Best Economy Setup NAS vs NUC?

Playground Hardware
#1

I have been running the DVR on a old laptop running Linux Mint with really no issues. My only issue is that it only has 512GB drive, so I need more space. The laptop has a first gen i5 chip, so I would like to get something a little more modern.

For now 2TB in a non-raid setup is probably what my budget can afford. I have no problems with spending the time either building up a NUC from scratch with linux or windows 10, so more my issue is making sure whatever invest in will have a greater chance of long-term support.

My target is to spend less than $400 for everything(before sales tax) with support for hardware transcoding(etc). Would the NUC(looking at the apollo lake nuc particular) be my best long-term bet over NAS for a single drive scenario?

Thank you,

Stephen

Hardware Update - Four Years - Updated NUC Config
#2

The DVR is more heavily tested on Linux, so between Windows and Linux I would slightly prefer the latter.

If you’re comfortable building and maintaining the NUC, that’s probably the better way to get more bang for your buck.

If you want something that’s a little more plug-and-play, all the modern Intel-based NAS all work really well. There’s one on sale today (Amazon “Gold Box” deal on QNAP TS-251A ($249 limited offer)) which has a slightly older dual-core processor than the NUC you’re considering. However you can simply stick a drive in it and you’re good to go, and you can always add an additional one down the line if you want.

#3

Thanks for the advice and also for the channels solution. I went with the NUC option as I can always get the NAS I want in the future and can repurpose the NUC as an extra PC as needed.

The whole channels setup is very nice as I have three ATV4 (two on AC, one hard wired), along with a prime and extend(using the non-dvr part since last year). We mainly record off the prime(kid’s shows and sports). I have also used the iOS app on my iPads and it works great wirelessly. It is fun to tell show guests the setup as the whole concept is super cool.

Once I get my hardware in and configured I will post my results back on how it all worked. It should be interesting since I’m trying to get the new box setup finished before first pitch on opening day.

Thank you,

Stephen

1 Like
#4

As I promised here is my experience so far with the new hardware:

NUC6CAYH

2 of CT51264BF160BJ RAM (buying individual is cheaper)

ST2000LX001 2TB Harddrive

Total cost around $310 USD before tax.

Other items not purchased but needed, USB Stick, External Monitor, keyboard / mouse, cat 5e/6 ethernet cable.

My install steps were the following:

  1. Using a 8GB USB stick build a installer copy of Linux Mint 18.1 ( already had this done ).
  2. Assemble the NUC (insert memory & disk ) according to instructions
  3. Attach NUC to keyboard/mouse/monitor/network.
  4. Insert USB stick into NUC
  5. Plug power into NUC and turn on
  6. Boot into Linux Mint 18.1 and then open installer program
  7. Follow install prompts for Linux Mint 18.1
  8. Once install finished remove USB stick from NUC upon reboot
  9. If you are migrating from an old hardware then make sure both the NUC and your old box is connected via 1000MB ethernet or you will wait. Also I migrated from a Linux Channels Install to Linux Channels Install so you mileage might vary.
  10. Copy over the “data” folder for your channels-dvd to the NUC. I installed the openssh package and open ssh sftp package and used the graphical interface on Linux Mint to mount and copy over the files.
  11. Once the data is copied… take the old DVR box off your network
  12. Follow normal instructions for channels install
  13. Move the data folder into the channels-dvr directory and let it merge over the install
  14. Reboot the NUC

If all goes well you should be able to open the :8089 and see everything you had on the older hardware.

  1. I then tested with my Apple TV and was able to see the existing DVR recordings and scheduled items. I’m not sure if this copy will cause problems long-term, and still need further testing, but overall it was very smooth process.

If I didn’t have to migrate the recordings over, I would guess about an hour to complete provided you have a copy of Linux Mint on the USB stick. My choice for using Linux Mint is that is very simple to use. However I don’t see any issues with using your favorite distribution.

Good luck,

Stephen

3 Likes
Intel NUC
#5

Does the NUC6CAYH support Intel Quicksync? Can’t seem to find an answer on Intel’s site about QSV hardware transcoding. If it does, the $224 NUC version with Windows preinstalled (NUC6CAYS) would also be a great option for those who want an easy and cheap dedicated windows server with any sort of external storage. Can you please confirm?

1 Like
#6

https://ark.intel.com/products/95594/Intel-Celeron-Processor-J3455-2M-Cache-up-to-2_3-GHz says Quick Sync is supported

#7

I had seen that, but I wonder why QSV is not mentioned on NUC6CAYH or NUC6CAYS produc specs page…

#8

Honestly I thought about doing the windows 10 pre-kit but realizing that I would need to add more RAM, and add storage it just was not a compelling value especially since it only came with 2GB of RAM which way too IMHO. You are really paying for a discounted version of windows

I also personally thinking using an external drive defeats the point of NUC from clutter perspective. I can say the NUC feels smaller than a normal mybook drive. Especially considering the NUC really isn’t much bigger than the Apple TV 4.

I would honestly say Linux Mint is no hassle after you have created the installer stick. My situation was a little more complicated due to migrating, but for a fresh install with a fast internet connection it’s a very simple install.

I did also try out the hardware transcode option on the web gui playback and it appeared to work fine. It still needs some more “burn-in” testing but it’s been doing great so far this week(crossing fingers).

If I was a windows fan, I would probably instead buy the bare bones version, a USB installer of Windows 10, plus 8GB RAM, and 2.5" internal drive like I got(recommended by intel’s website). I think that’s a much better value long-term than the windows 10 kit.

Take care,

Stephen

1 Like
#9

What is the cheapest NUC I can by just for the DVR. I would likely run Ubuntu as the OS? I will likely need to record at least 3 shows at a time maybe while viewing 1. I use to HDHR primes.