Home entertainment with NAS?
Hi!
My goal:
I want to set up a beamer projector in my flat and connect that to some kind of 'always on' machine with which I can stream (currently Netflix a bit but that really is not a priority as I am thinking of cancelling it) but would also like it to be a torrent client (I have a VPN) to download some media.
Though something like popcorn time would also be nice, though that's also something that I would only use behind a vpn for obvious reasons.
I have a pi5 or and some older NUCs hanging around that run well with Ubuntu. I know that something like kodi does not play nice with Netflix (iirc because of drm).
Should I use the pi? Or better an Ubuntu and do the power management best I can myself?
What would you guys say is a good way to try this out?
Edit: TIL I thought beamer is a word that German borrows from English, so I assumed it's the same. Nope, in German 'beamer' has very weird roots (https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Videoprojektor) so Germany stole an English word 'beam' but it meant project... Weird
FYI: What you call a "Beamer" in German you would call a "projector" in english. I would edit the post, or else people will think you want to set up star trek technology. ;)
Okay I never knew that, I would also accept tips for setting up a star trek beamer though xD
Ray guns everywhere please. Stepped into that beamer trap once, only for my non-DE colleagues to tease me forever with it.
The German language is strange like that.. often using English words for an entirely different meaning.
Did you use a Handy to write this comment?
Maybe they are illuminating their living room with the front end of a BMW.
Better yet, it's a Pimp My Ride style makeover that replaces those unused turn signals with a projection system for an instant drive-in movie experience.
Beamer?
You want to connect your BMW to Netflix?
An iPad and a roll of duct tape should do it...
German term for projector.
American term for German car.
kringelig
Motorcycle, actually.
Idealy you want a server that runs all the time and some kind of a player connected to projector for streaming. You can use your rpi for server, but NUC sounds better since it probably has SATA or m.2 port for storage. Raspbian or Ubuntu doesnt matter much since both are Debian based and setup should be simmilar. Look into servarr if you are interested in automated downloads. Then get Jellyfin for Netflix like experience with your local library. Most clients support Jellyfin player and Im using android TV stick. I have just ordered ChromeCast with Google TV 4K to replacce my old 1080p Xiaomi TV stick. You can also install Netflix app on any Android device.
It is also possible to plug your server directly to projector via hdmi, but then you have to install server apps together with client apps on the same machine. I guess you need a wifi keyboard and mouse for remote control. Having 2 devices is better IMO, but it should work as single device.
Rpi or NUC can also be used as a player, but got no experience in setting that up and Android box is better solution for me anyway
A lazy option to set up a player (what I do a t least), is installing via flatpak Jellyfin Media Player. For android, installing from F-droid.
There are 3rd party plugins for kodi to work with a lot of streaming services, using your account and not 'cheating' in any way that's obvious to me.
Netflix: https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=329767
Fairly extensive collection: https://github.com/matthuisman/slyguy.addons
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
9 acronyms in this thread; the most compressed thread commented on today has 17 acronyms.
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I have a very similar setup like you. A NUC is providing NAS functionality and is running 24/7. An AppleTV is connected to the projector and has all the apps I need for consuming media (Jellyfin, Netflix, etc.). The NAS is running OG Debian with SMB, Jellyfin and even NFS for easy access.
The NUC provides additional features like synching and a few other things.
Why the AppleTV? Because I had Raspis, FireTVs, PCs, and whatnot connected to the projector and the AppleTV is hands down the most convenient one. The UI is super reduced and simple. The remote works. You can get just about every app you might need. And maintainance is basically zero.
What is your HDD setup using the NUC? Are you just using external drives via USB?
Just external - I know it's not the best solution. My setup grew on a tight budget over the last 10 years and for me it was the easiest, most affordable, and extendable/replaceable way. I don't need super fast drives in my home and I don't need backups for most of the data stored on a media server. So it kind of is just a bunch of disks with a NUC.
The internal drive for the system is an SSD though. Came with the computer.
I do it like that.
8TB external drive on an 11th i5 gen nuc.
Almost every service is dockerized because I can't be bothered to manage the dependencies.
I've just been looking for a future solution when I retire my desktop. I wanted a lower power PC like a NUC but I currently have 9 or 10 HDDs in the PC which won't work as a bunch of external enclosures and a NAS would be not worth the money for this many drives.
Maybe I'll just get an i5 with QuickSync and an ITX or micro ATX for the next revision
I do this and just run Ubuntu on a Thinkcenter tiny.
Then this for input off the sofa.
I also put a few Braille dots on few buttons and glow in the dark paint on a few important dots to make it more usable which really works, Braille especially.
Then... A few bookmarks in the firefox, jellyfin, navidrome, Spotify, vlc/MPV from mounted NAS etc.
I don't bother with any media/apps interface, I mostly see them as annoying and not needed with this KB/trackball setup.
Then...Bob's your uncle!
My future plans include setting up a NAS storage and connecting that to a Pi which would be always on. The Pi would be a torrent seeder, and a Plex/Jellyfin server as well.
This way my trusty desktop computer can rest after being on 24/7 for like 4 years now. Poor thing.
I haven't tried this yet, so I can't report on how well it works. But maybe it can serve as inspiration for you.
This is what I had in mind as well; If you had to how would you add a beamer to this that could use your jellyfin/plex server?
Ideally I'd want a pi or mini pc behind the beamer that I can switch on/off remotely so that part is not always on
If the projector supports apps, maybe it can run Plex/Jellyfin? Otherwise maybe I would have another small Pi or a small laptop or something that would use the projector as its output. I'm assuming the projector doesn't support HDR so a regular browser connecting to Plex could work.
I just use my HDR-enabled smart TV to connect to Plex and Jellyfin. 🤷♂️
In my experience, 2 devices will ultimately save you effort and frustration. Anything you choose as a good NAS/seedbox will be unlikely to have a good from the couch interface or handle Netflix reliable and easily. A small Android TV box may have a much better interface, simple app setup, and support all the streaming services, but probably won't be very powerful or convenient to use as a NAS. The NAS is always on, plugged directly into the Internet access point, and tucked away out of sight and sound. The Android TV or Apple TV box is silent, small, and can be mounted directly to the Beamer/Projector.
Yes, Kodi exists and it's add-ons can bridge this gap. But I still think that a SBC NAS running Jellyfin or plex + an Nvidia shield with jellyfin, Plex, Netflix, Spotify, YouTube, amaon, etc. will be so much easier to setup, manage, find support for, and upgrade.
I have a similar setup even though my server has a direct HDMI link to my TV. I'm not a fan of viewing using the server it from the couch. Setting up IR remotes sucks always. And it's confusing for anyone but me to use. But if my Nvidia Shield dies or I'm having network trouble, VLC a pretty good backup.
I have this currently. Been running steady for 5 years now. I have 2 5tb portable hdds as my storage (usb3) and all the arrs, plex media server and qbittorrent with the vpn and a kill switch so if the vpn goes down the torrents aren’t running. Everything just works as long as nothing needs transcoded. My main tv is Roku and seems to handle all the file formats so it been working fine for me. YMMV.
Currently I am trying to learn docker and containerize all the different apps to make redeployment simpler.
If you have a NUC, i would use that.
Anytime i try something like this with RPi type gizmo's, i always run into problems. Overkill with a NUC could make your life much easier :D
in addition to servarr, which was already mentioned, you can use Stremio. its similar to popcorntime and a lot simpler than setting up and maintaining servarr.
an RPi's processing power can handle your use case as long as packages are available for its architecture, it shouldnt be a problem on common usecases.
you can use it to stream games from another machine using sunshine/moonlight too.