A question about network storage

kingaaa

I'm thinking of getting some nework storage, maybe one of the Netgear models.The only thing I'm not quite sure about is operating it when the pc is off.Two of my media players (Pinnacle Showcenter and JVC DD3) require media server software (Cyberlink and SwissKnife) to play avi's from my pc. How could I watch avi's from network storage without going through the pc if they need the media server programmes?

MediaTank

Sounds like you are considering a NAS device. Most NAS support either NFS or SMB (SAMBA) or both. These protocols allow streeaming of media across the network without extra software. However your devices don't appear to support this, but they do support UPnP. Just make sure your NAS device supports UPnP and you'll be good to go.

MT

kingaaa

MediaTank wrote: »

Sounds like you are considering a NAS device. Most NAS support either NFS or SMB (SAMBA) or both. These protocols allow streeaming of media across the network without extra software. However your devices don't appear to support this, but they do support UPnP. Just make sure your NAS device supports UPnP and you'll be good to go.

MT

MediaTank, your right, as far as I know outside the server software they just support UPnP.Got any recomendations for a UPnP external NAS drive about 1tb in size (on a budget of course!);)

MediaTank

Unless you are considering a RAID based NAS they are all pretty much the same to me. The only other consideration is noise if you plkan on keeping it close to the TV. Ones I'm familar with that fit the bill are the Buffalo LinkStation Live devices - quiet and cheap.

MT

kingaaa

MediaTank wrote: »

Unless you are considering a RAID based NAS they are all pretty much the same to me. The only other consideration is noise if you plkan on keeping it close to the TV. Ones I'm familar with that fit the bill are the Buffalo LinkStation Live devices - quiet and cheap.

MT

Dont even know what RAID is mate, but it wont be near the tv at all, it will bet at the other end of a 60 foot ethernet cable!

MediaTank

kingaaa wrote: »

Dont even know what RAID is mate, but it wont be near the tv at all, it will bet at the other end of a 60 foot ethernet cable!

I guess you're sorted then

Fallschirmjager

i have a infrant NAS with 1.something TB of storage. Infrant was the old name before Netgear bought them. Ive had it for over 2 years with no issues at all running nearly 24 hours a day. Recently i went to upgrade using samsung disks, didnt appear to like them at all, at least on mine anyways. Its not cheap however but you can just attach (as the name suggests) to a network port and off you go.

Its fast enough for 1080p. it is beginning to date a little but they release firmware updates very regularly. You will need to do a little admin on it. The material says its not loud, er, that would be total BS....this is not living room kit IMHO. apparently you can lower the fan speed but it was never an issue for me as i networked the house. The other good news is its about the size of a large toaster. You can also run usb drives off the back and it supports the small UPS gear as well. they have a great forum if you want to check. very helpful on any issues.

the most recent topic i read that is related is to use the apple extreme router as that has a USB port and apparently (note apparently) you can run drives in a NAS like way off that. I have not tried this however, so you may need to do a bit of webbing on that.

finally the infrant works with xp, mac and media streamers like tivx.

one other issue, you can get it to warn you via email if one of the disks starts to show temperature issues or failure. the web management interface is fairly cool and easy to use