[docholiday]

Hey there,

I'm completely new to the scene. I just figured out SABnzbd/SB/CP, and wish to share the joy with my family, who has been denied some good TV and movies due to our location. I know there are guides, but I'm not sure what I should be aiming for.

What we have:

1080P Capable TV
5.1 System
Quad Core/1 TB storage Main Computer w/ SABnzbd/SB/CP working
Various other laptops
ZERO DISH OR LOCAL TV OR CABLE POSSIBLE
Internet w/ Wireless G. Cable Modem + router behind TV and soon to be location of XBMC/ATV3/NAS/whatever we decide here.

What I think I want:

-NAS w/ set it and forget it backup of all the computers (1.5 TB total data at most) and the ability to run SABnzbd/SB/CP and store media library (250 GB existing of photos/songs/home videos, but with SB/CP running need enough data to hold dozens of movies and TV series). PLEX media server to handle the library.

-A SEPARATE XBMC box OR stock Apple TV 3


I say a stock Apple TV 3 because I'm not sure if my family can pick up XBMC without me. I plan to make this as easy and stable as possible. I am unable to babysit and tinker after this month. Please educate me on this.


Questions

Should I just get a Revo with XBMC, set the main PC to always on, run a gigabit wire to the Revo and let it go?

Should I get an HTPC with XBMC with NAS capabilities?

Should I get a NAS with XBMC or ATV3?

If I do get a separate NAS with XBMC or ATV3, should I build the NAS with transcoding ability (dual core, etc)? I am assuming an ATV3 will definitely need transcoding and thus will prove more expensive in the long run in building the NAS.

How much storage do you think I need? I see 6 drive unRAID boxes with ~3 TB. Good idea? Overkill?

Thank you.

[Harro]

My first thought would be for you to build a new machine for XBMC with some extra storage in it. You could go here and see what you may think you want or need.

The main points I read are:
1) A device (HTPC) to display the media I have or I intend to have fluidly and family friendly on my TV.
2) Which device (HTPC) would be the best for what I am looking to do.
3) Will I need a NAS for the device (HTPC) I buy or build.
4) I would like to back up my laptops and computers also.
5) I will be streaming my content to portable devices and or other areas outside my home network.

PLEX media server to handle the library

1 and 2 depends on what you want for your HTPC and what skin you install on XBMC. I mayself have an A6-3500 for my main HTPC running Win7 and have never looked back on that build. Everything runs smoothly and quietly, along with bitstreaming HD audio. Family friendly is a matter of finding the right skin for you and getting the remote set up correctly.

Number 3 and 4 can be added when you feel your storage needs are such that adding extra hard drives or external drives are no longer an option. I had close to 8TB of media stored on extra drives internal and external before I built a NAS. I used the windows backup and selected what I wanted to back up.

5 I have run the Plex media server (streaming my media outside my network) and did not find I liked it that much..But each person has there own thoughts and needs accordingly.There are other way to go about streaming to other devices by searching the forum and google.

Other things I can say is that hard wired connections work best for 1080HD content while 720 content can be wireless according to the bitrate.

I am not real familar with the apple tv so I can not comment on them but other users may chime in on that.
Good Luck on your adventure.

[docholiday]

Would the XBMC w/ integrated storage stutter at all if one of my computers initiated it a backup to it?

Can it serve a direct video feed to the main TV through HDMI while also serving a stream to another XBMC elsewhere in the house through the network?

I was just under the impression that a separate unRAID NAS was superior for XBMC because XBMC does not require transcoding of the material (cheap CPU for the NAS) and it also frees the NAS to simply serve up content. I've just read a lot of unRAID endorsement across this board.

Would you run your SABnzbd/CP/SB on the XBMC or the always on NAS (I'm assuming the latter..., but how much CPU power would it need for unpacking, etc)?

Also, I looked at the A6-3500. Wow, I'm actually very impressed at that price point. I looked at getting an XBMC years ago, but those were the days were people were still struggling to push 1080P haha.

[Harro]

If I were you, I would use my main rig the Quad Core/1 TB storage Main Computer w/ SABnzbd/SB/CP working and add extra stoarge to it by the way of internal 2TB hard drive or external usb enclosure. I had used this ONE with 2 -2tb drives in it and had no problems. Only problem is that if the drive fails, you lose everything on that drive. I used mine for well over 2 years without a drive failure, but it could happen. Share the new drives to all computers. Set sabnzb/SB/CP to run at specific times, when know one is using that comp. Set to transfer files to new drives in specific folders you make.

Build yourself a great XBMC computer and use that for going to your receiver and then to your TV. Use HDMI cable between both. Hopefully your receiver will take HDMI. Download the XBMC with the HD audio patch included. Configure XBMC and Windows sound to output the HD 5.1 audio. Configure XBMC sources as the new drives you installed on main rig. Stream your content to XBMC and enjoy.

I never had any hiccups when backing up to the drives but the schedule of the backups was at a time when I knew I would not be using the network for much of anything else. I did manuelly move large files (10+ gigs) and stream to my xbmc machine at the same time without any trouble through the network.

XBMC will play about any file format you throw at it with little trouble but external players also will play most files Media Player Cinema, VLC etc... but some ofthese external players may require extra codecs..

If you decide down the road you will need a NAS (I run UNRAID), and want to have that run sabnzb/SB/CP along with maybe mysql I would probably get a dual core cpu, with 2 gig ram.Dual 1.8 or 2.2 gig processor would be enough IMO.