Switch from CD to Network

don't use a windows Vista or 7 based computer...please please please

I run windows 7. Never had one issue.

Sensible advice.

It should be 8.1

Why?

Because it is the latest and will therefore understand newer technologies better. It is also more likely to be updated.

And most importantly, as A stated above, it has the greatest choice of software.

And does it come with cool apps?

As a Mac user I don't really want to add a dedicated Windows PC to my setup, so I run DBPoweramp on my iMac using Parallels VM and an old copy of Windows XP.  Works for me.

That depends on the size of fan that you fit.

This is my 1st post but have been following this forum for a while.

My setup after a lot of trial and error is Synology DS213+ with MinimServer & Minim Streamer transcoding from FLAC to wav24 connected by gigabit Ethernet to ND5XS.  I have an old banger windows Vista box which is only used for ripping and configuring Minim Watch.  Control point is n-Stream on iPad.  Plays very nicely with MinimServer.

i am also a fan of DB Poweramp for ripping CD's having tried numerous others with mixed success.

As some others here have mentioned on other threads, I am also using my Telstra provided cable modem as a modem only and have a decent Asus dual band wireless router providing much more robust wireless access to the house. Previously suffered from dropouts with n-stream.

If OP is going to rip his CD collection, suggest a robust folder regime as a back up for crappy tags embedded on a lot of disks.  Computer Audiophile has a lot of good advice on this subject.

My folder structure is genre/artist/album and this works OK.

I started off using ND5XS wirelessly but this is only good for me up to 16/44.1.  Got drop outs on higher res material.

As a computer dunce, it has taken about 12 months to get my collection of 750 CD's properly ripped, tag edited and album art sorted.  You will have to be prepared for frustration but I am delighted how it all is working (not to mention sounding) now.

If you go the NAS route, do not think that putting in RAID is the same as a proper auxiliary disk backup.  

I have a separate external HD connected to the NAS AND another complete copy of the music files stored off site.  I never want to go through the whole ripping and tagging episode again!

Good luck with what ever route you decide.

Regards,

Chris

Chris,

Your experience and setup has many similarities to my own.

Agree - Computer Audiophile is an excellent source of advice.  Embedded tags are crappy so try to get some control over them.  Chose a folder structure that best suits you (e.g. I find genre hard to pin down, but that reflects my musical tastes).  Experiment with folder structure first and then stick to it.  Whatever hardware you throw the files at in the future the basic folder structure will remain robust.  Ideally backup your RAID to another RAID because your ripped files are king.  Happy listening thereafter, with luck...

Chris, I'm not familiar with MinimServer/Streamer.  How straightforward was the installation of MinimServer on the DS213?  Does it handle all genres well?

Tom

Cerobo's post shows the difference between a home brew ripping solution and a unitiserve -

"As a computer dunce, it has taken about 12 months to get my collection of 750 CD's properly ripped, tag edited and album art sorted.  You will have to be prepared for frustration but I am delighted how it all is working (not to mention sounding) now."

With my unitiserve, as a computer dunce, it took me 3 months to rip 1200 albums with very little frustration. For me, the cost of the unitiserve is more than offset by having another year of my life to enjoy not looking at a computer screen!

Fully wired network via gigabit switches. Originally started off using wireless and to be honest i didn't have any trouble with it, went wired for peace of mind.

Graeme

Tommay

Installation was dead easy. the tutorials are very easy to follow. Think the hardest part, or faffing around, was getting java installed.

Not sure about Genre as dont really use it.

Graeme

As stated above, installing Java on the Synology was the hardest part. The MinimServer forum is helpful in solving any issues you will have. I agree that tutorials on MinimServer website cover all the basics pretty well.

Chris

Tommay,

I believe a lot of people with large classical collections like MinimServer because of its ability to extract music by Orchestra, Composer, and the like. I have not gone into that too deeply myself.

Chris

how is RAID 1 not a good idea compared to a back up external drive? less boxes, less hassle.

1 HD in your RAID 1 setup goes out you buy two more HD's and start over by copying everything to them. A plus is that your read times will be faster too.

I think the issue is, is if your raid is in a NAS and the NAS goes pop then as far as im aware you cant recover your data off either drive. 

Not sure if this is the same for all NAS devices but i recal reading this when i originally got mine

Graeme

If the NAS fails you should just be able to put both drives in a new NAS

Your NAS and RAID 1 drives might fail because of a house fire, a power surge, a hole in the roof or an errant cat! That is why I suggested an external drive backup and another off site copy.

As I add new music,  I take the ext drive and sync with the offsite copy about once a month. For me, the cost of a few hundred dollars in storage devices is worth it.

Am I anal retentive or paranoid or both? Others can be the judge of that. 

Chris

RAID isn't backup. RAID protects against a disc failure killing your data, but not against other forms of data loss. For example if I accidentally delete a file and clear out the "recycle bin" or whatever. My raid setup will dutifully delete it from both drives. Similarly, if a file is corrupted, I am likely just to end up with two copies of the corrupt file. If there is a physical event (fire or theft) then both drives are gone.

True backup has a "history" so that I can roll back to a time before the data loss occurred. For example, my setup automatically backs up every hour to a separate unit, but every backup for the past several months is still available (it does this efficiently by just saving changes, rather than all the stuff that hasn't changed). If the local file on my computer fails, I can go back to a version that existed previously. The maximum loss is just 1 hours' worth of data.

I also backup offsite by using a USB drive that I keep at the office. The frequency of doing that is monthly (more or less) so I can lose quite a bit more data if I lose both my laptop and backup drive at the house.

I plan to move to a subscription cloud-based back-up service that will give me the best of both worlds. Off-site, plus automatic and frequent. There are intermediate solutions involving VPN/remote desktop or similar and remote machines and drives.

...unless the burglars took the lot.  Keeping an updated duplicate backup is just good housekeeping.  Keeping it somewhere else, such as off site, might be considered somewhat paranoid, but does add additional peace of mind. Get hold of a little portable USB hard drive.  Doesn't have to be fast, just copy everything to it overnight once in a while and tuck it away.

I think this is it. I'm happy to rent movies, but prefer to "own" music.

On photography, whilst some phone shots are beautifully composed, they won't/can't have the same technical "quality" as a DSLR with pro lenses. This isn't to say that they can't still be great photographs. But the overwhelming majority seem to be of groups of drunk girls at nightclubs, a plate food or bathroom mirror selfies.

Thanks Graeme.  I chatted with my Naim dealer about this today.  He said in his opinion Minim is a good solution (especially for classical), but there is potentially an issue when Java itself needs to be upgraded.  He has made many successful installations using Synology's own media server. I've not tried this yet but will give it a go, on the grounds that it reduces overall complexity.  I already use JRiver, but my aim is to be able to operate without the computer switched on.

Anyone else have good/bad experience of Synology's media server?

You're right, low-tech doesn't have to mean poor aesthetic quality. In fact I am currently working on a project for a friend where we are deliberately using "Hipstamatic" iPhone images precisely because of their inherent quirkiness.  But we had better start a new Topic if we want to continue this discussion!