How much hard drive space for Plex server.?

[N1ceDrgn]

I watch the NAS Compares videos often and I enjoy the Plex server videos. I have wanted to build a Plex server but I've never found a good source or guide for how large to build my Plex server. I have a large digital video collection of DVD and Blu-ray that I want to import. A rough estimate is around 500+ disc's.
Approximately how much storage would be required for a Plex server to run well and store this collection?

[TribalHound]

Firstly - watch Rob's video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi-ijgsJoYwThis may / may not clear up your immediate questions.Space is always a contentious issue, and when you invest in any NAS you must consider RAID 'Redundancy' (an additional allowance to mitigate any single disk from failing).My general rule of calculations (by no means scientific) is: Whatever you need right now - at least double it (preferably triple) - then add the extra capacity for the RAID you will use on top. Both QNAP & Synology have a RAID calculator on their websites, which you may find useful.So ff you have 500+ discs - if all were BlueRay that's a potential of 50GB x 500 = 25,000 GB or 25TB,With additional software you 'could' get compression as high as 70% (if you also remove all unwanted languages and lower the quality)On top of the storage you'll need to consider the time it takes you to burn / import all those discs, plus what format you want them in once ripped, which will to some extent be governed by your NAS or software you're using. Also look at the speed of your Blue Ray reader - a faster one could save you days in ripping them. (Try burning one first to see how much time it take & space it utilises once converted. Make sure you're familiar with the different formats - better to trial and error once several times than get to 100+ and realise another format was better)Here's a great link that walks through the process you'll need to follow for each Disc How to Rip Blu-ray Discs to Stream from Plex (plexopedia.com)If you haven't already bought your NAS - based on the info you've provided - I'd recommend taking a closer look at the QNAP-TVS-672-X (or XT if you're able to upload your discs using Thunderbolt). Look for the newer models with i5 processor to ensure it'll last that little bit longer than the early PT versions. If you'd rather use smaller drives, consider the TVS-872-X.When it comes to building it - I'd personally use a RAID1 storage pool on the first two discs, regardless of make / model, for the System and other software you might want to run (plus maybe create an additional backup for some of your essential media) In the case of the 672 - you could Raid 5 discs 3,4 & 5 + use the 6th as a backup copyFor the 872 you could Raid 5 discs 3,4 & 5 - then use 6,7 & 8 as a 'mirror'Hope this helps.TribalHound..