A PC just for Streaming and possible transcoding video

[RealPetChicken]

Any chance a PC like it exists? it should run low in power, and it would stay on most of the day, and it's only use would be for streaming and maybe transcoding files on the fly?

 

[ToxicXGL]

You could always construct your own but for streaming would it be games? If so you would want a fairly decent video card depending on how good looking you want your content to be and for low power you could try to look for bronze power supplys power consumption really comes down to the system as a whole I think you can find some parts that use less power. Try this forum out for some info http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=4419. As well if u want good smooth streams your gonna need a good internet provider

Did some more research and if your going to encode you should look at an i5 quad core minimum

 

[RealPetChicken]

You could always construct your own but for streaming would it be games? If so you would want a fairly decent video card depending on how good looking you want your content to be and for low power you could try to look for bronze power supplys power consumption really comes down to the system as a whole I think you can find some parts that use less power. Try this forum out for some info Low Power PC Build for Streaming / NAS - SmallNetBuilder Forums. As well if u want good smooth streams your gonna need a good internet provider

Did some more research and if your going to encode you should look at an i5 quad core minimum

basically it is going to act like a server, it would be just serve to stream content (movies/tv shows) throughtout my house wirelessly. Example, i have the Plex Server App, i would like to stream through all my devices.

Thanks for your answer.

 

[ToxicXGL]

Turns out you don't need much.

http://wiki.plexapp.com/index.php/PlexNine_PMS_SysRequirements

Says for streaming 1080p and transcoding all you need is a 2.4 GHz+ and more than 2GB of ram

Depending where you live you could probably get a good PC for a low price

http://m.futureshop.ca/?cache_first...etails.aspx?ajax=true&sku=10262662&lang=en-CA
This processor is way more than you need

 

[kbrady1979]

I use Plex as well and stream TV Shows and Movies from my computer to the main TV and the TV in the bedroom. I just have a few hard drives in this computer and point Plex to those directories. If you wanted a standalone unit to do that, you wouldn't need much. If there was any way possible, I would use an ethernet connection IF you have really high bandwidth HD content.

As for the PC, what kind of budget do you have for it?

 

[RealPetChicken]

Turns out you don't need much.

http://wiki.plexapp.com/index.php/PlexNine_PMS_SysRequirements

Says for streaming 1080p and transcoding all you need is a 2.4 GHz+ and more than 2GB of ram

Depending where you live you could probably get a good PC for a low price

http://m.futureshop.ca/?cache_first...etails.aspx?ajax=true&sku=10262662&lang=en-CA
This processor is way more than you need

Cool, thanks for the link.

I use Plex as well and stream TV Shows and Movies from my computer to the main TV and the TV in the bedroom. I just have a few hard drives in this computer and point Plex to those directories. If you wanted a standalone unit to do that, you wouldn't need much. If there was any way possible, I would use an ethernet connection IF you have really high bandwidth HD content.

As for the PC, what kind of budget do you have for it?

My friend, that is exactly what I want to do. Do you mind paying your specs? Or any suggestions? I would want to stream 1080p movies.

 

[kbrady1979]

The PC is just my main PC with some 2 and 4TB hard drives in it. You can build anything from a NAS with several terabytes of storage in it, to an old out of date PC cleaned up with a fresh install of Win 7 on it.
If you have to stream content over wireless, you may find that you will need a new router. I stream to my Samsung TV and Blu Ray player which support the Plex App and my TV in the living room is connected to my router with an ethernet cable, and the Blu Ray in the bedroom is wireless. Some content I have won't stream wirelessly without some buffering, such as straight blu ray rips with a very high bitrate.

 

[RealPetChicken]

The PC is just my main PC with some 2 and 4TB hard drives in it. You can build anything from a NAS with several terabytes of storage in it, to an old out of date PC cleaned up with a fresh install of Win 7 on it.
If you have to stream content over wireless, you may find that you will need a new router. I stream to my Samsung TV and Blu Ray player which support the Plex App and my TV in the living room is connected to my router with an ethernet cable, and the Blu Ray in the bedroom is wireless. Some content I have won't stream wirelessly without some buffering, such as straight blu ray rips with a very high bitrate.

I have a great router, and I download at 3MB and upload 1MB I should be good in wireless streaming.

 

[kbrady1979]

Your Internet speeds and your network(LAN) speeds are different. My TV and Blu Ray player have 10/100 Ethernet ports, and my computer and router have 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports. Your maximum LAN speed is determined by the slowest interface, so in my case 100Mbps, which is 12.5MB/s. 10Mbps = 1.25MB/s and 1000Mbps, or Gigabit LAN, = 125MB/s. Those are all theoretical numbers and there will be some overhead which reduces your total bandwidth, but a wired connection should be really close to that. For wireless, you just need a clean signal, and at least Wireless N 150 or better. I have a dual band Wireless N 900(450Mbps+450Mbps) router with 3 external antennas and can't stream some of my content flawlessly.

 

[RealPetChicken]

Your Internet speeds and your network(LAN) speeds are different. My TV and Blu Ray player have 10/100 Ethernet ports, and my computer and router have 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports. Your maximum LAN speed is determined by the slowest interface, so in my case 100Mbps, which is 12.5MB/s. 10Mbps = 1.25MB/s and 1000Mbps, or Gigabit LAN, = 125MB/s. Those are all theoretical numbers and there will be some overhead which reduces your total bandwidth, but a wired connection should be really close to that. For wireless, you just need a clean signal, and at least Wireless N 150 or better. I have a dual band Wireless N 900(450Mbps+450Mbps) router with 3 external antennas and can't stream some of my content flawlessly.

Oh OK, well I am hoping for the best, I think my router should work fine. Thanks for the answer

 

[kbrady1979]

No problem. I don't know what kind of router you have, I was just saying it is a critical piece in the network when you stream HD content on your home network. Anything else you have questions about, let me know. As far as your original question, you can use your existing computer, or you can build a new media box. The deciding factor is how much do you want to spend.

 

[NoN]

Any chance a PC like it exists? it should run low in power, and it would stay on most of the day, and it's only use would be for streaming and maybe transcoding files on the fly?

You could also use the technologies such as DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) with a motherboard compatible.

Asus Wifi Go! solution on some of their motherboards middle range does offer streaming over wifi networks 802.11n Wi-Fi - 150Mbps. Windows 7 actually supports DLNA streaming through its 'Play to' feature inside Windows Media Player 12

 

[RealPetChicken]

No problem. I don't know what kind of router you have, I was just saying it is a critical piece in the network when you stream HD content on your home network. Anything else you have questions about, let me know. As far as your original question, you can use your existing computer, or you can build a new media box. The deciding factor is how much do you want to spend.

I will check the router when I get home.

 

[RealPetChicken]

Any chance a PC like it exists? it should run low in power, and it would stay on most of the day, and it's only use would be for streaming and maybe transcoding files on the fly?

You could also use the technologies such as DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) with a motherboard compatible.

Asus Wifi Go! solution on some of their motherboards middle range does offer streaming over wifi networks 802.11n Wi-Fi - 150Mbps. Windows 7 actually supports DLNA streaming through its 'Play to' feature inside Windows Media Player 12

I have heard of DLNA. How about if I want to stream from lets say work from the PC at home. Can that be done.

 

[kbrady1979]

It can be done with Plex.

 

[RealPetChicken]

my router is a netgear wndr4500. Plex is sounding a like great buy already, i bought the app through the google play store, and been streaming to my nexus 7.

 

[NoN]

Any chance a PC like it exists? it should run low in power, and it would stay on most of the day, and it's only use would be for streaming and maybe transcoding files on the fly?

You could also use the technologies such as DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) with a motherboard compatible.

Asus Wifi Go! solution on some of their motherboards middle range does offer streaming over wifi networks 802.11n Wi-Fi - 150Mbps. Windows 7 actually supports DLNA streaming through its 'Play to' feature inside Windows Media Player 12

I have heard of DLNA. How about if I want to stream from lets say work from the PC at home. Can that be done.

Don't know for sure. Have a look here: Wi-Fi GO!

 

[kbrady1979]

I have it on my Kindle Fire HD as well, and it works great!

 

[RealPetChicken]

I will start looking for a new PC to build, thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[kbrady1979]

Cool, is it just going to be a streaming box, or an HTPC?