Hi everyone,
I hope this doesn't become too long but I have a few things I want to accomplish and I have some equipment but want to know the best way to do everything.
I have a NAS unit with 2 2TB HD in Raid 1. Apple TV 2 jailbroken with Plex (although I am considering selling this in order to buy 2 Apple TV 3). 2011 Mac Mini with 2.5ghz i5, 16GB ram, and 500gb HD. Also have an Airport Extreme, and a 2007 iMac.
What I currently have going on is storing all my video ripped/downloaded on my NAS, and then pointing Plex to this. It works okay, but sometimes stutters on certain file types. If I play / transcode these files from my Mini, most of the time it is fine.
What I want is to sell my Apple TV 2, and buy 2 Apple TV 3s. I have a 1080p t.v in my living room I would like to be able to watch my movies on, especially my parents. Ideally I would like to just use Apple everything as it is the most simple and usually works the best.
What I am planning to do is erase my NAS and use it just for file storage / backup. I am a university student so having multiple copies of my files is important. Also, I will back up all my Macs (3) to the NAS with Time Machine. The 2TB space should be plenty for this purpose.
Now, I need a place to put my Media. Should I buy a bigger internal hard drive for the Mini (I can install myself, no problem)? Should I buy an external hard drive? Since my Mini does not have USB 3.0, if I store all my media on an external and point iTunes to this, will the connection be fast enough?
I plan on ripping/downloading all of my files to MP4 format so they can play natively.
Will I encounter any problems or does anyone have any suggestions? I want to get away from the jailbreaking/plex scene to something "that just works" so my parents/nephew can watch TV shows or movies effortlessly (they are VERY tech non-savy).
I hope this doesn't become too long but I have a few things I want to accomplish and I have some equipment but want to know the best way to do everything.
I have a NAS unit with 2 2TB HD in Raid 1. Apple TV 2 jailbroken with Plex (although I am considering selling this in order to buy 2 Apple TV 3). 2011 Mac Mini with 2.5ghz i5, 16GB ram, and 500gb HD. Also have an Airport Extreme, and a 2007 iMac.
What I currently have going on is storing all my video ripped/downloaded on my NAS, and then pointing Plex to this. It works okay, but sometimes stutters on certain file types. If I play / transcode these files from my Mini, most of the time it is fine.
What I want is to sell my Apple TV 2, and buy 2 Apple TV 3s. I have a 1080p t.v in my living room I would like to be able to watch my movies on, especially my parents. Ideally I would like to just use Apple everything as it is the most simple and usually works the best.
What I am planning to do is erase my NAS and use it just for file storage / backup. I am a university student so having multiple copies of my files is important. Also, I will back up all my Macs (3) to the NAS with Time Machine. The 2TB space should be plenty for this purpose.
Now, I need a place to put my Media. Should I buy a bigger internal hard drive for the Mini (I can install myself, no problem)? Should I buy an external hard drive? Since my Mini does not have USB 3.0, if I store all my media on an external and point iTunes to this, will the connection be fast enough?
I plan on ripping/downloading all of my files to MP4 format so they can play natively.
Will I encounter any problems or does anyone have any suggestions? I want to get away from the jailbreaking/plex scene to something "that just works" so my parents/nephew can watch TV shows or movies effortlessly (they are VERY tech non-savy).
