Advice for a media server reddit / selfhosted ---------------------------------------------------------------------- cacops · 2023-10-10 03:33 Hello everyone. I would like some advice on hosting a media server for me. I'll try and list my questions and then expand below. 1. What option (I am between Plex and Jellyfin) is best for my use case? 2. What hardware is best for my server? I would either use an old gaming laptop or a Raspberry Pi. 1. What option is best for my use case? I have a library that consists of .mkv files. I would like to keep that because I would like the freedom it gives with being able to switch languages and subtitles. That is why I haven't converted to mp4 or anything despite the file size advantage. The other concern is that while I wouldn't have it be a make or break in my decision, I would like to be able to remote access my content outside of my house. I believe Plex is "better" for that but only because you have to create an account with Plex that manages that, whereas Jellyfin would require a static IP or port-forwarding or something I wouldn't be too comfortable with. To counter that, I would be okay if the app allows you to download a copy of the media to watch on the go and just resync with your server when you get home. Similar to the Netflix app. 2. What hardware is best for my server? I can either use a Raspberry Pi 4 or an old gaming laptop as my hosting server. The gaming laptop would be simpler because I can either use Windows or maybe a Linux distro and set it up more easily with a GUI. However being older, I would suspect that it idles at more power than the pi would use under load. The Raspberry Pi would be interesting because it would use much less power and could just be set to run. I know it would make adding new videos to my library as I go more difficult, but may be worth it. My concern is its power. I mentioned I would like to keep my media as mkv's and I worry if the raspberry pi would have any issues serving that content. I have read many posts saying that as long as it is just serving the content, the Raspberry Pi can handle it, but once you attempt to transcode as you watch, it struggles a lot, and I don't know which my use case would be considered. Any feedback on my questions would be greatly appreciated. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CaptCrunch97 · 2023-10-10 04:00 I tried Plex a while ago when I was in the same boat trying to decide which one to use. I ended up going with Jellyfin and have been used it without issue for years now. I have few Fire TV sticks, so I download the Jellyfin app (followed a YouTube tutorial), and for my phone and PC I use a web browser. I even set my family up so they have their own profiles. Fire TV supports mkv, but in my case I had to convert all the files to mp4 with ffmpeg due to Jellyfin having to transcode them on-the-fly. Caused too much CPU usage. This may be different in your case, just something to keep in mind if you have playback issues on different devices; especially if you use a Raspberry Pi. I host Jellyfin using docker within a virtual Ubuntu machine within Proxmox. I have a separate virtual machine running TrueNAS SCALE; it handles my storage and creates mountable share paths for my Jellyfin server so I read the data over NFS. Though reading from a local disk is the recommended way, I’ve never experienced an issue. I run Jellyfin internally, it’s much faster that way; plus if I want to watch remotely I use a VPN (wg-easy) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sonicion · 2023-10-10 04:01 I watch content over the net all the time. I switched from a pi4 to a mini pc with a intel n100 just because the pi shuddered too much with .mkv files/transcoding. In addition, the N100 Uses 6 watts idle and 18watts heavy load. I also switched to jellyfin recently. I setup a VPN server on the router for remote access. NOW: FLAWLESS transcoding, CHEAP energy, EZ secure log in. Plex just didn't work well for me. I didn't like plex licensing/spy on you user agreement. And if your net provider goes down, you cant even watch your plex server in your home network without a hack. Definitely the laptop or look around for a sub $150 mini pc with a 12th gen processor. Can't go wrong there.. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- cacops · 2023-10-10 04:05 That's very good advice on the raspberry pi. Thank you. I was hopeful for it, but the more I looked into it, the more it seemed like it just couldn't handle the load. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- cacops · 2023-10-10 04:10 I thought Jellyfin had an app for phones. I've considered trying to make a VPN to my home network before, but I never had much reason to. Maybe a home media server is just the reason I needed. I wouldn't have a setup to your level with docker. Right now, it would likely be the old laptop with an external hard drive to hold the library. Based on another comment, I don't think the raspberry pi could handle the content if I kept it as mkvs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sonicion · 2023-10-10 04:24 I have a pi5 on order and was going to try it, but I know I'll have the same problem. I've read that the intel processors with Intel Quick Sync transcoding makes it easy and uses alot less watts. If your laptop has a sandy bridge or newer (2011-2012) it should have quick sync in the proc. My N100 is now running 4 different server functions, and the watt meter says its averaged 8 watts over the past 12 days.. Good luck! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ElevenNotes · 2023-10-10 05:47 Storage: Used Synology NAS with the space you need. Compute: Used Intel NIC with QuickSync for hardware transcoding of Plex. Install Linux on the NIC. Install docker (portainer would be better). Then add all the images you need. Remote Access: Use wireguard to access your media server from anywhere. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- GolemancerVekk · 2023-10-10 07:50 Transcoding is useful in two circumstances: (1) the device where you're playing the video doesn't have the video or audio codecs required by the file or (2) you have a bad connection and you need to stream at a lower bitrate. Use this to figure out if you're going to need it. If you don't need transcoding and you're going to be the only user you may not need a media server at all. * If your content is well organized in folders you could get away with simply accessing your files as a file share. You can use an app like Solid Explorer on Android which can access files of SSH and creates a local streaming tunnel automatically when you open a media file, and you can use any video or music player app with it. You can also try BubbleUPnP which works similarly for this purpose, it can access remote files in many sources and play them on local player apps. On iOS there's VLC player that can play remote files. * If you want indexing you can use apps like [Kodi](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.xbmc.kodi) or [Archos Video Player](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co m.archos.mediacenter.video) that index remote files locally. You can also try a simpler media server like Servio that has fewer features but it's easier to set up. > I believe Plex is "better" for that but only because you have to create an account with Plex that manages that, whereas Jellyfin would require a static IP or port-forwarding or something I wouldn't be too comfortable with. You still need to expose your home Plex install with an IP and port forwarding. Plex only manages your user login and keeps bookmarks to your server(s), but it doesn't help you with forwarding. On the contrary, Plex can have issues with some VPN setups. [You can use this comparison](https://github.com/Protektor- Desura/Archon/wiki/Compare-Media-Servers) to see whether Plex or Jellyfin would be better for you. Emby is sort of in-between, it has paid features like Plex but you control your own users. Please keep in mind that with Plex you pretty much need to maintain a subscription (buy Plex Pass) because it's needed for most features. Some reason some people don't like Plex: * If you're at home and your internet connection drops (but your server and LAN are still working) you can't use Plex, because you can't reach their login. * Related to the above, some people don't like the whole idea of Plex controlling their users and that they can decide to revoke your Plex Pass whenever they want. * Like I mentioned it can have issues with some VPNs and tunnels that you may use to connect remotely to your home LAN. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- My_New_Main · 2023-10-10 12:34 How do you mount the Synology to your NUC docker containers? I've got Debian on an old laptop mounting the SMB share via cifs on boot, and then I have the docker container mounting the Debian directory. Is that proper or should I look into another method? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CaptCrunch97 · 2023-10-10 12:53 You’re right - it does have an app! I used an external drive for a while too until only recently when it filled up. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- LeverageFI · 2023-10-10 13:20 NFS shares are faster and can be mounted from within docker-compose instead of trying to mount via smb or nfs to host. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ElevenNotes · 2023-10-10 14:22 Via NFS ---------------------------------------------------------------------- cacops · 2023-10-10 23:17 Very informative on transcoding. Thank you. I thought that mkv files might have to be transcoded by default. >You still need to expose your home Plex install with an IP and port forwarding. Plex only manages your user login and keeps bookmarks to your server(s), but it doesn't help you with forwarding. On the contrary, Plex can have issues with some VPN setups. I didn't know that. I thought that Plex just sort of took care of it for you. That changes things a bit for me. Thank you ---------------------------------------------------------------------- My_New_Main · 2023-10-11 04:53 Still learning docker before deploying stuff, thanks for the tip! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- GolemancerVekk · 2023-10-11 08:10 > I thought that mkv files might have to be transcoded by default. That depends on the player app. If it doesn't understand the mkv format it could need transcoding. Mobile app players usually do but things like Chromecast or Apple TV or smart TVs may not, you'll have to check.