[Yontsey]

I got the DS923+ yesterday, RAM comes tomorrow, but the HDDs won't show up for another week. Always annoying to have new toys but not be able to set them up.

[turtle]

I don't know that I ever disabled compression. With 32GB I can likely get away with it and then some. I do run a number of docker containers on my NAS now though so that might not workout well.... I need to check.

[Yontsey]

Got everything up and running this AM. No issues with the RAM. Showing 20GB currently. Transferring movies over to the Synology right now. Going to take awhile.

[Yontsey]

I have Plex up and running and have my movies imported. Is there a way to do a mass poster change to get them for proper orientation, so to speak?

[turtle]

That should happen as part of normal maintenance. It will scan through your library files and populate them over time. It will take a while depending on how many media files you have though. I'll see if I can find where to manually initiate it, but it does it by default so you should just give it time.

[Yontsey]

I did several metadata refreshes. All the data itself was there, but the photos were the old widescreen photos from iTunes a few versions ago. I changed some things around order wise in the agents, because it's like it's showing the previously tagged metadata. Some of my file names needed cleaning up too because it was reading them wrong and tagging them wrong. I deleted the library and am in the process of cleaning up file names and then going to reload the library and see what happens.

[turtle]

Naming is HUGE for Plex to be able to read them right. Also, by default I think Plex uses existing metadata if present before searching for new ones.

[Yontsey]

I was using iFlicks prior with iTunes to add metadata and then re-adding them back to iTunes. It was normal posters when I had the TV app but then my computer died and I had to revert to an old Mac Mini that I couldn't upgrade the OS so iTunes was what I had to go with. Changed everything to widescreen posters.

I unchecked Local Media Assets in agents so well see what happens when I re-add everything. Busy the next 2 days so probably won't get to it til this weekend.

[turtle]

It is going to take you a while to get it the way you want it. Just take your time with it and tweak as you go. Any new content should be able to just have normal posters and background images. It took me a LONG time to get mine to look normal in Plex. Lots of content from years of collecting DVD/BR and CDs. Like you, I formatted everything for iTunes.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by turtle Naming is HUGE for Plex to be able to read them right. Also, by default I think Plex uses existing metadata if present before searching for new ones.

I haven't used Plex in years, but I'll chime it to say the same practice applies to Jellyfin, Emby, Kodi, and XBMC (the mother of them all). Over the years, I've migrated all my files and workflows to use the pseudo-standard XMBC/Kodi naming schemes that every other service seems to use, both for the media files themselves as well as their parent folders. I haven't yet started including my own NFO files, and I let the built-in scraper plugins take care of all the images and metadata for me, but I'm very tempted to find or create my own NFO files for a few things that are never defined in the online catalogs perfectly.

I've looked into MediaElch (open source and cross platform, yay!), but I haven't actually tried it yet. Have any of you created NFO files or used a tool like MediaElch?

[Yontsey]

I went through and manually changed every file name and re-added them to Plex and everything loaded perfectly. Took all week to get it done but well worth it. Next up are the TV Shows. Waiting for those to transfer.

[turtle]

It is a pain but it works.

[Yontsey]

Word to the wise, the DS923+ can't transcode 4K movies. Did a test run last week with a movie and it couldn't keep it. 1080p I haven't had any issues though.

[turtle]

That was my concern with the CPU in that when you posted it.

You can do what I do and run the Plex Server app on a different machine and have it use the NAS for the storage and just network. My Plex Server is running on an Intel Mini with a mounted folder on the main NAS. Works great since both are wired to the same switch using the 10Gb NICs.

[Yontsey]

I have an available Mac Mini. Maybe I’ll give that a try.

[Kickaha]

The Synology transcoding is less than optimal, IME. I've had better results with a wide backplane mesh WiFi and just letting it blast data at full resolution inside the house.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by Kickaha a wide backplane mesh WiFi and just letting it blast data at full resolution

Mmmm... Talk bandwidth to me!

[turtle]

Pffft.... old school CAT 6 cable for me.

[Kickaha]

Yeah, if you have the ability to do that, it's preferable. (What, no Cat 6e? 7? My god, man... **8**?!? )

Some of the better mesh systems such as Netgear's Orbi don't use the WiFi network for shuttling data between satellites, but instead have a custom connection that is much, much faster. I mean, sure, WiFi 6 is plenty fast for almost everything, but on my several years old Orbi, Gigabit Ethernet -> satellite => satellite -> Gigabit Ethernet is much faster than Wifi.

And that's why the NAS is plugged in to the Orbi base station, and the Apple TV is plugged in to the satellite. My old Synology D415+ was never good at transcoding, so I just turned it off completely. Everything works beautifully without it, with the Ethernet-at-both-ends setup.

[turtle]

I would have gone to 7 or even 8 if I didn't have this box of 6 still here.

I do believe you should always put the best cable in your wall when you can, but at this point, it is gonna have to be 6 because I'm cheap!

[Ebby]

Originally Posted by Brad Mmmm... Talk bandwidth to me!

Have 10gig fiber to the home, but routers are the bottleneck with mine stuck at 1 gig for now. Not a lot of 10gig networking has trickled down to consumers yet. Though I did find a pfsense rackmount unit with 11.4gig routing throughput for $1300. I'm trying to plan out homebrew router with dual 10gig but I read throughput tops out at roughly 3gig, same as the 3 routers I've found on amazon.

I'm a little amazed at how cheap fiber is and the dual SFP+/copper switches. There's a bunch of old 10, 20, 40, and 100gig equipment on ebay. Noise though... haha!

[turtle]

Come to the Unifi camp with the Dream Machine Pro or Pro SE.

Cheap compared to others and capable of 10Gb.

[Ebby]

Nice find. Glad those 10G SFP+ RJ45 cards aren't astronomical.

Brings up a question though. My setup at the moment has fiber -> modem-thing -> router. I found a SFP+ card with the same RX/TX frequencies and port style. Do you think it is possible to plug fiber directly to the UDM-pro?

(I'm still learning fiber networking)

[Yontsey]

Originally Posted by turtle Come to the Unifi camp with the Dream Machine Pro or Pro SE. Cheap compared to others and capable of 10Gb.

I'm still chomping at the bits to get mine setup. I have the DM SE sitting in a box in my mother in laws basement.

[turtle]

Originally Posted by Ebby Nice find. Glad those 10G SFP+ RJ45 cards aren't astronomical. Brings up a question though. My setup at the moment has fiber -> modem-thing -> router. I found a SFP+ card with the same RX/TX frequencies and port style. Do you think it is possible to plug fiber directly to the UDM-pro? (I'm still learning fiber networking)

Yeah, I've actually picked up off brand ones from Amazon for some connections and they have been just fine. The ones from Unifi have been solid and worth it if you're already placing an order with them. B&H also sells their gear but for me it has been easier to direct order from Unifi's store.

For plugging fiber directly into the DMP, that depends on the provider and what they are willing to allow. Verizon FiOS required their ONT but not router. I've heard AT&T's Uverse requires their device too. I've also read some of there other providers (Qwest I think, don't hold me to it) have allowed direct connections. Typically the provider wants their gear being the first connection so they can easily troubleshoot the connection to your property if there is any issue. If the connection to their device is good, it must be on your end.

Originally Posted by Yontsey I'm still chomping at the bits to get mine setup. I have the DM SE sitting in a box in my mother in laws basement.

I wish I had the SE but it wasn't a thing when I bought my DMP. Not worth the upgrade for me now so I'll "slum" with the old OG DMP.

[Yontsey]

Started setting mine up yesterday. Got the rack assembled and put in the Smart Power unit, the DMSE, 2 patch panels, and a 24 port Pro PoE Switch. Still have to do the NVR Pro and the UPS. Got a couple shelves too for hubs and whatnot.

Even though we're only moving 10 minutes up the road, we went from Spectrum to a shitty, local ISP that's only giving us 100/10 speed. Friday I found out that I can get Spectrum Giga service at our house though, but not residential service, for whatever reason. They're coming out this week to make sure they can do it, even though both my neighbors have it. That's how I found out, seeing the trucks at their house. Going to switch over to that, even though it's pricy.

[turtle]

You are doing it right! I skipped the patch panels when I move in here. It is something I can do still, I left enough wire to be able to. For me though I opted for the lazy way.

[Yontsey]

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0f4p...oWEuyFEsHTnrMw

This is the start of what I got going

[turtle]

Those are nice patch panels that blend right in. I like it!

Did you pick up an SFP+ cable for tying your DMP to your Switch? It doesn't have to be the Unifi branded one but it maximizes comms between the switch and router. I have everything connected to the switch with nothing but the ISP router connected to the DMP. Since most of my traffic is intranet it doesn't make sense to ass switching within the DMP to the mix. Everything is handled by the PoE Switch.

[Yontsey]

Yeah I got a couple. From the DM to the switch then the switch to the NVR Pro.

The patch panels are from Ui and are only $19.99. I ordered the female to female keystones off Amazon. They just pop right in.

I’ll probably run my cameras and Doorbell Pro through the DM and then everything else on the switch.