HP ProLiant MicroServer

ZeroNeo said:
My end game is to be able to access and stream my media via plex to 2 different TV's possibly simultaneously at times

I dunno if this comes into play but my internet connection is a 4mb line.

Thanks in advance
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I set up my homeserver entirely by command line but you can do it with a GUI if you want

My setup - Linux Home Server - SAB - uTorrent etc etc

stream to PS3 using a media server like plex (ps3 is connected to my TV)

You can mount a shared folder or browse a shared folder like you would any other network PC so that your GF can watch from server via VLC. Streaming simultaneously should be fine, I've streamed TV and my Nexus 7 simultaneously no problem. I use a GT610 it is pretty much all u need, I have a friend who has the 5450. They both do the job, get the cheapest of the two I guess
 
ZeroNeo said:
My end game is to be able to access and stream my media via plex to 2 different TV's possibly simultaneously at times

I dunno if this comes into play but my internet connection is a 4mb line.

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

Don't get a Microserver then. Unless you plan on encoding all your media perfectly to direct play on all devices then the Microserver won't have enough juice to do what you want.

Rather get something with an i3 at least.
 
@ZeroNeo, I've gone through OpenElec, XBMCbuntu and one or two others. Ended up settling with Win7 (running XBMC from start-up). IMO Win7 has the most flexibility and gives the least issues. GT610 works perfectly in all OS's I've used.

Never used Plex so can't help out with the streaming. Haven't tried simultaneous streaming either but let me know if you figure it out.

4MB line is good for Netflix, Hulu and SuperSport streaming (if you're with MWEB :D)
 
To anyone paying for UnoTelly. Try the FREE Firefox plugin Hola. I've been using this for a few weeks now.
 
DrJohnZoidberg said:
Don't get a Microserver then. Unless you plan on encoding all your media perfectly to direct play on all devices then the Microserver won't have enough juice to do what you want.

Rather get something with an i3 at least.
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:-( thats not good news.

I was just about to pull the trigger on getting one. So is the problem streaming or is the problem streaming through plex.

So would the only solution for me to stream would be to get a roku for each tv and allow each one to connect to the server.
 
ZeroNeo said:
:-( thats not good news.

I was just about to pull the trigger on getting one. So is the problem streaming or is the problem streaming through plex.

So would the only solution for me to stream would be to get a roku for each tv and allow each one to connect to the server.
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Plex uses a lot of CPU if it needs to transcode streams, transcoding will happen when the source media isn't 100% compatible with the device you are playing it on. The Microserver's CPU can transcode a maximum of approximately 1 x 720p stream at a time, it cannot transcode 1080p without stuttering and I doubt very much it could do 2 simultaneous streams.

You can get around this by making sure that all your files are encoded to playback natively on whatever device it will be primarily be played back on, this way Plex doesn't have to do any transcoding and just sends the media directly to the device. Obviously this could be more effort than it's worth, depending on your situation.

If you want to do the Plex route I would recommend a beefier CPU, or if you want the Microserver than I would rather suggest you use XMBC and play back directly from there.
 
DrJohnZoidberg said:
Plex uses a lot of CPU if it needs to transcode streams, transcoding will happen when the source media isn't 100% compatible with the device you are playing it on. The Microserver's CPU can transcode a maximum of approximately 1 x 720p stream at a time, it cannot transcode 1080p without stuttering and I doubt very much it could do 2 simultaneous streams.

You can get around this by making sure that all your files are encoded to playback natively on whatever device it will be primarily be played back on, this way Plex doesn't have to do any transcoding and just sends the media directly to the device. Obviously this could be more effort than it's worth, depending on your situation.

If you want to do the Plex route I would recommend a beefier CPU, or if you want the Microserver than I would rather suggest you use XMBC and play back directly from there.
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Thanks for the input

Just a little more information from my side as to the way i play things now.

So at the moment I watch my media 2 different ways.

Main TV I play my media through WD Live media player via hard portable 2.5 HD
2nd TV I plug the same 2.5HD directly into the TV.

The only reason I don't plug the hd directly in the main TV its wall mounted and a pain getting to the usb port.

Both TV's are Samsung.

Would I be correct in saying that as I am able to play directly through my TV that not much transcoding will take place if play through Plex as my TV can already play the files .

Maybe I got i all wrong when it comes to transcoding and what actually happens when playing through plex.

Would a Mac Mini be a better option to achieve my end goal
 
ZeroNeo said:
Would I be correct in saying that as I am able to play directly through my TV that not much transcoding will take place if play through Plex as my TV can already play the files .

Maybe I got i all wrong when it comes to transcoding and what actually happens when playing through plex.
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No, playback from a local disk is not the same as streaming the media over a network, I know it's complicated. So you could have files that play perfectly when you plug the HDD into your TV but they may not direct play if you are streaming them over the network and then Plex will transcode them.

Would a Mac Mini be a better option to achieve my end goal
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Yes, a Mac Mini would work nicely, or even an Intel NUC. Only problem here is you don't have the same amount of storage expansion than you do with the Microserver.
 
DrJohnZoidberg said:
No, playback from a local disk is not the same as streaming the media over a network, I know it's complicated. So you could have files that play perfectly when you plug the HDD into your TV but they may not direct play if you are streaming them over the network and then Plex will transcode them.



Yes, a Mac Mini would work nicely, or even an Intel NUC. Only problem here is you don't have the same amount of storage expansion than you do with the Microserver.
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Yep that is what draw's me to the microserver, all the drives in one place and looks neat if you gonna have it in the lounge.

So the 'perfect" solution would be to have the both the micro and mac min and use the mini to transcode and micro as a NAS.

Just wondering now would SB be able to transcode media to plex format before moving it and would that maybe help making streaming easier on the microserver?
 
anybody experiencing playback problems in the last feww weeks with frodo? getting buffering and then file just stops. do i need to update to the latest version?
 
Do any mybb members know of a supplier that has the hp microservers in stock. Esquire online shop says they don't have. Will try some suppliers tomorrow. Need two of them and some mem and hdd for nas backup servers
 
Grasmuis said:
Anyone have a copy of the latest bios update 2013.10.01? aparently you now need to pay for bios updates
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Whaaaaaaaaat? That's just crazy. I remember downloading something late last year and if I am not mistaken it is the bios update so I will check when I get home tomorrow and make it available on request - if I have it.
 
GreGorGy said:
Whaaaaaaaaat? That's just crazy. I remember downloading something late last year and if I am not mistaken it is the bios update so I will check when I get home tomorrow and make it available on request - if I have it.
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Thanks, would be greate to update the bios without paying HP! I need the update to support Server 2012 R2. The files should be SP64420.exe for the latest.
 
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