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WiFi-Connected Hard Drive Fits a Plex Server In Your Pocket (engadget.com)

Posted by msmash on from the dream-comes-true dept.

An anonymous reader cites an Engadget report:Over the years we've seen Plex's media software run across a number of different devices, from PCs to game consoles to NAS and cellphones. Now, it's teamed up with Western Digital for what it says is the first portable Plex Media Server. The hardware is handled by the My Passport Wireless Pro, a battery-powered portable hard drive that can run standalone for 10 hours, charge mobile devices, and back up data via SD or USB 3.0. The all-in-one box can even create a WiFi network to sync with mobile devices or stream media to any device running Plex. The 2TB version is ready to take your stuff on the go for $230, and upgrading to 3TB only costs an extra $20.

30 of 67 comments (clear)

  1. So..are blatent Slashvertisements a thing now? by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 1

    Hey editors. Exactly how many stories a day are we going to get in this format:

    Is your (competing product) too (bad attribute)? Do you want more (good attribute)? Check out the (product), which just added (feature) and is now selling for (price) (link to store). Also, there's a (alternative product model) that gives you (good attribute) for just another (price difference). Hey all you tech folks: buy now - limited quantities available!

    ???

    1. Re:So..are blatent Slashvertisements a thing now? by mythosaz · · Score: 1

      While this may fit the slashvertisement template, Plex (as nearly anyone who has used it will tell you) is pretty slick software and well supported by a TON of devices. This is a fucking cool device.

      Nerds can go build their own media server for cheap, and I'll keep running my Plex server on a QNAP (a device true nerds can complain I should have just built in freeNAS), but for some guy who wants to serve media to his new TV, this device is a winner.

    2. Re:So..are blatent Slashvertisements a thing now? by dontbemad · · Score: 2

      Great post, except for the fact that the story is missing "(competing product)", "(bad attribute)", "(link to store)", and the part about "buying now, etc".

      Seriously, I can't understand why you people can't just move on when you see a post that contains $PRODUCT. Yeah, maybe it slightly resembles an advertisement, and yeah, maybe it is something that might be targeted at "nerds", but do you seriously think that the /. editors are actively trying to convince you to buy this thing? Maybe it is just a cool new device that fills an interesting niche. Maybe the submitter or editor thinks it would strike up some interesting dialogue in the comments about the pros and cons of such a technology. Maybe they really are getting paid (as Whipslash so wonderfully put it) a truckload to post said story.

      WHO. CARES.

      These things are hardly posted regularly, and if you don't like their content, you can easily hide said stories from view (or just ignore them). Why always bring this up? Why always complain about "slashvertisements"? Why can't you guys contribute to a topic like this without throwing it out as some sinister plot to undermine our wonderful commune with the heinous threat of capitalism?

    3. Re:So..are blatent Slashvertisements a thing now? by Nunya666 · · Score: 1

      Great post, except for the fact that the story is missing "(competing product)", "(bad attribute)", "(link to store)", and the part about "buying now, etc". Seriously, I can't understand why you people can't just move on when you see a post that contains $PRODUCT. Yeah, maybe it slightly resembles an advertisement, and yeah, maybe it is something that might be targeted at "nerds", but do you seriously think that the /. editors are actively trying to convince you to buy this thing? Maybe it is just a cool new device that fills an interesting niche. Maybe the submitter or editor thinks it would strike up some interesting dialogue in the comments about the pros and cons of such a technology. Maybe they really are getting paid (as Whipslash so wonderfully put it) a truckload to post said story. WHO. CARES. These things are hardly posted regularly, and if you don't like their content, you can easily hide said stories from view (or just ignore them). Why always bring this up? Why always complain about "slashvertisements"? Why can't you guys contribute to a topic like this without throwing it out as some sinister plot to undermine our wonderful commune with the heinous threat of capitalism?

      I agree completely. Since I had never heard of Plex before, it was an informative article to me.

      If you don't like the article, just move on.

  2. Obligatory hard drive joke by fph+il+quozientatore · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Is that a file server in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"

    --
    My first program:

    Hell Segmentation fault

    1. Re:Obligatory hard drive joke by zlives · · Score: 1

      streaming porn to the VR headset. Joy for all except the pocket watchers.

  3. From a certain time... by damn_registrars · · Score: 1

    I still think of Plextor when I see the term Plex. I used to pine for a Plextor drive, settled for a Yamaha instead (back in the day).

    --
    Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
    1. Re:From a certain time... by SScorpio · · Score: 1

      Yes, those drivers were top tier. I was able to score a Plextor that was rebranded as an IOMEGA drive for much cheaper than a normal Plextor cost. That drive was a tank and never gave me issues.

  4. Bwah, lame. by aliquis · · Score: 1

    Try my lap instead;
    hard driving at 10 000 rpm.

  5. No Details by b0bby · · Score: 2

    My question, which TFA doesn't address, is can it transcode? My guess is no, but if it did it would be totally worth it.

    1. Re:No Details by sremick · · Score: 1

      Doubt it, most NAS can't either. There is no way they have a processor powerful enough to last 10 hours on a battery

      Well, to be specific: most off the shelf commercial NAS appliances can't. However, "NAS" is like "server", and is based upon what something does, not how you got there. You can build a "NAS" that is every bit (and more) a "NAS" as something off the shelf, but also has sufficient CPU power to transcode many simultaneous 1080p streams. And also has more drive bays and a better web GUI.

      That's what I did, because I knew I'd be tucking the Plex box in the living room so I wanted a unified box instead of building and supporting two separate devices. 2 years in and it's still running great while the user list grows.

    2. Re:No Details by mythosaz · · Score: 1

      To be more specific: Most = SOHO do.

      https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-...
      https://docs.google.com/a/plex...

      My QNAP can transcode just fine, but very few of my viewing devices require it.

    3. Re:No Details by jabuzz · · Score: 1

      Wrong by all accounts the NVIDIA shield can transcode on the fly

      https://blog.plex.tv/2016/06/0...

      Personally speaking Plex's propensity to transcode everything in sight is it's major flaw. All my video media is nicely preencoded in H264 format and does need transcoding, but Plex will on occasion decided it does.

    4. Re:No Details by b0bby · · Score: 1

      That is referring to the My Cloud Pro, which is not portable and starts at $400. Different animal.

  6. Re:Plex by Captain+Splendid · · Score: 4, Informative

    Plex user here. Literally none of those things are true.

    For starters, the free version is ridiculously feature rich. Second, you only have to use the DLNA server if that's all your frontend can support. Last but not least all that online database stuff can be turned off in settings.

    --
    Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
  7. PlexNAS + openport + Cellphone [to car BT] by hedley · · Score: 1

    Leaving the HD at home. At least with audio it streams nicely to wherever, video needs a good LTE link and a NAS that can transcode (Intel).

    H.

  8. Plex is awful by goombah99 · · Score: 1

    Even when I put the setting at "make my machine hurt" its glitchy. And half the time my amazon firestick can't find the fire stick. I keep having to reboot my computer and the firestick till something magical takes place and they see each other. And it seems to transcode things even when the setting is don't transcode if possible.

    I stopped using plex.

    --
    Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
    1. Re:Plex is awful by phayes · · Score: 1

      No surprise, the firestick is very low end these days. Move up to something not quite so underpowered and you should have a better experience.

      I use the free Plex apps and the web interface and everything works fine except for being unable to adjust the theme music level in series in the web app.

      Oh and I refuse to pay for the Plex account subscription so I remote in over a VPN to get remote access. I trust my Fortigate's security more than I would Plex anyway.

      --
      Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue
    2. Re:Plex is awful by b0bby · · Score: 2

      I'm also using a Fire stick and my plex server is temporarily using a wifi dongle rather than ethernet, but I don't see these issues. It does transcode, but that's to be expected.

    3. Re:Plex is awful by ncc74656 · · Score: 2

      Plex worked pretty well for me last weekend, streaming to a Chromecast connected to hotel WiFi through a travel router. It was a bit choppy at first when it tried to send video as-is, but after I told it to transcode down to 720 kbps, it ran like a champ. Either it's not auto-negotiating for available bandwidth or that part of it is failing to work properly, but that's easily fixed.

      --
      20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
  9. Re:$25 Solid State Device instead. by ChunderDownunder · · Score: 2

    Sounds cool. Does it run one of those embedded tomato/wrt linuxes?

    I already have a couple of 2.5" USB drive enclosures, so connecting them to the home LAN is all I need to create a file server and my wifi/adsl router doesn't have a USB port.

  10. Re:$25 Solid State Device instead. by ChunderDownunder · · Score: 1

    Doesn't ship to Australia.

    I looked on ebay and it's at least $AU50 from north america. :(

  11. Re:Can we say expensive? by Centurix · · Score: 1

    This price is inclusive of the bumped up transcoding CPU. Most NAS systems are woefully under powered and can barely transcode a single 480p stream. Apparently this will transcode 4K video.

    --
    Task Mangler
  12. Re: Can we say expensive? by slazzy · · Score: 1

    Works well, but I'd like something that can stream to my kids tablets in the back of the car and such. Looking for something like this now.

    --
    Website Just Down For Me? Find out
  13. Re: Can we say expensive? by jedidiah · · Score: 1

    You don't need a plex server to play movies on mobile devices anymore. Most of the newer ones are quite capable on their own. All you really need is a mobile file server. There are already such devices on the market.

    Of course they too are more expensive than just a bare hard drive.

    --
    A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  14. Re:Can we say expensive? by jedidiah · · Score: 1

    Most older mobile devices didn't have the capability to directly play back files that weren't specifically downgraded to be playable on the first generation tablets.

    --
    A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  15. Re: Can we say expensive? by CyberSlugGump · · Score: 1

    Take a look at https://blog.codinghorror.com/...

  16. Re:Plex by myowntrueself · · Score: 1

    DLNA is most certainly not required.

    DLNA is shit compared to running a PLEX client.

    --
    In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
  17. Overpriced by allo · · Score: 1

    Get a 4 TB drive (100 eur), get some usb3 case (20-40 eur), get some actual cable instead of wireless shit. Be happy with your cheap portable drive.

  18. Re:Portable Plex by allo · · Score: 1

    Why no banana pi with real usb and SATA?