The original post: /r/datahoarder by /u/dcs577 on 2024-09-07 14:03:37.
Confession: I’m a digital movie hoarder and an idiot when it comes to tech so I’m still stuck many years behind.
Current setup: I’ve been using this setup without much complication for several years but it is breaking down. I have an 18TB drive (only half full) that stores all my data. I have several smaller drives that are 3 - 5TB that back up all the data. I use these to plug into a blu ray player so I can watch the files on my TV. As I obtain new files, I have to plug and unplug these devices to my computer and transfer the files to both the 18TB drive and the corresponding smaller drive.
This is obviously a hassle and takes up more time than it should.
What I’ve tried: I got a new router with a usb input. The 18TB drive is too large for it but the smaller drives can be accessed from it. This at least saves me from plugging/unplugging one drive. The problem is, my Blu ray player struggles to access that drive over the network so I can’t play the files directly. It may be an issue with the Blu Ray player or the fact that they are in different rooms. The Roku in the same room as the router seems to work fine with it.
I’ve tried using a small media player device. It seems to have trouble playing a number of the files.
I also tried playing the files using my computer as the media server. It works but the videos lose connection a few times during one movie. Either the Blu ray player sucks for this or the internet isn’t good enough. It’s a fiber internet with 300mbps.
My TV does not have a usb input so I can’t currently go directly to it. The blu ray player can’t handle the 18TB drive being plugged in directly either.
What I Want: I’m hoping for a relatively easy, streamlined, idiot proof solution that allows me to keep the big 18TB drive in one place as my main drive and to view videos on the TV via a wired HDMI connection. At the moment, I don’t want to invest in a bunch of new drives so I’d like to keep using the ones I have.
What do you all recommend? Is NAS or a mini PC better? Or something else? I’m not gaming. I just want to be able to watch movies on my TV but all the options seem overwhelming and more complicated than it should be to do that simple task. Any guidance is appreciated.