I have put together a media server for the car/RV and it came out way nicer than I imagined. Some of my friends feel it is something I should sell. Here is what I have and I am also looking for input on whether or not it is marketable. I am also open to suggestions on improvements etc.
It is capable of streaming movies on up to 12 devices before I start to see buffering. It has one HDMI or Component audio/video connection for a television. I used a 2 TB Solid State Drive because cheap hard drives tend to get hot and also wear out after time. I had room in the enclosure for a second HDMI/Component connection but decided instead to put in a battery backup board. This allows for the unit to remain powered when we stop for gas or whatever. When the battery is charged I can actually play at least one entire movie on the battery backup. I can also easily bring it in the house or hotel to use. It is very easy to use with a handheld Wi-Fi remote or phone app remote and I have found a few apps that work well for streaming movies without internet connectivity. I also added a switch so I can load more content without taking anything apart to get to the drive.
Questions:
Would you get a bigger enclosure so you could have 2 television connections and a battery backup or just stay with one television connection and battery back-up as one option and have two television connections (without the battery backup) as another option?
Cost for the parts alone would range from $600 to $900 depending on the options. Plus time and labor to assemble (and configure everything) I think the cost would be $1500 to $1800. Do you think this is reasonable? Do you think RV manufacturers might be interested?
It is capable of streaming movies on up to 12 devices before I start to see buffering. It has one HDMI or Component audio/video connection for a television. I used a 2 TB Solid State Drive because cheap hard drives tend to get hot and also wear out after time. I had room in the enclosure for a second HDMI/Component connection but decided instead to put in a battery backup board. This allows for the unit to remain powered when we stop for gas or whatever. When the battery is charged I can actually play at least one entire movie on the battery backup. I can also easily bring it in the house or hotel to use. It is very easy to use with a handheld Wi-Fi remote or phone app remote and I have found a few apps that work well for streaming movies without internet connectivity. I also added a switch so I can load more content without taking anything apart to get to the drive.
Questions:
Would you get a bigger enclosure so you could have 2 television connections and a battery backup or just stay with one television connection and battery back-up as one option and have two television connections (without the battery backup) as another option?
Cost for the parts alone would range from $600 to $900 depending on the options. Plus time and labor to assemble (and configure everything) I think the cost would be $1500 to $1800. Do you think this is reasonable? Do you think RV manufacturers might be interested?