Hardware switch -> worried of my NAS

1st Official Post

    Hi All,

    I finally dared to make the switch from Windows to LibreELEC and I am glad that I did it.

    Not only the software is very good, but the community here seems to be very nice as well!

    I was hoping to get some considerations from you guys, if my current plan looks okay, or if you have concerns.

    My current setup looks like this:

    OLED55B7D

    An old Onkyo AVR (non-4k capable)

    HTPC with Pentium G4400 and ASUS H170i PLUS D3

    old Thecus NAS

    Cabling:

    HTPC->HDMI->TV

    HTPC->optical cable->AVR

    LibreELEC runs very smooth (although in 1080p only) and Hyperion (w/arduino) + Tvheadend is a kind of a dream! <3

    The Thecus however worries me quite a lot and I have to update it sooner than later.

    So my current plan is to move the H170i with the G4400 into a Fractal Node 304 to intall FreeNAS with RAID z2.

    The hardware is capable for my home use.

    Regarding the HTPC successor, I am not 100% sure how to move on.

    Option#1

    buying a RPi4 with 4GB RAM. I tested it already with a friends PI and the setup would work.

    I just had to change the cabling: HTPC->HDMI->TV->optical cabel->AVR

    Here and there it wasn't as smooth as my current setup, but this could be tweaked, I guess.

    Option#2

    Using the existing M.2 SATA, 320GB HDD and Fractal Node 202 and buy a J5005-ITX (with a PicoPSU). I have 8GB RAM existing as well.

    J5005-ITX

    Sooner or later, I want to move to escalates RetroELEC. But I want to (...rather have to) learn more about Linux first.

    RetroELEC

    I don't plan to emulate more than Sega Megadrive and N64 so I guess a RPi 4 would be sufficient.

    My feeling sais, that I have a little more long-term freedom with the J5005. And the additionl cost in terms of EUR isn't that much of a bummer.

    On the other hand I see that J5005 is quite old and I have no clue on CPU refresh cycles.

    However, my demand isn't quite high. Smooth TV playback, 4k YouTube, 4k Netflix and viewing my photographs in max possible res would be fine for me.

    Is there anything to take care of in terms of HDR?

    Glad to hear your thoughts! :idea:

    Thanks

    • Official Post

    The J5005 does not support m.2 devices for storage, it's only for wifi and the like. It doesn't have built-in CEC support like the RPi4 does. It's also a more expensive option, along with the pico psu.

    The J5005 is not that old. It has the UHD 6xx (605) graphics series onboard. Of course the J5005 has more CPU grunt than a RPi4, and more internal storage (=SATA) options. I have a J5005 running myself (with a pico psu), running Ubuntu+Kodi which works for me.

    The RPi4 is still in its infancy as far as development goes. Most (all?) video upto 1080p is not a problem. The whole 4K side of things requires more bl00d, sweat and tears. And time.

    HDR is still a work-in-progress for Kodi.

    Thank you for your input Klojum

    Quote from Klojum

    The J5005 does not support m.2 devices for storage, it's only for wifi and the like. It doesn't have built-in CEC support like the RPi4 does. It's also a more expensive option, along with the pico psu.

    Haven't had CEC until today and I am not sure, if this is mandtory for me. Although it can be useful to get ridd of one of my remotes.:/

    Great input!

    Is there another great benefit of CEC I don't see?

    Regarding the M.2 - I'd use a 2.5" converter to tackle this. Thank you for highlighting!

    Quote

    The J5005 is not that old. It has the UHD 6xx (605) graphics series onboard. Of course the J5005 has more CPU grunt than a RPi4, and more internal storage (=SATA) options. I have a J5005 running myself (with a pico psu), running Ubuntu+Kodi which works for me.


    Having LE on a SD card would not be an issue for me. The 320GB HDD is currenlty used for timeshift and to store FLACs. Would you see issues by using the drive connected to the RPi 4 in an external USB 3.0 case like this one. I'd use the RPi Power (DC 5,1 V / 3 A an USB Typ-C) which would power the Pi, the SATA drive and the Arduino Uno and every now and then a N64 gamepad.

    Quote

    The RPi4 is still in its infancy as far as development goes. Most (all?) video upto 1080p is not a problem. The whole 4K side of things requires more bl00d, sweat and tears. And time.


    So in other words you'd say that I am fine with a RPi 4? This is at least what I read when using the device as LibreELEC machine only withount any other OS /shrug

    I mean, pricewise it is around twice as much when I compare the prices of the considered bundles RPi vs. 170 EUR for the board and Power supply. I don't have much 4k content to enjoy and just to add a WOL option, which I defenitely will miss, the price adder might be a little to much after all...?

    • Official Post

    I'm still waiting for the Raspberry people to implement USB booting on the RPi4. It already works on the RPi3B+, just not yet on the 4. Although you can 'hack' the boot options on the SD card and then use some external drive on the USB3.0 port to take it from there on. Running your OS from the USB port should give it a nice speed increase.

    Quote from Bub4

    I don't have much 4k content to enjoy and just to add a WOL option, which I defenitely will miss, the price adder might be a little to much after all...?

    The RPi4 software is still being developed (and we'd all wish things would go faster..), but for standard stuff, the CEC thing, WOL is not a thing (everyone keeps it running at 1-3Watt/hr), overall community support, it's a good deal. Not saying it's the best now.

    I'm using my J5005 not just for Kodi, and I basically have no 4K content. So, the choice is still yours :)

    At some point I was in a similar situation. I was running LE and Tvheadend server on a J4205 and considered it not being the best solution for Kodi. I turned the J4205 into a NAS (openmediavault) including a Tvheadend server and turned a raspberry 3 into my new Kodi client. Thinking of moving to a RPi4 once the drivers get more mature.

    Turning your G4400 into a NAS and getting something lightweight for Kodi makes total sense imo. No need for for the J5005 except you want to upgrade the G4400 at some point. The J5005 is a great NAS platform.

    Edited once, last by backslash (March 10, 2020 at 4:50 PM).

    Hi,

    Thanks again for your input. Although it would have made sense to go with RPi4, I went with the ASrock J5005.

    Although I love RPi it was easier for me to switch the mainboard and be fine. There was no restoring process with the J5005. All was working as with the old mainboard, which I totally LOVED. With the RPi basically nothing worked -> Hyperion, TVheadend... Sure I could have fixed this, but this would have been a lot of effort for !me! as I am still not very practiced with LE.

    ...the WAV of WOL and a Power-on button did the rest in terms of decision process...

    ...anyway - I will go with RPi 4 as soon as the bedroom TV went through the approval process :)