Hello...first post / general high-level home set up questions

[NASbeginner]

Hi everyone,

Over the last week, I've decided I get with it and set up a NAS for my home and ultimately backup my DVDs, etc. to a NAS that I can stream to my Playstation 3 (primary), MacBook Pro, iMac, etc.

After watching a number of youtube videos and reading through this website/forum, I've decided to make the plunge with FreeNAS. With that said, before I even get to hardware configurations, etc. I have a few questions about the proper design for this setup.

1) I heard that if I have a NAS it should be for storing my media (movies, etc) and then have a separate PC system (home theater PC - HTPC) to run Plex or another media server (PS3 Media Server, JRiver, Kodi, etc) to handle all the transcoding, etc. when streaming it to the client (PS3, etc) to watch.

Is this the ideal setup? I'm guessing the answer is "no" as all I've read on here is that you install Plex, etc. directly on the NAS.

If it is ideal, then I take it FreeNAS would be installed on this PC/HTPC and the NAS would be hooked up to it almost acting as an external storage device?

2) If I build per your requirements and install Plex, etc. on the NAS, would it be preferable to install Plex outside of the HDDs that are in the ZFS structure, on a SSD for example, so as not to take up space on a "storage" HDD? Another way to phrase this, is should I plan on installing any app, program, plugin on a separate drive from the storage HDDs that will be holding my media, and then the media server software would access the appropriate drive to transcode/stream the content?

3) This is specific to the PlayStation 3, so I'm curious if anyone on here uses their PS3 as their smart menu/client to access their NAS media server to view movies. As I plan on this, what media server software is recommended for this?

4) Kind outside of FreeNAS, but for those running various software media servers (Plex, Kodi, JRiver, etc), do you see the nicely designed GUI designed by their software when accessing it through the PS3?

5) Finally, I want to protect my data from the outside, so security is very important to me. What is the preferred setup to protect my data? I should probably dig through this forum more as I'm sure there is a topic on this before asking for the answer :)

Thank you again to everyone for all the detailed information I've read so far!

 

[Jailer]

1. If you move Plex off FreeNAS you lose all the data protection and features that FreeNAS has to offer. Just install it in a jail or use the plugin and run it.
2. See #1
3. Plex client for PS3.
4. Never used anything other than Plex so I can't comment on that one.
5. Don't expose your FreeNAS to the internet is the best way to protect it.

 

[nightshade00013]

Other than Plex you will be using the PS3's built in DLNA player. The other software pretty much either requires a front end installed on another computer or DLNA support. A word of warning though, if you plan to backup certain Blu-Rays (Sony ones in particular) they will not play correctly on PS3 with DLNA, as far as the Plex App on the PS3 and the same issue I do not know.

As long as you build the FreeNAS correctly there should be no problem installing Plex using a plugin or within a Jail. It would give you the added advantage of being able to watch stuff on the go. You would need to have a DynamicDNS setup if you are on a dynamic IP (most home connections are) and forward one port to the Plex IP address of your jail. It sounds daunting but if you can install FreeNAS you should be able to find the help to do it.

For the security aspect Jailer is correct, you never ever want to expose your FreeNAS or any of the jails directly to the internet. Forward ports to a jail or particular application like SSH.

 

[anodos]

Forward ports to a jail or particular application like SSH.

Or use a vpn

 

[NASbeginner]

Jailer, anodos, and nightshade00013, thank you very much for the replies!!

After looking into Plex further, it seems I have to pay for a Plex Pass monthly subscription so that option is out, as I am looking for a free solution.

It's amazing how complicated this stuff can be, to make sure it can work with FreeNAS and PS3 and be able to stream MKV files, and possibly future proof a bit for 4K streaming capability as well.

Can the following solutions be installed on FreeNAS:
- PS3 Media Server (can work through PS3) (looks like PS3 MS has a VLC plugin...VLC supports 4K viewing)
- DivX Media Server (part of DivX Player I believe) [seems to be a great option as the player supports up to 4K streaming and can play MKV files; PS3 also supports this] I don't see an option for Linux so wondering if there is a workaround for FreeNAS.

Of these it looks like PS3 Media Server (with VLC plugin?) will be the go-to solution here, unless we can get the DivX player/media server installed and working on FreeNAS. Any thoughts on that?

--
Also Jailer (or anyone else) I'll most likely install one of these in a Jail, however, I wanted to explore this further to better understand the risks. What do I gain by putting this and other programs on one of my storage HDDs in the zpool? Why not just install these programs on an SSD separate from your "storage" zpool for movies, etc. since it's just a program and if the SSD goes down, you simply just reinstall the software...maybe "simply" isn't the right word. Again, I'm brand new to this so just trying to learn what we gain by installing other programs/software on one of our storage HDDs, and not better off running these programs off a separate SSD outside the storage zpool.

Wouldn't this help preserve one of the HDDs by not constantly processing these programs directly off of a storage HDD?

Would this also reduce the risk of one of these programs malfunctioning and causing any problems with the media data (movies, etc)?

When it comes to preserving data, I'm more concerned about my media files, then a program that I can reinstall again and not worried if the drive it is on fails (I guess I could create a mirror SSD as well to reduce some risk).

Ultimately, does this diversify any risk separating programs/applications from our media files on different drives?

Thank you so much!

 

[NASbeginner]

duplicated accidentally...please feel free to delete! :)

 

[nightshade00013]

Plex should not be ruled out. It's a little confusing but the PlexPass is not a "required" feature. If you purchase the app for a smartphone it's yours for 5.99 and will work with zero problems. Same goes for the apps that can be used on smart tv's and other media players. Even the PS3 should have one. I got lucky and my LG tv app is now included for free (after something has been out for a while they release it free.) And once you pay for the app it works just fine without a PlexPass

A PlexPass does add a couple features like being able to share only certain movies with the kids or parents while giving yourself access to everything and you wife access to everything but the horror movies. It's well worth what it does as it supports the writers and gives them the ability to fund the creation. I think it's 150 for a lifetime subscription and you will get all the connected apps for free. How does starting a movie at home sound and then heading to the airport and picking up where you left off?

Installing to a SSD really is not needed. The system will be making constant writes to the pool anyway as it will store log data there. And you will want to keep the disks spinning most of the time anyway, the act of them spinning is less wear and tear than starting and stopping them or even parking the head. You could use an SSD for the temp files but even then it's really not needed. Right now I have two striped laptop drives that have ran for a few months and I can stream multiple different movies at the same time via Plex.

Another note for the PS3 media server is that it is a DLNA server, you get that with Plex and much more. Plus you would have to run one separate copy of a DLNA server for each client that wants to stream something. I was using PS3 Media Server on a windows box and while it worked Plex has been so much better that it's hard to put in words.

As far as Plex corrupting data, that is very unlikely to happen but even if it was installed on a SSD it would still be able to do the same thing. It has to be able to read the data. The one thing about a Jail is that it's ALMOST like a virtual machine ( https://forums.freenas.org/index.php?threads/a-quick-intro-to-jails.39220/ ) it will run in it's own space and will only be able to work within that space and have access to what you allow. If you don't allow it permissions to write or delete to the point where the media is stored it can't cause any issues.

Don't overthink everything, it will be much easier to get going using the solutions that have been used many times before than to try and hack together something and make it work. There are a ton of resources available on the forum and a lot of the time it will have already been done or there is a good reason why to do something a certain way.

As far as the Plex thing goes, get a copy and toss it on a computer you have running and test it out. I highly doubt you will be displeased with it.

 

[NASbeginner]

nightshade - thank you soooo much for bearing with me on my questions. I'm not trying to over think it, I swear... :), just had those questions on my mind! Thank you so much for taking a few minutes to discuss that with me. I will absolutely move forward with the standard approach of installing the apps, etc. on the HDDs in a Jail.

Regarding Plex, right now I can download the app on PS3 free (Plex says it's free), however they say a Plex Pass subscription is required. I just found:

https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/204075366-Is-it-for-the-PlayStation-3-or-PlayStation-4- and as you noted it seems eventually they'll release it so I will not require a Plex Pass. Hopefully by the time I actually get this system set up, maybe it'll be free by then! :)

Having the ability to stream to multiple devices at the same time with one media server instance is definitely a plus over the PS3 media server and just seems plain awesome!

Off to more reading about hardware requirements and designing my system. As soon as I have that complete, I'll be back here to post it for feedback. Thanks again!

 

[nightshade00013]

Even without a PlexPass or the app you will be able to stream to your PS3, two issues come into play there though. You will not get a lot of the extra features that would be present with the Plex app as you would be using the DLNA server part of Plex. The other and I know this one for a fact is that the PS3 will balk at playing something that was taken from a Blu-ray disc like I said above. It's something to do with the anti copy tech that Sony implemented.

Remember on the hardware to plan for ECC memory and buy quality parts. And look at some other builds that people have done. When in doubt ask a question and someone will likely have the answer.

 

[NASbeginner]

Even without a PlexPass or the app you will be able to stream to your PS3, two issues come into play there though. You will not get a lot of the extra features that would be present with the Plex app as you would be using the DLNA server part of Plex. The other and I know this one for a fact is that the PS3 will balk at playing something that was taken from a Blu-ray disc like I said above. It's something to do with the anti copy tech that Sony implemented.

Remember on the hardware to plan for ECC memory and buy quality parts. And look at some other builds that people have done. When in doubt ask a question and someone will likely have the answer.

I am definitely planning on ECC memory...in my mind it is mandatory :)

Also, if PS3 won't play something taken from a Blu-Ray (e.g., mkv file), is there a workaround for Plex, similar to what the DivX media server can do:

"On your PS3, navigate to the DivX Media Server under the 'video' menu. Select the folder with the .mkv files shared and click Play. The DivX Media Server will transmux the .mkv files to the PS3, allowing the video and audio streams to be played back by the PS3."

http://divx.force.com/apex/Show_Div...box360-Sony-PlayStation-3-and-Android-devices

This is a huge deal for me, so I want to make sure before I move forward with a build that I have a work around for this. Too bad they don't have a Linux option: http://www.divx.com/en/software/player/features

Once again, thank you for the advice!!

 

[nightshade00013]

The problem is that Sony's built in copy protection kicks in on video files that don't have something correct when it's played back. If you use the DLNA server in a PS3 it does not matter what format the file is or what server you are using. Just google " cinavia ps3"

There could be workarounds available now but I ended up with a smart tv and it does not have the issue so I can't help you there. I would suggest searching online to see the extent of all that as we really can't help with it here.

 

[Jailer]

Even without a PlexPass or the app you will be able to stream to your PS3, two issues come into play there though. You will not get a lot of the extra features that would be present with the Plex app as you would be using the DLNA server part of Plex. The other and I know this one for a fact is that the PS3 will balk at playing something that was taken from a Blu-ray disc like I said above. It's something to do with the anti copy tech that Sony implemented.

Remember on the hardware to plan for ECC memory and buy quality parts. And look at some other builds that people have done. When in doubt ask a question and someone will likely have the answer.

It's called cinavia and it's PIA.

You can still use your PS3 without a plexpass but you'll have to use it's DLNA function. As @nightshade00013 posted it won't have the nice pretty UI that the app does but it will work. On mine it worked OK but browsing for content was awful slow. Also the PS3 is limited in codec support for both audio and video so you'll have to make sure your content is encoded accordingly. It WILL NOT play anything with a DTS soundtrack.

Other options are a dedicated plex client. I use a Intel NUC with a Harmony remote in the living room and a Raspberry Pi2 in one of the bedrooms. Just food for thought.

 

[NASbeginner]

Thanks guys. Was not up to speed on the whole cinavia thing.

Jailer, if I'm understanding you correctly I could run the Plex app on another device (Rasberry Pi, Apple TV, etc.) and connect that to the TV for playback rather than trying through the PS3. I just looked up the Intel NUC and that looks like a great option if needed. I'll definitely keep those options in mind! Thanks so much. Now on to planning my build! :)

 

[pirateghost]

Thanks guys. Was not up to speed on the whole cinavia thing.

Jailer, if I'm understanding you correctly I could run the Plex app on another device (Rasberry Pi, Apple TV, etc.) and connect that to the TV for playback rather than trying through the PS3. I just looked up the Intel NUC and that looks like a great option if needed. I'll definitely keep those options in mind! Thanks so much. Now on to planning my build! :)

I highly recommend a pi2 running rasplex. I have several of them in the house and they make awesome Plex players.

Another good choice is Roku, my kid has one built into his TV and it makes things very simple to use Plex along with a host of other options.

 

[depasseg]

I just use a $25 chromecast. I get plex, youtube, and pretty much every other app streamed to my tv's.

 

[NASbeginner]

pirateghost and depasseg - thank you for the other options with this. I'll definitely keep those in mind as well as I continue my research on all of this! :)