Ripping DVD’s

ocgrant said:
Ok I understand that now what do I use for a server on the boat and how do I connect that on my boats network?
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This just plugs into yournetwork, and anything with a Plex client app (Roku, fire stick, smart TV) can be pointed at the server and see all the content.
 
SKybolt said:
Dave what do you use as a plex client that works when there is no iNet? I have used Plex at home for years and Kodi on the boat because of needing an iNet connection for the FireTv. That is why I use Kodi on the boat.
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I’ve never had this problem that I’m aware of…

I might have to try it.
 
ocgrant said:
Ok I understand that now what do I use for a server on the boat and how do I connect that on my boats network?
Click to expand...

So you don't actually need to be connected to a network. Put the files on a harddrive so program like Kodi or Plex Server can access them locally. For me I have Kodi running on a Pi that also runs other apps so it is connected to the iNet but doesn't need to be. What does need to be done is the Pi needs to be connected to an HDMI switch or can be moved to the desired Tv. I have three Tv's on th eboat and it's only my wife and I so I ran HDMI cables to each Tv and connect them to a HMDI multi output switch. So all three Tv watch the same thing but are also piped through the boat's stereo.

So Grant, what it the setup of your boat and Tv's? All are independent and running DTV with dvd players on each? If so that is the challenge. Kodi can be setup like a DVD player (of sorts) and could be moved to each tv or put one on each Tv and a NAS hard drive on your network and the movies can be accessed from that. I say NAS (Network Attached Storage) but most routers have USB ports on them now and can support a hard drive being plugged into that and then shared.

The issue with Plex is the need for a client to watch it from. Currently I only know of clients like FireTv or the like which need iNet. I stream Plex from my house with FireTv but when there is no iNet available I use Kodi.
 
dtfeld said:
I’ve never had this problem that I’m aware of…

I might have to try it.
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So what client do you use? My FireTv needs to have iNet or I can't get to the Plex client.

EDIT: I guess if you have a smart tv and it has Plex installed or can be downloaded it would work from there great. I only have one smart tv that allows you to download apps (Samsung) and the other two are just what ever they have.
 
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SKybolt said:
So you don't actually need to be connected to a network. Put the files on a harddrive so program like Kodi or Plex Server can access them locally. For me I have Kodi running on a Pi that also runs other apps so it is connected to the iNet but doesn't need to be. What does need to be done is the Pi needs to be connected to an HDMI switch or can be moved to the desired Tv. I have three Tv's on th eboat and it's only my wife and I so I ran HDMI cables to each Tv and connect them to a HMDI multi output switch. So all three Tv watch the same thing but are also piped through the boat's stereo.

So Grant, what it the setup of your boat and Tv's? All are independent and running DTV with dvd players on each? If so that is the challenge. Kodi can be setup like a DVD player (of sorts) and could be moved to each tv or put one on each Tv and a NAS hard drive on your network and the movies can be accessed from that. I say NAS (Network Attached Storage) but most routers have USB ports on them now and can support a hard drive being plugged into that and then shared.

The issue with Plex is the need for a client to watch it from. Currently I only know of clients like FireTv or the like which need iNet. I stream Plex from my house with FireTv but when there is no iNet available I use Kodi.
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So I have 4 tvs all have their own dvd and DTV receiver that is useless. I have a couple of Vizio smart tvs and a couple I was going to use fire sticks. I have the pep link and a Cisco router all set up from when I copied your set up last year. I know the Cisco router has a “media server port” not sure what that means but it has it…. I want each tv to be able to access the media server and would prefer it to be via wireless.
 
ocgrant said:
So I have 4 tvs all have their own dvd and DTV receiver that is useless. I have a couple of Vizio smart tvs and a couple I was going to use fire sticks. I have the pep link and a Cisco router all set up from when I copied your set up last year. I know the Cisco router has a “media server port” not sure what that means but it has it…. I want each tv to be able to access the media server and would prefer it to be via wireless.
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Right so the Media server port is where you can plug in the hard drive with the movies on it, then be shared. The issue I have with this is when there is no inet the Plex client on the FireTv does not work and I only have one tv that could be updated to use the Plex client. Sounds like you might have two that could download the Plex client, but the other two would not. This issue is why I wired all of the Tv's to one source and use Kodi when there is no iNet.

That said I am going to experiment with this a bit this week and see what happens with no inet and see if I can get around it. It's been years since I tried that and just took the next easiest route Kodi. But I have been wanting Plex offline on the boat.

In your case if you always have iNet FireTv is awesome and works perfect as a Plex client.
 
SKybolt said:
Right so the Media server port is where you can plug in the hard drive with the movies on it, then be shared. The issue I have with this is when there is no inet the Plex client on the FireTv does not work and I only have one tv that could be updated to use the Plex client. Sounds like you might have two that could download the Plex client, but the other two would not. This issue is why I wired all of the Tv's to one source and use Kodi when there is no iNet.

That said I am going to experiment with this a bit this week and see what happens with no inet and see if I can get around it. It's been years since I tried that and just took the next easiest route Kodi. But I have been wanting Plex offline on the boat.

In your case if you always have iNet FireTv is awesome and works perfect as a Plex client.
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Look forward to hearing your findings on testing. My issue is marinas in the Bahamas have spotty to crappy WiFi so have a server onboard would be great. I could hardwire all tvs with HDMI if that is what’s needed but would prefer wireless streaming to avoid the work. I have my kids playing with building a Plex server in the house right now. Will probably get a raspberry pi and a big hard drive to start playing. Let me know what you find out
 
ocgrant said:
Look forward to hearing your findings on testing. My issue is marinas in the Bahamas have spotty to crappy WiFi so have a server onboard would be great. I could hardwire all tvs with HDMI if that is what’s needed but would prefer wireless streaming to avoid the work. I have my kids playing with building a Plex server in the house right now. Will probably get a raspberry pi and a big hard drive to start playing. Let me know what you find out
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You will love plex, great idea to set it up in the house first.

As for wireless, I guess if your Tv's are wireless and you can get the Plex app on them it would work. Will let you know what comes of all of this.
 
SKybolt said:
Dave what do you use as a plex client that works when there is no iNet? I have used Plex at home for years and Kodi on the boat because of needing an iNet connection for the FireTv. That is why I use Kodi on the boat.
Click to expand...
On the boat, just Samsung smart TVs. Remote is a little slow/clunky, but has both YouTube TV and plex installed, so no additional hardware
 
dtfeld said:
On the boat, just Samsung smart TVs. Remote is a little slow/clunky, but has both YouTube TV and plex installed, so no additional hardware
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That's what I thought, that is the perfect solution.
But not everyone has all Samsung smart Tv's ...
 
SKybolt said:
That's what I thought, that is the perfect solution.
But not everyone has all Samsung smart Tv's ...
Click to expand...
Scratch and dent / open box at Best Buy!
 
SKybolt said:
You will love plex, great idea to set it up in the house first.

As for wireless, I guess if your Tv's are wireless and you can get the Plex app on them it would work. Will let you know what comes of all of this.
Click to expand...
So found this info on offline use.

 
ocgrant said:
So found this info on offline use.

Click to expand...

Yes the server side can be set for no inet, but the clients like FireTv need it to get to the app. That's the issue and why the Tv app is perfect, or the use of an Android Tv (possibly).
 
so if a fire stick won't work would an apple TV work?
 
ocgrant said:
so if a fire stick won't work would an apple TV work?
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I am not sure. Never played with an apple tv. I do know if you jail break an apple tv and load kodi on it it does work without inet. I have a friend that use the apple tv that way for his boat, that same way I am using kodi on the pi. But straight of the shelf I am not sure.

So the good news is I got Plex server running on a Pi 4B (latest available) and it does work without iNet with a few setting changes, it doesn't like it but it does work. I also tested it with a Samsung Tv plex app and it all just worked.

With the Pi getting the shared hard drive with the movies on it to be seen by the Pi and survive rebooting etc. was nothing less then a blood letting, so to speak. Extremely painful and like most linux things the biggest PITA there is. What did I just say? The external hard drive was plugged into the Linksys router and shared. I had to jump through many hoops to get the Plex server to see that shared drive and also see it again when the server was rebooted (turned back on). Just plugging the drive into the Pi isn't going to work either it must be permanently mounted in a location that Plex will be able to access and by default it can not access the drive.

I did get the hard drive to be seen when plugged into the Pi directly but had to jump through more hoops to get it moved to another location that Plex would be able to access the drive.

I don't recommend the non-tech savvy person to try and use a Pi for a Plex server it is very frustrating to get to work correctly. I have been hacking my way through Linux for many years and still find it difficult at best to just get things working the way they should.

Using Kodi is by far the easiest way to do this, but all of the Tv's must be connected together and watch the same thing.

Now for all of the Linux guru's that might read this, please don't post and tell me how easy this stuff is and how much you like it. I have been doing this for a very long time and absolutely hate Linux compared to Windows. I actually hate both but windows is the lesser of the two evils. I get some people like it and don't mind the extra work to get things going, not me ...
 
Update: Just tried a Roku 2 and that doesn't care about iNet or not and the Plex client worked as well. Not sure what the newer Roku's will do but the older stick and 2 worked pretty well.
 
For the server side, given the cost of a PI these days, an Intel NUC would also fit the bill. Easier storage options, networking, etc.

With the right CPU, transcoding becomes possible, which would allow Plex to serve to other devices, like kid phones/ipads.

I haven't specd a NUC in a while but my plex server at home has I3-8400T and it will do just about anything , short of transcoding 4k content. Since most of us don't have 4k tvs inboard, it's easy yo get away with a lower end CPU.
 
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So for anyone wanting to do this I would recommend you use a windows based PC and a Roku device you can set this up in under an hour and don't need any iNet to work.
 
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