Gauging interest, home media network

[Tin]

id be very interested depending on start up cost , and if there is an option to stream live tv ,., ive been trying to cut out my cable bill for years

Live TV will be in it. Figure a 4TB server, pair of media players, and a network TV tuner should run ~$1200 with the HDMI audio option. Figure about $125 for each player, the tuner is good for up to 3 concurrent streams.

 

[Tin]

I assume you'd use usenets?

You could, or torrent. I can do a web GUI that one can access remotely. I torrent all the time from work. Queue up a bunch of shit then come home to a "disk space running low" warning :lol:

 

[Tin]

Home security?

I could interface a security system with it, but I'd rather not, then you'd have a single point of failure. Better to keep that on it's own.

 

[motownrx7]

You live near me, you should come check out what I got going on one of these days

Hell yeah. I could use a lesson.

 

[sardeanie]

I am looking for something like this I think. How much of a "nerd" would I have it be to run this? I am more of a "spoon feed me, I'm an Apple buyer". Steep learning curve? I don't need more hobbies.

 

[Tin]

I am looking for something like this I think. How much of a "nerd" would I have it be to run this? I am more of a "spoon feed me, I'm an Apple buyer". Steep learning curve? I don't need more hobbies.

No nerdiness needed :lol: I have it to the point to where most could use use it, and get the hang of it in short order. If you wanna watch the news on your phone during the morning shit, you can do it

 

[StockNotch]

I am interested. I have been looking into building a new media PC or firingup a 1u server and my DAS to host from while using Plex as the platform.

 

[Killjoy]

I'm interested in hearing more too, although I feel like I'm more likely to DIY. With a full rack enclosure in the basement, and full gig Ethernet throughout the house, I'd probably lean more towards a rack mount NAS in the basement, running the server software virtualized on my 8 core primary PC (that is always on), and then some form of small form factor streamer in the media closet for the HT.
I'd certainly be interested is hearing more about the design/architecture... as I just haven't had time to play with Plex, XBMC, etc.

If this is going to handle live TV/OTA/streaming, it would also be nice if VPN service integration was embedded to get around local blackouts (NHL Game Center Live for the Wings, etc.). Also something like SlingTV.

 

[Tin]

I'm interested in hearing more too, although I feel like I'm more likely to DIY. With a full rack enclosure in the basement, and full gig Ethernet throughout the house, I'd probably lean more towards a rack mount NAS in the basement, running the server software virtualized on my 8 core primary PC (that is always on), and then some form of small form factor streamer in the media closet for the HT.
I'd certainly be interested is hearing more about the design/architecture... as I just haven't had time to play with Plex, XBMC, etc.

If this is going to handle live TV/OTA/streaming, it would also be nice if VPN service integration was embedded to get around local blackouts (NHL Game Center Live for the Wings, etc.). Also something like SlingTV.

I run mine virtualized, works very good. I'm using QEMU-KVM as the hypervisor, with a VM ~256GB in size. Lots of ways to go about it. QEMU-KVM, Proxmox, OpenVZ, oVirt, ESXi, Xen, Hyper-V, etc. You can always share the optical drive on the network for ripping purposes. As for the VPN, I can most likely integrate OpenVPN server side, but it will take a some work. I'll need to write a shell script to have the media players fall back to the VPN in the event of a blackout. What I'm intending on offering is something akin to a Synology NAS with far more functionality at a lower cost. Synology NAS products have always rubbed me the wrong way because they don't offer much in the way of price vs functionality. The media players themselves will be on a rolling release, so they always have the latest and greatest software and a more hands-off update cycle.

 

[Bateater]

You could, or torrent. I can do a web GUI that one can access remotely. I torrent all the time from work. Queue up a bunch of shit then come home to a "disk space running low" warning :lol:

If you could set up something like sickbeard with a free torrenting site, you'd be in the money. That way you wouldn't have to make the user pay for a usenet service. As for "disk space running low" man I know storage is cheap but I can never find enough of it.

 

[Tin]

If you could set up something like sickbeard with a free torrenting site, you'd be in the money. That way you wouldn't have to make the user pay for a usenet service. As for "disk space running low" man I know storage is cheap but I can never find enough of it.

Usenet service is pretty cheap. You can get Frugal Usenet for $5/month with a 300 day retention period.

 

[Stalker]

Make it a SAAS. Sell the small hardware and own the rights to everything else.

 

[Tin]

Make it a SAAS. Sell the small hardware and own the rights to everything else.

Can't do it. This is all GNU GPL software.

 

[Stalker]

Then you're not thinking outside the box. Sheesh!

 

[Tin]

Then you're not thinking outside the box. Sheesh!

I heart FOSS :lol:

 

[Stalker]

By the way, I'd be down for this. I have a home server that currently stores stuff, but it's a several year old HP Home Media Server. Was thinking of upgrading it. I actually try to get as much of my media into Vudu that I can so I don't have to worry about ripping it. Same with I store my music in google music. Having a central location that I could stream eventually anywhere would be nice.

 

[Tin]

By the way, I'd be down for this. I have a home server that currently stores stuff, but it's a several year old HP Home Media Server. Was thinking of upgrading it. I actually try to get as much of my media into Vudu that I can so I don't have to worry about ripping it. Same with I store my music in google music. Having a central location that I could stream eventually anywhere would be nice.

I wonder if I can do something that would adapt the bit-rate to the upload bandwidth of the server. Say you're in a spot with slower data, and have the server dial it down to 128 or 192, or get the full 320 or even lossless when the available bandwidth allows. :mmm:

 

[Stalker]

Haven't you watched Silicon Valley. They already have the compression to do it!

I love that show by the way.

 

[grr456]

I am interested and like Sardeanie, I don't know much. Having everything in a central location is good.......You can sign me up, but will have to let me know what I need to get in preparation..

Gary

 

[Tin]

I am interested and like Sardeanie, I don't know much. Having everything in a central location is good.......You can sign me up, but will have to let me know what I need to get in preparation..

Gary

Shouldn't be any preparation as long as you have a wifi router and TVs that support HDMI . I've been looking at parts for a prototype server, still ironing out a few things in the cost vs performance area. As of now, I'm weighing the options between 2 chassis.

Chassis #1

Pros

• more room for storage
• hot-swappable hard drives
• true SOHO server form-factor
• compact

Cons

• No optical drive bay
• industrial look

Chassis #2

Pros

• Attractive brushed aluminum finish
• Doesn't look as much "computer" as it does home theater component
• standard optical drive bay
• front USB 3.0 ports

Cons

• supports only 2 hard drives
• more costly