Building a movie archival server that will stream. Looking for advice

[gerard143]

So I just picked up two internal pioneer uhd drives (5.25") as the first pieces toward my movie server.    The next on the list is finding a good rackmount chassis.   4u size unit.   

 

I guess I can go two ways with this.   An all-in-one 4U height setup (server,optical bays,HDD bays), or two separate boxes (one for the HDD drive bays.  The other for the server and optical drives).  

 

Looking for recommendations.   Not sure if it’s best to have a windows machine to do the ripping and then have a separate NAS setup running unraid.   Or just VM windows over unraid.  

 

Plan to use MakeMKV for the ripping I think.  It can run on: Windows x86 or x64, Mac OS X,Linux x86 or amd64.  Not sure how to run this with unraid outside of running windows on a VM.   Maybe this is not ideal and a bad idea to rip thru VM.  Don’t know if it can run thru docker and skip windows altogether? 

 

I would like to direct play my 1:1 rips streaming to Apple TV's as that’s my main go to streamer.   But to get best quality at times and atmos surround I don’t mind a second player if that’s what is needed.   Or use a high end video card in the server and send HDMI out right to tv.  

 

Appreciate and tips and help!

 

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by gerard143
added content

[opentoe]

I definitively recommend using a server type chassis with a backplane. DO NOT try to string along many drives using individual SATA data cables to a motherboard. I've had my Norcotek RPC-24 bay server chassis for about 8 years or so. Just last week one individual port doesn't light up a drive. Not the worst situation since I only use 16 drives, so I have some room to spare. It is also MUCH easier to work on a server chassis that's sitting on a table. I was going to install mine in my data closet in it's own small rack but then I told myself the first time I ever had trouble and needed to work on it I would go crazy. So I just bought one of those indestructible poly tables and put the server right on that. It came with it's own fans, which were adequate enough, may I say too adequate. I replaced all the internal fans with Noctua Industrial models and I can barely hear the server at all. I would NEVER want to go back to a standard/regular computer case if I was building a system with a lot of drives. Never, ever. To spruce things up and time for a change I was just looking to replace my server chassis with another model. They are all from China unfortunately and since everything is going smaller, faster, it gets harder and harder to obtain server chassis.  I suspect eventually as a few years go by they will be even harder to get. My first unraid box used the istarUSA 5bay boxes that slid into a large tower. I had to deal with all the power lines and SATA cables. It was a nightmare. When you use a server chassis each entire backplane ( 5 drives ) uses one molex power line, you do not need to power each drive individually. Anyway if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. I've been using unraid since it first came out and had about 10 iterations of servers.

 

I do lots of ripping and also converting, downloading, you name it. I try to get the highest bitrate content I can because when I sit down after work to relax it looks amazing on my new OLED TV. I use the newer Roku 4800r model which does Dolby Vision, but the Roku's do not have enough power to play high bitrate files. The highest I can go with it, is about 12Mbps. To resolve that issue I grabbed a couple of the new Dune 4k media players. Their android apps area, specialized programs are all crap but their boxes have perfected one thing. They can play a 100Mbps bitrate movie in pure color delight. As I type this I wanted to grab the link and noticed they dropped $20 on the players I got. Damn. I paid $200 for each player, but as I said, the only thing that can play a very high bitrate media file are the Dune's. I'm getting close to modifying my newer Shield media player as well. Anything with a 1Gbit port "should" be able to handle it. What all these other crap media players out there lack the onboard processing power. That's where the Dune players stand out. They have all the onboard processing power to handle whatever you throw out at. Try playing a ripped UHD version ISO of a movie with a Roku. You won't even be able to start it. The Dune players can play full BD menu's. Anyway, I always have to throw my props in there about the Dune player's since most people out there are missing out on some eye candy these lighter media players can't do. In case you were interested. Sorry for the rant. I get excited sometimes.

 

I also captured some menu items from my Dune player so you can see how in-depth the settings are. 

 

 

My Dune Player

 

 

 

RTD1619DR media processor

The newest RTD1619DR media processor is the most advanced and the most powerful media processor from Realtek with Dolby Vision support.
Dolby Vision and HDR10+

The media player supports not only HDR technology (supported by the previous generation of media players), but also the most latest and advanced Dolby Vision and HDR10+ technologies. In conventional HDR technology, the brightness range is set at the beginning of the film and does not change during the film, so completely dark and completely bright scenes may have insufficient detail. In the latest Dolby Vision and HDR10+ technologies, the brightness range can vary from frame to frame, so the maximum picture detail is provided even in scenes that contain only dark or only light elements.
Dolby Vision VS10 video processor

The advanced Dolby Vision VS10 video processing engine ensures maximum image quality when playing any type of content (SDR, HDR, Dolby Vision) with any type of video output signal (SDR, HDR, Dolby Vision), improves the SDR/HDR/Dolby Vision conversion quality, minimizes the effect of "posterization" ("banding") due to more advanced 12-bit video processing. This gives benefits even when using the media player with older TVs that do not support Dolby Vision.
Playback of Dolby Vision ISO/folder structures

The media player supports direct playback of movie ISO/folder structures in Dolby Vision format (MEL and FEL). The extended Dolby Vision information is used and transmitted to the TV to improve the picture quality. This is possible due to the unique video playback and output engine created by Dune HD. Other RTD1619DR-based media players do not support this. Dune HD media players are the only hybrid network media players in the world that combine this functionality with support for Internet video services and Android applications in one device.
Widest support for Dolby Vision file formats

Dolby Vision is supported for all popular file formats (MKV, MP4, TS, M2TS, ISO, movie folder structure). All popular Dolby Vision profiles (P4, P5, P7 MEL and FEL, P8) are supported. The media player supports the largest number of variations of Dolby Vision file formats of any other media player.
Dune HD Dolby Vision Purifier

This technology, unique to Dune HD media players, optimizes Dolby Vision files on the fly for maximum compatibility with the Realtek RTD1619DR media processor. This helps to ensure the most stable playback, including incorrectly encoded files (which often cause freezes, stuttering, sound out of sync on other media players).
VP9 profile 2 and YouTube 4K HDR support

The media player supports not only the old VP9 video codec (which does not support HDR), but also the newest VP9 profile 2, which supports HDR and which is used in YouTube for 4K HDR content.
+77% faster CPU

The media player has a 6-core ARM A55 CPU – which is +77% faster than 4-core ARM A53 used in the previous generation media players.
+50% faster GPU

The media player has the new GPU Mali-G51 – which is +50% faster than Mali T-820 used in the previous generation media players.
Android 9

For Android applications, the media player uses a modern Android version 9.0. This provides improved support for the newest Android apps.
Bluetooth 5.0

The media player uses the new Bluetooth version 5.0 (the previous generation media players were using version 4.x).
IR input port and IR extender

The IR input port allows connecting an IR extender, which improves player installation flexibility. IR extender is included.
 

Other key advantages over competitors
 

Best-in-class movie ISO/folder structure playback

Realtek-based Dune HD media players have the best-in-class support for playback of movie ISO/folder structures, including full support for 4K, 3D, HD audio. Movie ISO/folder structures can be played from any source - local drive (USB, SATA) or network drive (SMB, NFS). A special engine helps to ensure smooth playback of the entire movie w/o any audio/video interruptions even when playing movies with complicated structure.
Flicker-free framerate/resolution switching

Dune HD media players implement its own advanced flicker-free approach for automatic framerate and resolution switching, which performs video mode switching before the start of file playback (rather than after). Most other Realtek-based media players perform video mode switching after the start of file playback, which causes unpleasant flickering.
Auto framerate/resolution switching for Android applications

Dune HD media players are the only media players based on Realtek media processor which implement automatic framerate and resolution switching not only for file playback, but also for Android applications. With proper support for all framerates, including 23.976 and 24.0.
Professional-grade controls for video output parameters

Advanced setup controls allow professional users and installers to fine tune the video output parameters in the best way for a particular setup. In particular, it is possible to configure what chroma subsampling modes should be used for each individual HDMI video mode. The majority of competing media player models do not have such controls.
Widevine L1 and premium video services

Support for Widevine Level 1 DRM (the most advanced DRM level) makes it possible to watch premium online video services with HD and Ultra HD video quality. Media players w/o Widevine Level 1 support can only output Standard Definition video in such services.
Stereo and multichannel SACD playback

You can play top quality Super Audio CD (DSD) music files in all any popular formats  (ISO, DFF, DSF), including both stereo and multichannel files, including files which use DST compression. Multichannel DSD files can be output to HDMI as high quality multichannel PCM (up to 176.4 KHz). Stereo DSD files can be output to HDMI and S/PDIF as high quality stereo PCM (up to 176.4 KHz).
Linux-based Dune HD OS

The media player runs a unique hybrid OS which consists of a Linux-based Dune HD OS (to ensure stable operation and smooth media playback) and Android OS (to support Android applications), which run simultaneously.
Dune HD Android Playback Accelerator technology

This unique technology intellectually manages the resources of Android OS to minimize the influence of Android OS on the media playback engine and ensure smooth and high-quality video and audio playback.
Dune HD ecosystem

Based on open Dune HD SDK and APIs, various TV-optimized applications, plugins, extensions, GUI skins, collection management solutions, integrations with home automation systems are available via official Dune Store, 3-party vendors, and from the huge user's community.
Dune HD UI

The famous Dune HD UI, developed and polished during more than 12 years, specially optimized for the use on TV screens and operation via a standard remote control, tuned for the best possible usability, makes it easy and convenient to use the media player.
Dune HD movies organizer and movies encyclopedia

“My Collection” function organizes a user's movies collection into a nice looking catalog. A comprehensive movies encyclopedia provides the information about hundreds of thousands of movies with detailed descriptions, posters, cross-links between movies and persons, trailers, direct links to online video services, etc. Advanced file browser automatically recognizes movies.
Dune HD mobile app

The unique Dune HD mobile app (Dune Control) for iOS and Android mobiles devices provides full access to all functions of Dune HD media player in a very convenient and powerful way. It fully replaces the standard IR remote control, allows browsing and choosing the media content directly on your mobile device (the menu shown on the mobile device mirrors the menu shown on the TV screen), and includes Now Playing section for convenient media playback control.
Smart home

The media player provides the powerful IP Control interface and has a lot of options for integration into Smart Home and Home Automation systems, such as Control4 and Crestron.
Proven history of software updates during a very long period

Dune HD is known for its reputation to listen to user's feedback and provide software updates for many years. For example, for some old models, software updates with additional functions are provided for more than 10 years already. This is possible due to the unique "single code base" approach, which means that firmware for all Dune HD models is based on the same software (continuously developed and improved according to user's feedback).
Other key features
 

HD audio support

The media player can output HD audio to the A/V receiver.
Full 3D support

Support for Side-by-side, Top-to-bottom and MVC formats ensures perfect playback of Full HD video in 3D.
Optical disc drive support (USB)

You can connect an external USB optical disc drive to play media files from optical discs (not encrypted only).
Dual-band 802.11ac 2T2R Wi-Fi and 1Gbit Ethernet

The media player is equipped with dual-band Wi-Fi supporting 802.11b/g/n/ac (2.4 GHz + 5.0 GHz), with 2T2R support (double performance) and two external Wi-Fi antennas, which allows you to play a high-bitrate content through the air. The 1Gbit Ethernet port allows you to get maximum performance with a wired connection.
Built-in Bluetooth

The built-in Bluetooth interface allows you to easily connect various remote controls, wireless keyboards, mice, joysticks, audio speakers, headphones, headsets and other devices.
Bluetooth remote with IR learning and microphone (new batches: + AirMouse)

An additional Bluetooth remote controls the set-top box via a radio channel, provides the Microphone function for Voice Search in applications which support it, and has IR learning function that allows you to configure the remote control to control not only a media player, but also a TV or other equipment.  Old batches include the old remote model "R1" (Microphone + IR Learning), the new batches include the new remote model "R3" (AirMouse + Microphone + IR Learning). The AirMouse function allows convenient control of Android applications not optimised for controlling via a conventional remote.

 

[trurl]

12 hours ago, gerard143 said:

a raid setup with hardware controller

Unraid IS NOT RAID, hence the name. RAID controllers are NOT recommended with Unraid for many reasons.

 

I always recommend fewer larger drives instead of many small drives. Each additional disk requires more hardware, more power, at some point more license. Larger drives perform better than smaller. Each additional disk is an additional point of failure.

[gerard143]

2 hours ago, trurl said:

Unraid IS NOT RAID, hence the name. RAID controllers are NOT recommended with Unraid for many reasons.

 

I always recommend fewer larger drives instead of many small drives. Each additional disk requires more hardware, more power, at some point more license. Larger drives perform better than smaller. Each additional disk is an additional point of failure.

 

I got to thinking about that for 3 seconds earlier lol.   That unraid is a software controller lol.    Whoopsie.  
 

so let me ask this, I figured software based controller wouldn’t be as good.   I assume it must work pretty well though?

UPDATE: found a post in which you contributed which explains a lot.  It was titled hardware via software raid controller. 

 

also the fewer disks makes more sense.   I think I am going to target for 8-  10 or 12 TB discs.  Plus maybe a smaller 1 or 2 Tb ssd that holds the os and apps etc.  

Edited April 8, 2022 by gerard143

[gerard143]

Opentoe,

 

awesome in depth post!    I completely forgot about Dune players!!   I remember then from years ago when I was looking to build a movie server but then never got around to it.    I am going to have to give that a good hard look again.  
 

Out of curiosity have you given the new Apple TV 4K models a run for their money?    Curious how well they do in comparison and what areas they struggle with.   
 

I spent hours and hours today looking at options for servers and learned a good bit already.  But man tons more to learn. Just barely getting my toes wet.   This streiger dynamics company builds some nice machines.   Fair prices too it seems.   Can get a well spec’d complete (minus the HdD drives) setup for less then a just the supermicro mostly bare chassis. 
 

I’ve narrowed down to three choices.  The 3 rack unit supermicro, a Steiger 4U Pro or a silverstone g07.     All three can handle my 2 - 5.25” opticals.  
 

The Steiger would be complete ready to go basically.  For about 3k I could get a real nice machine.   Looks nice. 
 

The other two are a raw chassis.   The supermicro looks the worst (lacks that nice a/v look).  But I love how all 8 bays are hot swap unlike the others.  Easy access is nice.   No front usb on it.  Which I guess isn’t that big a deal.    The silverstone has a real nice av look.  Front usb type A  and c port.   
 

 

I am gonna do a little more digging to see what other chassis I might be missing. 
 

Dell makes nothing rackmount with 5.25” bays. Bummer.

 

I searched which processor is better Xeon or the i9 12th gen.   Not really sure for this application of use and mainly ripping what the better processor choice is.   More cores, or faster clock speed.  
 

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by gerard143

[whipdancer]

My roku tv has no problem playing my 4k UHD copy of Casino or Bridge Over the River Kwai, because it directly plays them. So the fact that they are pushing 50-80Mbps doesn’t seem to be an issue.

 

 

 If you need to convert or re-encode 4k and/or UHD material, the high end Ryzen processors are your best bet for quality and speed.

[Lolight]

4 hours ago, gerard143 said:

I think I am going to target for 8-  10 or 12 TB discs.  Plus maybe a smaller 1 or 2 Tb ssd that holds the os and apps etc.  

May I ask why to even bother with 8-10TB disks in the era of 20TB drives?

[Lolight]

2 hours ago, whipdancer said:

My roku tv has no problem playing my 4k UHD

There's a huge variety of media boxes currently on the market that won't have a problem playing such files.

[Lolight]

18 hours ago, gerard143 said:

The next on the list is finding a good rackmount chassis.   Anywhere from a 2u to 4u size unit.

How many TB's of space do you plan to have in your server?

Are you really sure that you need to go the rackmount chassis and server grade parts?

Asking since it's not really clear from your posts if that's what you really want and need.

It's also not clear if you're aware of simpler and cheaper alternatives that might work for your use case (consumer grade hardware except maybe harddrives).

[Lolight]

8 hours ago, opentoe said:

My Dune Player

Dune runs a very old version of Kodi that was made into its own proprietary player.

It's expensive, and its primary function is to be a file player only, without streaming capabilities like Roku, Firestick and others.

For a modern Kodi player take a look at media boxes (huge variety of price and quality) capable of running Coreelec https://coreelec.org/

https://discourse.coreelec.org/t/best-device-for-coreelec-in-2022/14348

[gerard143]

4 hours ago, Lolight said:

How many TB's of space do you plan to have in your server?

Are you really sure that you need to go the rackmount chassis and server grade parts?

Asking since it's not really clear from your posts if that's what you really want and need.

It's also not clear if you're aware of simpler and cheaper alternatives that might work for your use case (consumer grade hardware except maybe harddrives).

 

to answer the discs question maybe I would go with larger discs (20 Tb etc) it all depends on costs.  
 

as for rackmount, yes I want rackmount.  I do all things Smart Home for a living and install equipment racks 7 feet tall loaded with electronics on the regular.   My own home has an equipment racks where my electronics reside.  Amplifiers for whole home audio, video distribution matrix to all the TV’s, all my networking hardware, music server, control processor and much more.  

[gerard143]

4 hours ago, Lolight said:

Dune runs a very old version of Kodi that was made into its own proprietary player.

It's expensive, and its primary function is to be a file player only, without streaming capabilities like Roku, Firestick and others.

For a modern Kodi player take a look at media boxes (huge variety of price and quality) capable of running Coreelec https://coreelec.org/

https://discourse.coreelec.org/t/best-device-for-coreelec-in-2022/14348

 

thank you for the link.   The AppleTV has become predominantly my go to device.  It’s about the only thing I watch anymore and I have firesticks, roku, etc    
 

So for sake of convenience and one box to rule them all, it is easiest to just share the library of movies with the Apple TV and watch thru that.     
 

However, I am not opposed to a second player of some sort, for the times I want the real high quality video (uncompressed) and atmos audio etc.      I have not done the research yet to see what areas the Apple TV 4K (latest verison) lacks when it comes to streaming these ripped 1:1 Blu-ray and UHD titles, along with the occasional 3D title.    
 

Maybe someone can shed some light on where the Apple TV solution fails.  

[trurl]

10 hours ago, gerard143 said:

 Plus maybe a smaller 1 or 2 Tb ssd that holds the os and apps etc.  

For dockers/VMs, faster storage in a pool separate from the parity array is the usual method.

 

As for the OS, Unraid always boots from the flash drive, which is also required for your Unraid license. It doesn't run from the flash drive though.

 

The OS is unpacked fresh from the archives on flash at boot into RAM and the OS runs completely in RAM. The flash drive also contains settings you make in the webUI so they can be reapplied at boot.

 

Think of it as firmware.

[opentoe]

2 hours ago, gerard143 said:

 

thank you for the link.   The AppleTV has become predominantly my go to device.  It’s about the only thing I watch anymore and I have firesticks, roku, etc    
 

So for sake of convenience and one box to rule them all, it is easiest to just share the library of movies with the Apple TV and watch thru that.     
 

However, I am not opposed to a second player of some sort, for the times I want the real high quality video (uncompressed) and atmos audio etc.      I have not done the research yet to see what areas the Apple TV 4K (latest verison) lacks when it comes to streaming these ripped 1:1 Blu-ray and UHD titles, along with the occasional 3D title.    
 

Maybe someone can shed some light on where the Apple TV solution fails.  

That's why I indicated the only thing the Dune is good for is just to play individual high bitrate files. I've went your route. Ordered 2 of the newer versions of the Apple TV 4k models. I was really hoping I was going to be set. Unfortunately there was no way for me to access my media on my server as like with a file manager so I can just pick and choose what I wanted to play. When trying to play with Plex, it would once again, only play low bitrate files. Plus it also didn't have several audio profiles that we all love. DTS! If I increase the rate to over 20, forget it. The Apple TV would mostly pause and force me to power cycle it. I'll tell you what, let me squeeze one of my movies and put it in my OneDrive share. I'll give you access to grab it. I'll record myself playing that file with my Dune player. Just for testing purposes I want to see if you are able to play this same file with your Apple TV 4K. Heck, maybe all this time I'm doing something wrong or missing something. I kind of would love to be proved wrong so maybe I can start using other media player I spent all this money on. I'll come back with the link for you. I've tried to do this with about 15 people and for some odd reason everyone tells me they are too busy or just don't want to. Anyway, I do hope you have the time.

[opentoe]

3 hours ago, gerard143 said:

 

thank you for the link.   The AppleTV has become predominantly my go to device.  It’s about the only thing I watch anymore and I have firesticks, roku, etc    
 

So for sake of convenience and one box to rule them all, it is easiest to just share the library of movies with the Apple TV and watch thru that.     
 

However, I am not opposed to a second player of some sort, for the times I want the real high quality video (uncompressed) and atmos audio etc.      I have not done the research yet to see what areas the Apple TV 4K (latest verison) lacks when it comes to streaming these ripped 1:1 Blu-ray and UHD titles, along with the occasional 3D title.    
 

Maybe someone can shed some light on where the Apple TV solution fails.  

By the way, have you seen the latest Dune firmware? They have incorporated APPS like Netflix, HBOMAX, DISNEY, PLEX, and a nice new way to present it. Looks like they took a visual copy off of the Nvidia shield. The shield is my next best player. It usually can play high bitrate content via Plex with no pausing or artifacts. You just can't bog it down with APPS and games. I had to factory reset mine a few times, wanted to see what it would take to just make it not work. After a few crappy APPS it got slower and slower. But I do have to say Nvidia is $200 or more, so players in that price range are the only ones going to be able to do anything. An $80 Roku just isn't going to cut it. I think while this movie is compressing I'll plug in one of my Apple TV's'. Maybe a nice new firmware.

 

[gerard143]

Interesting!   I’ve been spending another entire day at work messing off lol and reading about this all and getting up to speed!    
 

learning learning. 🙂

[gerard143]

11 minutes ago, opentoe said:

That's why I indicated the only thing the Dune is good for is just to play individual high bitrate files. I've went your route. Ordered 2 of the newer versions of the Apple TV 4k models. I was really hoping I was going to be set. Unfortunately there was no way for me to access my media on my server as like with a file manager so I can just pick and choose what I wanted to play. When trying to play with Plex, it would once again, only play low bitrate files. Plus it also didn't have several audio profiles that we all love. DTS! If I increase the rate to over 20, forget it. The Apple TV would mostly pause and force me to power cycle it. I'll tell you what, let me squeeze one of my movies and put it in my OneDrive share. I'll give you access to grab it. I'll record myself playing that file with my Dune player. Just for testing purposes I want to see if you are able to play this same file with your Apple TV 4K. Heck, maybe all this time I'm doing something wrong or missing something. I kind of would love to be proved wrong so maybe I can start using other media player I spent all this money on. I'll come back with the link for you. I've tried to do this with about 15 people and for some odd reason everyone tells me they are too busy or just don't want to. Anyway, I do hope you have the time.

this would be awesome!  I’m around Saturday Sunday and Monday to play with this. 
 

also I had no idea that dune had app functionality.  That is great. 

Edited April 8, 2022 by gerard143

[opentoe]

Just now, gerard143 said:

this would be awesome!  I’m around Saturday Sunday and Monday to play with this. 

Awesome, I'd love to play around since there was always that %0.00001 that it was my entire network. If you can play the file I'm compressing for you over your network, awesome! Since it is in a file form, how would you play it with your Apple TV? Do they even have the capability to play media files with a file manager type interface?

 

[gerard143]

Hmmmm not sure.   Perhaps this:

 

https://www.stratospherix.com/products/filebrowsertv/

Edited April 8, 2022 by gerard143

[whipdancer]

49 minutes ago, opentoe said:

Since it is in a file form, how would you play it with your Apple TV? Do they even have the capability to play media files with a file manager type interface?

I've not encountered anyone since my HTPC days that prefers a file browser for picking what to watch.  I remember using different tools (jriver, media master?, wdtv, and more) and devices (popcorn hour, patriot, etc) just to get the nice library-like interface with covers and backgrounds and such - all of which Plex (and a few others) do by default now. I quit using a dedicated HTPC at least 8 years ago. I dismantled my home theater about 5 years ago. I now use a basic sound-bar and a 65" TV.

 

Quote

An $80 Roku just isn't going to cut it.

For the Apple TV 4K, I use the plex client and it is ok.  My TV is a TCL Roku from 2017.
The Apple TV will not play the 92gig rip of Casino without buffering at all (via plex or itunes).  The roku client built into my TV will.  I think the equivalent device is the Roku Ultra that lists for $99 (although it is currently on sale for $70 right now).

The problem is not the bitrate of the movie necessarily. The subtitle tracks and audio tracks have caused me far more headaches than the video.

Edited April 8, 2022 by whipdancer
diction

[opentoe]

I don't get all excited about jazzy eye candy, except the movie content itself. I'm 52 years old. I've had every media player and iteration there ever was. The processing power in those little boxes always have been behind. NOW, today, I can finally say I can play all Lord of the Rings movies using their intended rate. Achieavble only using my Dune player because of the onboard processing power. My Roku, and Apple TV wouldn't be able to do it, nor even start the beginning of the movie. That's why I'm having this little test, having another user try out one of the movies I have that can only be played with my Dune via file manager type access. If you read above you'll see that I only use Dune as a file manager type player and that's it. Scroll to the content I want to watch and press enter.

[opentoe]

1 hour ago, gerard143 said:

Hmmmm not sure.   Perhaps this:

 

https://www.stratospherix.com/products/filebrowsertv/

I'll be happy to try this.

[gerard143]

34 minutes ago, whipdancer said:

I've not encountered anyone since my HTPC days that prefers a file browser for picking what to watch.  I remember using different tools (jriver, media master?, wdtv, and more) and devices (popcorn hour, patriot, etc) just to get the nice library-like interface with covers and backgrounds and such - all of which Plex (and a few others) do by default now. I quit using a dedicated HTPC at least 8 years ago. I dismantled my home theater about 5 years ago. I now use a basic sound-bar and a 65" TV.

 

For the Apple TV 4K, I use the plex client and it is ok.  My TV is a TCL Roku from 2017.
The Apple TV will not play the 92gig rip of Casino without buffering at all (via plex or itunes).  The roku client built into my TV will.  I think the equivalent device is the Roku Ultra that lists for $99 (although it is currently on sale for $70 right now).

The problem is not the bitrate of the movie necessarily. The subtitle tracks and audio tracks have caused me far more headaches than the video.

 

I greatly prefer the library style interface like infuse, Plex, etc.   I like the built in trailers.  Cast info.  Ratings.  Backgrounds and all that.   So whichever route I go I want this to be the main style of viewing experience as long as I can get fairly good looking video that is on par or a tad better then a Netflix stream.  For situations where I want to pull the highest quality video if I Need a second player like dune for that so be it.      But I want to rip it all once, full uncompressed to have the highest quality version archived then transcode from there if I need to to play it thru infuse, Plex, whatever.  

[opentoe]

Ripping full uncompressed and try to make my Plex server direct play and transcode was just a horrible option. I've just been using Plex less and less and opting for the Dune to get that excellent picture quality I'm looking for. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to use Plex's interface all the time, but not if I want to play just 10Mbps movies.

 

[gerard143]

I have tons to learn no doubt.  I appreciate everyone chiming in so far.   
 

I am just going to cut and paste a post I just made on the makemkv forum.  Maybe I wouldn’t even need a dune player.

 

here is the post:

 

Basically I am starting from scratch for the server. It’s a blank slate. Total budget for it up to about 4 grand I guess. I have a ton to learn. I’ve been spending the last two days researching about 8 hours a day.  

Thinking about 6-16 TB drives to start. 
Processor will either be a 12th i9 intel or Xeon processor.  

Long story short I want to stream this movie collection to Apple TV’s I have all over home. It’s become my main method for viewing everything. I want a nice looking interface. Something like kodi, infuse, Emby.  Plex is so popular but gotta admit I’m not super huge on interface.

I realizes most players have constraints.  Apple TV, shield, roku, shield, etc.   Most of the time this will be fine.  I can live without atmos.  

That being said, I certain cases, I also want to be able to watch this movie collection with exact same quality and audio formats as if I was putting a physical disc in the UHD player.

If I build this server as dual purpose, both with a large drive Array and a high end Nvidia GPU and use the hdmi out on the card, will I still see limitations like all the alternatives seem to have. Or can I actually play with hdr, Dolby vision, atmos, 3D, etc just like I was playing a disc in a disc player?  

If so then this is what I will do. From there, I can easily distribute the video stream into a 4k video matrix and then send it to every tv in the house. Not sure what app I would use for the front end player on the PC though to access the library in a nice looking fashion like infuse, etc.  

I also assume that for any situation that needed it, transcoding on the fly would be a breeze for a high end NVidia card? 

But then that leaves the question of streaming to the Apple TV’s. Do I need to transcode to a compressed version prior? Or can something like plex, Emby, infuse loaded on this server handle these uncompressed 1:1 rips on the fly and send it over the network? 

I am thinking I have to run windows for all this. Or maybe unraid with windows as a virtual machine.  


Man so maybe variables. Tons to learn and wrap my head around it all. 

Edited April 8, 2022 by gerard143