QNAP NAS with 'only' 2GB RAM?

The TVR must be on axle stands powering the beast of a storage system. Great to have a Naim Guy posting his system....it puts the comments in perspectives.......he probably knows more than me...... a given

Just in reference to the comments about the price of RAM - a quick Google turned up an 8gb ram upgrade for the QNAP TS251 at £31.50 - maybe the bubble has burst?

[@mention:1566878603985147] - what software do you use to rip DVDs? My wife would like some of ours ripped to the QNAP to remove them from the living room.

If you'll accept a reply from someone who isn't Phil, I'll be happy to tell you what we use to put video on our QNAP.

trickydickie posted:

Here's a picture of Phil's incremental backup from last night

*chuckle* ... I wonder what the stack of floppies to back it all up really would look like!

I actually have an additional 24 bay 4U "home brew" server which has another 15 bays in an external enclosure and is tucked out of the way which is spun up once a month (on a timer) to do an incremental snapshot of the whole media collection, emails me to tell me whether it encountered any problems and then shuts itself down.

Phil

Yes, please!

Phil Harris posted:

trickydickie posted:

Here's a picture of Phil's incremental backup from last night

*chuckle* ... I wonder what the stack of floppies to back it all up really would look like!

I actually have an additional 24 bay 4U "home brew" server which has another 15 bays in an external enclosure and is tucked out of the way which is spun up once a month (on a timer) to do an incremental snapshot of the whole media collection, emails me to tell me whether it encountered any problems and then shuts itself down.

Phil

Is your dwelling more server room than house?

Must be all those TVR Haynes repair manuals downloaded from You tube taking up all the space...????

Gavin B posted:

[@mention:1566878603985147] - what software do you use to rip DVDs? My wife would like some of ours ripped to the QNAP to remove them from the living room.

I use AnyDVD_HD and Clone_DVD from redfox ...

Phil

Gavin B posted:

Phil Harris posted:

trickydickie posted:

Here's a picture of Phil's incremental backup from last night

*chuckle* ... I wonder what the stack of floppies to back it all up really would look like!

I actually have an additional 24 bay 4U "home brew" server which has another 15 bays in an external enclosure and is tucked out of the way which is spun up once a month (on a timer) to do an incremental snapshot of the whole media collection, emails me to tell me whether it encountered any problems and then shuts itself down.

Phil

Is your dwelling more server room than house?

Lets just say that you can tell that I live alone...

This is the "NAS Stack" - recently constructed in my kitchen as I needed to free up some space in the "AV Stack" in my lounge to get my power amps back into my setup...

Phil

Gazza posted:

Must be all those TVR Haynes repair manuals downloaded from You tube taking up all the space...????

Everyone knows that a TVR repair kit consists of only two items...

...an AA membership card and a credit card - both tearstained!

Phil

Nice one????

I use a HS251 with 2GB Ram and its perfectly fine even after installing and running 'Container Station' so I can use the latest version of Squuezebox server software. I use SSDs so it is totally silent (no fan). It means I can keep it in the 'hi-fi room'.

For unlocking DVD and BD we use DVDFab Passkey. We usually rip DVDs to ISO files because storage is relatively inexpensive. We store ISOs on a TVS-473 and have used a variety of Android boxes for playback on TV. We’re currently using a Minix. The QNAP has server options and HDMI but to date we haven’t investigated. The Minix does a wide variety of other things and can play back MP4 without difficulty over Ethernet.

It’s all relatively easy now. Some trial and error and fine tuning is needed but it’s not rocket science and the variety of software and hardware now available should cater for most.

Thanks, everyone. Firmware updated and all data copied across. Will be installing Asset this evening, and perhaps looking at a few tests with the DVDs at the weekend.

Hope it goes well. It should.

Harry posted:

For unlocking DVD and BD we use DVDFab Passkey. We usually rip DVDs to ISO files because storage is relatively inexpensive. We store ISOs on a TVS-473 and have used a variety of Android boxes for playback on TV. We’re currently using a Minix. The QNAP has server options and HDMI but to date we haven’t investigated. The Minix does a wide variety of other things and can play back MP4 without difficulty over Ethernet.

It’s all relatively easy now. Some trial and error and fine tuning is needed but it’s not rocket science and the variety of software and hardware now available should cater for most.

I rip BluRay (and UHD BluRay) to ISO images using AnyDVD_HD and DVDs to ISOS using AnyDVD_HD and Clone_DVD, then have a fully passively cooled i3 "T" series (35w TDP) home brew PC running Windows 10, Virtual CloneDrive (to allow the ISO images to be mounted as virtual drives), PowerDVD 17 with a Flirc USB IR receiver and a front end that I and a few friends are knocking up between ourselves that we are trying to get to look along the lines of the "Kaliedescape" front end...

How does the Minix do with menus on BluRay ISOs or are you reencoding BluRays into a different format for playback? The research that I did at the time pointed to the Minix units not being able to handle BluRay ISOs at all (only DVD ISOs).

All the other Android media players I've tried handle DVD ISOs fine but really baulk on BluRay ISOs when asked to handle menus - some even dropping back as far as simply giving a text list of the individual video files on the disc and you just having to pick a file to play. The last one I tried was an Egreat A5 and that was almost there but had some stuttering issues. I had a Popcorn Hour C200 that was pretty good at BluRay ISO support with full menus but the UI was frustratingly slow and clunky however since then they've only had very basic menu support on their later units as far as I can tell.

Phil

I haven't yet got around to trying a BD rip but it's on the to do list. Hopeless with earlier Wetek and Minix boxes, our newer Minix U1 looks like it might have the processing horsepower. So far it's played everything without artefact or judder. 

I used to swear by AnyDVD but now I swear at them. I bought a lifetime subscription, which they then junked. Requests to buy it again, accompanied by encouragement to do it by opening a Bitcoin account just didn't smell right and was too inconvenient in any case. They might be taking Mastercard now but it's too late. I've moved on.

Harry posted:

I haven't yet got around to trying a BD rip but it's on the to do list. Hopeless with earlier Wetek and Minix boxes, our newer Minix U1 looks like it might have the processing horsepower. So far it's played everything without artefact or judder.

Hmmm ... I may try ordering one from Amazon and giving it a try then ... unfotunately everything on there at the moment is now "Monday delivery", I wonder why.

Harry posted:

I used to swear by AnyDVD but now I swear at them. I bought a lifetime subscription, which they then junked. Requests to buy it again, accompanied by encouragement to do it by opening a Bitcoin account just didn't smell right and was too inconvenient in any case. They might be taking Mastercard now but it's too late. I've moved on.

Yes ... I had the same ... but it is what it is and I more than had my money's worth out of the SlySoft licence. Unfortunately "lifetime subscriptions" are anything but *YOUR* lifetime and I have had SatNavs with "lifetime" updates, media players with "lifetime" updates and other things with "lifetime" promises but they are all finite ...

I have no idea whether the story behind SlySoft getting booted out of Antigua is 'legit' or not but I use the product enough that it was worth buying again (I'm sure I used PayPal or my credit card for my re-purchase?) ... ultimately if you dig around you can find enough 'dirt' on both the SlySoft lot and the DVD_Fab lot to make either sound very dubious but it's a software tool and it does a job.

Phil

Harry posted:

I used to swear by AnyDVD but now I swear at them. I bought a lifetime subscription, which they then junked. Requests to buy it again, accompanied by encouragement to do it by opening a Bitcoin account just didn't smell right and was too inconvenient in any case. They might be taking Mastercard now but it's too late. I've moved on.

Same here Harry. AnyDVD/DVD HD was great, and I also had a "Lifetime" subscription but once they relocated and then demanded more cash I went DVDFab, which seems fine. I rip BluRays with no problem, using Handbrake once the protection's removed, or DVD Audio Extractor for when I just want the soundtrack. They do take a fair while though.

tonym posted:

Harry posted:

I used to swear by AnyDVD but now I swear at them. I bought a lifetime subscription, which they then junked. Requests to buy it again, accompanied by encouragement to do it by opening a Bitcoin account just didn't smell right and was too inconvenient in any case. They might be taking Mastercard now but it's too late. I've moved on.

Same here Harry. AnyDVD/DVD HD was great, and I also had a "Lifetime" subscription but once they relocated and then demanded more cash I went DVDFab, which seems fine. I rip BluRays with no problem, using Handbrake once the protection's removed, or DVD Audio Extractor for when I just want the soundtrack. They do take a fair while though.

*chuckle*

You make it sound like they were running a blackmail ring - 'demanding with menace'.

DVD Fab has some odd ways around Cineva Removal - AnyDVD_HD prevents Cineva detection for PowerDVD and leaves everything intact without requiring converting to MP4 etc. (which then removes chapter breaks as far as I can tell).

Horses for courses...

Phil

Ah yes, good old DVD-AA. I'll be using that on my new DVD of Heavy Horses which arrived this morning*.

*while on the subject of retailers/suppliers going down the drain, I'm now using Burning Shed for music and some video. A user of Amazon from the early days, before Amazon UK existed, I have become sick of all the ways they try to sneak hiked postage onto everything you order, but more sick still of their inability to deliver undamaged goods. They have sent so many crunched and crumpled goods, that I fear they will blacklist me for sending so much back! 

Just doing my VAT and I've found the invoice. It is a Minix Neo U9-H. So far it hasn't missed a beat.

Have been using a QNAP TS 112 with 256MB RAM for some years and its still a solid performer running MinimServer and MinimStreamer with no issues. Last year, I purchased a dual bay QNAP HS 251, this model has 1GB RAM and a faster processor also running MinimServer. I've run them side by side and there is no difference in performance from what I can tell. In my case, both are used exclusively as an audio server and have turned off all the apps that are not required.

I am sort of considering a newer and more powerful QNAP if I decide to get into Roon but it may be cheaper to just get a small NUC and just keep my library as is. 

I am no expert but for audio streaming only, I think 2GB ram would be sufficient. 

rightcoastants posted:

<<SNIP>>

I am sort of considering a newer and more powerful QNAP if I decide to get into Roon but it may be cheaper to just get a small NUC and just keep my library as is. 

<<SNIP>>

Hi,

I have a smattering of HP 400 / 600 / 800 ProDesk / EliteDesk Mini PCs that I use for tasks like this ... in fact I have a little i3 based HP 400 G1 ProDesk (cost me £100 on eBay, took out the 500GB 2.5" HDD and popped in a 120GB SSB, whacked on Windows 10 and the Roon software) running as my Roon Core in my current setup piping direct audio via DisplayPort to an HDMI input on my AV receiver in that system and acting as Roon Core for other devices at home.

Cheers

Phil