I really want to get started.

I have a big library of files on a HDD. I will run it off my home computer, and it will be exclusively for my home network.

Question 1: Is it fine to run my desktop computer as a server and a client? I don’t actually know how Plex works yet, so I may be describing it wrong. Currently I watch things on my Desktop Computer. I want to continue this but through Plex instead of just using VLC. If I do add more clients, only one will be viewing at a time. I do have a Raspberry Pi available, but was hoping to use it as a client at a later time instead of a server,

Question 2: Can I scan my media folder in Plex to get started, and then later rescan my Plex library after I rename files? I haven’t reorganised all my files yet, a lot of them should be fine but I don’t have time to do it all now. Some of them I may never bother renaming or reorganising. I don’t mind Plex having to do all the posters and stuff again.

Question 3: What does Plex do for the re-encoding? I think I read that Plex encodes the video files. Does this create new files on the HHD? My drive is pretty full. I don’t have enough space for duplicates in another codec. Does this process replace the files? Will I have to have my Plex drive only contain converted videos? Is there a process to encode from my storage drive to my Plex drive without disturbing my storgate drive? Space is at a premium and I don’t want to risk Plex altering my media on my storage drive.

Thank you.

  • @jws_shadotakEnglish
    1•1 year ago

    I know this is already answered but I wrote this a while ago and forgot to submit it lol

    1. Yes. One machine can run both the server and client. A raspberry pi

    2. If you want to deal with renaming, I would recommend first installing Sonarr and Radarr to help manage them. You can point it at your libraries and customize the naming scheme and tell it to rename everything.

    There’s other programs that can rename things but Sonarr and Radarr have a lot of capabilities that directly help with your Plex server and they have a ton of support from the community in case you run into issues.

    1. Plex transcodes on the fly when streaming. It’s recommended to change your streaming settings on the client device to always play original quality to lessen the strain on the server, as this will usually eliminate the need for transcoding. The only time it will still transcode is when the client is unable to play the video file of the original content.
    • @CouldbealeotardOPEnglish
      1•1 year ago

      So a RPi is good enough to be a server and client at the same time?

      I’ll look into sonarr an radarr, thanks

      • @jws_shadotakEnglish
        1•1 year ago

        Actually the pi itself may not play the media all that well. You’d be better off using the pi for Plex and all the *arr apps and then streaming to a computer or something.

      • @jws_shadotakEnglish
        1•1 year ago

        Yes, and everything can be ran on the raspberry pi! I’d recommend using docker with Portainer.

        The pi itself absolutely cannot do transcoding, though. Everything must play natively. Depending on what device you’re streaming on and what the media format is, you may run into troubles. Most clients should be fine, though.