Ask Engadget: What's the best home media server?
By Darren Murph 
posted Jun 26th 2008 11:36PM
posted Jun 26th 2008 11:36PM
So we've asked you which HD media streamer you prefer. And we've done the same for NAS drives. But what if you're the type that's looking for the best of both worlds? Take it away, Stuart: "We have a laptop and a desktop, with plans to add another computer in the near future. I'd like something that can primarily provide a large (1TB+) storage repository that can be accessed via our network, as well as have space for data backups and media streaming capabilities. I've read articles on Drobo and Windows Home Server-based devices, but after a certain point my brain just starts to get overloaded. Which solution out there would be best for me? I'm trying to stay below $700 if possible."
We think your task is pretty clear cut here, reader. Which home server out there is a notch above the rest? Would you recommend a pre-built device or a homegrown solution? After giving this one a whirl, toss your own inquiry over to ask at engadget dawt com - your very words may grace this space next week.
Build it yourself. 1U rack, low-end CPU, 2 gigs of ram, FreeBSD. Just make it a fileserver, like you do with any similar server.
Build your own is the only way to go really.
Why waste the money on 1U box for a home server and limit your expandability choices, just stick it in any old box.
looking for a 1To webServer+Nas+Web page GUI+no fan....
We are working on such a product for autumn and you can have a glance to our plans, unfortunatley it is in french today ( soon in english and maybe you can help ) but anyway you will understand the pictures and drawings....www.cybervia.com...ericb@cybervia.com.
let me know your comments or join us to define more specs you dream about.
build your own out of older parts. run linux, i hear Kubuntu is a home server OS. You should be able to build a decent for near $700 with used parts. Craigslist is very useful.
Kubuntu is just Ubuntu that uses KDE instead of GNOME, which Ubuntu uses. It is available in a server flavor, like Ubuntu, but I'd say that Ubuntu Server Edition is the way to go.
Yep, that's what I use. +Samba and Firefly. Works great.
yes. this is engadget, the home of non-technical know-it-alls who make idiotic comments like this all day.
Best Setup:
Cost: any old computer (free to cheap) + windows license (~$120)
OR buy a HP mediasmart server pre-built
Remote desktop
Easiest to configure
WHS (512mb ram) or WinXP Pro (128mb ram)
uTorrent + uTorrentWebGUI as service
Automatically monitors a folder for torrents, downloads files and shares to XBox 360. WebUI allows for remote management
WHS allows for automatic backups and RAIDed drives
Poor Man's Setup
Linux
Both work fine, and the Linux will be much more configurable but if you are a console gamer media guy the windows route is more compatible out of the box and requires little tinkering.
Automatically downloads
Mac Mini running XBMC connected to a tv and ethernet to your router
And you can even skip the XBMC. Front Row, while not perfect, is really easy to use and does 99% of what most of us need an HTPC to do.
And anything that keeps the wife and kids from bitching about the HTPC not working is A-OK in my book.
You've just earmarked nearly 90% of the budget on a cool, quiet, hip little machine with... 80 gigs of drive space?
You've just earmarked nearly 90% of the budget on a cool, quiet, hip
little machine with... 80 gigs of drive space?
I say ditch the Mac Mini and go with the original Xbox plus XBMC.
A used Xbox is dirt cheap, and you can add a big hard disk (I know 750GB works, haven't tried 1TB) and XBMC is oh so much more flexible than Front Row; to begin with, it plays everything you could throw at it.
I've got two Xboxes (not 360), one acting as a cheap NAS and the other as a Media Center (plus gaming). Couldn't be more satisfied.
I really like Popcorn Hour A-100. Or atleast I hope that I do. I'm going to pick my from my post-offcie after work today
Enjoy your downsampled media. I was going to get it, but it, like every other media streamer, transcodes your audio and video.
@Jesse S, Actually, you're not correct. With Popcorn Hour, you can play all your content directly off a NAS directly via Samba or NFS. Only if you use the streaming services from a server does it resample. I play DVD ISO, HD MKV files, etc...with no problem in all their glorious HD beautify on my Popcorn hour.
I also have a PCH A-100. I do not have a hard disk in it because I want 100% silent operation...and because all of the content is on my home's main server regardless, which I access via an NFS share...wirelessly via an ethernet bridge...and that works fine for SD content with two wireless hops via G WPA TKIP.
That said, I wouldn't use a PCH as a server. You can put an HD in it, but the case has no fans...and just doesn't seem like the most reliable spot in my architecture for storage.
Me? I have over a TB on the main desktop PC. Since that bad boy is on 24/7, it is my home server. Backups occur nightly to an external disk...and I also have a SATA hard drive dock connected that I use for longer term backups - drop in a drive, back up important files, pull the drive and store elsewhere.
It serves the PCH, another desktop, four laptops, and my TiVo. If I wanted a dedicated solution, I would most likely just build a Linux-based server with an eye toward minimizing power, heat, and noise.
that's easy.
ReadyNas DUO.
I have 5 mac laptops and one pc laptop... the macs run os x 10.5
the readynas duo streams to my xbox and archos 605 (wifi)... supports jumbo frame, bittorrent client built in... Xraid technology that makes redundant copies of your harddrive (but u'll need to buy that 2nd SATA drive urself). overall, it's a solid product that i would recommend with no doubt.
too many good things to write about.. you can read all of that online (very very good read and write speeds)... so i'll just spit out the negatives. currently the max SATA hard drive you can buy is 1 TB... meaning the ready nas duo will be max-ed out at 1tb... no way to get around that unless there are future drives with over 1 tb capacity. also... if you want to take full advantage of the super read/write speeds, you prob want to upgrade your home network to a gigabit network.. by upgrading your wireless router... and making sure u have cat5 or cat5e cables...
buy the readynas duo... i researched for months ... and this is the best (the bottom line for drobo is that it's SLOW AS HELL, and super expensive)
good luck!
Seconded. I also was deciding between ReadyNAS Duo, Synology Diskstation (good software by the way) and Drobo. I then saw the performance ratings and reviews for the ReadyNAS Duo right when the stimulus check came in, and Newegg was throwing a second SATA 500GB hard drive for $50. It was almost as if the planets were aligned for me. Needless to say, the ReadyNAS Duo rocks!!
Oh, and I use modded original Xboxes running XBMC as my front end.
Cat 6 cables!
Any decent NAS paired together with a Popcorn Hour.
I second that: Popcorn Hour A-100 and my Ubuntu NFS box are phenomenal. Haven't rebooted in months and the setup was easy.
Third That... My popcorn hour has a 500gig drive and I've got a Jbod 1tb nas running freenas. The popcorn hour will stream and torrent and play just not all at once if it's HD content that your playing but it will do double duty for anyone around the house. Newest firmware is even better.
I've spent a ton of time researching these, and spec-wise, Popcorn Hour has me the most interested. Have they solved the overheating problem (cause by lack of active cooling)?
I just put a small old CPU fan in there... 1" and taped it off the pata drive's power. Solved.
That axis of evil Maxtor thing a few posts below this one sounds like the best solution :) Combine it with a PS3 and then you have blu-ray, media streaming, games, internet, everything you could ever want.
Actually maybe a HP mediasmart server would be better as the Seagate software probably sucks and Seagate are not known for making full computers as far as I know. God there are so many ways of doing it. Another option is to build your own but you need to be an IT geek to do that. Make sure you use a low power processor.
My XBOX with XBMC has been fantastic for years now, the only thing it now lacks with any High Def support. I have that with my PS3 but the media serving functionality (ie inability to connect to a shared folder etc) is very poor in comparison.
I would hop on woot.com in the next hour or so and snag that 1 TB monster with Blu-ray for $650.
Build a desktop and put Linux on it. I've seen 1TB SATAs for like 160-175 on Slickdeals.net
Create your own server, (I prefer a Linux Server) and there you
I use macs and have an extra benefit of having a Mac running the server so i built a hackintosh. However i would have used Linux if i was just doing what you were doing.
FreeBSD as the gentlemen above posted works great too if you are savvy with it. Google for tutorials.
Popcorn hour is good for Media but i don't think its that hot at Backing up your computers periodically.
Well, i noticed above that you said HD media streamer and my solution really depends on the compression of the media you're transmitting: The Linksys NSLU2 (modded) is pretty slow when it comes to file transfers, but it can manage streaming 300 in HD to my regular xbox and laptop with relative ease. It also runs my vpn and bittorrent client. It has two usb ports to support multiple external harddrives and it has a huge community built around modding. Most importantly (to me) is that it consumes hardly any electricity and it is completely silent/stealthy.
By the way I see alot of posts saying XBMC this guy can't back up his hard drive with XBMC or Popcorn Hour either
use a usb hdd with popcorn hour and you can disconnect it and backup your computers from time to time.
I have a Netgear ReadyNAS NV+ with four 500GB 32MB cache seagate drives...gives me 1.3TB usable space.
It has a great built in Bit Torrent client and supports UPnP media server that works fantastically with me PS3 which plays WMV, MPG, MPEG-2, MP4, MP3, DIVX, XVID files
My PS3 cost 399...which was the same price as the cheapest bluray player at Best Buy. For that price I get a game console, streaming media player and a Bluray player.
I'm using a 200 MHz Pentium 1 for my fileserver.
Windows 2000.
Server running Unraid.
Mac-mini running osxbmc.
I have a Power Mac G4 with several large internal hard drives serving up movies, tv shows, music, etc over iTunes sharing. This compliments the Apple TV I purchased a little while ago very well.
Are you kidding? Under $700?!?!? Just get a friggin 1TB external drive and leave a computer turned on with it shared. Then roll around in the $500 you just saved. If you don't typically leave your PC turned on, start to.
I've got the little HP Media Smart with Windows Home Server. Its really nice and it plays back on the Xbox 360 fast.
I'd have to agree, I love mine.
NAS backend (ReadyNAS NV+ in my case) with a Mac Mini as a front end. I use Front Row, and it is very wife friendly.
Happy Computing.
If I were to build a NAS server and use it as a media server, would FreeNAS software work?
Or, is there an alternative?
There may be an alternative, but it's not going to give you 95% of the functionality of the leading multi-thousand dollar top end enterprise product, and it's definitely not going to leave you all the extra storage space and operating resources that FreeNAS will.
If you're dead serious about the storage, go FreeNAS.
I think any Linux distribution would do the job
HP ex470
QNAP box. Very versatile NAS running BusyBox available in 1,2,4 drive configurations.
http://www.qnap.com/pro_detail_feature.asp?p_id=91
I second that. I'm running a QNAP TS-409. It has a stripped down Linux build on it, but it has more than enough to get the job done. Three USB ports (printer share, expansion), 4 SATA slots, and supports a wide range of RAID options.
It has a built in Twonky media server, so it'll play files on iTunes, Xbox360 (or any other Windows Media Extender), PS3, and serve files anywhere else. Even has a built in web server (with SQLite) and FTP server. Built in Torrent client with web access. Web configuration is relatively easy, especially for families. I've served HD content to both my XBox360s at once with no problem.
Backing up to it is easy enough. I think it comes with some backup software, but SyncBack (freeware) does just a fantastic job if you're not on Vista. You can even do it over FTP if you're away from home and know how to configure your router.
Ayup, I'm looking to get a 2-bay QNAP unit (TS-20x) soon and pop a couple of 1TBs in it. With DLNA support to my PS3, I'll be in nirvana, I'm sure of it. Much cheaper than ReadyNAS units of equivalent capability, well-reviewed, and purpose-built so convenient in a way a self-built system can't match.
I run ReadyNAS NV+ with a Windows Media Center hooked to the TV getting off-air HD TV for free. Works great. For your price point, go with the ReadyNAS Duo...
Bash Windows all you want, but outside of Tivo, Windows MCE (and now Vista Home Premium or Ultimate) is the best DVR out there.
--Bill
Shortness of breath, shards of glass in my hands, and my A/C suddenly isn't doing the job anymore, but I feel so much better. Thanks.
My company sells (and I use) a Ripserver. Works great, easy to install, easy to setup, huge storage, and can backup through USB or over the network. Check it here:
www.ripstyles.com/ripserver.html
Build your own - for $700, you can spend a bit less than $200 on drives (or A drive) to get 1 TB of storage. Stick em in a case with a couple gigs of ram (< $100) and a semi-decent processor ( < $200) and even if you didn't have any of that lying around you've still over $200 for niceties and OS, if you have to buy it. Of course, if you have 1 TB of media lying around, odds are you're the sort of person who enjoys their downloading and probably wouldn't say no to a "free" copy of the OS of their choice.
My current setup is a Windows MCE computer that sits on top of Ubuntu Linux running a ~900 GB RAID5 (320GB x 4) storage system. I built this about 2 and a half years ago. Besides the painful upgrade from 6.06 to 8.04, this setup has been very stable.
I would use the Linux System directly, my HDTV doesn't play nice. Windows MCE's interface and the fact that it can tweaked to play whatever you want makes a nice solution.
I think the ideal or perfect solution doesn't exist quite yet. If only Windows MCE had the facility to have software RAID5 that wasn't so CPU intensive.
I'd never heard of Popcorn before, but it sounds amazing. Hooking that up to an Ubuntu Linux machine running a RAID5 or a mirroring HD setup would be set.
The advantage of Linux is that you just enable SSH and you can access your files anywhere over SFTP. It's very flexible, reliable, and you don't need to reboot much.
Build Your own, Big Drives,add 2 Video Tuner cards , WinVista with Media Center, Webguide to distribute to any attached PC, connect to TV, run with remote control and fill with content :)
cheers
CORRECTION: My TV *doesn't play nice with Linux
Stuart didn't mention anything about HD content, or watching it on a TV, and only mentions network access.
A little vague, but sounds like you're only looking to share media within the family and make backups.
Best bet would be an off the shelf NAS solution, it you can't configure it the way you want after reading tutorials and calling technical support for the device, try another.
Every homogeneous computer network has it's own little quirks about it, the user's software, the operating systems being used, network security settings, are just a few of the things that will make your hair fall out.
$700 will let you try out lots of hardware/software combinations, just find one that works for you.
Hey all, thanks for the wide range of inputs. This has given me a bunch of ideas that I hadn't considered before, and I appreciate it.
Skulldriveshaft, Engadget had to slim down the email I sent them to make it more blog-friendly, so I'll try and fill in a couple more blanks. You have it pretty much summed up for my usage needs: sharing media and backups. My wife does DSLR photography (lots of "valuable" pictures) and I have a bunch of tv show collections on my computer, so at the very least having shared access via computer is my goal (plus backups).
I do have a new 1080p tv that would be nice to be able to watch those episodes on, as well as any movies that I may get down the line (not interested in the iTunes/Unbox/etc movie scene yet). That's the only HD component for now: I have a Wii, but I've been waiting for Blu-ray to become a bit more mature/widespread before I go down that road.
While having a single box does have its advantages, if my needs would be better served by 2 devices, then I'm game for that as well. I wouldn't consider myself a tech noob, so building my own doesn't bother me, but my Linux knowledge is pretty limited at the moment, although I can learn.
If you or anyone else wants to know anything further, post a reply, and thanks again to all!
Server: Refurbished laptop with shared folders. (USB 1tb drive, and you can just add more!) [I use this for myself, and it handles 6 people all connected via laptop all watching a different vid without a problem. (Most of them are connected via Wireless]
Client: Any laptop or desktop, and a modded XBOX with XBMC installed if you want to watch it on your TV.
Streaming server software is just glitchy, and degrades the quality of any media send out through it. And the streaming players are just as glitchy and touchy!
You can't beat a modded XBOX for the best value. There is not another media player out there that can beat it for performance at that price (Or any price),
I agree that building your own Linux based (FreeNAS??) home server is going to give you the utmost control. However, not everyone wants to spend the time farting around to get all of the setting correct. Plus, it may be easier on the power bill to power a NAS than a whole PC.
I use a Lacie Big Disk 1TB. I have all of my movies, pictures, and music on it. Plus I use SyncBack to backup my desktop and laptop nightly. For the front end I have a Netgear EVA8000. It has a nice user (see: wife) friendly interface and links up to my NAS either via wired or wireless. I have also used a Popcorn Hour, it works just as well. Both have 1080 HDMI out.
My $.02
This type customer is exactly whom small-business computer stores should be catering to.
But, in lieu of with-it (good) mom&pops.... IMO
Stuart should get a HP MediaSmart Server EX475. Google says they start at $660.
If he can, get someone to build one (a home server). But I'll bet that as a bang-for-the-buck, the HP is going to be pretty sweet.
The Windows Home Server platform is perfect for someone like Stuart.
* 2 computers now, and another computer in the near future.
* "my brain just starts to get overloaded"
Windows Home Server provides backup for all of your Windows-XP-and-greater-based computers.
Not just any backup, but an image, sector-by-sector backup...
With 3 computers, that's likely to be at least 2 copies of an operating system, like Windows XP.
Windows Home Server saves time and space by not copying sectors which already exist from another backup.
When a computer (BillG forbid) crashes, just pop in a CD and boot, wait a few hours (or less) and your computer's back in business.
Even if the computer is 'gone forever' -- the backed-up files can still be accessed by any computer connected to your Home Server.
Windows Home Server has centralized storage, with remote, web-based, password-protected access.
You can get your files on the road -- or let a relative across the country, get & share files of any kind.
You can get your files at home, too -- streamed to XBOX-es and other devices.
There are multiple hard drives inside the Home Server, which carry two copies of your data.
If one hard drive should fail, simply remove and replace -- your data remains safe.
If you want off-site backup from Amazon, to control your lights and home-automation stuff, share photos with family members (near-effortlessly!), or just record your favorite TV programs, Windows Home Server has Add-Ins for all that, too.
Windows Home Server provides the single BEST, ease-of-mind, easy-to-maintain, server product that has been needed for a LONG time.
For a no-nonsense Server to keep the heart of your home network beating, Windows Home Server can't be beat.
Good luck, Stuart.
And he really needs luck, because it is well known that Windows Home Server, the product you are shamelessly touting, has a habit of corrupting files, *especially* on machines with two hard disks. So Stuart, you don't even have to wait for one disk to crash; the operating system may well be conveniently doing the corruption for you.
The official word it's at Microsoft (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/946676), but this has been discussed here on Engadget multiple times; it's hard to believe you've been Highly Ranked with a post like this. I guess pointing out the truth will get me a Low Rank. Go on then.
Please ignore and comments about data corruption on Windows Home Server. That is an old problem was was solved be Power Pack 1, and even before that, it was only a problem with a very limited number of programs and only if they were using the remote storeage directly instead of a local hard drive. One example would be configuring outlook to store all its data on the network share directly instead of the local PC.
giuliop>
You're right -- I didn't mention the data-corruption bug -- hardly a falsehood, not that I want to be compared to the government. But if _YOU_ read about the bug, you'll find that it only affects certain programs, there's a fix due very soon, and, if you keep local copies of certain types of your files, this is a non-issue.
So I ask you, giuliop -- have you even _used_ Windows Home Server?
"That is an old problem was was solved be Power Pack 1"
It is an old problem alright, and the shameful thing is that it's
been known for months but it hasn't been solved as of today, because Power Pack 1 is not yet out.
Yes, there is a beta version out; do you suggest installing a beta software, which is a synonym for still-to-be-debugged-software, to solve a bug?
"it was only a problem with a very limited number of programs"
"But if _YOU_ read about the bug, you'll find that it only affects
certain programs"
I certainly read about the bug. Question is, did you?
Because if you did, you would have discovered that, in Microsoft's words, "The nature of the issues precludes Microsoft from providing a definitive list of affected applications", and then they give a list - an obviously
incomplete list, by what they say - of applications (link is above).
And yes, I did install it, but stopped using it as soon as I heard
about this bug.
What should a user do, cross his fingers and hope that the
application he's using is not in the yet-to-be-definitive list
Microsoft provided, in addition to stop using all the applications
listed?
PS3 + Ubuntu Home Server locked away somewhere. Mine runs over wifi flawlessly (even HD content) but ultimately you'd want cat5.
Ubuntu server is so flexible. I did have firefly running but now use TwonkyMedia which supports video. Of course you could always replace this with a pre-built Windows Home Server box for an easier setup.
whoa! i like this question... but i wwant something that works with my PS3... and cheap, er... cost effective would be a better term
Everex gpc mini. Delete the lame Gos and put on MCE.
2nd the QNAP. has tons of functionality.
Tversity wins. Transcodes and then streams to everything.
I have a Synology with 1.5 TB connected via Netgear GS605 (gigabit net) to PopcornHour/Transgear DVX700 M10/Xbox with XBMC and HP m8190 (TB). This solution covers all rooms in my house (except bathroom :-) ) ad it's fine.
Why of course, Amahi!
The best linux home server around. Based on Fedora (F8, for stability), and easy to install.
The media server part is nearly ready - the rest is way ahead of anyone else!
Oh, should have posted the URL: http://www.amahi.org
best server: crack the whip and get whatcha want
And when a problem comes along, you must whip it.
1. Watch slickdeals/dealsea for a
Old Wi-Fi laptop. Free Orb download.
Streaming and transcoding to any console, computer or even mobile phone when I'm out-and-about for nought? Priceless.
Apple TV + Samba server+External Hard drive. Works much better than any linux box with its 900mhz processor. Also does all the other nice things hacked appletv does, like play movies, music, download stuff.... And also costs well below $700!
http://forum.awkwardtv.org/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=727
Linux based Mini-ITX PC, running Gentoo and TwonkyMedia. Perfect uptime and works flawlessly...
this does exist, beta version, available on august, HDTV S2 tuner, 1To, no fan, multiuser, multiroom iptv, LAMP open software, join us to ask for what you wish to have at http://.www.cybervia.com
PC with MediaPortal on it. (http://www.team-mediaportal.com/) Imo the best setup you can get for money. MythTV (http://www.mythtv.org/) works for you Linux freaks but if you got the hardware (MythTV got low specs MediaPortal does not) MediaPortal is the shit.
The low budget version: Xbox with XBMC. Only draw back is that it can't display/record TV or play HD content.
I just checked out what orb is and in my opinion why struggle with several operating systems when you can just get:
- Asus EEE PC 901
- orb software
- external harddrive usb 2.0
and man youre good to go. Why bother with anything else? This setup is so easy, clean and neat. Highly efficient and doesnt make any noise.
The Best System?
Mac Mini with 2TB Drobo drive, not only a great file server but a brilliant Media Server. I've also installed TVeye which exports all the TV programs to iTunes, so have weeks worth of TV programs to watch.
Movies ? Well you could use Handbreak and rip as many DVD's as you like, again having a massive library of films ready to watch.
I use the 40gb Apple TV to watch the lot on, went for the 40gb as I stream the lot anyway. But there's no reason why you can't play it all through the Mac Mini.
I've used this setup for months and am very pleased with it, very clean, reliable and easy to use/setup system.
low end mac mini = $599
drobo + 2TB = $799
Starting budget = $700
I don't doubt the ease of use or reliability of the setup, but if I could arbitrarily double an allotted budget generally the end result would be easier to use and more reliable.
I did a lot of research on this a few months ago.
First of all, media streaming and NAS are two different applications.
I chose a Windows Home Server because I wanted the NAS, the storage, application to work like an appliance - ease and reliability. One thing that steered me away from the cool engineering of the ReadyNAS+ is I've heard from many operations guys that when a RAID goes down it is often NOT fun bringing it back up. You don't really know your RAID implementation until it has to recover and btw if you don't have matching drives (same speeds and specs) you can get in the way of performance and possibly recovery efficacy. WHS does 'dumb' file replication (it guarantees a file on disk A will be replicated somewhere on another physical disk), so the recovery effort has significantly less complexity. You can also set replication on or off on arbitrary folders.
Cons of WHS. That replication is not as efficient as RAID (you are simply using 2x the space for replicated files nothing more efficient as RAID does). Also msft had that nasty bug about file corruption for open files from the server that was only patched a few weeks ago.
In truth, that's part of why I chose WHS though too because I figured I could rely on msft to continue to update the platform and eventually, doggedly, fix bugs.
Automatic backup of all machines in the house (eg wife's) is done for me without nagging. (see my comment above about wanting something that works like an applicance forme)
I can choose to run apps like mTorrent and even other 'dedicated/always-on' server apps which is a benefit, though I am about the reliability and simplicity so I'm not going to start running a TOR server on this thing, even though the "platform" benefit of WHS can.
As to the media streaming, it really depends on your downstream client. WHS, and most NAS devices, expose folders as UPnP which most clients,set tops and extenders recognize so forme that was enough. I plan to run a series of HP media exenders and squeezebox duet off the WHS. Also the WHS will do external (WAN) sharing if you so desire.
Goodluck!
TViX M-6500A or Popcorn Hour which are both based on latest Sigma chips and can play 1080p MKV files.
I've used both a (debian) NSLU2 and a (optware) Synology cs407 running mediatomb. Serves upnp music/video/photos to the ps3 and shares music folders with windows media player. Works great.
The NSLU2 takes about a hour to index a large music collection, the cs407 about 10 minutes. Both work great and mediatomb ( http://mediatomb.cc/ ) is a great open source application, in current development (soon youtube streaming, for those who like that kind of thing) and very flexible indexing (use the built in, or script (js) your own organisation).
By the way the cs407 is a nice piece of kit.
Guys stop.. just stop with this apple stuff. No one cares about those overpriced products. They are certainly not the best bang for buck in terms of price, ease and performance.
So just stop it. Its getting annoying. I
I Use a HP Mediasmart server running WHS with 5 TB to stream to my Popcorn hour - 100 .. also to PS3 and XB360 .. Seems to work out rather well
IMHO a dedicated vista media center pc connected to a 360 as an extender is the best solution.
No matter how careful you are, if you have a windows box directly connected to the tv it will eventually crash or update itself or need drivers, etc etc etc. If you have a family they will be browsing the web and installing spyware.
With the 360 as an extender you don't have to worry about anything except network connectivity and tuner card drivers on the pc. I never have an issue, even when playing crysis/team fortress 2 while streaming to the extender (Wired).
The only downside is that to play divx/xvid you have to exit media center on the 360 and play it from the dashboard, but imo it is worth the peace of mind.
Not sure if this qualifies but I'm constantly reminded how good upgraded hard-drive, chipped xbox running XBMC is. For the price and functionality, it's amazing. About the only thing it's lacking is high definition, but given the speed of internet where I live (Australia), HD isn't a problem right now for the downloaded shows and movies I watch on it.
It also won't play DVD quality H264 files
I just have a couple 1TB USB 2.0 external drives hooked up to my desktop/server machine. They serve over SMB to a couple modded xbox's running XBMC. That system works beautifully.
I can't believe no one has mentioned TVersity media server. Streams to any device from any modern PC. And its free. Very stable to boot.
hacked apple tv with an extra 2TB usb drive. way under $700.
Im going to be ignorant and not read all the comments.
I use Nero Mediahome to stream everything to my PS3, no problems allthough I bet its not the best out there.
the price varies, but a great place to start...
fiire
http://www.fiire.com/index.php
lowest end model starts at $549 and can go way up from there depending on what you want.
Open Source LinuxMCE based. Great support. I'd buy it myself, but I'm saving for anything but my 480i TV first (and i may go with a mac mini too just because it intrigues me).
oh, side note, i'm running linuxmce on an old box with a mediocre video card and i have all the 3d enhancements operating on an old tv and it's smooth. i just use it for the basic dvd playing because by the time i buy a tuner card etc. i might as well just buy a fiire and get support.
I use an NSLU2 with slugos... serves media, hosts backup volumes, etc. It has a 1TB external drive attached. Not the fastest at backup, but it's great for a basic linux computer.
It runs VERY quiet (no fans) and takes very little power. I also took an old d-link router and installed openwrt.
After that i took the boards (and antennae) out of the nslu2 and d-link and mounted those two inside an old slim dvd player case with the harddrive. Total cost: well under $250 (under $200 if you already have a router)
Works great streaming to my computers and xbmc. now to just figure out how to stream to a wii from it...
From an I.T. guys point of view, building your own system is always the best way to go but, as I've gotten older and wiser I've learn that the simplest solution is usually the best solution, which is to buy an already configured system.
The young techs will tell you to built it but for us folks with very little time on our hands this is just not doable. I own the HP Windows Home server and have to say it works great! I have 1 MacBook Pro, 2 Windows laptop, 1 desktop, and a media center, and they all get backed up every night automatically. Another nice bonus is all the free plug-in's and one of my favorites is iTunes plug-in. It lets you share your music library via iTunes so all you needs is one iTunes library to manage.