Over LAN? On their Pc's, and yes i think every would unfortunately have to watch the same DSVT channel the decoder is set to? but i haven't worked out how to steam the video and audio to the other clients
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A media Server
- Thread starter Tiscanny
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Over LAN? On their Pc's, and yes i think every would unfortunately have to watch the same DSVT channel the decoder is set to? but i haven't worked out how to steam the video and audio to the other clients
Realistically not very1 will be steam at the same time? and i will have to upgrade the LAN infrastructure(Gigaset sx 762 Telkom router=> 3 pc, and a 100mb/s switch => 5 pc)
are you streaming DSTV or similar input? a while back I tried to use VLC but couldn't get the configuration to work of the tv tuner card to work? (color was off en no sound)
I am planning of bumping that up with time, but there is already a lan cable in the living room so if i can avoid not using 2 cables, it would spare me climbing in to the roof and all that hassle
What would you suggest?
Higher RPM or use 2 drives one for content sharing and one for content watching on the server? (would have to copy the movie/episode you would want to watch on to the other hhd then before watching)
i just thought iw would need more than the normal 300W PSU for all the HHD i would like to run eventually and a blue ray drive (eventually)
W7 premium? its what all the other pc on the network use?
software: What the article suggested was Boxee and XBMC haven't checked it out yet thou
Nah, hard drives use very little power, especially if you use the "green" ones (which are cheaper in any case). The CPU and graphics are the big users, and since you won't really be using any gaming class hardware, it should be fine. For example, the Proliant Microserver, of which I recently bought one, has a 150W PSU, but at full load, with 4x 2TB WD Caviar green drives installed, only uses about 50-60W of power according to reviews. Yours will be a bit more since you're not using a low power CPU, but nowhere near 300 or 400W. Check the Antec PSU calculator to tell you what you need.
Praeses
Executive Member
You should never try to fully load a PSU. PSU's live much longer and run more efficient if you keep them around and under 50% utilized under full load.
If the media server is going to be on 24/7, I highly recommend getting a PSU with active PFC and an above 80% efficiency rating (look at one of the gigabyte PSU's. The 370W should do!). Should save you some electricity in the long run, and the PSU runs cooler and thus quieter
Roger.Wilco
Senior Member
Some advice... stay away from those green drives! Especially the WD ones. If you do end up going for them, remember to disable the "intellipark" function. And also don't even think of using raid on those drives.
You should never try to fully load a PSU. PSU's live much longer and run more efficient if you keep them around and under 50% utilized under full load.
If the media server is going to be on 24/7, I highly recommend getting a PSU with active PFC and an above 80% efficiency rating (look at one of the gigabyte PSU's. The 370W should do!). Should save you some electricity in the long run, and the PSU runs cooler and thus quieter
Yes, but a too big PSU, like you are suggesting, means it will be utilised under 50%, which is the least efficient thing you can do. 50-70% best, 70-100 less good, <50% worst. That's why I suggested the PSU calculator... You enter your components and utilisation% and it tells you what you need.
Also, while I agree with the APFC and 80 plus certification, that's what I meant when I said no-name PSU's don't have that, meaning he will need to get a proper one, meaning far more expensive than he was looking at.
Interesting, what's wrong with them? I was thinking of getting some myself later, but the Seagate ones are cheaper. They do have the same 3 year warranty as other WD's though. The reason I want them is more because they're quiet, modern Seagate (my favourite brand) drives make quite a noise.
DrJohnZoidberg
Honorary Master
I wouldn't suggest a Windows 7 based machine for the server. A linux distribution would be more suited for this application. It's way more flexible and you also don't have to fork out extra cash. Will be a steeper learning curve, mainly with the TV side of things, but once it is set up it just works.
i really have no experience with Linux, but what about media-software like XBMC, will they work on Linux? and what about steam video + audio from Linux to windows based platforms? wont there a lot of hassle? (codex or something, dnt really know)
Roger.Wilco
Senior Member
Don't have experience on the Seagates, but the WD drives have an intellipark function. It basically tells the harddrive to go into standby if it's not being used. And this is not the power settings that you set in Windows. You can use a utility (wdidle I think) to change the settings or disable it. Mine was set to 7 seconds. So every 7 seconds my drive idled, it went in standby, just to power-up again when there's activity. There is a recommended amount of times that this can happen during the drive's lifespan, and I've seen users complain on forums that they've reached that limit in a couple of months.
That's why you can't use it for raid, the drives are constantly powering-down and then up again.
I see what you mean, Google pops up a lot of results of people with this problem. Guess it's Seagte Barracuda Greens then, they don't seem to have that problem. And they're R50 cheaper per 2TB.