Using Plex with nMP

[theBigD23]

Hi... with the Sleep option removed from the system with the Haswell processors, does anyone use Plex with this system? If the computer goes to "sleep", then Plex cannot be accessed.

Any workarounds?

 

[chfilm]

Use xbmc

 

[saschke]

Bland answer (I do that myself): Don't let it sleep, it's server-grade hardware in the end. Of course this doesn't take into account energy consumption.

Slightly better answer: I have a little iPhone app that allows me to put the machine to sleep from anywhere within the WiFi. I use that when I know I don't need the nMP to be on. In addition, I use the scheduler to have it sleep from 1:30 AM to 6:30 AM. It's on pretty much every day other than that.

 

[realph]

I've been running Plex on my Mac Pro too! Can you get around the sleep problem by running Plex straight off a Plex-ready NAS? Is that possible?

 

[Capt Crunch]

I've been running Plex on my Mac Pro too! Can you get around the sleep problem by running Plex straight off a Plex-ready NAS? Is that possible?

Yes, but you would lose the ability to transcode higher bitrates, which you would likely need if you play any 1080p movies on an iDevice.

 

[realph]

Yes, but you would lose the ability to transcode higher bitrates, which you would likely need if you play any 1080p movies on an iDevice.

What about playing back films on a Mac Mini. Would those not stream in 1080p?

 

[Capt Crunch]

What about playing back films on a Mac Mini. Would those not stream in 1080p?

Sure, that would work, although if you've got a mac mini on under your TV, you might as well make the mac mini the Plex server and have the ability to transcode.

 

[realph]

Sure, that would work, although if you've got a mac mini on under your TV, you might as well make the mac mini the Plex server and have the ability to transcode.

I'm trying avoid keeping the computers in the house awake. Wouldn't mind if the NAS was always on though, as I could rely on it when trying to connect remotely from outside the house and access my media through Plex.

Is there any NAS solution that can work around that 1080p problem?

 

[Capt Crunch]

I'm trying avoid keeping the computers in the house awake. Wouldn't mind if the NAS was always on though, as I could rely on it when trying to connect remotely from outside the house and access my media through Plex.

Is there any NAS solution that can work around that 1080p problem?

There are some, but they are usually expensive because they are intended for business applications.

https://plexapp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/201373823-NAS-Devices-and-Limitations

Honestly a mac mini doesn't draw that much power. Here's my totally anecdotal reasoning: I used to have a powerstrip that had 6 outlets, where 5 are a slave to the master outlet. If no power was being drawn to the master outlet, the other outlets would switch off to conserve power. My mac mini was on the master outlet, and when it was idle, my stupid powerstrip turned off everything else. The only way to turn on my receiver was to start playing a movie to draw enough power to flip the slave outlets on. Ergo, idle didn't draw much power

 

[aleksoctop]

Good thread. I'd like a solution for this too.

Currently I stream off plex by first waking my nMP. In power settings, check "prevent sleep when the display is off" and just turn off the display. Yeah, and then the extra step of putting the comp back to sleep. Works well.