How to set up your own NAS server with Plex on a QNAP

In an increasingly interconnected world, simple solutions are sought for problems or needs that are presented to us. Today we watch many series and many movies, as streaming services put more and better content on demand. That is why these streaming services became popular, because it makes it easier for us. For years, nothing has come out for the multimedia content that we download or create, but luckily solutions like Plex have come out, the image and video streaming service between devices over the internet, and that is quite easy to configure to have a media server.

Plex is a service that, in short, allows us to stream images and videos stored locally to devices via Wi-Fi or the internet . This way, we can set up our own private media service, but doing so requires configuration and understanding what Plex is. Many people are intimidated by it, while others believe they have a magic bullet for doing it cheaply. Well, here's a simple guide to setting up Plex on a NAS server.

First of all, what is Plex

First of all, it's important to understand that Plex is a service comprised of two different apps. On the one hand, there's the standard Plex application, which is downloaded to our computers, smartphones, or even Smart TVs so they can act as clients and allow us to play the multimedia content stored on the server. This can include our own photos or videos , but it has become especially popular for sharing TV series and movies, particularly for sharing them within a household. This allows users to download them to a personal PC and watch them comfortably in the living room, or share them with friends without having to transfer large files.

They also have a selection of their own content, usually movies and series with rights that are easy to acquire or that are in the public domain. It does not mean that it is a good library of movies and series to consume for free, even without having to create an account or register anywhere.

It's worth mentioning that Plex also connects to various popular video streaming services, making Plex our central hub. We can link Disney+ , Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and even Spanish alternatives like FlixOlé.

Moving on to the server application, Plex Server, it is the one that we must put on our server so that it interacts locally with our multimedia files. The Plex Server application will be in charge of encoding, compressing and retransmitting the data over the Internet or the network. It is important that the device that does it has considerable power and is adapted to it, since the device will be the only one in charge of providing us with a high-quality image and sound.

Technically, we can use Plex without ever installing Plex Server . We'll be able to view the service's catalog and other streams, but we won't be able to stream our own videos and photos.

Can I use an old computer as Plex storage?

Technically, you can. It's quite common to keep an old, unused computer running for less demanding tasks like multimedia content. However, this can be highly inefficient, given that the older computers we use are still personal computers for office work or gaming, which rely heavily on an older CPU and RAM, resulting in lower energy efficiency and the need to run an entire operating system.

Using an older computer can create a bottleneck for streaming media on Plex. CPUs and graphics cards come with built-in drivers for codecs and workload types that can be essential for video streaming. For example, the AMD Radeon RX 6400 graphics card is designed for laptops that are known to be 1080p, so it lacks drivers for streaming or receiving 4K content. And this is a graphics card that was released in early 2022.

Over the last 5 years or so, Intel and AMD have been integrating hardware data compression acceleration so processors don't suffer or get too hot with streaming. And it is that the transmission of live video is very demanding and it is not uncommon for streamers to use a PC dedicated to streaming video over the internet and a separate computer to play. Although today, any relatively new simple device can move Plex Server.

This is why the ideal is to use a server, because the server is already designed in both hardware and software to consume what is fair and necessary, and for data transmission. For practical purposes in this case, a NAS is a server intended for data retransmission and has been designed as such.

Do I have to pay to use Plex?

Plex will often send us notifications that we need to pay a fee, but the streaming between devices is completely free. Whenever we access it, it will send us a reminder, but we can say " not for now ," and it will stream the content anyway.

So technically Ples ex is free. But he is going to insist a lot that we pay so that we do not skip that notification for each movie or series chapter that we want to see. There are several payment options, the most attractive being monthly, one for several months, and life. Although the latter is a large payment, it is equivalent to 24 months of payment. With this we remove the constant notification when it is broadcast to mobile devices and the advertisements in the movies and series.

How to link Plex from our NAS to our devices

First of all, we need to create a free user account on the Plex.com website. It's tempting to use a disposable email address, but since this is a service we'll be using regularly and with data we want to keep and not lose, we recommend using your real email address. Of course, we should use standard cybersecurity tools and protocols, such as strong, difficult-to-guess passwords that haven't been used on other websites , since Plex Server will have access to our media content on the devices we stream from. It's important to remember that any connection is a potential security vulnerability.

As we said, you have to keep in mind the difference between Plex and Plex Server. We will install Plex on our mobiles, our Smart TVs, our HDMI spikes for TVs that are not smart, our PC... But Plex Server will be what we install on the NAS, which in this case, we use the QNAP TS-233 as references. This server model is one of two bays, very compact and silent, which makes it more efficient to be a home server with multimedia options.

Fortunately, the suite of applications that QNAP offers in its app store includes Plex Server for download. Simply search for it and download it. Once downloaded, you need to configure it with your account so the device recognizes you as the same user. After linking, the NAS will ask you where your media files are located . This is a folder it will know to use for streaming your photos and videos. If you don't have this folder, it's as easy as creating it with the NAS's file manager and then adding all your media content there.

In the event that the NAS is shared by the family or members of the household, it is recommended that private folders be created for each one. If it's a folder they'll use, it's possible to allow multiple accounts to use a different shared folder.

Configuration Notice

One important warning we have to share is that when configuring the video quality of your stream, never select the " Make my CPU suffer " option. This is an option Plex includes ironically, and we don't understand why they still offer it, given that many CPUs can degrade with use. It's designed for server-grade CPUs like Epyc or Xeon. You shouldn't use this mode if your server is for consumers or small businesses.

QNAP TS-233 NAS Specifications

• ARM 4-core Cortex-A55 2.0GHz CPU
• 64-bit ARM CPU architecture
• Floating point unit
• Encryption engine
• 2 GB of non-expandable memory, with some RAM reserved for use as graphics memory.
• Flash memory 4 GB (dual-boot operating system protection)
• Drive Bay 2 x 3,5″ SATA 6Gb/s, 3Gb/s drives
• Drive Compatibility 3,5″ SATA Hard Drives, 2,5″ SATA Hard Drives, and 2,5″ SATA Solid State Drives
• Hot swappable
• GbE port
• Wake-on-LAN
• Vilaitiya Frame
• Two ports USB 2.0 port
• USB 3.2 Gen 1 port
• Tower Format
• LED indicators for system status, LAN status, USB status, and HDD 1 and 2
• Power, reset, and USB copy buttons
• Dimensions: 188,64 × 90,18 × 156,26 mm
• Weight of 1.11 kg
• Operating temperature from 0 to 40 °C
• Storage temperature -20 to 70°C
• Relative humidity 5 to 95% relative humidity non-condensing,
• 65W power supply unit with adapter 12VDC, 100-240VAC
• 3.43 W power consumption in hard drive sleep mode
• 10.81 W x power consumption in operating mode, typical 10.81 W
• 80mm fan, 12V DC
• System warning
• Maximum of 200 simultaneous connections

How to transfer files to our NAS to play them on Plex

The process is as simple as uploading your files using your server manager and placing them in the specific folder that Plex Server uses to select which files to stream. How you obtain movies and TV shows is up to you.

Why saving series and movies on a QNAP NAS is an option to consider

On this website, we always recommend that homes have a NAS for shared or important files. Whether it's a home or a business, you can never have too many backups of crucial files . The phrase " The cloud doesn't exist, it's someone else's computer " shouldn't be forgotten, because even though we can store our photos and videos in Google Photos, we're at the mercy of Google's services, which, for many reasons, can block our account and, consequently, our files.

Having a local NAS with our photos is a way to ensure that we can access them online and that they are controlled by us physically.

Stream series on Plex as an alternative to Netflix and others

In the case of TV series and movies, we also recommend having them available locally. With non-original content licensed from other production companies, it's common for the license to expire and for the shows to disappear from the streaming services we pay for. Examples of this are The Office and Parks and Recreation, which, although previously available on Netflix worldwide, lost the rights to their series and movies and moved to services like Peacock or HBO Max, which aren't available globally. There's also the possibility that they're lost forever and become unavailable online, so having them locally is a way to prevent their loss. It's not common to want to watch a series and then find that it's suddenly unavailable on our preferred service.

It also allows us to view content without relying entirely on Netflix servers. It is normal for them to have many consumption peaks on the days that they make big releases and on weekends, so we can consume our content without depending on those servers. It is true that we will continue to use the Plex ones, but it is an alternative.