Hi!
My goal:
I want to set up a beamer projector in my flat and connect that to some kind of ‘always on’ machine with which I can stream (currently Netflix a bit but that really is not a priority as I am thinking of cancelling it) but would also like it to be a torrent client (I have a VPN) to download some media.
Though something like popcorn time would also be nice, though that’s also something that I would only use behind a vpn for obvious reasons.
I have a pi5 or and some older NUCs hanging around that run well with Ubuntu. I know that something like kodi does not play nice with Netflix (iirc because of drm).
Should I use the pi? Or better an Ubuntu and do the power management best I can myself?
What would you guys say is a good way to try this out?
Edit: TIL I thought beamer is a word that German borrows from English, so I assumed it’s the same. Nope, in German ‘beamer’ has very weird roots (https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Videoprojektor) so Germany stole an English word ‘beam’ but it meant project… Weird
My future plans include setting up a NAS storage and connecting that to a Pi which would be always on. The Pi would be a torrent seeder, and a Plex/Jellyfin server as well.
This way my trusty desktop computer can rest after being on 24/7 for like 4 years now. Poor thing.
I haven’t tried this yet, so I can’t report on how well it works. But maybe it can serve as inspiration for you.
I have this currently. Been running steady for 5 years now. I have 2 5tb portable hdds as my storage (usb3) and all the arrs, plex media server and qbittorrent with the vpn and a kill switch so if the vpn goes down the torrents aren’t running. Everything just works as long as nothing needs transcoded. My main tv is Roku and seems to handle all the file formats so it been working fine for me. YMMV.
Currently I am trying to learn docker and containerize all the different apps to make redeployment simpler.
This is what I had in mind as well; If you had to how would you add a beamer to this that could use your jellyfin/plex server?
Ideally I’d want a pi or mini pc behind the beamer that I can switch on/off remotely so that part is not always on
If the projector supports apps, maybe it can run Plex/Jellyfin? Otherwise maybe I would have another small Pi or a small laptop or something that would use the projector as its output. I’m assuming the projector doesn’t support HDR so a regular browser connecting to Plex could work.
I just use my HDR-enabled smart TV to connect to Plex and Jellyfin. 🤷♂️
In my experience, 2 devices will ultimately save you effort and frustration. Anything you choose as a good NAS/seedbox will be unlikely to have a good from the couch interface or handle Netflix reliable and easily. A small Android TV box may have a much better interface, simple app setup, and support all the streaming services, but probably won’t be very powerful or convenient to use as a NAS. The NAS is always on, plugged directly into the Internet access point, and tucked away out of sight and sound. The Android TV or Apple TV box is silent, small, and can be mounted directly to the Beamer/Projector.
Yes, Kodi exists and it’s add-ons can bridge this gap. But I still think that a SBC NAS running Jellyfin or plex + an Nvidia shield with jellyfin, Plex, Netflix, Spotify, YouTube, amaon, etc. will be so much easier to setup, manage, find support for, and upgrade.
I have a similar setup even though my server has a direct HDMI link to my TV. I’m not a fan of viewing using the server it from the couch. Setting up IR remotes sucks always. And it’s confusing for anyone but me to use. But if my Nvidia Shield dies or I’m having network trouble, VLC a pretty good backup.