NAS for Media Server/Plex

[eventualpilot]

I’ve been looking for a project to busy myself with and under the current environment I have more than enough free time.  I have about 75 blu-rays (under 10 of which are 4K) and about an equal number of DVDs (probably not all of which would make the cut) that I would like to rip, store on a NAS, and stream via Plex.

I have an Asus external Blu-ray drive.  From what I understand I’ll need to use a combination of MakeMKV/AnyDVD and HandBrake (if I want to transcode/compress the original) to rip the Blu-ray to my laptop, then after the NAS has been set up, transfer the video files to the NAS/Plex.  Beyond Plex, I don’t have any other immediate uses for the NAS, however in 12-18 months I would probably utilize the Surveillance Station feature.

 

I do not want (nor am I technically proficient enough) to build a dedicated server with off the shelf components running some version of Linux, hence my desire to go the prebuilt NAS route.

 

I had been leaning towards Synology, perhaps the DS418Play or the DS918+.  However, I came across some articles that Synology will be releasing a new lineup of NAS at some point this year (DS420+, DS920+, DS220+, and DS720+).  Would it make sense to hold off any buy a newer model or wait until there is a price drop in the existing models?  As for a specific model would the 4 series or the 9 series make more sense?

[foldingNoob]

might want to wait for the SMR controversy to mature. People are reporting their drives are dropping out of raid. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/04/caveat-emptor-smr-disks-are-being-submarined-into-unexpected-channels/

[eventualpilot]

10 hours ago, foldingNoob said:

might want to wait for the SMR controversy to mature. People are reporting their drives are dropping out of raid. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/04/caveat-emptor-smr-disks-are-being-submarined-into-unexpected-channels/

 Had been considering the Seagate Ironwolf line of NAS drives.

[Mihle]

55 minutes ago, eventualpilot said:

 Had been considering the Seagate Ironwolf line of NAS drives.

From everything I have heard, they are fine, aka none of them is SMR.

[WiredInventor]

Right now I am just running my PLEX server from my desktop. I eventually want to move it onto a Synology NAS. I am looking at the DS218+. Keep in mind that most of these don't come with drives pre-installed, so keep an eye out for that.