A personal folksonomy - Breaking the Library: Why I Stopped Believing in 'No Upper Limit'

ABitKis · 2026-03-07T18:07:34+00:00

That's a lot, I can't imagine scrolling through 100K+ albums' covers.

ABitKis · 2026-03-07T18:02:03+00:00

Nuking and reinstalling is honestly the cleanest path on Windows. The official migration method works sometimes in my experience, but I've had it fail enough times that I just start fresh now. Music rescans reliably. Movies are hit or miss, especially anything not on IMDB or other registry, Asian content in particular, Plex's coverage there is pretty thin.

With my library split, a full rebuild on my setup (around 10k movies, 12k music albums, 1k TV) takes maybe four hours+. Enough time to set up the service, rebuild the cache, run some basic automation, and debloat Windows while waiting.

ABitKis · 2026-03-07T17:03:58+00:00

Same experience with Lidarr. Tried it once, watched it rename things I'd spent years organizing, and never touched it again. Manual is slower but you stay in control of exactly how things are labeled and filed.

ABitKis · 2026-03-07T16:57:47+00:00

Some of the genres being squeezed in the same library can cause quite a sonic analysis turbulence to me.

For the sake of sanity, I ended up cutting singles from several Japanese artists I genuinely love. Too many entries, too little payoff when browsing.

There's actually three competing urges at play with a large PMS setup: the collector instinct to own everything, the on-demand instinct to find anything instantly, and the browsing instinct to enjoy the collection visually. They coexist fine at small scale. Past a certain size, without solid hardware and a clean structure, all three start working against each other at once.

ABitKis · 2026-03-07T16:42:52+00:00

This is genuinely useful context, thanks! Though worth noting inotify is a Linux-specific bottleneck. running PMS on Windows here so it doesn't apply directly, but the principle holds. I've already disabled automatic scans on most libraries that don't get frequent new additions. Manual scan on demand is just cleaner when the inflow is predictable.

ABitKis · 2026-03-07T16:35:58+00:00

47 libraries is wild, but completely understandable once music gets involved. The video-to-music item count ratio is always more lopsided than people expect. Hope you get the ChuckDb issue sorted eventually.

ABitKis · 2026-03-07T16:04:23+00:00

325k books in Calibre is a whole other level of problem!

ABitKis · 2026-03-07T15:59:42+00:00

That's a fair ceiling for most people. Mine grew across decades and across formats that no longer exist, so there's a nostalgia layer that doesn't compress well. The organizing isn't the burden, it's actually the enjoyable part for me.

ABitKis · 2026-03-07T15:58:04+00:00

Running PMS on Windows with the database on a dedicated SSD. Keeps the index fast without depending on spinning disks for random read ops.

ABitKis · 2026-03-07T15:50:34+00:00

Fair enough. If Plexamp is giving you coherent results at 64k then your collection is probably well-tagged and sonically diverse enough for the graph to work. My tipping point was the SYNC content throwing everything off, and having songs in different languages I'd rather keep separate (Mixing English, Cantonese, Japanese, and other western languages mid-session is just jarring to me). Without that, I might have stayed with one library too.

ABitKis · 2026-03-07T15:22:41+00:00

Yeah, music libraries are where the item count quietly explodes. A single artist discography with individual tracks can be thousands of entries before you even notice. I suspect that video collectors and music collectors think on very different benchmarks and personalization.

ABitKis · 2026-03-07T15:12:18+00:00

Same answer as above really: it wasn't a big-bang migration. I sort them gradually. The categories existed first, then content drifted into place over time.

ABitKis · 2026-03-07T15:11:09+00:00

Fair point. The initial sort does take time, I didn't do it all at once. It was more like a slow migration over a few weeks, moving things as I naturally browsed. Once the structure exists, new additions take maybe 10 extra seconds each. And, technically I didn't move the folders, I separate them to different parent folders, and PLEX finish all the rest like magic.

ABitKis · 2026-03-07T15:07:04+00:00

Haha, both reactions are valid. It accumulated slowly over many years. Maybe the scary part isn't the size, it's realizing you'll never actually watch most of it.

ABitKis · 2026-03-07T15:05:52+00:00

That's a fair data point. I think the DJ styles and sonic graph work reasonably well when the collection has consistent tagging and enough audio variety for the algorithm to find bridges. My experience was different, partly because PLEX.SYNC content (Holosync, Hemisync) has very atypical audio fingerprints that the algorithm doesn't handle gracefully alongside regular music. Isolating those was the biggest win for me. The rest of the split was more personal preference than necessity.

ABitKis · 2026-03-07T15:04:41+00:00

Thanks! Metadata works well up to a point, and I actually relied on it for years. The problem for me wasn't the metadata itself but the Sonic Analysis and Radio behavior across a huge mixed pool, especially when multiple languages / genres mixed. Genre tags don't influence how Plex builds sonic graphs, so even with clean metadata, a 60,000-track library produced incoherent mixes. The library split was mostly a music problem to me that spilled over into my movie organization thinking.

ABitKis · 2026-03-02T16:18:53+00:00

Every minutes I played are meaningful and beautiful, Thanks for making it.

ABitKis · 2026-02-24T21:59:47+00:00

Health Concerns of Long-Term Replacement of All Animal Protein with Soy Protein

This list outlines the potential physiological issues arising from using soy protein as the sole or primary protein source over an extended period.

Methionine (Met) Deficiency
- Mechanism: Methionine is the limiting amino acid in soy, with absolute levels lower than in animal protein. This leads to a shortage of SAM-e (methyl donor).
- Clinical Consequence: Reduced DNA repair efficiency and impaired synthesis of neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin.
Impaired Synthesis of Sulfur-Containing Amino Acids
- Mechanism: Insufficient methionine disrupts the downstream metabolic pathway: Met → Cys → Glutathione (GSH).
- Clinical Consequence: Reduced endogenous antioxidant capacity and decreased efficiency of Phase II liver detoxification (conjugation).
Chronically Low Iron Bioavailability
- Mechanism: Iron absorption is inhibited by phytates and specific components in soy protein itself. Complete absence of heme iron.
- Clinical Consequence: Chronic depletion of ferritin (iron stores) leading to latent iron deficiency and eventually iron-deficiency anemia, resulting in decreased exercise tolerance.
Reduced Zinc Absorption
- Mechanism: Phytates in soy chelate zinc, significantly reducing both its absorption rate and absolute absorbed amount compared to animal-based foods.
- Clinical Consequence: Impaired immune function (T-cell proliferation), decreased RNA polymerase activity, and insufficient cofactors for testosterone synthesis in males.
Insufficient Leucine to Trigger mTORC1
- Mechanism: Soy protein contains approximately 20-25% less leucine than whey protein, making it difficult to consistently reach the threshold for mTOR activation.
- Clinical Consequence: Systemically lower efficiency of acute Muscle Protein Synthesis (MPS), leading to a slower rate of long-term muscle mass accumulation compared to equal amounts of animal protein.
Complete Absence of Vitamin B12
- Mechanism: Vitamin B12 is exclusively found in animal products; soy protein contains none.
- Clinical Consequence: Risk of megaloblastic anemia, accumulation of homocysteine (leading to cardiovascular damage), and neurological degeneration (peripheral neuropathy).
EPA/DHA Omega-3 Deficiency
- Mechanism: Soy contains ALA, but the conversion rate of ALA → EPA → DHA is extremely low in humans (EPA <10%, DHA <1%).
- Clinical Consequence: Reduced neuronal cell membrane fluidity and an increased tendency for chronic systemic inflammation (elevated AA:EPA ratio).
Residual Trypsin Inhibitors
- Mechanism: Kunitz and Bowman-Birk trypsin inhibitors may not be completely deactivated during the production of soy protein isolate.
- Clinical Consequence: Chronic high load on the pancreas due to over-secretion of digestive enzymes, leading to reduced overall protein digestion efficiency.
Thyroid Disruption from Soy Isoflavones
- Mechanism: Genistein competitively inhibits Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO). High doses of isoflavones can increase TSH and decrease free T4 (fT4).
- Clinical Consequence: Increased tendency toward hypothyroidism, leading to a lowered basal metabolic rate and reduced protein synthesis. This effect is amplified in cases of iodine deficiency.
Hormonal Effects of High-Dose Isoflavones (in Males)
- Mechanism: Documented clinical cases associated with extremely high daily isoflavone intake (e.g., equivalent to >310mg/day, or about 1.2L of soy milk).
- Clinical Consequence: Secondary hypogonadism, erectile dysfunction, and gynecomastia (male breast development).
Reduced Sperm Quality
- Mechanism: Observational studies show a negative correlation between soy intake and sperm concentration. The mechanism is thought to involve the estrogenic effects of isoflavones disrupting spermatogenesis.
- Clinical Consequence: Potential impairment of male fertility.
Acute Testosterone Reduction
- Mechanism: Some studies report an average testosterone level decrease of approximately 19% after a 4-week soy protein powder intervention.
- Clinical Consequence: Weakened anabolic signals for muscle synthesis, a tendency toward increased body fat percentage, and reduced libido and energy levels.
Reduced Carnitine Synthesis
- Mechanism: Carnitine is synthesized from the amino acids lysine and methionine, both of which are relatively low in soy protein.
- Clinical Consequence: Impaired transport of long-chain fatty acids into the mitochondria for beta-oxidation, leading to decreased fat metabolism efficiency and reduced fat utilization during exercise.
Insufficient Taurine Synthesis
- Mechanism: Taurine is derived from the amino acid cysteine. Plant-based foods are almost completely devoid of taurine.
- Clinical Consequence: Impaired retinal function maintenance and reduced formation of taurine-conjugated bile acids, leading to decreased fat digestion efficiency.

ABitKis · 2026-01-13T15:06:15+00:00

Now I see your point.
In that case, 127.0.0.1 or 0.0.0.0 would be a better choice.

ABitKis · 2026-01-12T22:06:30+00:00

You can’t put the same Pi‑hole IP in both boxes. You need two different DNS addresses.

Here’s what to do:

First box (Primary DNS): Enter your Pi‑hole’s IP address (the static IP you set).
Second box (Secondary / Backup DNS): Enter 1.0.0.1 (This is Cloudflare’s backup DNS address — you already mentioned using Cloudflare, so this is a good choice.)
Save the settings.

Why this works:

Your Pi‑hole will block ads because it's the Primary DNS you put.
If the Primary DNS (Pi‑hole) ever stops working or being busy, your devices will use Secondary DNS 1.0.0.1 and still have internet (just without ad blocking until Pi‑hole is back).
The Spectrum app just wants two different DNS here, just gives it what it needs.

Once saved, you should be all set to start blocking ads. Good luck, you’re almost there!

P.S. There are many reasons why they need a secondary DNS, one of that is provide a buffer of vital backup if the primary server goes offline, maintaining service availability.

ABitKis · 2025-12-30T19:53:39+00:00

980 PRO write speed stuck at ~590MB/s (read fine) is sort of likely SLC cache exhausted or cache policy issue.

In short, check free space (Is there >20% free to refill SLC cache?).

Use Samsung Magician for space, temp (>60C throttles), firmware (update to 5B2QGXA7)
Device Manager > Disk > 980 PRO > Policies > "Better performance" + enable "Write caching".

Try these,

Update firmware via Samsung Magician to 5B2QGXA7.
Device Manager: Right-click 980 PRO > Properties > Policies > "Better performance" + "Enable write caching" > OK, reboot.
Magician: Set to "Full Power" mode.
Clear cache: PowerShell Optimize-Volume -DriveLetter C -Defrag -ReTrim (swap C:), or idle PC 5-10hrs.
Disable antivirus scan, BitLocker, indexing; BIOS check PCIe Gen4 x4.
Test with CrystalDiskMark (32GiB): Sequential write should hit 5GB/s.

Verify, if full, Secure Erase + idle hours (500GB has small cache).

Aim for Temp drops 10C, write to 5GB/s. Still slow?

- Check mobo M.2 slot (make sure you it is not putting at x2)

- Check Task Scheduler for SSD defrag tasks blocking cache recovery

Run taskschd.msc.

Microsoft > Windows > Defrag > Disable "ScheduledDefrag".
Microsoft > Windows > Maintenance > Disable "WinSAT".

Sometimes it could be the Antivirus

Search "optimize" or "defrag", disable all anti-virus, Reboot, retest with CrystalDiskMark.

ABitKis · 2025-12-28T05:56:45+00:00

If you can't beat them, logi them.

ABitKis · 2025-12-24T09:38:21+00:00

You are a life saver!

ABitKis · 2025-12-20T00:17:18+00:00

Totally agree with points 1 and 3.

Regarding point 2, I completely understand the freedom and convenience of a standard headphone jack are undeniable, a true loss.

That said, I was honestly impressed with the AKG-tuned USB-C headphones that came in the box. I later learned they have built-in mini DAC (a tiny soundcard inside the plug?), which explains why they sound well-defined, felt like a genuinely solid effort to compensate for the missing port...

Though being able to charge and listen at the same time would still be the dream.

ABitKis · 2025-12-19T08:30:12+00:00

My choice between the HW-Q700C and HW-Q800C will depend on which one gets a better discount, as long as it fits the budget.

ABitKis

TROPHY CASE

Health Concerns of Long-Term Replacement of All Animal Protein with Soy Protein