So here is basically what I have.
1. Windows 7 laptop
2. Seagate 4 TB USB external HD
3. Netgear wireless router
4. APC Battery Backup
5. Playon software to download video
6. Plex software to sort and transmit video to Roku
7. Roku with Plex channel installed
So the first thing you need to do is pick a laptop that you can dedicate to being a server. Something you won't really use for anything else.
For storage I chose to use an external hard drive. You can buy a Seagate 4TB external USB hard drive for about $100 on Amazon. Seagate sells two versions of their external hard drives. The Desktop version is cheaper and has to be plugged into a 110V power outlet. The portable version gets its power from USB. I messed up and ordered the desktop version. It works fine, but I recommend the portable version since you won't have to use a power cord.
Wireless router is self explanatory. You should already have one. I plug my laptop directly into the wireless router via an Ethernet cable. The wireless router then broadcasts to my other devices such as the Roku and my other laptop via wifi.
I consider having a battery backup to be important if you want things to be reliable. I am using an older APC 350 model. I've no clue what I paid for it but you can find APC battery backups on Amazon for less than $50. I keep my Exede modem, wifi router, and external hard drive plugged into it. If the power fluctuates or goes down, my network and hard drive stay on because of the battery. I do not plug my laptop into the APC battery backup because the laptop already has its own battery. Its been a while since I've tested my battery backup, but I believe I get at least 20 or 30 minutes of power when the electricity goes out. Obviously the more stuff you plug into it, the less time it will stay on in the event of power failure. Only plug low power devices into it.
The Playon software is what you need to download content. First you must have a Netflix and or Amazon Prime account to get video. Make sure you are able to watch video on your computer using Internet Explorer. The version of Playon I am using requires at least Internet Explorer 10. I downloaded and installed whatever the latest version of Internet Explorer is for Windows 7.
The Playon software costs money. They have monthly, yearly, and lifetime plans. I bought the lifetime plan for about $50. The best way to get the best deal is to pretend you are about to buy it and then close out the browser. You will get a popup offering you a lower price. I think they originally wanted $70 before I received the $50 offer.
Next install Playon. It will ask you where you want to save video. Select whatever drive letter your USB external drive is on.
Playon will prompt you for your passwords for Netflix and Amazon. Once you have everything setup it will shows all sorts of channels it can download from. I was downloading some retro TV from NBC classics at first but I began having problems where downloads would fail. I've found Amazon and Netflix to be the most reliable places for content.
In the upper right corner of the Playon software you will see an option that says off peak. Click on it and then click on advanced settings. From there you can manually select what hours you want to record. I have attached a screen shot showing how mine is set. The schedule I am using is strictly outside of peak hours. I only download content at times I know the Exede network will not be busy.
Playon does have a viewer you can install on your Roku but I don't recommend it. The Playon viewer works but it doesn't do a good job at sorting content and marking stuff your have already viewed as watched. Basically its a mess trying to keep track of what is new on your device and what you have already watched if you rely on Playon alone.
The next step in my media service is to install the Plex software. This is a free program you can download to your laptop. When you install it, it will ask where your content is located. Simply point it to your external USB drive.
The next step I recommend is to make sure both shortcuts for Playon and Plex are in your startup folder. This ensures they will both run whenever you have to reboot your laptop. I reboot my laptop every few days after 4pm when Playon is not downloading content.
Now that your computer is setup, go to your Roku device, find and install the Plex channel. Follow the prompts for it to install and detect your laptop which is already running the Plex server.
Thats pretty much it. I'm sure I skipped some details, but there are plenty of tutorials out there on the internet on how to install Playon and Plex. I did the whole thing without any instructions whatsoever.
My monthly cycle with Exede ends on the 4th. So far I have downloaded 140 GB of data this cycle on a Liberty 12 plan.
When the zombie apocalypse happens and the Exede data center is overrun, I'll still be able to watch Netflix from the comfort of my home.
1. Windows 7 laptop
2. Seagate 4 TB USB external HD
3. Netgear wireless router
4. APC Battery Backup
5. Playon software to download video
6. Plex software to sort and transmit video to Roku
7. Roku with Plex channel installed
So the first thing you need to do is pick a laptop that you can dedicate to being a server. Something you won't really use for anything else.
For storage I chose to use an external hard drive. You can buy a Seagate 4TB external USB hard drive for about $100 on Amazon. Seagate sells two versions of their external hard drives. The Desktop version is cheaper and has to be plugged into a 110V power outlet. The portable version gets its power from USB. I messed up and ordered the desktop version. It works fine, but I recommend the portable version since you won't have to use a power cord.
Wireless router is self explanatory. You should already have one. I plug my laptop directly into the wireless router via an Ethernet cable. The wireless router then broadcasts to my other devices such as the Roku and my other laptop via wifi.
I consider having a battery backup to be important if you want things to be reliable. I am using an older APC 350 model. I've no clue what I paid for it but you can find APC battery backups on Amazon for less than $50. I keep my Exede modem, wifi router, and external hard drive plugged into it. If the power fluctuates or goes down, my network and hard drive stay on because of the battery. I do not plug my laptop into the APC battery backup because the laptop already has its own battery. Its been a while since I've tested my battery backup, but I believe I get at least 20 or 30 minutes of power when the electricity goes out. Obviously the more stuff you plug into it, the less time it will stay on in the event of power failure. Only plug low power devices into it.
The Playon software is what you need to download content. First you must have a Netflix and or Amazon Prime account to get video. Make sure you are able to watch video on your computer using Internet Explorer. The version of Playon I am using requires at least Internet Explorer 10. I downloaded and installed whatever the latest version of Internet Explorer is for Windows 7.
The Playon software costs money. They have monthly, yearly, and lifetime plans. I bought the lifetime plan for about $50. The best way to get the best deal is to pretend you are about to buy it and then close out the browser. You will get a popup offering you a lower price. I think they originally wanted $70 before I received the $50 offer.
Next install Playon. It will ask you where you want to save video. Select whatever drive letter your USB external drive is on.
Playon will prompt you for your passwords for Netflix and Amazon. Once you have everything setup it will shows all sorts of channels it can download from. I was downloading some retro TV from NBC classics at first but I began having problems where downloads would fail. I've found Amazon and Netflix to be the most reliable places for content.
In the upper right corner of the Playon software you will see an option that says off peak. Click on it and then click on advanced settings. From there you can manually select what hours you want to record. I have attached a screen shot showing how mine is set. The schedule I am using is strictly outside of peak hours. I only download content at times I know the Exede network will not be busy.
Playon does have a viewer you can install on your Roku but I don't recommend it. The Playon viewer works but it doesn't do a good job at sorting content and marking stuff your have already viewed as watched. Basically its a mess trying to keep track of what is new on your device and what you have already watched if you rely on Playon alone.
The next step in my media service is to install the Plex software. This is a free program you can download to your laptop. When you install it, it will ask where your content is located. Simply point it to your external USB drive.
The next step I recommend is to make sure both shortcuts for Playon and Plex are in your startup folder. This ensures they will both run whenever you have to reboot your laptop. I reboot my laptop every few days after 4pm when Playon is not downloading content.
Now that your computer is setup, go to your Roku device, find and install the Plex channel. Follow the prompts for it to install and detect your laptop which is already running the Plex server.
Thats pretty much it. I'm sure I skipped some details, but there are plenty of tutorials out there on the internet on how to install Playon and Plex. I did the whole thing without any instructions whatsoever.
My monthly cycle with Exede ends on the 4th. So far I have downloaded 140 GB of data this cycle on a Liberty 12 plan.
When the zombie apocalypse happens and the Exede data center is overrun, I'll still be able to watch Netflix from the comfort of my home.
Stephen Rice, Champion
Posted 12 months ago
Stephen Rice, Champion
Stephen Rice, Champion
Video quality will suffer but it will continue to record if your bitrate drops. I know this because I accidentally let it record for a couple of hours after 5 pm one evening.
This is why the off peak scheduler is so important. Schedule it to only record during the hours you know your speeds will be good.
Hint: 1 to 5 mpbs is perfectly acceptable for streamimg and recording video.
This is why the off peak scheduler is so important. Schedule it to only record during the hours you know your speeds will be good.
Hint: 1 to 5 mpbs is perfectly acceptable for streamimg and recording video.
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Schedule it to only record during the hours you know your speeds will be good.Swell... there goes my non-peak performance! Is that a public traded company, I might want to buy a few shares before revenues rise as all those unlimited Exede users jump on the PlayOn bandwagon ;)
(Edited)
Stephen Rice, Champion
People are lazy. I seriously doubt more than a handful of people will attempt what I am doing.
VeteranSatUser, Champion
VeteranSatUser, Champion
Stephen Rice, Champion
Deku, Champion
Stephen Rice, Champion
Addendum:
Just picked up a roku+ for travel-about 25 bucks on amazon.
Plex and PlayOn both cast like a champ from my home server behind an Asus router and that monstrosity that excede calls a modem/wireless router.
New “silver ‘unlimited’ “ pioneer and tweaker, here.
Just picked up a roku+ for travel-about 25 bucks on amazon.
Plex and PlayOn both cast like a champ from my home server behind an Asus router and that monstrosity that excede calls a modem/wireless router.
New “silver ‘unlimited’ “ pioneer and tweaker, here.
Roku's are great. I switched from Appletv to Roku and it performs better and has better apps then Apple, in my opinion.