Opportunity to create home media system, advice needed.

Card1nal · 10 Apr 2021 at 10:13

shortly to be decorating living room and have the opportunity to get a whole new media system, rather than the cobbled together one i have at present. but need advice.

Intend using a pc as a media server, but what gfx card would i need to be sure of 4k hi res playing?
what is the bottleneck , the computer, drives or HDMI?

PC likely to be an SSD with two large platter drives in RAID 1 format.

Is it worth going for an extravagant sound card and speakers all around rather than going for a decent sound card straight to a soundbar?

best TV type, 65"

got around £7k to play with at max but would like it if i could do it for a bit less.

3t3P · 10 Apr 2021 at 16:26

Surround sound gaming is much more immersive. Your question is so loaded I think it's too hard to answer. Narrow things down more.

You will need a powerful GPU for 60fps 4K AAA titles 3070 + should be on your wish list.

tres · 11 Apr 2021 at 08:23

Why use a PC as a media server?

Card1nal · 11 Apr 2021 at 15:54

tres said:
Why use a PC as a media server?

so i can put all my families music and video on it. do you have another suggestion?

tres · 11 Apr 2021 at 15:58

Card1nal said:
so i can put all my families music and video on it. do you have another suggestion?

A NAS (network attached storage).

Super low power, sits quietly in a cupboard, stable and will run without crashing for years, can run media software (like Plex) on it better than a PC can, much cheaper, easier to set up so family all over the world or house can stream from you etc.

For your budget, you could get a decent Synology NAS with 16Tb space for < £500, which will last you for years.
Add another £200 for an Nvidia Shield Pro and you've got pretty much a flawless media setup that supports 4k, atmos, anything you can throw at it. And as above, any family member with a smart TV or firestick or equivalent can stream from you.

Simmz · 11 Apr 2021 at 16:11

As above utilise the Nas and Nvidia shield route, then you can play pretty much any video and audio format.

Sound wise what are you actually trying to achieve?

Shops open tomorrow so you can hopefully get out and demo some stuff.

Semple · 11 Apr 2021 at 17:06

Why raid 1 for a media server? It's not like it's a mission critical service.

Remember raid != backup.

Card1nal · 11 Apr 2021 at 19:07

my current setup are two 6tb external drives on a decentish pc i was given.
but in last month had to transfer 5tb of data from a drive that started to fail to a new external drive which took nearly a week..hence wanting Raid 1

With the NAS i would still need a PC for manipulation of files before uploading to the NAS which is why i hadn't considered a NAS.

would the NAS allow Wi-fi streamed 4k movie files without buffering issues? or could the NAS be connected directly to the new TV as my primary viewing platform and listening platfrom with a suitable soundcard and soundbar..and if so how? HDMI? and were would the bottleneck be regarding data transfer

hornetstinger · 11 Apr 2021 at 20:29

Go for a Nas for storage (or USB hd) android box with coreelac or Nvidia shield.

Happy with my £40-£60 amlogic boxes with coreelac.

tres · 11 Apr 2021 at 20:37

Card1nal said:
my current setup are two 6tb external drives on a decentish pc i was given.
but in last month had to transfer 5tb of data from a drive that started to fail to a new external drive which took nearly a week..hence wanting Raid 1

With the NAS i would still need a PC for manipulation of files before uploading to the NAS which is why i hadn't considered a NAS.

would the NAS allow Wi-fi streamed 4k movie files without buffering issues? or could the NAS be connected directly to the new TV as my primary viewing platform and listening platfrom with a suitable soundcard and soundbar..and if so how? HDMI? and were would the bottleneck be regarding data transfer

My NAS is set up to download media autonomously.
For existing media, easy enough to transfer files. What manipulation do you need to do?

Obviously depends on your wifi speed but my NAS can wireless stream 4k to my Nvidia shield pro without buffering or any issues.
Some NAS have HDMI out but they're rare - much better, faster and more stable to get a dedicated player. Even a Fire Stick/android box as a basic device should work OK (but get the shield pro). You don't need a sound card, you just plug the shield/alternative into a sound bar. But at your budget, if you want to really enjoy your setup, look at a second hand AV receiver and speakers. For £7k you could get an awesome setup.

hornetstinger · 11 Apr 2021 at 20:37

Card1nal said:
my current setup are two 6tb external drives on a decentish pc i was given.
but in last month had to transfer 5tb of data from a drive that started to fail to a new external drive which took nearly a week..hence wanting Raid 1

With the NAS i would still need a PC for manipulation of files before uploading to the NAS which is why i hadn't considered a NAS.

would the NAS allow Wi-fi streamed 4k movie files without buffering issues? or could the NAS be connected directly to the new TV as my primary viewing platform and listening platfrom with a suitable soundcard and soundbar..and if so how? HDMI? and were would the bottleneck be regarding data transfer

My LG oled media player is pretty good..connect a large USB hd which I have done and you're good to go.

It's not quite as good as Kodi box, as of sometimes refuses to play files with less well supported video/audio codecs but I'd say 95% of files work.