WilDDog Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Hi all, help needed please. I want to purchase a NAS for the above reasons, there are so many out there, synergy, Buffalo etc. I also don't want to have a pc or laptop/desktop hard wired to it. I want to add a NAS to my Fritzox router to be able to stream movies I've read reviews until I'm blue in the face and they contradict each other. I'm hoping some of you tech savvy forum user can help me out Lets say 2 to 4 people could be streaming a movie or listening to music at any one time. I need somewhere to store data, movies, audio, photgraphs., also need piece of mind if one HD breaks I won't lose data. I need something compatible with windows machines, apple tv, ipads. I was looking at the Synology DS415 4 Bay or the Synology DS214 2 Bay along with WD 4 TB harddiives. Any advice will be most welcome. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbie Bobster Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Got the Synology DS214play about 9 months ago. Hardware setup is straightforward, it's fairly silent and has nice blinky blue and green lights. Software setup is simple for basic stuff, but there's a lot of complexity. e.g. still haven't had the wherewithall to look at the difference between the old backup software (Data replicator) and the newer stuff (Cloude Sync/Cloud Station) It includes a Plex server, so I moved all my AV stuff over and set up the server. However it wouldn't serve a solid HD (720p) stream via Chromecast to the big TV. A little bit of thinking and I realised I could use the desktop PC as the server, but just change its storage location to the Synology. So the NAS has the video files, but the PC does the heavy lifting of *technobabble* to the Chromecast. Also use Download station, which works well. Loads of other packages that can be used to extend functionality. Somewhat disappointed that the supposedly beefed up 214play didn't have enough oomph to serve up the HD files, but the workaround is adequate - however the main PC has to be on. Finally, your avatar is still Hypnotizing, even after my 9 years of MF membership Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcousticallyChallenged Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Would a HP MicroServer running FreeNAS be any good? More powerful and flexible than most of the off-the-shelf options. FreeNAS also allows you to use programs such as Plex media server which is the easiest way of streaming a lot of things, plus FreeNAS and I believe Plex can be interfaced reasonably easily with an Apple TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilDDog Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 Thanks for the replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hannay Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 another shout for the HP Microservers. I have 4 of them, two running Diskstation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilDDog Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 Are the HP servers difficult to set-up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbie Bobster Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Occam's razor would suggest that a system with different hardware and software suppliers (e.g. a HP with open source NAS OS, or even some flavour of Windows Server!!) would require more effort than an integrated system, both in setup and in maintenance. I spend enough time troubleshooting my own desktoip, laptop, tablet, phone, etc., thanks. I admit that although I researched the HP route (when there were some spectacular cashback offers on them), I don't have experience of setting one up. I've done a Netgear NAS in the past and I'd prefer the Synology software. If flexibility and power are important, though, then building your own rather than off-the-shelf is probably the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilDDog Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 I don't have the experience of setting a server up or the time to maintain one. I wanted something that's powerfull enough to stream movies without the necessary headaches that's why I thought the Synology route would be best for me. I don't know have a clue what to do now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hannay Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 You know where I live Feel free to nip round and check the HP Microserver setup at some point if you think it would help! Mine are used for streaming. Mine latest is set up with 4 x 4TB disks, with a one disk fail over (Raid 5). Think gives total storage of 11TB when all said and done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbie Bobster Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Break the issue up into manageable chunks and look at your requirements for each. (a) File server (b) Media server software © Media server hardware (d) Display hardware (e) Network So I have (a) Synology, coz it's off the shelf, easy to use. (b) Plex, because it works well and is the best server software I've seen © Desktop PC, because other solutions I've tried (Netgear EVA8000, Cheapo Android box, Synology) haven't worked well. (d) Chromecast attached to TV, because it's small, unobtrisuve and has lots of added features (Chromecast, not the TV ) (e) N-Wifi seems to work OK with the other bits of the setup Would be handy if other MFers with experience in media serving posted their thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pongo Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Would be handy if other MFers with experience in media serving posted their thoughts. If everything is going over a single wifi network then there could be the potential for bottlenecks. Eg - iPad is streaming HD from network storage via wifi and then itself streaming via Airplay over wifi to AppleTV. Whilst 2 - 4 people on the same network are also potentially streaming (according to the brief) over the same wifi from the same file server. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilDDog Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 Hannay I'll pop down and see you whenever it's convenient for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Those hp microservers are quite power hungry and noisy vs a hardware nas. Have you tried using the functions built into your fritzbox? It lets you put a usb drive in and will Samba share it and it supports upnp for movie streaming. Another cheap/low power solution if you don't need the very fastest speeds is a raspberry pi with a usb drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hannay Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 all of my Microservers are all pretty much silent! Hannay I'll pop down and see you whenever it's convenient for you? I'm in all day mate - give give me a heads up first (344434) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slim Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 all of my Microservers are all pretty much silent! It's still 'pretty much' silent. They have a fan and make a bit of noise and draw a fair bit of power. A fanless ssd setup will be silent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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