For some reason, I can’t wrap my head around how to make this work.
I use Home Sharing in my house to watch my content from the Apple TV app (TV + Movies) to my Apple TVs, which works great.My content is kept on a 12TB HHD inside my Mac Pro.
I set up Plex to run as a plex server on my Mac Pro, which works great but I wanted to move the Plex Server function over to a Spare Rasberry Pi 4 I have.
I have a 12TB external hard drive that I use CCC to do a weekly clone of my main media drive.
I’d like to take that drive and server to server as the NAS for Plex on the Pi.
I know how to use Samba to setup a NAS on a raspberry pi but I have only ever used it with EXT4 format.
Three issues I am facing
Is there anyway to use the drive’s current file type (Extended (Journaled)) So I can just use the Data that is currently on there.
If I need to reformat the drive to EXT4 format is there a faster way to move the 10TB or so of Data onto the drive it would take ages via my network.
I’d like to clone / Sync the new plex Drive weekly like I do with CCC now. I think if I am able to keep the drives format, I can just connect to the drive via my network and run a weekly CCC clone. But if it needs a new format is there a way to keep It in sync with my current Media drive.
I’m a bit confused on your use case. If you are using Plex then use Plex on the Apple TVs. If you are using home sharing I believe you need to just mount the file folders to enable this.
Is there a reason why you want Plex to work with home sharing specifically? (From my limited experience with home sharing in the past I found it pretty aweful).
Of note I’ve always been an infuse app fan (allows DTS HD master audio and True HD for the theater for my Blu-ray collection I ripped), but have went away from Plex to jellyfin since there is not the remote authentication. It’s at the point now to be a real competitor and if I’m self hosting don’t want to rely on a 3rd party authentication.
Home Sharing had stopped working for me for reasons I could never figure out (bought an M1 MacBook Air?)
But now that I’ve recently put all my music on a 2014 Mac mini running macOS Monterey, Home Sharing works again for me. And I can once again use the iTunes Remote app on my iPhone Xs to control the Music app on the headless Mac mini!
Have you considered transitioning all your music to Plex. You could use its interface and then your phone to either AirPlay or as a remote for the Apple TV. This would allow you to use basically any device (not just apple), have more control of metadata, use it outside the house, and (what’s more important in my house) have non technical family use one app for video/music/photo etc.
As you are running headless Mac mini if you just want local consider jellyfin or Plex and can always turn DLNA on as well.
I guess I’m still not sure why you are trying to use home sharing when better options exist. What feature are you trying to create (if just the remote this should be a non issue as above).
I try to avoid Airplay. My old Mac mini (where I play my music) is connected by cable to my stereo system. My TV is not. I can control the Mac mini from my iPhone (iTunes Remote app via Home Sharing or Alfred Remote app) or from my M1 MacBook Air (Screen Sharing app). Works for me.
I want to be able to shut off my Mac Pro 5,1 (the current plex server) and be able to access my plex content from my iPad when I am not home. So moving the plex server to a raspberry pi with attached storage.