NAS advice needed

djc_slip · Post by **djc_slip** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 3:21 pm

Hi,

I want to purchase a NAS, and run twonky.

Would any one share their views on a stable NAS\twonky unit. i.e which would you recommend?

HDPete · Post by **HDPete** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 11:59 am

I am using a Buffalo Terastation Live (1TB) and it is rock solid with Twonky installed.

It has however, got the worlds worst media server built in (Pcast) which I have subsequently disabled and I'm enjoying my Twonky trial license.

pommie · Post by **pommie** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 3:05 pm

Synology offer a variety of devices. I have a CS406 which works fine.

http://www.synology.com

mgillespie · Post by **mgillespie** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 5:35 pm

I would point out. The big limitation on buying a NAS, is the amount of resouces it has (CPU/Memory). If you plan to have all your content in the format all your clients support fine. NAS is an excellent low power choice.

HOWEVER, if you think you many need to transcode files (FLAC > WAV, DIVX > MP4 etc etc), then your out of luck on a NAS, as it simply does not have the resources to pull of suchy CPU/Memory intensive operations... A MiniITX/NanoITX PC might be a better choice, as they can be very low power (6W), but still able to transcode to a acceptable degree...

djc_slip · Post by **djc_slip** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 7:47 pm

Excellent - thanks VERY much for your input!

DiRTDOGGYDOG · Post by **DiRTDOGGYDOG** » Sat Nov 24, 2007 7:04 pm

mgillespie wrote:I would point out. The big limitation on buying a NAS, is the amount of resouces it has (CPU/Memory). If you plan to have all your content in the format all your clients support fine. NAS is an excellent low power choice.

HOWEVER, if you think you many need to transcode files (FLAC > WAV, DIVX > MP4 etc etc), then your out of luck on a NAS, as it simply does not have the resources to pull of suchy CPU/Memory intensive operations...

I am looking to get a NAS also but I plan to stream to my PS3 you say that the files have to be transcoded it isnt a good choice my files will be MP4 but if the PS3 supports this format nativly would it still have to transcode? Also would I have to keep my main computer running in order to stream files to my PS3 or just leave the NAS on and it does not need any interaction from my main computer?

Thanks for the help.

mgillespie · Post by **mgillespie** » Sun Nov 25, 2007 9:31 am

DiRTDOGGYDOG wrote:
mgillespie wrote:I would point out. The big limitation on buying a NAS, is the amount of resouces it has (CPU/Memory). If you plan to have all your content in the format all your clients support fine. NAS is an excellent low power choice.

HOWEVER, if you think you many need to transcode files (FLAC > WAV, DIVX > MP4 etc etc), then your out of luck on a NAS, as it simply does not have the resources to pull of suchy CPU/Memory intensive operations...
I am looking to get a NAS also but I plan to stream to my PS3 you say that the files have to be transcoded it isnt a good choice my files will be MP4 but if the PS3 supports this format nativly would it still have to transcode? Also would I have to keep my main computer running in order to stream files to my PS3 or just leave the NAS on and it does not need any interaction from my main computer?

Thanks for the help.

In this situation, as long as the correct MP4 settings are used, then Twonly won't have to transcode to play on the PS3. However, NAS devices have other limitations, many people suffer issues, as the size of their media library reaches a cetain size, and they have to limit navigation tree's etc.

If you have a small to medium library, that does not need transcoding, then NAS will be fine, but I still firmly believe a MiniITX/NanoITX pc is a better bet, with upgradable components, and more resources.