Question A good nas for storage/streaming?

[fael097]

hi, I need recommendations for a NAS. I don't care about upgradeability, redundancy, massive storage, I just want to watch videos from any device (android, ios, smart TVs, and pcs) without having to copy the files over from a device No need to have included storage too, best if I can just throw an old hdd in and be done with it. Just need it to be reliable, fast, compatible and cheap.

Suggestions ?

 

[RealBeast]

I would look at the Synology website products to determine what you need and can afford.

Best NOT to just throw in old HDDs, best to buy a new good quality drive(s) depending on your budget and needs.

 

[USAFRet]

I have a 4 bay Qnap TS-453a, for exactly that purpose (and more)
https://www.amazon.com/QNAP-Professional-Grade-Attached-Supports-TS-453A-4G-US/dp/B017YB7T6U

TS-453A - Features

QNAP designs and delivers high-quality network attached storage (NAS) and professional network video recorder (NVR) solutions to users from home, SOHO to small, medium businesses.

www.qnap.com

4x 4TB Seagate Ironwolf drives.

Rock solid, 24/7 since Jan 2017.
I would not hesitate for another Qnap, or Synology, or Theacus. All pretty similar.

As a test, I tried the following:
Playing video out to 3 systems, music to a 4th, while receiving large data transfer (full drive backups) from 2 other systems.
Simultaneously.

Nary a hiccup.

 

[fael097]

I would look at the Synology website products to determine what you need and can afford.

Best NOT to just throw in old HDDs, best to buy a new good quality drive(s) depending on your budget and needs.

so, right now I have a video folder in my pc with about 400gb of videos, stored in a 1tb hdd. it's just sitting there, no redundancy, no external access, nothing. I don't need much more than that, I just need to be able to stream these videos from any device, and eventually put a new vid or two into this folder. if I could simply do that from my pc and not spend a lot on energy bills I would, but I have a power hungry cpu and a 750w power supply, and leaving it on all the time isn't an option. so that's why I need a nas, why exactly you wouldn't recommend to just take that hdd and put into a nas?

I have a 4 bay Qnap TS-453a, for exactly that purpose (and more)
https://www.amazon.com/QNAP-Professional-Grade-Attached-Supports-TS-453A-4G-US/dp/B017YB7T6U

TS-453A - Features

QNAP designs and delivers high-quality network attached storage (NAS) and professional network video recorder (NVR) solutions to users from home, SOHO to small, medium businesses.

www.qnap.com

4x 4TB Seagate Ironwolf drives.

Rock solid, 24/7 since Jan 2017.
I would not hesitate for another Qnap, or Synology, or Theacus. All pretty similar.

As a test, I tried the following:
Playing video out to 3 systems, music to a 4th, while receiving large data transfer (full drive backups) from 2 other systems.
Simultaneously.

Nary a hiccup.

this sounds great, but probably too overkill for me. I don't think I'll ever need more than 1tb of network storage, and if I do, I can just replace the hdd instead of having a multi bay nas.

just so you know, what I currently have is a 32gb usb flash drive plugged into my wifi router. if it worked as it should, I wouldn't even consider buying a nas, I could just keep my files in my computer, and transfer to the usb drive whatever I thought I would watch that week or so, shouldn't need much more than those 32gb. but it doesn't work, transfer speeds are inconsistent, and terribly slow, I think I've never seen it go faster than 3Mbps.

streaming is also bonkers, a different workaround on every device to make it work, and it's never smooth, in many cases, it buffers more than it plays.

so that's why I need a nas, I was hoping I could spend less than 100 bucks to have basic functionality and storage, and decent quality streaming. if not possible, then not much more than 100, but around that price, you know, as cheap as possible, as long as it works.

btw, anyone ever used those buffalo linkstation nas?

 

[USAFRet]

2 bay Qnap NAS - $160
https://www.amazon.com/TS-231P-US-Personal-Mobile-Airplay-Support/dp/B01N78FRVZ

2x 2TB WD Enterprise drives - $50 each
https://www.amazon.com/RE4-Enterprise-Hard-Drive-WD2003FYYS/dp/B002XW44QY

Yes, it is above your $100 budget. But this will serve you well for years, and provide actual performance. Rather than bumbling along with a simple drive connected to the router USB port.

 

[fael097]

yes, I understand

so, my hdd is a wd green caviar, it's not old per se, it's just not new, how bad would it be to just use it instead with a diskless nas?

theres this:
https://www.amazon.com/Quad-core-1-4GHz-1xUSB3-0-2xUSB2-0-TS-128A-US/dp/B078Z4Y85P

and this:
https://www.amazon.com/Synology-DS119j-Bay-DiskStation-Diskless/dp/B07HK5T3KM

 

[USAFRet]

The WD Green is absolutely not to be used in a NAS. Old, new, other.

Yes, I looked at that 1 bay Qnap.
The extra $40 for the 2 bay gets you capacity you might need in a few years.

 

[RealBeast]

Agreed, no reason to get a one bay when a two bay gives you so much more potential at very little additional cost.