I've used the megathread to make a super basic proof-of-concept for my own streaming setup, and I'm not sure where to prioritize upgrading first and in what way. Any help is appreciated!
Current setup: I got a subscription to a VPN, so I figure I'll use that until it runs out. I have that with my main PC (a laptop, I haven't been able to save for a proper gaming PC yet), a torrent client, and Plex. I tested it out with one TV show and one movie with the Plex app on my TCL Series 4 Roku TV and it seems to work! The video and audio quality work even better when I turn my VPN off and it can tell my server is "nearby", but whatever.
Possible Improvements I've Seen People Talk About: I figure I should split off some of these services from my main laptop. I don't really want to keep it on 24/7, and I should save the room on it for games and other projects. I'll put things I've seen people talk about below, but not sure what order to do stuff to make the best Netflix replacement.
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I can buy another smaller machine or two I can use as a server. Not sure whether to put the torrent parts on it, so it can torrent while I'm at work and stuff, make it host the Plex server, or both. And even then, I'm not sure whether to use an NAS, raspberry pi, NUC, Nvidia Shield TV Pro, buy or find an old cheap laptop, a ThinkClient I saw another post suggest, etc. I need something super small and quiet because I am splitting a small place right now. Should I get 2? One to torrent things while I'm gone and one to host Plex, or can I put them on the same machine?
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Or should I start improving other parts of the torrenting and streaming experience? I've seen people mention Sonarr, Radarr, and other applications that I haven't experimented with yet.
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Or should I just port all of this into a seedbox hosted by someone else even though I have the VPN subscription for awhile longer? It would clear up some room but I'd hate to be tied to a subscription.
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I know I'll also need to buy more storage soon to make it a viable library, too.
What do you all think should prioritize next?
My opinion is that the next biggest upgrade is a receiver and a 5.1 (or at least 2.1) sound setup.
Does the .1 really make a difference? I've been running 5.0 for a few years (Micca) and 1080p dumb TV from 2015 (I don't care for 4k) connected to a 2019 shield pro and my Unraid server. Been happy with the sound quality.
It absolutely makes a massive difference. But you unfortunately need to spend $500+ on a subwoofer to get something that outputs the full range of what you can hear. There simply are zero subwoofers below that price point with adequate output in the 20-35 Hz range.
With regards to 4k, I can understand not caring for it. I agree that for most viewing distances and TV sizes, there's not a massive difference. However, 1080p TVs also don't have good HDR or the wide color gamut.
Upgrading to a 4k TV with a good peak brightness (at least ~1000 nits) will be very noticable. I especially notice it in anything with fire. It looks so much better on a 4k HDR TV than on a 1080p SDR TV.
Thanks. Have done some googling and just found out that subwoofers are extremely expensive in my country (New Zealand). E.g. subs that are $600 in the US are equivalent of $1,100 here. But then I see that DIY subs are a thing. Might look into that because I do have woodworking equipment, import the electronics and buy the MDF locally.
Didn't really consider HDR and brightness. Lots to think about.
That is certainly a better value option if you can still get the drivers and amps for a reasonable price over there.
I went the DIY route as well and build 2 of the VBSS style subs. I wanted to build something bigger, but my wife vetoed that. AVS forum has plenty of information on design options you have.