PowerPoint Presentation
Your Ultimate Multimedia Server Plex on QNAP NAS1/19/2016
Hey everyone, this is Stephanie from QNAP and today our topic
is: Your ultimate mulimedia server, plex on QNAP NAS. 1
Agenda What is Plex Media Server Why Do You Need a NAS How to
Install and Configure Your PlexInstallation Setup the libraryCreate
a Plex accountMedia preparation How to Choose the Right
NASCapacityTranscoding
Our agenda today is that first, well be explaining what is Plex
Media Server, and why do you need a NAS for the Plex environment.
Well be going over how to install and configure your plex
step-by-step, along with some live demos including installation,
setting up a librar, creating a plex account. After that, we will
then go through a quick guide on how to select and choose the right
NAS for your needs. 2
What is Plex Media ServerMultimedia management and streaming
serverAutomatically grabs the metadata and organizes your media
filesOne window into all your mediaSupports multiple platforms and
devicesWindows, Mac OSROKU, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TVetciOS and
Android phones
What is Plex Media Server? Plex is a free multimedia management
and streaming server that anyone can use to organize and centralize
a complete media library. Such as movies, home videos, photos, and
music. As it is still a server, it lets you stream off it whether
its from your PC or NAS, and in this case we would assume NAS since
it allows you to acceess this beautifully organized media library
on your smartphone, tablet, TV and computer with Plexs app. Some of
many streaming devices that support Plex includes Amazon FireTV,
Roku, AppleTV, Chromecast and etc. Other than streaming devices,
you could also download the Plex app on your iOS, Android and also
your PC and Mac OS. Those streaming platforms and apps would allow
you to watch and enjoy all of your media remotely and wirelessly.
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Video files use lots of storage Access from anywhere at anytime
24/7 accessibility Ability to transcode and stream Protect your
digital assets with RAID
Why do you need a NAS?
Why do you need a NAS for your Plex environment? Since
everything is now digitalized, including your photos that you take
from your phone, all the way to music that you used to be stored on
a CD, we generally store them digitally on a computer or a hard
drive. However, on a computer or a hard drive, it is limited to
what it can actually do such as remotely access your files when
youre on the go. If you were to make your PC a server, then the PC
would have to stay on 24.7 which actually is not energy saving at
all. As for a hard drive, since it does not connect to the network,
your way of actually gaining access to your media or files would
require you physically having to have the hard drive in order to
access it. So in conclusion, having a NAS allows you to remotely
access your files whenever and wherever in the most secured way.
And since videos take up lots of space, your NAS would have the
flexibility for you to expand your capacity as you go. Now,
currently each bay, or slot of a NAS supports 1 x 8TB drive. A 4
bay NAS would able to hold 48TB raw capacity.
A perfect media experience whether its a movie or video would
require a stable environment including your Plex Media Server and
your network. Since our NAS is designed to run 24/7 without having
to power off everyday like your PC, your multimedia files are
essentially online all the time. The NAS acts as your private cloud
which allows you to remotely access and enjoy your media anytime on
any device.
Transcoding is crutial when it comes to enjoying your files
smoothly without any type of interruptions. In some cases where we
store original high definition content in formats such as .mkv,
.mp4 and etc, we would often face the challenge of file
incompatibility with different streaming players. While on-the-go,
while we're about to stream high-def content stored at home,
without transcoding down to a suitable resolution would cause your
bandwith to lag. This is where Plex comes in; as it transcodes your
stored media and lets you play your media on different media
players and devices without problems.
Because Plex does not utilize hardware transcoding engines, but
rather only use software transcoding, it mainly relies on the
processor of the NAS. As some NAS on the market comes equipped with
hardware transcoding engines, keep in mind that Plex does not
utilize any hardware transcoding engine and only the power of the
CPU.
Lastly, our NAS supports multiple RAID configuration that
protects your digital content including your family videos, photos
and movies from drive failures. We support RAID 0,1,5,6,10. 4
Step 1: Installation
So now, weve explained the basics of the benefits and background
of Plex and NAS. Step 1 we will go over how to install quickly of
the Plex App from our App center. 5
Step 2: Setup Your Library In the same local network for the
first time setup Add a library for movies, TV Shows, or music
Select a folder on the NAS where your media is stored Done ->
wait for scanning
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Step 3: Link to Your Plex Account Create a Plex account on
https://plex.tv/Plex account is used to link all your devicesGo to
Settings > Server > General Enter the credentials Setup
remote access (optional)
Setup Your Library Media Preparation It's important that your
media files and library folders are named and organized in a way
Plex can recognize.Media Preparation:
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/categories/200028098-Media-Preparation
Naming toolFilebot - http://www.filebot.net Plex does not support
ISO, IMG, VIDEO_TS, and other Disk Image formatConvert it to a
proper
formathttps://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/201358273
And as to setting up your library, and preparing your media you
would need to follow some naming rules to name your files in a way
Plex can recoignize it. The links and resources are listed in this
slide, and the slide will be available for download after the
webinar is finished.
We have also included a Naming tool Filebot which will
automatically help you name the files.
Keep in minde that Plex doesnt support ISO, IMG, VIDEO_TS and
other disk image format. You would have to convert it to a proper
format. 8
Which NAS Do I Need?
Which NAS do I need? Well, we have plenty of NAS models that
support Plex, so a few things to keep in mind while choosing your
NAS. First, you should define your capacity needed, or what you
project your capacity to be since your videos will keep on growing.
Also, Do you usually store videos at 720P, or 1080P? Or are you
beginning to see yourself storing more and more 4K videos? Because
Plex is not yet supporting 4K streaming, however, some of our NAS
does support 4K playback and also 4K transcoding.
Because our models range in capacity, memory, CPU, and some port
connectivity, you can also keep in mind that if you see yourself
doing more with the NAS than just streaming Plex, you would need to
consider these factors.
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Here you see we have selected three series that we believe works
great with Plex. First the TS-x51+ is running on an Intel Baytrail
Celeron quad core processor, which comes defaulted with 2GB of ram,
and upgradable to 8GB model. This series only comes in 2 bay and 4
bay, which allows your maximum raw capacity to reach to 16TB.
Assuming we would do RAID1, mirroring the drives to protect your
files would take it down to capacity of 8TB or 24TB if we have a
RAID5 on the 4bay model. If you see on the Plexs compatibility list
that they have on their website, this particular model only
transcodes up to 720P.
The TS-x53 is also running on a Celeron, but on the newer
generation, namely the Braswell series. Memory comes defaulted with
4GB of memory and also upgradable to a 8Gb model. However, this
series comes in 2, 4, 6, 8bay which gives you more flexible in
capacity. The transcoding capabilities on this model is even more
powerful, which is stated on the Plexs compatibility list it can
stream 720P perfectly along with some lower bit rate 1080P movie
and video files.
Lastly, the TVS-x71 series is very powerful as it comes in a few
CPU options, ranging from Core i3 all the way to i7. Memory is also
flexible as you can choose between 4GB/8TB and 16GB(which is useful
in running other applications and not Plex). Keep in mind that Plex
uses only the CPU power of your NAS, and not your memory, so to
have a great streaming quality experience, the more powerful CPU
would of course guarantee a better non-lag experience. This series
can transcode 720P and 1080P beautifully. It starts from a 4 bay
and also comes in 6 and 8 bay models. 10
Appendix Use a QNAP Turbo NAS as Plex Media Server to Stream
Videoshttps://www.qnap.com/i/useng/tutorial/con_show.php?op=showone&cid=72
Share Your Plex Media Server with
Friendshttp://blog.qnap.com/share-plex-media-server-friends/Plex
Compatibility
listhttps://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/201373803-NAS-Compatibility-List
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