Pre build and setup planning

[rotabeast]

Hi there,

Well done with the site and guide. It's very comprehensive and easily one of the best DIY's available in this area!

My dis-used desktop back home is calling. It's been sitting around for long enough not doing anything. So i've decided to take it out of retirement and turn it into a Media server. I was going to go down the Windows route with it, but prefer the Linux option. I have a little bit of experience using Linux and enjoyed it, so I think it's for me.
However, i'm not a network head and have never done anything like this before, so i have no home theatre or streaming experience prior to trying this out!

The setup I intend on implementing is like this:

-Use the current wireless setup in the house to remote into the server
-Use a wireless access point (http://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-Link-TL-WA901ND-Advanced-Wireless-Access/dp/B002YETVXC/ref=sr_1_3?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1309956086&sr=1-3) to connect the server to the internet via the wireless router already installed (to download new stuff!) but also use the same access point connected to the server to directly connect to the server (wirelessly) while in the house(i.e. not have to go through the router which provides internet)
-Use my laptop to remote into the server and watch/stream movies/play music with this acting as a client.
-Have a few applications installed on the server that allow me to watch/stream my music, videos(VLC media player, for instance) using VNC. So the app will be available for me to watch it directly on my laptop.

Also if I was in my room, i would like to listen to the audio of my media via my speakers, not the laptop ones, but the standalones that I have. Is it possible to 'split' the video (in the case of a movie) and the audio? I guess the same applies for the music i'll play..so if i'm anywhere in the house and can connect to the server, it plays via the standalones, not the laptop speaker!?

Sorry, if the description is a bit muddled! So basically my question is, is this a feasible option? Or is there a better way of doing it? I notice that you are making use of streamers, I guess in effect i'll be doing the same thing, but with less equipment?

Like I say maybe it's a bit confusing so if you have questions that will clear it up please ask and i'll try my best to further describe what I need to do!

The linux part is all fine, its just setting up the network stuff that may cause a few problems!

Thanks

[Ian]

Hi there and welcome to the forums.

OK, the first thing that "troubles me" is you'll be using wireless. Both to connect the server to your network and to also connect your "client", your laptop in this case, to the network and thus the server. This will mean you're performing a "double-wireless-hop" which might cause issues with throughput (stuttering video and/or audio drop-outs). Ideally you'd connect your server via ethernet cable to your network and, ideally, your client to your network via ethernet cable too.

However, this doesn't mean it will definitely not perform up to par but that it might not. It depends on your wireless network and the bandwidth of the video you're streaming. eg. uncompressed blu-ray might be a no-no. I'm afraid you'll have to try it and see whether it's up to the job.

In terms of pushing the audio through some external speakers this is possible. You could either use the audio-out on your laptop or if you're using a dedicated streamer (either dedicated audio streamer or a dedicated video streamer) then these generally allow you to separate the audio and video. This might introduce a audio sync issues (since the video and the audio are processed separately and thus subject to different "circuits") but you'd have to try it and see too.

That's about as definitive an answer to your question as I can give you I'm afraid. Wireless is such a variable beast and there are no guarantees.

Ian.

[rotabeast]

Thanks for the reply! Much appreciated.

Yea, like I say i'm a real noob at this, so maybe i'm not following the kind of conventions that might usually be followed, but i've got some equipment lying around and want to put it to some use!
Yea, you're right, the wireless option is not really the best. But the double hop, as you mentioned, will be the worst case - when i'm not in my house and feel like watching something located on the server. That will be rare though.
The main reason I want to have the access point for the server is so that I can keep it in my room (the internet router is not in my room). I also wanted this to be relatively "cable-less" so not have to use an Ethernet cable to connect it to the internet router ot my laptop to the server for that matter. Most of the time, i'm going to be connecting directly to the access point that is ethernet connected directly to the server, hence i will only be connecting to one wireless device not two. Throughput was something I had considered, and I reckon it'd be severely limited if I went through both devices (router and access point) so I want to avoid it if I can.
Using the audio out on the laptop is not really the idea; my idea is to use the soundcard on the server to connect my speakers to. So when I play my music it comes out of those, even though I have initiaited play through the laptop.

I don't want to have to buy a dedicated streamer for the task either, as the server will have the functionality that I require. But as the server will be headless, I won't be able to see the video through it. I guess I just want to use the GUI that VNC affords me to see a video play on the screen of my laptop. Is that something that is feasible? What I am imagining is that the client device, in this case, my laptop, will play both the video and the audio, in which case the speakers connected to the server become redundant. So I need the video to play on the screen that I can see on my laptop via the remote log on, but the audio to play to the server attached speakers.

Sorry that this is so extrapolated and difficult to describe, having minimum experience in this area but knowing what I want to do is frustrating to explain as I'm not very good at it!

Thanks

[LarryJB]

why not put the server in the same room as the router? That would allow you to connect the server to the router with a short cable. the server has no need for a keyboard or monitor, so it should not take up too much space. you then access it via putty and vnc from another computer.

-Have a few applications installed on the server that allow me to watch/stream my music, videos(VLC media player, for instance) using VNC. So the app will be available for me to watch it directly on my laptop.

These applications (like VLC player)should ideally be installed on the laptop client. That way the laptop serves as the streamer. No need to have anything but samba installed on the media server. Use vnc to administrate the server.

[rotabeast]

Hi Larry,

Thanks for the reply! Yea, but my understanding of VNC (i've never used it before) is that it's used to log onto the server, and from there i can remotely control the server (run applications etc). I take it this is a horrible assumption then!!??haha

Thanks

[LarryJB]

Hi Larry,

Thanks for the reply! Yea, but my understanding of VNC (i've never used it before) is that it's used to log onto the server, and from there i can remotely control the server (run applications etc). I take it this is a horrible assumption then!!??haha
Thanks

Not a bad assumption, you are correct. But, even though you COULD do as you suggest, doesn't mean you SHOULD.
Having a gui interface into your server sometimes helps when configuring your system, but running applications via vnc that could otherwise be run on the client is just more hastle than its worth. Plus it would probably run smother on the client.
For Example;
to run the VLC player on the server from your laptop client.
From the laptop you must 1st start the vnc client (probably tight vnc or ultra vnc)
Then you will need to tell it server to connect to and at what speed and press the OK or connect button.
After the connection is established, you need to navigate to the file you want to play and I think you can just dblclick it to play.

to run it from your laptop client, you can just naivgate to the network file location and dblclick the file to play it. That's it!

It's really just a one step process. Seems pretty simple to me.
Also, if the player is on your laptop and you want to play a movie whilst not connected to the server, just copy the file from the server to the laptop before you leave the house and you can play that file anywhere you go. You couldn't do that if you only installed the vlc player on the server.

[rotabeast]

Ah, ok, I see! Yea that makes sense. I was a bit unsure about that aspect of it. Well i'll be setting it up over the weekend, so i'm sure i'm going to have more questions! Thanks so far