightbulb

danlightbulb

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Ive posted in this section because this is a bit of a catch all question.

Im buying a house so will need to start from scratch on my broadband, tv and networking. I currently have Virgin broadband and tv and all the equipment is located at the tv area. In the new house the living room is right at the back so running a Virgin cable all the way to that location will be awkward.

I have the following:
1. A smart tv
2. A home NAS for films
3. A home pc for office/ internet/ games
4. A games console

At present, the NAS and xbox is connected by ethernet to the broadband router. I play my films via the xbox into the tv. My pc is also connected to the router via ethernet, so i can see the nas from that as well.

If i ditch Virgin, i would then get a netflix/firestick device for streaming. But i would still need to access my NAS from both tv and pc. Its likely though that my broadband router would be in the front room where the phone line comes in, and tv/xbox and pc all in the back room of the house.

How is the best way to set this all up?
 
If all the devices are on the same network then you run a Plex server from your PC. You can set up the Plex server to access content from the NAS.

Then connect to it via the Plex app on your Fire Stick or your TV.
 
You don't need a Plex pass to run a Plex server and the app is generally free on most devices other than mobiles.

I've never used Emby, but I've been using Plex for nearing on ten years and it does the job and is easy enough to set up.
 
With a decent router, wireless connections will be fine for media streaming. Try and use AC rather than N as it makes a difference. Depending on the age of the house, powerline networking may also be an option.
 
Unless im having the pc directly connected to the tv, I dont really want to have to switch the pc on every time i want to watch content from my NAS. Can the tv directly read the NAS if they are all on the same network?
 
What’s the NAS? Can you get Plex server for it? If so then hopefully your TV will also have Plex available in which case it’s an hour or so’s work to set up and configure everything.
 
Yes you can see your NAS directly from your tv.

Go to Source on your tv and see if your NAS shows up.

You can also download the My Cloud app on your tv to access your NAS.
 
barmyllama said:
You don't need a Plex pass to run a Plex server and the app is generally free on most devices other than mobiles.

I've never used Emby, but I've been using Plex for nearing on ten years and it does the job and is easy enough to set up.
Click to expand...


Where did I says you needed a PlexPass?

If you read between the line you would have understood that as someone who paid for Plex I jumped ship to Emby as Plex is not that good anymore and support sucks, the players GUI is horrid also.

Maybe you should look at Emby and learn something. ;)
 
b00merang69 said:
Where did I says you needed a PlexPass?

If you read between the line you would have understood that as someone who paid for Plex I jumped ship to Emby as Plex is not that good anymore and support sucks, the players GUI is horrid also.

Maybe you should look at Emby and learn something. ;)
Click to expand...

Keep your Alan's on.

I was merely pointing out to the OP that you don't need a Plex pass to run a Plex server.

Plex does for me what I need it too. So I have no desire to "learn" what else is out there. If reckon Emby is better, I'll defer to your superior knowledge and happily live in ignorance.
 
Thanks for help so far.

I am finding myself cross posting now unfortunately as I also started a thread in general discussion about going fully down the streaming route.

I appear to getting lost in all the options and not being able to figure out what can and can't connect to what.


If I have the following hardware:
* a smart TV;
* a gaming pc;
* a games console (currently xbox 360);
* a WD mycloud NAS (connected to Virgin superhub);
* a virgin superhub fibre broadband wifi/ethernet router;
* a google home speaker device;
* a soundbar;
* a netflix subscription; and finally
* freeview TV aerial

I am happy that I'd be able to watch standard freeview tv, watch netflix tv, and play console games all through the tv with soundbar on. That's all fine.

But what I'm unsure of is the following:
1. Watching movies from my NAS (separate room with router), through tv and soundbar.
2. Telling google home device to play music from NAS through the soundbar directly.
3. Telling google home device to play music from the internet through the soundbar directly.
4. Telling google home device to show content from NAS or internet on tv.
5. Screencasting my phone or pc to the tv.
6. Directly connecting my pc to tv for gaming, if its not in same room. Controlling pc from alternate room?


May as well tag this on too - what if I go for a 5.1 surround sound set up rather than a sound bar? For example I have seen the Yamaha YHT1840 package which is £300:
* I have read that a budget 5.1 system is likely to be better sound than a budget soundbar?
* I understand all the inputs connect into the amp, then this passes picture to the tv?
* If the tv containers the freeview tuner and the netflix etc apps, how does the sound from this get back into the surround sound amp?
* Does the tv remote control the volume of the entire set up like it does with soundbars?
* Can this be connected to google home device and/or be able to see music on the NAS for directly playing music on?


Lots of questions I know but Im getting an entire media setup from almost scratch so they all need answering at once, so I don't waste money buying something not suitable.
 
Last edited:
If you want to watch movies via NAS to TV you either need a tv that supports file streaming via network (unlikely), or a dedicated device (fire stick, osmc, shield etc) that can interprete the content and display it to the tv. What device you gets and how that content is streamed over the network largely depends on your use case. For example I dont run Plex because I direct play 4k files from my nas to the OSMC and Plex kinda sucks for that.

Your sound issues:
like most things you get what you pay for.
everything goes through the amp
Nowadays sound is returned through a HDMI ARC port. Most new TVs have one.
Depends on the amp and tv, but generally if both are modern then yes one remote will work with no config.
 
iamtheoneneo said:
If you want to watch movies via NAS to TV you either need a tv that supports file streaming via network (unlikely), or a dedicated device (fire stick, osmc, shield etc) that can interprete the content and display it to the tv. What device you gets and how that content is streamed over the network largely depends on your use case. For example I dont run Plex because I direct play 4k files from my nas to the OSMC and Plex kinda sucks for that.

Your sound issues:
like most things you get what you pay for.
everything goes through the amp
Nowadays sound is returned through a HDMI ARC port. Most new TVs have one.
Depends on the amp and tv, but generally if both are modern then yes one remote will work with no config.
Click to expand...
Why do you say unlikely about a tv supporting file streaming over the network?

My synology NAS is plugged into my router, I then choose ‘source’ on my Samsung smart tv and Diskstation shows up and it plays 4K files absolutely fine. Most smart TV’s from the last 10 years offer this.
 
A shield TV would allow you to cast, use Google assistant, run a Plex or Emby server and client and stream games from your pc.

Connect a USB Freeview tuner to the device or connect a HDHomerun to you network and use Plex or Emby server as a PVR. I recommend Emby as the EPG is much better on the device, mobile and web browser.
 
Mujja said:
A shield TV would allow you to cast, use Google assistant, run a Plex or Emby server and client and stream games from your pc.

Connect a USB Freeview tuner to the device or connect a HDHomerun to you network and use Plex or Emby server as a PVR. I recommend Emby as the EPG is much better on the device, mobile and web browser.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I just googled what both of those things are.

Kinda still confused.

Shield is a streaming device, like the firestick? It is used for just pulling content via apps from various sources? It seems to be a mini computer in its own right - what is its purpose? isnt this just another device with apps on it, is it needed if my tv has them already?

The HDhomerun - is a freeview tuner and recorder? that then stores those recordings on a seperate nas? that then streams that content back to you? If i wanted to record freeview channels i guess can see what this is for.
 
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