I already do run the library from an external, the Macbook is nowhere near big enough to accommodate it. I need to get a second, back-up for that drive now.
Invest in a networked drive and set it up as a time machine. You can keep your laptop backed up as well. This has been your semi-annual PSA about the importance of proper digital hygiene. Remember, only you can prevent forest fires.
Often when listening to the So Many Roads box! I was the only one in my group of friends who recognized it when they busted it out on 12/27/91.
Or get a NAS. I have a Synology that I really like. It’s essentially a RAID setup so if one of the 4 drives fails, I don’t lose anything and I can just swap out the failed drive for a new one. The drives aren’t too expensive (4TB ~ $100 each) and the NAS itself is around $350. Add in Plex and you’re good to go anywhere.
I have Plex but don’t use it for music. I have my Mac Mini with an antenna which I use for home TV/DVR and to serve video. Are you running Plex directly from the NAS? Music only?
Dick used to say that "Dick's Picks" was a misnomer. He would make suggestions as an informed curator, and then he'd have to fight with people up the chain about which shows were worthy, or whether the sound quality met standards, or how many discs could be in the set, etc. The final decisions weren't really up to him. I wonder if that's changed much since Dave took over the job.
Plex is home media server software. It is very versatile and has client software for pretty much every device out there. I use it for home video. DVDs get ripped to a hard drive. There is also a dvr function, which I have using an antenna/digital tuner. I can then access that library from the Xbox on the main TV, from an AppleTV or Roku, or from a mobile phone, tablet or computer. Plex will convert video on the fly into a compatible stream. For travel, it will work over an internet connection, but you can also download media onto a phone or tablet. https://www.plex.tv
Check out the rehearsals. Some of that stuff is pretty damn good. www.archive.org/details/gd1987-06-01.sbd-rehearsals.fraser.97489.shnf
That's the encore Eyes, right? That's a neat version. I've had the rehearsals and the Dylan sets on the computer for a while. Just haven't taken the time to drag them over to iTunes. I'll do that this week.
Yes, it runs directly on the NAS. I have my movies, tv shows, and multiple music libraries all running through it. Including my iTunes (mp3) and two separate FLAC libraries. For those that don’t know, Plex has a web interface as well as desktop and mobile apps so I can access ALL of my stuff anywhere I have an internet connection
It’s pretty straight forward. It’s basically the all-in-one media management software that iTunes wanted to be, but it’s format agnostic and much more flexible in terms of device compatibility, customization, etc. I highly recommend it.
Right. Or, if you have a large library and your local hard drive isn't big enough, which I'm sure is an issue for many of us. You can get a NAS. I have a Synology and really like it. Synology Inc. For those of you that have had devices die lately, like @warewolf95, it might be worth looking into. The start up cost can vary. I have a 4 bay box with 4, 4TB hard drives. With redundancy, etc. I have over 10 TB of space available. I'm using less than 1/3 of that an I've got over 650 movies, and hundreds of CDs in multiple formats, and a whole bunch of other stuff on there. All accessible from anywhere with an internet connection.
I just transferred 3.12 TB in about 8 hours. As mentioned above back up as often as you can. I have 4 hard drives that are complete with my music, lableled the way I like, and then I have copies with 3-5 friends/family at any given time. I also have another 7 hard drives here with the orginal files and scattered in no great order. So all told I have about 15 hard drives that I could access should something go wrong. And I just realized I have 2 - 256 GB micro SD cards and 2 - 126 GB micro SD cards, so I feel confident my music will stick around. I need music in my life more than water. And I also have a 100 spindle of DVDs with FLACS burned on them so all the drives fail. Though that music would be a small part of my total collection it would be enough to keep me afloat.
Once I got to about 4 external HDs I said screw it and bought the NAS. RAID array takes care of redundancy so it's all backed up AND in one place. Plus, with Plex, it's available anywhere!
Interesting. I may have to upgrade to the Synology. It may be more powerful than my old Mac Mini which is my current home server.