non-internet media database?

[urbankid12]

Ok, so I been scratching my head on this one for a long while now.. I enjoy watching old tv shows again and again.  However I want to be able to watch them like I do now on Netflix and hulu however on the road I don't want to depend on internet streaming as that will waste a lot of data.  I usually burn through 100G to 150G a month.. 

long ago i tried to upload them to youtube and keep them private but that didn't last long.  I want to have them in a streamline interface LIKE netflix or youtube where they auto play so they can just keep playing in the background.  (I have a constant ringing in the ears so falling asleep to shows playing and just having it as backgrounds noise is a nice luxury I can afford) 

However I am so puzzled as to how I can achieve this... I tried burning dvd's to USB cards and recording them on there it works but the interface is crappy as they don't auto play.  I bought some shows on apple itunes so they are there when I hookup online but I want to be able to have a sizeable libary of good classic shows.  (star trek series, friends, fraiser, roseanne, 3rd rock from the sun, cheers, and so on...) 

As a result I would be able to cut my addiction to expensive services like hulu and nextflix AND reduce my data usage so Id be saving on data plans since I could go smaller..  yet, Im not about to haul around dvd box sets, and storing them on a computer seems also costly with having what 6T of data?

I guess long story short, Id like to have a personal cloud network where I can have a computer which I can have it backed up with a double (just in case one fails then I can copy it and replace it without having to obtain that data again!) then I could play it from my tablet, phone, or laptop wired connection or not both be doable in my book! all while not using data since it's a personal network not leaving my home on wheels.  while having a enjoyable interface like netflix does... 


I know netflix has the offline thing but that's not compairable..

not sure if what im asking for is to complex, or maybe its so simple everybody knows but I just didnt get the memo.  thoughts?

 

[RVTravel]

Good luck with that wish.

 

[crofter]

I want one too! Is there a link for that?     ~crofter

 

[AJ452]

It sounds like perhaps you're looking for something along the lines of a media server. Here's a link to a Wikipedia article describing them:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_server

 

[highdesertranger]

thank you Aj. highdesertranger

 

[B and C]

You talk about a personal cloud and then talk about uploading and then downloading from the big cloud which uses data. A personal cloud will use no internet access as you are the one providing the cloud. A personal cloud will require some sort of storage device to hold the data and presently HDD are the cheapest form. Two 4TB travel HDD's would give you the storage space you require (with room to grow your collection) and can be had for about $100 each (watch for sales). If you also want backup, another two will be required.

I have been tinkering with computers since a little before DOS 3.2 (basic on a Texas Instruments something). Anyway, we want the same thing except I have a large movie library. The closest I have come is with 5 - 4TB travel (portable) HDD's. These small ones take up very little physical space. You know, those little ones that only have one cord. I used to plug one at a time into my TV's USB port to watch but the TV interface is crappy for multiple VOB's (movie format). I am trying to keep my electrical usage down at the same time. They are at odds with each other it seems.

My battery bank is a 8 year old 350 Ah set of AGM's and will need replacing soon.

I am currently working on a setup that will use an HP Elitedesk G1 mini that measures about 7"x7"x1.5" with all the HDD's plugged into a powered USB hub. Extremely small footprint. It has Win10 pro on it so the old Windows Media Center is gone. The computer is connected to the HDMI input of the TV.

In the interest of saving power, I have an old Thin Client computer (hp compaq t5515) that I have loaded Win7 Pro on after swapping in a small HDD. Win7 still has Media Center in it and will be connected to the TV in the back. It will also be setup as a file share for my other mini computer/TV and my laptop.

In your case, a computer with Windows Media Player will allow you to put together a playlist to play as many TV shows in a row that you want. Connect the USB HDD drives to it and you're ready to go.

I am planning on carrying it farther with a LAN. I have two hotspots (AT&T Mobley and Verizon 7700L with unlimited 3G (different than the old 3G)). I just got in a GL.iNet GL-AR300M16-Ext Mini Travel Router (runs on USB power) that will remember these two hotspots and repeat the signal so I don't have to re-setup the router each time. This will allow me to setup my own personal LAN so I can connect the Thin Client to it for a media server. I plan on putting Hi-gain antennas on it for greater range so I can play a movie at a friends place if wanted.

If you made it through this long post, congratulations. If clarification is needed, please ask.

 

[Redbearded]

I have a server I carry with me 18TB of goodies to enjoy! I use Freenas OS and it works really well. You can use Plex media server to run the streaming interface, and then use other software to manage the data (Sonarr, Radarr, Jackett, Transmission). I also use it to maintain a remote backup for the office I work for.
I think it cost about $2k about 5 years ago to put it together and I am about out of room on it.

 

[B and C]

Well, the little thin client wasn't up to the task and took a good 10 minutes to fully boot. On to second try. My goal now is to just have a small file server on a small network in the van. I am trying to keep this with as small a footprint as I can due to limited places to put it. Second goal is to keep the power usage down as much as possible.

With that said, here is what I am cobbling together:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CJFZ1NL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 This is running win 10 Pro.

Runs on 12 Volts and I am setting this up in the S&B prior to installation. I will have to get a converter for the van to get regulated 12 volt power to it. It comes with a small mounting plate so I can mount it on a wall or the back of the TV.

I also bought a 7 port powered hub to plug my 5 travel drives into: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014ZQ07NE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06__o00_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071ZH5FHP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 for van power.

My storage will still be the 5 small travel HDD's.

Experimentation continues.

 

[RoadStar66]

Join Amazon Prime. Then you can use Amazon Prime Video services. Then find free wi-fi at a library etc. and logon. Then browse their video for "Free with Prime" videos. There are thousands including movies, tv programs, documentaries etc. You can then download your videos into your device all for free to Prime members. Once you have the videos downloaded to your device, you can watch them offline, anywhere for 48 hours. After that all you have to do is get online with the device you downloaded the videos to within 48 hours to extend the time the videos stay in your device another 48 hours. To do this you can just use your cell phone as a wi-fi hotspot to log your device onto Amazon to renew the video time. 

I use an android tablet to download the videos but you can use your cell phone, laptop or any Windows, Mac or Android device that can access the internet. When you download the videos you have 4 or 5 options as far as video quality/storage space on your device. This works great for me and since I regularly order stuff from Amazon as general delivery, it isn't any extra cost to me.

 

[Kyz1]

I thought this looked interesting, but seemed like a lot of work (and expense) to rip/store my movies.


I like the idea of downloading Amazon Prime videos.

 

[RogerD]

I average around 170 GB per month. Costs me $60 per month using netbuddy.

There are tons of sites that you can watch almost any movie / tv show for free.

That's what I do.

To me, keeping a copy of anything I have already watched is a waste. I rarely ever watch anything more than once. So no need keeping a copy of it.

 

[B and C]

The gist of this thread is not to use data for watching/listening to stuff, a personal cloud which means you have to have it with you.

OK. What I put together was as above and it works great and uses a system I know how to use. The computer runs Win 10 so easy to operate and it is the Pro version so I can remote desktop into it for any administrative tasks. With this also being a part of my mobile LAN, it will also be connected to the internet (if available) for Netflix, Prime and Xfinity TV. It is a win all the way around for me. I can even download a show to watch later too but sitting around for a download that I am not watching at the same time is a waste of time and I am not getting any younger.

I know this hardware does cost some coin but can be scaled back if you want to RIP DVDs into a smaller format using something like Handbrake. I RIP my collection in original format so it takes a lot more space to store them.

From the video linked above, I liked the idea in the video of using a Raspberry pi as the server as it is very low power and could be run from a USB power port. The downside for me is it runs Kodi and Kodi does not support VOB files. I even thought about using the pi as a Plex server. Plex won't play native VOB files either. Am I the only one that keeps movies in their original resolution so as to not lose detail that higher compression formats lose?

 

[LoveCareThinkDo]

 I use Freenas OS and it works really well. You can use Plex media server to run the streaming interface

This is exactly what my son runs at his house. Both are free. He has been using it for years and his whole family watches almost all their "TV" off of it all the time. He loves it. 


To others reading this:
Now, my son is a computer nerd, like me, so he actually likes messing with this stuff. I have not used it myself, but I do recall it took him a while to get it all to work right. So, if you are not a computer person, this may not work well for you.

If you look around, you might be able to find a pre-made media server "distribution" (or "distro") that you just run the installation utility on a laptop or desktop and it completely installs the OS and the media server software all in one go. I'm sure they exist. I just don't know where they are, and I don't feel like looking for it.

 

[Tom_M]

Check out an Android TV Box available for about $30. Here's one on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/EASYTONE-And...ywords=tv+box&qid=1550665840&s=gateway&sr=8-4

They come with Kodi preinstalled. It's a bit of a challenge getting Kodi set up. You need an internet connection to get your videos cataloged, but once set, internet is not needed. The ones I have will not work with my 4TB drive, but 2TB works fine.

 

[RoadStar66]

The gist of this thread is not to use data for watching/listening to stuff, a personal cloud which means you have to have it with you.

OK.  What I put together was as above and it works great and uses a system I know how to use.  The computer runs Win 10 so easy to operate and it is the Pro version so I can remote desktop into it for any administrative tasks.  With this also being a part of my mobile LAN, it will also be connected to the internet (if available) for Netflix, Prime and Xfinity TV.  It is a win all the way around for me.  I can even download a show to watch later too but sitting around for a download that I am not watching at the same time is a waste of time and I am not getting any younger.

I know this hardware does cost some coin but can be scaled back if you want to RIP DVDs into a smaller format using something like Handbrake.  I RIP my collection in original format so it takes a lot more space to store them.  

From the video linked above, I liked the idea in the video of using a Raspberry pi as the server as it is very low power and could be run from a USB power port.  The downside for me is it runs Kodi and Kodi does not support VOB files.  I even thought about using the pi as a Plex server.  Plex won't play native VOB files either.  Am I the only one that keeps movies in their original resolution so as to not lose detail that higher compression formats lose?

As for the speed of downloading, Amazon Prime Video for example, I've found some places make this almost impossible. I had this happen at a laundromat once. Everything came up on my laptop fine. But when I tried to download youtube video, the speed almost locked up. The owner/manager of the laundromat mentioned he had an extensive history working computers, network administration etc. I asked him about download slowness and he confirmed what I'd long expected. Their hotspot is configured to detect download activity (maybe detecting FTP protocol) and throttles the wifi speed for the user. I've also had this happen at a number of fast food joints. One place I seem to always get blazing fast wifi is Starbucks. This fact alone probably accounts for the abundance of their establishments. It sure's hell isn't their lousy $4/cup coffee.

 

[RoadStar66]

I average around 170 GB per month. Costs me $60 per month using netbuddy.

There are tons of sites that you can watch almost any movie / tv show for free.

That's what I do.

To me, keeping a copy of anything I have already watched is a waste. I rarely ever watch anything more than once. So no need keeping a copy of it.

None other than Will Prowse promoting it. Seems like a good deal. I've got Verizon largely because it works where other providers don't. I'm a bit leery when I read the words "unlimited" in cell data plans. Amazon doesn't let you keep their videos longer than 48 hours between internet sessions. I find that with a good library wifi speed, these videos download fast, especially since I select the "datasaver" option which downloads lower quality video with good quality audio since I usually download things that have largely audio value.

 

[RoadStar66]

I thought this looked interesting, but seemed like a lot of work (and expense) to rip/store my movies.


I like the idea of downloading Amazon Prime videos.

This utilizes the Rasberry Pie microcomputer board and installing and configuring all the software with limited connection types. Strictly for the electronic tinkerer more interested in experimenting than being able to have something more immediately usable in a robust casing. Not to mention standard instructions and youtube tutorials.

 

[Tom_M]

From the video linked above, I liked the idea in the video of using a Raspberry pi as the server as it is very low power and could be run from a USB power port.  The downside for me is it runs Kodi and Kodi does not support VOB files.  I even thought about using the pi as a Plex server.  Plex won't play native VOB files either.  Am I the only one that keeps movies in their original resolution so as to not lose detail that higher compression formats lose?

This is not a KODI or Plex issue. It's a hardware issue with the Raspberry Pi. VOB files are Mpeg 2 and the Pi does not play Mpeg 2 unless you purchase a license to unlock the Mpeg 2 decoder. I think it costs less then $5 for the license. You may want to try transcoding a VOB file using HandBrake and compare the two. DVD native resolution is 480 so ripping to VOB at best is only 480.

 

[highdesertranger]

ok I am going to ask y'all to define your abbreviations, who in the hell knows what you are talking about. highdesertranger

 

[B and C]

Oops. This is what I get for assuming everyone knows what video files are. A VOB file is what comes on a DVD that contains video, audio and subtitles. MPEG files are different encodings for the same types of files but generally without subtitles.

Someone else may want to clarify more on the MPEG files but VOB is my file of choice because of simplicity and generally can be played on a DVD player if copied to a DVD.