Movie Collection to HTPC

[BoredSysAdmin]

It's not guaranteed but it is very very likely to support it.

actually I thought I posted a reply here yesterday, not sure where it went, but anyhow - there was a talk on intel forums about multiplier support on H67 and Intel rep said despite the hardware support is there, the driver is not supporting it yet and they are working on it...

edit:
here it is:
http://communities.intel.com/message/133881 - message #7

 

[aberkowitz]

Just got back from another trip... for some reason the site wasn't working well on my iPad.

Anyway, the mobo I'm looking at is the ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com.

It has 8 SATA ports, and per Newegg 6 of them are supported by Hardware based RAID. I double-checked the ASRock webpage and manual to confirm. Now, 4 of them are SATA 2 ports and 2 of them are SATA 3 ports, but I didn't think that would make a difference. If I'm wrong about that, then I'm assuming I could use a software-based solution.

 

[aberkowitz]

For htpc use getting a even a mid-range dedicated gpu is an overkill, but intel is infamous for terrible drivers and If you intend to directly connect this machine to tv you might want to get lower end radeon 5xxx series card or above for better HDMI support.

Speaking of MicroITX - I strongly considered this case: LIAN LI PC-Q08B Black Aluminum Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case - Newegg.com
just found this one too:
Fractal Design Node 304 FD-CA-NODE-304-BL Black Aluminum / Steel Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case - Newegg.com

Thanks for the reco on the graphics card. Again, I've read differing opinions on HDMI support from the mobo. The largest part of my project is going to be ripping all of my movies, and given my "free time" these days I'm assuming that will take a long while. I may stick with the mobo connection and test it out, saving a graphics card purchase for later if I think I need it... even though I know reopening the box can be a pain.

I think I'm going to go with the Silverstone box I linked above. I like how it looks, and it's big enough to expand if I ever need/want to.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Just got back from another trip... for some reason the site wasn't working well on my iPad.

Anyway, the mobo I'm looking at is the ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com.

It has 8 SATA ports, and per Newegg 6 of them are supported by Hardware based RAID. I double-checked the ASRock webpage and manual to confirm. Now, 4 of them are SATA 2 ports and 2 of them are SATA 3 ports, but I didn't think that would make a difference. If I'm wrong about that, then I'm assuming I could use a software-based solution.

Just to be on the safe side I would pick Sata3 SSD and sata2 drives... I GUESS that intel raid would work across sata2/sata3 drives, but your guess is as good as mine. The manual is silent about such configuration and takes great effort to mention sata2 and sata3 separately.... I would contact AsRock directly just be sure. Also make sure that Asmedia sata3 ports are enabled to boot from.

 

[aberkowitz]

So I went ahead and purchased the components I had mentioned above, with the Silverstone GD08B case, SILVERSTONE Grandia Series SST-GD08B HTPC Case - Newegg.com. Physical construction took a good portion of a rainy afternoon, toddler kept trying to "help daddy", and aside from one of the Seagate drives being DOA everything seems to be working. I'm awaiting my replacement drive, arriving this week, so I haven't been able to set up RAID yet.

MakeMKV works like a charm- I'm a huge fan of being able to strip out multiple languages and non-essential data, and Plex Server/Player were easy to set up and seem to be working well (the plexaeon skin is a must download). Given the size of my BD/DVD collection and limited hours in the day, I foresee a long lead period to getting everything ripped. I will provide a further update and pictures when I get things further along.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I've used DVDFab for so long to rip every BD/DVD.

I also use DVDFab to convert BD to DVD in some cases.

I use MediaCoder (free) to convert my files to MP4 for iOS (iPad) and Android (Xoom).

I use PDVD for media playback throughout my house network.

I am glad I ripped Inception BD, because for some mysterious reasons, I can't seem to find the hard copy now.

 

[panteragstk]

So I went ahead and purchased the components I had mentioned above, with the Silverstone GD08B case, SILVERSTONE Grandia Series SST-GD08B HTPC Case - Newegg.com. Physical construction took a good portion of a rainy afternoon, toddler kept trying to "help daddy", and aside from one of the Seagate drives being DOA everything seems to be working. I'm awaiting my replacement drive, arriving this week, so I haven't been able to set up RAID yet.

MakeMKV works like a charm- I'm a huge fan of being able to strip out multiple languages and non-essential data, and Plex Server/Player were easy to set up and seem to be working well (the plexaeon skin is a must download). Given the size of my BD/DVD collection and limited hours in the day, I foresee a long lead period to getting everything ripped. I will provide a further update and pictures when I get things further along.

If you aren't a plexpass member I'd grab that before the lifetime membership goes away. The pre-release stuff and plex home theater is pretty great. My only issue is that I haven't gotten it to work all that well with my Roku 3 yet. Not a big deal, but it would be pretty cool to have that little $99 box play all my bd's instead of having to have a HTPC front end.

I'll mention unRAID since nobody else has. It can run plex as on of it's apps and also supports all kinds of other things. It is a software RAID solution which for me is great just for the simple fact that with a hardware (or intel software RAID) raid card you run the risk of the actual card dying and having issues rebuilding the array with the same model of replacement card or trying to find one that is compatible. I've read some bad things about the on-board motherboard RAID being a problem if the board dies. You can't rebuild the array.

With unRAID, as long as the version is compatible you can rebuild your data without issue. I've had this discussion with my on-site guy (I'm not a server admin anymore, so I'm a bit behind on current business trends) and he says RAID 5 and 6 are "old" and outdated. They use RAID 10 now. Granted, you're talking much larger storage needs, and much higher speeds, but it would be fun to play with.

RAID 5 and 6 are great, it just depends on how much parity you really want. unRAID is essentially raid 4 where like RAID 5 you have single drive parity, but it is on a single drive as opposed to spread across all drives. The benefit of unRAID is that even if you have a dual disk failure (which in RAID 5 you are pretty much screwed, RAID 6 you're good) you can still save the data off the drives that are ok as they can be read by any linux distro (basically you would use a UBCD or something linux based to get your data, pretty easy). I don't know of another solution that has that capability.

Another good thing about unRAID (like flexRAID) is that you don't need expensive hardware controllers to have large arrays. You can get a normal SAS card (SATA compatible) like this one that supports 8 drives including over 2tb drives. Only $110. Lots of future expandability.

Ok. I'll stop now, but this is a fun project when you're building, and when you're done it just works. Pretty awesome.

 

[DotJun]

You need to ask yourself a few basic questions:

1. Are you going to rip to iso? This offers the best chance for compatibility with all players but requires a lot more storage.

2. Are you going to transcode with dxva parameters? This will be middle of the roads as far as compatibility and storage size goes.

3. Are you going to transcode with non-dxva params? This will net the smallest file sizes and will only play on capable (pretty much any dual core newer than an intel p4) non-hardware players. It should also net better pq than the #2 option.

Someone mentioned earlier to put an ssd into the file server but I found that there is no need for this since the server doesn't need to be fast for file serving purposes. Also, the server never shuts down so fast boot/wake up isn't necessary.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

You need to ask yourself a few basic questions:

1. Are you going to rip to iso? This offers the best chance for compatibility with all players but requires a lot more storage.

2. Are you going to transcode with dxva parameters? This will be middle of the roads as far as compatibility and storage size goes.

3. Are you going to transcode with non-dxva params? This will net the smallest file sizes and will only play on capable (pretty much any dual core newer than an intel p4) non-hardware players. It should also net better pq than the #2 option.

Someone mentioned earlier to put an ssd into the file server but I found that there is no need for this since the server doesn't need to be fast for file serving purposes. Also, the server never shuts down so fast boot/wake up isn't necessary.

What media player are you using to play back ISO? And can it play 5.1 DD and 5.1 DTS?

 

[aberkowitz]

If you aren't a plexpass member I'd grab that before the lifetime membership goes away. The pre-release stuff and plex home theater is pretty great. My only issue is that I haven't gotten it to work all that well with my Roku 3 yet. Not a big deal, but it would be pretty cool to have that little $99 box play all my bd's instead of having to have a HTPC front end.

I'll mention unRAID since nobody else has. It can run plex as on of it's apps and also supports all kinds of other things. It is a software RAID solution which for me is great just for the simple fact that with a hardware (or intel software RAID) raid card you run the risk of the actual card dying and having issues rebuilding the array with the same model of replacement card or trying to find one that is compatible. I've read some bad things about the on-board motherboard RAID being a problem if the board dies. You can't rebuild the array.

With unRAID, as long as the version is compatible you can rebuild your data without issue. I've had this discussion with my on-site guy (I'm not a server admin anymore, so I'm a bit behind on current business trends) and he says RAID 5 and 6 are "old" and outdated. They use RAID 10 now. Granted, you're talking much larger storage needs, and much higher speeds, but it would be fun to play with.

RAID 5 and 6 are great, it just depends on how much parity you really want. unRAID is essentially raid 4 where like RAID 5 you have single drive parity, but it is on a single drive as opposed to spread across all drives. The benefit of unRAID is that even if you have a dual disk failure (which in RAID 5 you are pretty much screwed, RAID 6 you're good) you can still save the data off the drives that are ok as they can be read by any linux distro (basically you would use a UBCD or something linux based to get your data, pretty easy). I don't know of another solution that has that capability.

Another good thing about unRAID (like flexRAID) is that you don't need expensive hardware controllers to have large arrays. You can get a normal SAS card (SATA compatible) like this one that supports 8 drives including over 2tb drives. Only $110. Lots of future expandability.

Ok. I'll stop now, but this is a fun project when you're building, and when you're done it just works. Pretty awesome.

Appreciate the suggestions. For now I'm going with a hardware RAID solution, although there's a ton of info out there suggesting that any RAID solution (software or hardware) is a waste of time and effort. I only just initiated the RAID array last night, so the process is still running to get 11TB finalized. unRAID is one of the software solutions that I looked at in addition to flexRAID- I just went with the hardware solution. There seems to be no right or wrong here- just lots of opinions!

 

[jinjuku]

Appreciate the suggestions. For now I'm going with a hardware RAID solution, although there's a ton of info out there suggesting that any RAID solution (software or hardware) is a waste of time and effort.

There is also a lot of numbnuts that don't know what they are talking about. You don't need RAID until a drive fails if you catch my drift. Un-raid, flexraid, et al are still just devices spreading around parity and you still lose one drives worth of information.

BTW RAID 0 is a misnomer since R stands for REDUNDANT (this is for any person new to the thread). Just wanted to put that out there.

 

[aberkowitz]

There is also a lot of numbnuts that don't know what they are talking about. You don't need RAID until a drive fails if you catch my drift. Un-raid, flexraid, et al are still just devices spreading around parity and you still lose one drives worth of information.

Trust me- I completely understand... hence why I made the decision that I did. I was slightly shocked, although maybe I shouldn't have been, at the level of vitriol surrounding RAID. You'd almost think we were talking about $1000 speaker wire

 

[DotJun]

What media player are you using to play back ISO? And can it play 5.1 DD and 5.1 DTS?

I don't do iso. I do option #3 using my own params.

 

[DotJun]

Appreciate the suggestions. For now I'm going with a hardware RAID solution, although there's a ton of info out there suggesting that any RAID solution (software or hardware) is a waste of time and effort. I only just initiated the RAID array last night, so the process is still running to get 11TB finalized. unRAID is one of the software solutions that I looked at in addition to flexRAID- I just went with the hardware solution. There seems to be no right or wrong here- just lots of opinions!

At those sizes I highly recommend raid 6. The rebuild time takes days. I had it happen once before switching to 6.

 

[jinjuku]

I like all the people that think RAID is a backup solution. Ton of them out there too.

 

[Grador]

I like all the people that think RAID is a backup solution. Ton of them out there too.

I would love to set up RAID, but it will NEVER replace my redundant drives I keep off site. Given that for me to be satisfied with data security with a raid array I would need 2N+1 drives, I think I'll probably just stick with my backups.

 

[panteragstk]

I like all the people that think RAID is a backup solution. Ton of them out there too.

I think that's the biggest misconception of RAID. As you said, you don't need it until a drive fails. All it was ever intended to do was serve as was protection in case of failure. Since we're talking about ripping movies, we all (should) have disc copies as a true backup.

As of now I just have drives with movies on them. No RAID, nothing. I've been going back and forth deciding on whether or not I even want a RAID solution for the reasons I put in my first post. Still can't decide.

 

[jotham]

I've been down the RAID path as well as Linux and it just seemed like I was becoming a server admin which isn't what I was interested in. The Windows Home Server approach seemed nice until they hamstrung it in WHS 2011.

Nowadays, I use Stablebit DrivePool to handle on-site duplication of data and Crashplan Unlimited for off-site backup. It's idiot proof and I periodically check it to make sure it is actually doing the job.
StableBit - The home of StableBit DrivePool and the StableBit Scanner

I'm streaming BlueRay/HD DVD MKVs to usually only one computer at a time so I'm not sure about it's capacity for multiple streams but even with a normal Core 2 Duo, it has no issues. Even though I'm putting my faith in a piece of software, I can see how it works under the covers and it doesn't have a lot of the issues that RAID has.

 

[panteragstk]

I've been down the RAID path as well as Linux and it just seemed like I was becoming a server admin which isn't what I was interested in. The Windows Home Server approach seemed nice until they hamstrung it in WHS 2011.

Nowadays, I use Stablebit DrivePool to handle on-site duplication of data and Crashplan Unlimited for off-site backup. It's idiot proof and I periodically check it to make sure it is actually doing the job.
StableBit - The home of StableBit DrivePool and the StableBit Scanner

I'm streaming BlueRay/HD DVD MKVs to usually only one computer at a time so I'm not sure about it's capacity for multiple streams but even with a normal Core 2 Duo, it has no issues. Even though I'm putting my faith in a piece of software, I can see how it works under the covers and it doesn't have a lot of the issues that RAID has.

That looks pretty interesting. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Grador]

I've been down the RAID path as well as Linux and it just seemed like I was becoming a server admin which isn't what I was interested in. The Windows Home Server approach seemed nice until they hamstrung it in WHS 2011.

Nowadays, I use Stablebit DrivePool to handle on-site duplication of data and Crashplan Unlimited for off-site backup. It's idiot proof and I periodically check it to make sure it is actually doing the job.
StableBit - The home of StableBit DrivePool and the StableBit Scanner

I'm streaming BlueRay/HD DVD MKVs to usually only one computer at a time so I'm not sure about it's capacity for multiple streams but even with a normal Core 2 Duo, it has no issues. Even though I'm putting my faith in a piece of software, I can see how it works under the covers and it doesn't have a lot of the issues that RAID has.

Am I reading this correctly: stablebit will automatically duplicate folders on separate drives. If I wanted 100% file redundancy I would need a full 2x the number of storage drives?