LiberalLesbo       Posted at 2022-09-21 03:08:06(113Wks ago) Report Permalink URL | ||
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| Hi there peoples, I've got three NAS devices (3TB; 4TB; 2x8TB configured as one 16TB volume), on a CAT6 RJ45 LAN, I usually play media from the NAS boxes using an old Macbook outputting via HDMI to our TV. The laptop however, has seen better days and is having some problems. I'm sure it'll die sometime soon. My question is, can anybody recommend a decent piece of kit that'll connect to my cabled LAN, and play popular audio/video formats (FLAC, MP3, MKV, MP4, AVI), outputting through HDMI? I need 1080p and want something that'll handle a 4-5GB file. I don't even mind if I have to copy files from the NAS to local storage (I have to do that occasionally with the Macbook anyway). Any product recommendations anybody? L Edited Add-On: Current research is leading me to an Apple TV 4K 64GB box, but can I use one of those to play from my NAS to my TV without having an Apple TV subscription which I don't want or need? Anybody with personal experience of performance etc., would be truly appreciated. Last edited by LiberalLesbo on 2022-09-21 03:45:58 | |
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imonline  Posted at 2022-09-21 10:12:54(113Wks ago) Report Permalink URL | ||
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| I have a Raspberry Pi running Kodi for my setup. Something like this but with US power adapter :  Read this: https://www.raspberrypi.com/news/build-the-ultimate-4k-home-theatre-pc-using-a-raspberry-pi-4-and-kodi/ There's also this from a while back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9vgJ4u4saI Last edited by imonline on 2022-09-21 10:30:33 | |
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| Post liked by - LiberalLesbo | ||
| LiberalLesboPosted at 2022-09-21 13:56:18(113Wks ago) Report Permalink URL | ||
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| TY I'll check that out today   | |
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| Post liked by - imonline | ||
| LiberalLesboPosted at 2022-10-20 02:30:40(109Wks ago) Report Permalink URL | ||
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| So, since posting the above (and thank you imonline for the excellent advice, I've passed that on to someone else), I opted for the following:AppleTV 4K 64GB (NO SUBSCRIPTION) InFuse media player app from Firecore LLC (lifetime licence) This did mean throwing some money at the solution, but -- given the amount of Apple kit we have kicking around (smart speakers etc) -- it made sense. I have to say, no regrets thus far. InFuse is an excellent piece of software, and allows for some really attractive customization of the video library posters etc. I still convert MKVs to MP4s before I put them on the media player and use the AppleTV to stream from three different NAS boxes (RJ45 CAT6, not wireless). There's no subscription needed (or wanted), and the performance has been excellent, even with some very large 2160p files. Just thought this might be helpful for anybody looking to do something similar. Love how helpful people are on TGx, thanks everyone | |
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Post liked by - SwedeBear, imonline, hayzee56 , Soup | ||
| SoupPosted at 2022-10-20 02:57:34(109Wks ago) Report Permalink URL | ||
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| Great post, now you have got my curiousity going regarding NAS compatability with the fire tv cube. I'll be looking into that  | |
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| Post liked by - imonline, hayzee56, LiberalLesbo | ||
| LiberalLesboPosted at 2022-10-20 03:44:13(109Wks ago) Report Permalink URL | ||
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| Just for info', my NAS boxes are two (old) 4TB Western Digital MyCloud units (no idea of the HDDs in them), dating back several years. Support for both of these for "over the internet" remote access has just been withdrawn and latest firmware has disabled some of those features. I use them strictly for Local NAS behind my router; and one Asustor 2-Bay NAS, with two 12TB Seagate Barracuda HDDs (Model: ST12000DM0007). I used to use a PS3 to access the video files, so video files were in AVI (XVID/MP3), mostly at 1080p. The PS3 died, hence the AppleTV (and maybe an XBOX for Christmas). Now my video files are MP4 at 1080p and 2160p. All hardware is connected via CAT6 and on their own gigabit switch. AppleTV connects to the TV via standard HDMI. I choose to convert to MP4 rather than leave everything in MKV (which would be better for space by a country mile), because the AppleTV won't play MKV at all, and InFuse, VLC and Elmedia apps all seem to have a bit of a problem with MKVs on my setup: I get a lot of video artifact and A/V synch problems, which just disappear if I use MP4... weird, go figure. I use Tipard Video Converter, Any Video Converter Ultimate, and VideoProc Converter on the Mac (M1 Max MacBook Pro, 64GB RAM), and Freemake Video Converter on Windows 10/11 (old Core i7, 32GB RAM) for video format conversion. Oh, and if you want custom video library posters for folders on your NAS, save a *.jpg of about 1080 W x 1500 H in the folder and call it "folder.jpg" and InFuse will use that automatically as the poster for that folder (e.g., Bond Movies / Downton Abbey, etc). All the best, LL | |
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