Browse Forums Home Theatre & Automation 1 Jan 31, 2014 7:05 pm Hi All We have signed up for a new build and have our electrical selections coming up. I have had a pre-selection appointment and I don't think the electrical consultant really understood our needs. Before we sign up for something we don't need/can't afford (C-BUS), I thought I'd run it past the experts here. What I am hoping to achieve is: Movies - Currently I download movies to a laptop and then transfer to a portable hard drive. This hard drive then plugs directly into my Samsung tv via usb. It works fine until I want to watch something and the kids something else. I end up putting my movie on a usb and going to another room and tv. Ideally, I want to download all movies to a central hard drive/database and be able to watch different movies on different tv's (up to 4) at the same time. Now I'm not overly IT savvy. I will have an ADSL2+ connection with WIFI modem. The modem drops out a fair bit, so I gather for better movie play, I need to hard wire cable to the tv's via Cat6 cable (please confirm). To achieve this, do I just ask the builder to install one Cat6 outlet to where each tv is going and then wire back to where the modem will be? Also, does the modem (Netcomm NB9WMAXXTLAN) then need to plug into a router to connect/distribute to these 4 tv's?) Do I continue to download movies wirelessly to my laptop and then have to transfer to this central hard drive or can I somehow get them centrally located straight away (eg do I need a desktop PC to download to?). The Samsung tv's are not smart tv's but have built in media players. The built in media player's capabilities are better than our WD TV Mini Media Player. Music: All I want to do is be able to play music in both the family room at the rear, as well as the alfresco. I want to be able to choose between the two, eg one on one off, both on etc. I want to be able to sit at the alfresco and play music through speakers from my laptop or iphone/ipod. It has been suggested that I should look at Sonos Play1 which just needs a power point and as many Play1's as you think you need. Is there a better way? Please dumb down your responses for the not overly IT savvy, thanks. Re: Movies and Music 2Jan 31, 2014 11:35 pm Just for music, you really can't go past the Sonos units, as they so simple to setup, and two Play1 units in the one room will give you stereo. One of the good things is that you can use your smartphone, be that a iphone or an Android smartphone or tablet to control it. I'm making the assumption that your music will be accessible on a computer that is running, or better still a NAS device (aka "a central hard drive/database" ) that's running on your home network. Some if not most NAS devices have a torrent client on them, so you'll be able to download your videos on to it as well whilst your computer is off. The Sonos units will let you play as many different tracks as you have Sonos units at the same time, so you can be playing something at your alfresco, whilst playing a different song in the family room, and something else in a bedroom, or play the same in all the rooms. Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Movies and Music 3Feb 01, 2014 2:06 am Build a HTPC, it does not have to be super fast. Get plenty of disc space and then buy JRiver for 50USD. It will play all music and movies as you need. Plenty of support online and probably the best bang for buck solution on the market. I believe you can run it from your NAS drive as well. Re: Movies and Music 4Feb 01, 2014 9:41 am AussieMark Build a HTPC, Good idea too, but I personally think a NAS is a better option, particulary if has multiple HD's in it run in a redundant array. Way too many people have all their important photos on their computers without any form of real backup. At least with a NAS with redundant storage (i.e. RAID5 or better), as least they would then have a far safer storage media for their valuable family photos. Once they have something like that to protect their valuable memories, a HTPC would then become a very good idea. Just be sure to build one up that uses minimal power, as chances are is that it will be running 24/7 hidden in a cupboard somewhere. Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Movies and Music 5Feb 01, 2014 10:23 am Thanks guys. I think I'm following... So I need cat6 cable to run to my 4 tv locations. Is one outlet per tv sufficient? One of the tv's will have an xbox. Then run the cat6 back to the central point where the 4 cables plug into my modem router and the NAS then plugs into the modem router as well? When downloading, do I just continue to use the laptop as normal, but save the download to a folder on the NAS rather than on the laptop? Re: Movies and Music 6Feb 01, 2014 11:24 am Building the Dream Thanks guys. I think I'm following... So I need cat6 cable to run to my 4 tv locations. Is one outlet per tv sufficient? One of the tv's will have an xbox. you do not need to run Cat6 cable, as you could use the marginally cheaper Cat5e, but I'd personally run Cat6 to help future proof. You also need 1 outlet per device, unless you run a hub or a switch, which will let you run 4 or more devices there. For the room where the TV and Xbox is, you'd pick up a cheap hub or switch, run a short cable from the outlet to the switch, and a cable from the switch to the xbox and another to the TV (that's assuming the TV is a 'smart' TV and has a ethernet port in it. Some buy a wireless access point that also functions as a switch/hub, which enhances your wireless networking in the house. The extra cost for a wireless access point with 4 ports is marginally more expensive than a plain switch. Quote: Then run the cat6 back to the central point where the 4 cables plug into my modem router and the NAS then plugs into the modem router as well? Yep, that's the way you do it. Quote: When downloading, do I just continue to use the laptop as normal, but save the download to a folder on the NAS rather than on the laptop? Yes, that's the recommended way you'd do it. Some NAS have Torrent clients built in to them, such as some of the Netgear ones, and the Synology ones too. If you're looking at the different gear, avoid the hardly normal stores, as they'll often charge you more and push you towards the dlink brand (definately not my favourite). When you're ready to buy, check out www.msy.com.au as they are often provide you with good prices on gear. Most of all, if you are not sure, then please ask someone not attached to a store for help. Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Movies and Music 7Feb 01, 2014 11:35 am One thing that would need to be confirmed is speed issues for movies. For music NAS will work fine however I know my brother uses a NAS set up and has playback issues. II use a Silverstone box which is very quiet and a Haswell i5 with onboard HD Graphics, solid state for quick boot and the rest is an array of hard discs. Running a combo of DVD Fab and JRiver the set up is flawless for movies and music. Mine is used purely for movies and music only and I connect to the net via wifi as I try not to do any computing on it. Back up is handled via doing a complete copy of content for offline storage. I specifically did not go NAS as I had heard of stories where data was lost. My aim was a media sever purely for movies that would take away the need to have lots of actual discs everywhere. With the JRiver setup it is as close to Kaliedascape (sp) as you could get at 10% of the price. I may look into how this gets setup into a network but for the moment the setup is fit for purpose. Something for me to think about also as I start my build. Re: Movies and Music 8Feb 01, 2014 11:58 am AussieMark With the JRiver setup it is as close to Kaliedascape (sp) as you could get at 10% of the price. Have you seen K (not sure of spelling myself!), in real life in a HT room ? My god, drool central. I saw one at a HT place up Nundah way last year, and if I every with lotto big time, I'm getting one... in the meantime in the real world, I can only just dream about one. I'll have to take a look at this JRiver setup, as I'm considering building up a HTPC for my new HT room in the future. Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Movies and Music 9Feb 01, 2014 1:11 pm ok, so the hub is just acting like a double adapter or power board? Any disadvantage with doing it this way? Next issue is the tv's are not smart. They do have usb and HDMI plugs. I have had a look online and it seems you can buy ethernet to usb adaptors. Will this enable the tv's to work? Also, to watch the movies, am I still using the tv's in-built media player like I do when a portable hard drive is plugged directly into the tv? Thanks Re: Movies and Music 10Feb 01, 2014 1:53 pm Pretty much yeah, they're a bit like a double adapter, although a bit more involved If they don't have a ethernet port (RJ45 socket in the back), then you won't need a port for them. As like the rest of us, I'm sure you'll update TV's every few years, whilst you don't have one at the moment, your next TV will be a smart tv, so cabling up your house is not a bad idea, and will be cheaper to do the whole lot in one hit, rather than a bit now, a bit later if you get a professional in to do it. I assume the xbox will let you stream stuff from the NAS to the TV it is connected to. Otherwise you'll have to stick with USB HD as you do now. I'd still look for a NAS that supports at least RAID5, so you can safely have your important family photos in a moderately safe location. Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Movies and Music 11Feb 01, 2014 2:28 pm Yeah the xbox has an RJ45 so should work. With the remaining tv's, can I get around it by having a WD Live or similar? Re: Movies and Music 12Feb 06, 2014 1:00 pm bpratt I'll have to take a look at this JRiver setup, as I'm considering building up a HTPC for my new HT room in the future. Why? Most TV will now stream directly from the NAS, and most NAS will also have streaming apps. Some NAS, with an add-on USB DTV dongle, will also record TV shows for you if your TV will not do that. I feel that HTPCs are becoming redundant. Re: Movies and Music 13Feb 06, 2014 2:01 pm bpratt Way too many people have all their important photos on their computers without any form of real backup. At least with a NAS with redundant storage (i.e. RAID5 or better), as least they would then have a far safer storage media for their valuable family photos. Once they have something like that to protect their valuable memories, a HTPC would then become a very good idea. Just be sure to build one up that uses minimal power, as chances are is that it will be running 24/7 hidden in a cupboard somewhere. Just going to comment on this - don't confuse RAID as "backup". It's not. A RAID array can just as easily lose all your data if it fails. The benefits of RAID (or specifically RAID 5 in this case) is that a single drive can fail and the device can still serve data without interruption. (There are other benefits of course in various configurations with having data spread across multiple drives and read/write speeds but I digress..) You need to back up your RAID storage just as frequently as you need to back up any single drive storage. The only reliable form of backup is backup itself - multiple copies of your data so that the loss of one source can be recoverable. Sorry for going a bit off topic but many people think that having a NAS in RAID 5 means that they never need to back up data again and that their data is somehow immune from loss. Completed a knock down and rebuild in northern Melbourne. Handover completed 27/09/2013 and now moved in. Re: Movies and Music 14Feb 06, 2014 2:22 pm I think htpc is still relevant if you want lossless. I don't think streaming is at the highest rate. Plus not Internet dependent. I wanted the highest possible quality. Cost and setup wise the htpc is pretty good. Backups wise I did not go for nas or raid because they still required backup. I simply do a complete duplicate of my library and store. Re: Movies and Music 15Feb 06, 2014 9:02 pm Bluesuede You need to back up your RAID storage just as frequently as you need to back up any single drive storage. The only reliable form of backup is backup itself - multiple copies of your data so that the loss of one source can be recoverable. Sorry for going a bit off topic but many people think that having a NAS in RAID 5 means that they never need to back up data again and that their data is somehow immune from loss. No problems, very relevant if my posts on NAS are relevant. I didn't mean to say that a NAS should be relied upon as the only copy of everything, it was more along the lines of don't leave all your family photos on your PC, get a NAS and put them on there as well, although I do admit I never explicitly said that (I did mean to, but didn't). Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Movies and Music 16Feb 07, 2014 7:24 am AussieMark I think htpc is still relevant if you want lossless. I don't think streaming is at the highest rate. Plus not Internet dependent. NAS streaming, over Gigabit Ethernet, is very fast, depending on your setup of course. It is possible to store your movies losslessly, and stream it in HD. I was just testing out my NAS last night, admittedly from an SSD to the NAS, and it was copying (sequential, as large files) at 108MB/sec. Admittedly the fasted I've achieved with 3 simultaneous stream is 40MB/sec, but I don't think movies, even in HD, need a stream that's more than 320Mb/sec, as I gather even BluRay does a maximum of 54Mb/sec. Admittedly I was using 802.3ad in a 5 disk RAID 5 array, but was only using 2 ports. Re: Movies and Music 17Feb 07, 2014 9:31 am Sorry I do not really see the difference whether the storage is on a NAS drive and streamed via ethernet or the discs are contained within my htpc enclosure which is connected direct to my amp. I have full backup of all drives. Am I missing something. My 16TB storage capacity is more than adequate for movies and all is backup so I have copies. Beyond this I am not a computer tech type person so I really don't know if I am missing anything but my set up presently works flawlessly. I may investigate NAS but do not see the need at the moment..... Re: Movies and Music 18Feb 08, 2014 8:17 am Generally with a NAS, you get lower power consumption (so you can leave it on all the time) with a faster file server performance due to the OS being optimised for file serving, and usually also have multiple ethernet ports so you will not get the bandwidth problem you are worried about. I guess if you are only playing on one screen, that's not a problem, but as I store just about everything on the NAS, it can be a problem, as potentially I have to run 7 music streams and 3 video streams, excluding any that runs on notebooks, iPads and desktop. I'm only running 12Tb, so back up to another NAS (besides the disc, but it would take a long time to recreate). Re: Movies and Music 19Feb 21, 2014 8:23 am AussieMark Sorry I do not really see the difference whether the storage is on a NAS drive and streamed via ethernet or the discs are contained within my htpc enclosure which is connected direct to my amp. I have full backup of all drives. Am I missing something. My 16TB storage capacity is more than adequate for movies and all is backup so I have copies. Beyond this I am not a computer tech type person so I really don't know if I am missing anything but my set up presently works flawlessly. I may investigate NAS but do not see the need at the moment..... I agree (as long as your HTPC is connected to the network), a HTPC can act as a NAS plus much more. With a stand alone NAS device, you can run into trouble transcoding 1080p files (especially multiple streams) as most consumer NAS devices simply don't have enough grunt (CPU, memory). IMO better off with a custom built HTPC however you will be sacrificing power consumption (ie: HTPC would use more power). Depends what your needs are I guess. My Hamptons build (completed): viewtopic.php?f=31&t=63370 Moved in Wednesday 11th Dec 2013 Front landscaping completed June 2016 Re: Movies and Music 20Feb 21, 2014 8:51 am @ Cinder, that is what I am thinking. My HTPC is a low noise set up that can be in the Theatre. Powerwise not concerned about the consumption as I only turn it on when I use it. If I wanted to stream files then I would need to switch it on of course and then as you say it would be a NAS. For me the Streaming from a NAS is a solution to a problem I dont have..... Very happy with my JRiver HTPC setup for both music and movies. Because I am not a Techie type computer person I have gone for the simple solution that deliver the closest experience to Kaleidescape (spelling). 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