NAS Purchase

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darkangel

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Hey Everyone,

I am coming to the limit of hard drive space on my computer so have been looking at getting some more storage space.

The majority of my files are videos so I have been doing a bit of looking at getting a NAS. (Network Attached Storage). So I wondering if anyone has any experience of these?

A possible purchase is this. I would then also need to get a new 2TB hard drive to put in it.
 
I don't like them that much. The ones that I have seen require you to install software on your PC to be able to access and store data. I liken it to the movement seen in the portable/external HD enclosures for sale recently. "Use this autorun application to manage your drive." No thanks, I can do it myself. Except that with the NAS, it is not as easy as removing the autorun app and accessing via my computer. You have to have the app.

If you can get the list of "features" to run properly and securely, it could be an interesting device that can serve your media. However, unless your TV connects directly to the device and loads media, you would need to have a PC connected. And at that point, it would be faster, also less network traffic, to host the media on the local machine.
 
I'm not familiar with that particular NAS, but the QNAP one that I've got has probably been my best PC buy :). It doesn't need any software to run on my PC, you can just mount network shares in Windows/Linux/Mac for file storage - plus there's a web interface for other features.

For streaming, I've got a folder set up that contains videos, music and photos - I can then use the built in DLNA/UPnP server to stream straight to my PS3/TV/WMP. No other software needed in this case.

If this NAS doesn't need any 3rd party software installed (there are some optional bits with mine, for things like management without the web interface), then I'd go for it (especially if you've got a console that supports viewing streams). Best bit of kit I've got!
 
Another option is, depending on your router, attaching a caddy with a drive to the router via USB.

Most newer ones do that, then the drive can be used as a NAS. :)

All you need is a router with a USB port and a external USB hard drive/HDD and caddy.
 
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