Questions regarding hardware

[awake]

Hi there! I'm pretty new to the "in house streaming" and "self hosting" crowd, although I've hosted lots of software on lots of external servers already.

Currently I'm looking into getting my videos, images and music onto other devices. While skimming through the documentation, I've asked myself a few questions which I also want to ask you guys.

1. What CPU with integrated graphics would you recommend?
I have an old Intel i5 6500 with integrated graphics as well as a Ryzen 5 5600G.

2. What operating system do you prefer to run Jellyfin on?
Is there any noticable differences in encoding/decoding with either CPU manufacturer when it comes to the OS?

The problem I see when using a rather potent CPU might be the power draw when the computer I intend to use as a "server" is running 24/7 and I'm also not entirely sure if it's a good idea to do so. While on Linux I know how to enable software to autostart and load with the OS, I don't have the option to plug a display on the computer each time to start jellyfin by hand.

[TheDreadPirate]

1.  Even though the 5600G's CPU is quite a bit faster, QSV on the i5 6500 is significantly better from a transcoding quality perspective.  The 5600G does support VP9 (roughly equivalent to H265), but the quality of the Vega era UVD/VCE is notoriously bad.  Heck, I have a RDNA2 card in my gaming PC and still think UVD/VCE sucks compared to NVENC and Intel QSV.

2.  I prefer Linux because it is more performant than Windows.  But my Jellyfin server is on a low power Intel Atom so I notice the difference more.  With either of the above CPUs, it should be fine from a performance perspective.  There is no difference in terms of encoding/decoding support or quality between Linux and Windows.  Having said that, AMD GPU driver support is not great on Linux.  Another point for choosing the Intel CPU.

3.  You should look into under-volting your CPU to reduce idle and max power draw, if that is a concern.  If your motherboard supports it.  CAUTION, under-volting can cause instability and stability testing is very time consuming.  Proceed at your own risk.  Just letting you know under-volting is a thing.

4.  For Windows or Linux, Jellyfin can be made to auto start without having to hook up a monitor.  Or even logging in, entirely.  On Linux, you can just ssh into the host and not ever need a monitor, period.  If you aren't comfortable with the Linux command line, don't feel like you are missing anything if you choose Windows.  Because there are no feature differences between Jellyfin on Linux or Windows.

[awake]

Thank you for answering! Good thing that it doesn't seem to matter what OS one uses

I don't mind using the 6500 if it's more suitable for the job. Undervolting is no problem if it's comparable to GPU undervolting. Do you know if it will work for 4k HDR content as well? I'm watching on e.g. an iPad with Swiftfin and on an LG TV using the WebOS app. If you don't have any experience it's not a problem, I'll try it out eventually anyway.

[TheDreadPirate]

I am pretty sure the GPU in the Intel 6500 will not work with the 4k HDR content if it needs to be transcoded. Due to it not supporting 10 bit HEVC.

https://jellyfin.org/docs/general/admini...nd-quality

If your playback device supports the video codec natively, no transcoding occurs so no need to worry about GPU support.

From what I can find, the 5600G can transcode 4k HDR H265 content.

It sounds like you have both CPUs in hand. Why not give both a try and report back with your experience? I'm curious how good the transcodes are from the 5600G.

[awake]

Okay, so I have tried around with the AMD CPU since it's already a built up system (for indie games with Steam, hence a Windows computer) so far and all seems to work. I was trying out with multiple 4K HDR files with Dolby Digital and Dolby Atmos audio.

Some things I have noticed that are rather obvious:
- when running on a device that does not support direct play it takes a while to transcode
- transcoding eats up a lot of CPU ressources since, well, the CPU has to put in work to transcode
- transcoding therefore ramps up the fans and shoots up the temperatures of my CPU in a case with restricted air flow

however,
- I can stream at least two 4K HDR videos at the same time for two clients that depend on transcoding (when testing with a third video, the sound stopped on a client playing the transcoded video).
- since I don't intend to play multiple 4K videos at the same time but generally only one (and seldomly in 4K HDR with "huge" bitrate audio), I think I'm perfectly fine with how things worked out.
- Surround audio worked for a video, I didn't have the time to test extensively for that but I'll see what I end up with during everyday use.

Host:
OS: Windows 10 22H2 (Build 19045.3155)
CPU: Ryzen 5 5600G
RAM: 16 GB DDR4 RAM
GPU: -
HW Transcoding: off

Client #1 (MacBook Air M1 Processor, Safari Browser):
Playback info:
Player: html video player
Play method: transcoding
Protocol: http
Stream type: video

Video info:
Video resolution: 3840x1634
Dropped frames: 0
Corrupted frames: 0

Transcoding info:
Video codec: H264
Audio codec: AC3 (direct)
Audio channels: 6
Bitrate: 29.6 Mbps
Transcoding framerate: 48 fps
Reason for transcoding: The video codec is not supported

Original Media Info:
Container: webm
Size: 22 GiB
Bitrate: 33.5 Mbps
Video codec: HEVC Main 10
Video bitrate: 29.0 Mbps
Video range type: HDR10
Audio codec: AC3
Audio bitrate: 640 kbps
Audio channels: 6
Audio sample rate: 48000 Hz



Client #2 (LGTV, Jellyfin App):
Playback info:
Player: html video player
Play method: direct play
Protocol: http
Stream type: video

Video info:
Video resolution: 3840x1634
Dropped frames: not shown
Corrupted frames: not shown

Transcoding info:
does not apply due to direct play

Original Media Info:
Container: mkv
Size: 22 GiB
Bitrate: 33.5 Mbps
Video codec: HEVC Main 10
Video bitrate: 29.0 Mbps
Video range type: HDR10
Audio codec: AC3
Audio bitrate: 640 kbps
Audio channels: 6
Audio sample rate: 48000 Hz


Client #3 (iPhone 12 Mini, Swiftfin) - I don't think I can access the playback information here but it ran fine without any issues outside of the transcoding taking a while at the beginning which I simply consider as buffering.


Overall I'm happy with everything. The interface is perfectly useable, streaming works without any issues outside of the slight delay due to transcoding and I can finally stop worrying about an external drive at home. I don't intend to stream outside of my home network so everything's basically solved. If I find the time, I'll try to do the same with hardware transcoding enabled on the 5600G and also test with the i5 6500.