Media servers/receivers help needed

ohbilly

Hi


I am after some help in regarding media servers/receivers.


I have been using a NSA310 nas to serve the media around my house to the various ps3 which has done me well in the past but I have been noticing that more and more files are in MKV which the PS3 doesn't play and my NSA310 is on it's last legs anyway so I am interested in upgrading my setup but this is where I am stuck because I have no idea what equipment I need to do this.


If I was to build a media server then what parts would I need and also would this be able to transcode the files for the PS3 (or any other media player) when they are accessed?


Or is the solution to buy an off the shelf media server and some form of new receiver for the various rooms?


Any help or suggestion is appreciated


Thanks.

Sportycus

Not sure its what your looking for but i bought and old tower pc, quad core, 3ghz processor, 4gb ram etc etc for £50, installed Serviio (its a free media server), tell it where your media files are and away you go. I have put the server in my loft so its out the way, if i need to actually see whats going on, i connect via Logmein on any of my tablets or PC downstairs and i can control it remotely.

The pc needs to be on obviously for this to function, but if you set it up to Wake On Lan, then a simple app from most phones can boot and shutdown the pc remotely, also being in the loft keeps it cool anyway.

Most devices on the network should pick it up, i also have a 2TB NAS (WD MyBook) drive on the same network that is mounted to the same PC, which is where i load all my movies, mainly MKVs at Blu Ray quality 1080p.

Serviio picks up the Metadata from the internet so all files have a thumbnail of the movies original cover or poster.

My LG tv is a Smart 60" 3D jobby, this is also connected to the network via ethernet, so i can access the movies direct to my tv without judder or stuttering, again it shows thumbnails accordingly.

This system allows me to stream to all devices in the house via wifi, including an iPad 3, iPad Mini, Galaxy Note 2, iPhone etc.

ohbilly

Sounds like what I am looking for.

Does serviio transcode the files for the pieces of equipment that can't read certain files?


Thanks btw

ohbilly

Would a HP ProLiant N40L be a better option for this?

Sportycus

ohbilly wrote: »

Sounds like what I am looking for.

Does serviio transcode the files for the pieces of equipment that can't read certain files?


Thanks btw

As far as i am aware yes.

The serviio server detects those IP addresses on the network, and labels them accordingly. You then have the further option of choosing a more tailored profile from the drop down box available.

Head over to the serviio forum and have a look around, i believe they have sections in the forum dedicated to specific hardware and devices.