Budget 90k+ FreeNAS Build Advice

That is where Plex shines. I see it as a one stop for all local content, plus has support for Plex cloud. Since you have already decided on the Synology, ensure you get a model which can do hardware transcoding.

Sadly, I doubt you will get 10GbE along with the models. Secondly, I doubt you will be able to saturate a 10GbE line, but it should top at 2~2.5Gbps or so if done right on both sides.

I doubt there will be any Prime deals here in India for the Synology, plus I believe they do not honour online warranties.

I have tried Plex Media Server in the past, but have never really needed it. I have simply used network shares via OMV and media players like VLC. I did think of a Plex build too, but then decided all that hassle wasn't really worth it especially considering the Nvidia Shield.

Yup, no 10 Gb ethernet for the Synology, but the 1 Gbps should more than suffice for its intended use.

Indian pricing for Synology is way off base, and should not even be a consideration. I am going the route of Amazon.com, and even with import duties the 918+ is costing around 56K, while Amazon India lists the same for 65K.

Hopefully, some Prime Day deals on the Nvidia Shield or HDDs if not on the Synology. Even otherwise the Amazon.com pricing still wins over local pricing.
 
I have tried Plex Media Server in the past, but have never really needed it. I have simply used network shares via OMV and media players like VLC. I did think of a Plex build too, but then decided all that hassle wasn't really worth it especially considering the Nvidia Shield.

Yup, no 10 Gb ethernet for the Synology, but the 1 Gbps should more than suffice for its intended use.

Indian pricing for Synology is way off base, and should not even be a consideration. I am going the route of Amazon.com, and even with import duties the 918+ is costing around 56K, while Amazon India lists the same for 65K.

Hopefully, some Prime Day deals on the Nvidia Shield or HDDs if not on the Synology. Even otherwise the Amazon.com pricing still wins over local pricing.

You wanted the apps, but did not consider the Plex app? I feel it is pretty good, was using with @cyberwarfare Plex server for quite some time. Albeit, only for movies and TV shows, not for photos et all.

Pricing for Syn is extremely stupid. Optionally, consider the QNAPs as well, but not on the same level.
 
This is more of a gathering information phase, haven't really decided on anything yet.

I will certainly keep your recommendation for the i3 in mind.

Thanks!

i3 most likely will not have ECC support so best to avoid it. If budget is a constraint my suggestion would be to go with G4620 which supports ECC. My preferred choice is a Xeon though.
 
That is where Plex shines. I see it as a one stop for all local content, plus has support for Plex cloud. Since you have already decided on the Synology, ensure you get a model which can do hardware transcoding.

Sadly, I doubt you will get 10GbE along with the models. Secondly, I doubt you will be able to saturate a 10GbE line, but it should top at 2~2.5Gbps or so if done right on both sides.

I doubt there will be any Prime deals here in India for the Synology, plus I believe they do not honour online warranties.
On a completely off-topic note, I am having a very good time with infuse.. as end-user friendly as it gets , cheap (79/- a month) , and handles 4K as well as reg HD with elan!
It's not a transcoder but somehow manages stutter-free playback on everything
Not sure if you are on Android or iOS/tvOS but if it's the latter, strongly recommend you take a look
 
My vote goes to Emby over Plex since the former is opensource and works quite well.

I believe Emby is not as good as Plex when it comes to metadata. While picking up the Plex Pass I was also not sure which to pick since Emby was a good ~45 USD less.

Also, they are not really open source, I remember reading about it.
 
i3 most likely will not have ECC support so best to avoid it. If budget is a constraint my suggestion would be to go with G4620 which supports ECC. My preferred choice is a Xeon though.

Not really. With later versions of Core i series - I believe 4th gen onwards, Intel allowed ECC support for entry level Celeron/Pentiums and i3 while not allowing for i5 and i7. This may have changed now to include the i5 and i7s as well, you need to check.
 
I believe Emby is not as good as Plex when it comes to metadata. While picking up the Plex Pass I was also not sure which to pick since Emby was a good ~45 USD less.

Also, they are not really open source, I remember reading about it.
Emby source code is at https://github.com/MediaBrowser/Emby?files=1

The mobile app is paid though.
Not really. With later versions of Core i series - I believe 4th gen onwards, Intel allowed ECC support for entry level Celeron/Pentiums and i3 while not allowing for i5 and i7. This may have changed now to include the i5 and i7s as well, you need to check.
There is some confusion about ECC support on i3. There was a mismatch between Intel ark description and reality. Hence the G series pentiums was a safer choice. I am not following that anymore as i prefer Xeons exclusively.
 
Emby source code is at https://github.com/MediaBrowser/Emby?files=1

The mobile app is paid though. There is some confusion about ECC support on i3. There was a mismatch between Intel ark description and reality. Hence the G series pentiums was a safer choice. I am not following that anymore as i prefer Xeons exclusively.

OT - this is worth a read - https://github.com/MediaBrowser/Emby/issues/3075

I think that ECC mismatch is no longer an issue. Xeons are in another class altogether.
 
I have tried Plex Media Server in the past, but have never really needed it. I have simply used network shares via OMV and media players like VLC. I did think of a Plex build too, but then decided all that hassle wasn't really worth it especially considering the Nvidia Shield.

Yup, no 10 Gb ethernet for the Synology, but the 1 Gbps should more than suffice for its intended use.

Indian pricing for Synology is way off base, and should not even be a consideration. I am going the route of Amazon.com, and even with import duties the 918+ is costing around 56K, while Amazon India lists the same for 65K.

Hopefully, some Prime Day deals on the Nvidia Shield or HDDs if not on the Synology. Even otherwise the Amazon.com pricing still wins over local pricing.
I was in the same (or at least similar) boat as you several years ago.. was about to buy a Ds216 till someone recommended xpenology to me ..
I was like , well, no harm in trying before I buy..
The end result was a system that took 30 mins to setup and another hour to install - and lasted me a bunch of years
And would have lasted a lot more if not for my decision to move to a virtualised setup

the point I am trying to make is this:
If you are willing to spend (more than) some time setting up a system that is functionally a lot better than a off-the-shelf NAS, and as transparent to the end user , if not more, you should look at setting up a low power i3 setup running Debian or Mint or similar..either virtualised for future flexibility or a dedicated install

If you are willing to spend a little less time, look at OMV ..or xpenology if you are enamoured by the presentation layer of synology
Either way, the end user wouldn't know or care what's on the back end

If you want a near zero installation time system, get the sinology
 
The 750W Power Supply seems a bit over-dimensioned. I think 550W or 650W for 12 drives should be enough.If you know now already that you're filling the chassis with 12 drives at some time or other, then I would make now a vdev (RAIDZ2) with 6 drives and add another 6 drives in future.
 
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