Synology/Qnap For Home Media

[shawn finkenstead]

As the title states I am looking for a Nas either 2 bay or 4. I want to be able to run Plex with ease and will upgrade the memory most likely on the unit as I see most from Qnap need it/can be. I want to use this hooked up to my tv while also having it hooked to my network for saving files and such. I am new to these so if this seems noobish my bad just want to make sure I get something that will do what I am looking for. Thought about building my own but its hard to beat the price on some of these units.

[aeshaynes]

Would really need to know your budget to be able to advise you on which one!

[shawn finkenstead]

1 minute ago, aeshaynes said:

Would really need to know your budget to be able to advise you on which one!

Ah my Bad. Trying to stay under 600 U.S without drives if possible.

[Redportal]

I can't really speak for a Qnap as I've never used one before, however I can definitely vouch for Synology's nas products.

I would strongly recommend the Synology's plus series, in particular this model (DS716+) https://www.synology.com/en-global/products/DS716+

Features:

• 2 Drive bays
• 2 Network Nics
• USB 3.0 Ports
• Read / Write up to 200MB/S
• Under $500

In addition to the above it also runs Synology's diskstation software, and from personal experience I can say that this platform is really awesome.

It also supports Synology's upcoming version 6 Beta.

[shawn finkenstead]

19 minutes ago, Redportal said:

I can't really speak for a Qnap as I've never used one before, however I can definitely vouch for Synology's nas products.

I would strongly recommend the Synology's plus series, in particular this model (DS716+) https://www.synology.com/en-global/products/DS716+

Features:

• 2 Drive bays
• 2 Network Nics
• USB 3.0 Ports
• Read / Write up to 200MB/S
• Under $500

In addition to the above it also runs Synology's diskstation software, and from personal experience I can say that this platform is really awesome.

It also supports Synology's upcoming version 6 Beta.

So this will stream to a T.V no problems? Also when Beta 6 goes to the full version will it also support that? Funny the 716+ is one of the options on my list.

Edit: I have a HDTV not a smart T.V

[Redportal]

I've never personally streamed to a TV using this device as my main TV doesn't support it. However I don't see why you would have a problem doing so.

In terms of network and read speeds I've streamed three full 1080p video files at the same time using this 716 model.

[shawn finkenstead]

1 minute ago, Redportal said:

I've never personally streamed to a TV using this device as my main TV doesn't support it. However I don't see why you would have a problem doing so.

In terms of network and read speeds I've streamed three full 1080p video files at the same time using this 716 model.

Forgot to add this to my last post. Is the memory something you can upgrade on that? Might not have to but I like to tinker!!!!

Edit: How do you find out if your T.V supports it?

[Redportal]

If you can stream video files from a url or network share then you should be able to stream to the TV using a nas.

There might be other methods to stream to your TV, but I'm not aware of any others.

[tt2468]

Synology FTW!

[Whaler_99]

I have used QNAP and the Pro series and performance is outstanding. There is PLEX plugin for then to transcode, but then you would need a smart TV (and not all work with plex) or a HTPC. But some models of QNAP now come with HDMI ports for direct connection to your TV.  

 

[shawn finkenstead]

10 hours ago, Whaler_99 said:

I have used QNAP and the Pro series and performance is outstanding. There is PLEX plugin for then to transcode, but then you would need a smart TV (and not all work with plex) or a HTPC. But some models of QNAP now come with HDMI ports for direct connection to your TV.  

 

Yeah whichever I go to get will have to have Hdmi.

[sybreeder]

I have Netgear ReadyNAS Ultra 2 and Qnap TS-412 and TS-412. Netgear works great especially after i upgraded ram from 1 to 2GB DDR3, Works Amazing, fast, reliable. I also modified OS and upgraded from older OS4 to OS6. Plex works fine. 

Qnap on the other hand works terrible. Very slow and because of that i don't use it at all

If you like to tinker - it might be an option.

Synology would also great but,,,more expensive. 

 

[beavo451]

For $600 you can build one hell of a Free NAS box. If you don't mind tinkering and learning some stuff along the way, FreeNAS OR NAS4Free is the way to go. You can easily get a cheap streaming device like a Roku, Apple TV, or build a Raspberry Pi XBMC device for cheap.

 

I just replaced a QNAP TS-431 with a cheap FreeNAS build that suits my usage much better. I could never get Plex to work right with the QNAP. I also am experimenting with OwnCloud for DropBox like functionality. 

[shawn finkenstead]

3 hours ago, beavo451 said:

For $600 you can build one hell of a Free NAS box. If you don't mind tinkering and learning some stuff along the way, FreeNAS OR NAS4Free is the way to go. You can easily get a cheap streaming device like a Roku, Apple TV, or build a Raspberry Pi XBMC device for cheap.

 

I just replaced a QNAP TS-431 with a cheap FreeNAS build that suits my usage much better. I could never get Plex to work right with the QNAP. I also am experimenting with OwnCloud for DropBox like functionality. 

Yeah I just seen the video on Vessel and Linus blasts Qnap and Synology. lol. Need to find the used computer center that is close to me finally.

[KuJoe]

Synology is great (I have 2 of them and love them) but any of their smaller devices (1-2 bays) will only have a single core ARM CPU which is not great for transcoding. I'm sure QNAP is in the same boat also. My co-worker in Colorado is running a Plex server with his QNAP and I can stream content fine off it in Florida as long as I keep it at the original quality and not try to lower the quality at all (i.e. forcing transcoding). I used to run Plex on a single core VIA CPU also in France and the streaming to Florida was also good if I kept the original quality and didn't do any transcoding.

[shawn finkenstead]

3 minutes ago, KuJoe said:

Synology is great (I have 2 of them and love them) but any of their smaller devices (1-2 bays) will only have a single core ARM CPU which is not great for transcoding. I'm sure QNAP is in the same boat also. My co-worker in Colorado is running a Plex server with his QNAP and I can stream content fine off it in Florida as long as I keep it at the original quality and not try to lower the quality at all (i.e. forcing transcoding). I used to run Plex on a single core VIA CPU also in France and the streaming to Florida was also good if I kept the original quality and didn't do any transcoding.

That's good to know. But I still want to go see what I can get from the Recycle center here where I am from. Pretty sure I seen Ryan from Pcper post something about one here in Florence on twitter one day.

[beavo451]

7 hours ago, shawn finkenstead said:

Yeah I just seen the video on Vessel and Linus blasts Qnap and Synology. lol. Need to find the used computer center that is close to me finally.

 

You don't need a used PC store. You could buy new. Or buy off eBay.

 

Something like the QNAP TS-451 is just within your budget and even then it uses an Atom Bay Trail CPU. According to TechPowerUp it is just barely able to do transcoding. You can build a more powerful machine.

[F4S4K4N]

For 600 bucks minus drives i would pick up a PowerEdge 1950 Gen III and a PowerVault MD1000 off eBay. However, maybe I'm just weird in not minding the extra power draw / heat production...