Which NAS for Jellyfin?

[TheDreadPirate]

IMO, I'd just do a plain linux distro and docker. If need to use something with a web based management UI, use something like Proxmox.

[mishmash]

I just wanted to update on the mini pc, and I saw the comment above me, so I'm not sure if this will be helpful to you or not.

I got a Beelink s12 pro, it has an intel n100. This is my only windows 11 device, my pcs are still on 10. I'm actually very pleased with it, its been working as intended. I think it does help that I'm familiar with windows and not trying to figure out another OS, like I did multiple times with the pi. The idea of running Ubuntu appeals to me, but its intimidating at the same time, so I think that idea is going to go the back burner, but still a possibility for the future.

Anyways, I've had LibreElec on my pi for quite some time, so I've gotten used to Kodi, and thats what I wanted to stick with. So on the mini pc, I just keep Kodi running, so its present when I turn the tv on, just like LibreElec, and in the backround I have jellyfin as a media server. I think streaming is less intensive then I first assumed, and maybe thats why nas' are often recommended, but I think my video is a bit lower resolution then most aim for, I dont have any 4k media.

I've been observing the cpu temps though hwinfo, the cpu seems to idle around 50c, which seems high to me, but from reading, its apparently common to change the thermal paste on these units, so that may be coming down the line. I was also wondering about cpu usage, and after all the many many updates, it seems to not get too crazy, at least for what I'm using it for. I do have steam installed on it, but thats only to use steam link from my desktop, its just easier to do stuff while at my desktop, but no gaming will happen on this pc.

I went with this pc because it had a slot to put a 2.5 inch drive in it, so currently, I have all my media on it, and have about 600gb to spare. We'll see what happens down the like, like upgrade to a 4tb drive, get a docking station to tuck behind the tv, not sure at the moment, but I've been really pleased with it, and will likely still with these little pc's in the future.

Thanks all for the recommendation to go with a pc vs a nas. It really did fit my needs, and it was an option I didn't consider previously.

I do have 2 random questions while I'm here:

1. What exactly is transcoding, like when people ask about streaming 4k? I rip my media, and run it through handbrake to reduce the file size. When someone talks about transcoding 4k, are they like ripping the file with mkv, keeping the file as in, and the machine is actaully converting the video on the fly as its streaming? I just want a better understanding since I hear about it so often.

2. I really like that on a tablet or a phone, you can download the original file though the jellyfin app, but I just want to confirm, that only downloads the file to the device right? At first I thought it would be like a way to access downloaded media though the jellyfin app/interface, but I cant open jellyfin if theres no connection to the server. It seems that its just downloading the file to the device, and thats it. Theres no way of having like an offlike library with jellyfin is there? The closest I've come is downloading the file on a tablet, and just moving it to my media directory for kodi on the tablet to recognize. Its still an improvement from what I used to do (transferring via micro sd) but just wanted to ask.

Again, thank you for the recommendations!

[Efficient_Good_5784]

1. What exactly is transcoding, like when people ask about streaming 4k? I rip my media, and run it through handbrake to reduce the file size. When someone talks about transcoding 4k, are they like ripping the file with mkv, keeping the file as in, and the machine is actaully converting the video on the fly as its streaming? I just want a better understanding since I hear about it so often.

Pretty much you're correct with your last statement, the server will convert the file as you stream it.

There are two main reasons why someone would need to transcode:

1. Their client is incompatible with the original source
   
2. Their network bandwidth is limited and they need to lower the bitrate to allow for smoother playback over the internet.
   

Try reading this post I made in the past that hopefully will explain what transcoding is in more detail.

2. I really like that on a tablet or a phone, you can download the original file though the jellyfin app, but I just want to confirm, that only downloads the file to the device right? At first I thought it would be like a way to access downloaded media though the jellyfin app/interface, but I cant open jellyfin if theres no connection to the server. It seems that its just downloading the file to the device, and thats it. Theres no way of having like an offlike library with jellyfin is there? The closest I've come is downloading the file on a tablet, and just moving it to my media directory for kodi on the tablet to recognize. Its still an improvement from what I used to do (transferring via micro sd) but just wanted to ask.

The Jellyfin Android app doesn't have an offline mode. The download option is indeed only to download the video onto your phone (so that you can use it with other apps to play it locally on the phone). There would need to be more work done to the app and the server to allow for the app to have in-app offline functionality.

[thoimasmoulson]

As long as you use the NAS as just a NAS, they're all about the same.  We strongly recommend you do not run Jellyfin on a NAS.  The hardware is underpowered, the hardware is not upgradable, and the software is restricting and tends to lag a bit too far behind (the version of the Linux kernel they use, specifically).

NASes, in general, are only really necessary if you have a bunch of servers accessing data stored in the same place.  A computer with a bunch of hard drives is just fine (this is what I do) if Jellyfin is the only thing you have running.

Depending on where you live, surplus office PCs can be had for very cheap and are fairly capable as long as they have Intel 8th gen and newer CPUs.

I like the idea of using a NAS instead of a PC for energy/environmental reasons. Could a NAS not be ok just to run stuff that doesn't need transcoding?

[pxr5]

^ Of course you can use a NAS to host a Jellyfin server. Whilst it won't function as well as a mini PC it can handle non-trancoded stuff just fine. I run an instance of Jellyfin on a Synology NAS without transcoding, but at a push it could transcode some non-UHD files (having a Celeron quad core intel CPU and upgraded RAM)

As for NAS' in general Ugreen have started to put out some NAS with Intel N100 CPUs and whilst their software has quite a way to go yet the hardware is so much better than say QNAP or Synology. So watch this space with Ugreen, they might be the next big thing in the NAS world.

[Maka]

Hi all, not sure if this is in the right forum, but I wanted to ask about potentially getting a prebuilt NAS, primarily it would be used for Jellyfin, and I could see down the line as photo/cloud storage as I become comfortable with how it works. I had in mind $300, not including the cost of the drive(s).

I've been looking at 2 bay Synology NAS, they seem like nice little units that have a spot on my desk. The prices seem to vary quite a bit, so I'm not really sure what I should be looking at for my needs. Like I mentioned, it would be primarily be for streaming from Jellyfin, and kind of serve as another form of backup in addition to the external drives I already use for that purpose.

I dont have any 4k video. All the video I have is what I ripped from dvd's or blurays myself, it currently sits at about 1.25tb. Most movies and shows from the DVD's are 480p, and generally the blu rays I encode at 720p to save on space. The only videos I have kept at 1080p are usually the BBC David Attenborough nature series, and just a few of my wife and I's favorite movies, otherwise most of the blu rays I made into 720p .mkv files, I aim for a size of about 1gb to 1.5gb per movie, then of course there are exceptions for some films that are very long.

Currently, I have a raspberry pi with LibreElec plugged into the tv. Its been working great actually, but I was thinking it would be nice to stream media outside of my home network, and also I think Jellyfin would make it easier for my wife to stream from her phone or tablet while at home.

I haven actually set up Jellyfin yet though, I guess that would be a good first step to see how it like it, I was thinking of using a laptop of mine temporary to see how it could function in general.

If any had recommendations for a Synology NAS, that would be appreciated, or even another brand, I'm just in uncharted territory here.

Any recommendations are very much appreciated! And please do ask if I left any info out.

If all you just want is a nice convenient media Catalog system to view/listen to your content then any decent NAS will do just fine. eg I have an Asustor AS5202T (Lockerstor 2?) NAS. It has a low end Intel Celeron & I added some extra RAM for good measure. Been using it for Plex & later Jellyfin for years with no complaints. Advantage: uses little electricity & simple to install/administer Jellyfin server.

Synology charges much more for their NAS. Asustor, Terrabox etc charge less.

If, on the other hand, you want to do fancy transcoding etc etc then a full PC/Laptop/Rack Server is needed. These use considerably more electricity and require greater level of technical knowledge to install/configure/maintain.

I store my media in ready to consume format which does not require the heavy overhead of transcoding.

Hope this helps somebody