Do we really need NAS's these days when you can stream everything through Netflix, Spotify etc?

R.O.S.S.I

R.O.S.S.I

R.O.S.S.I

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Just been thinking to myself about NAS's and their use as a media storage device.

With the prevalence and popularity of services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Spotify etc what is the actual need for an on site NAS to store music and video on?

You can stream pretty much anything through the services listed above so i'm just wondering where the value is in having a NAS in your home dishing out media through your TV, PC, SONOS hardware etc. Or have I missed something here?
 
not everyone has fast internet
not everyone has unlimited downloads
not everyone wants to pay for these services
probably more reasons ive missed
 
MagicBoy said:
Not everything is on the services listed.
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True, but a large amount is.

The only reason I ask is that ive recently just got a NAS but looking through my collection of media I reckon the majority of it could be accessed through Netflix/Spotify etc.

Might have to bump up my collection of fetish porn then to make it worthwhile having the NAS ;)
 
Don't forget that content on these on-demand services isn't guaranteed to be on there forever. If you have a load of Blu-ray ripped to a NAS then it's not going anywhere. If you're relying on Netflix to keep your episodes of Breaking Bad available then you might be disappointed.

They are also a great way to make 256GB SSDs in your desktop / laptop viable.
 
You don't need music or video, therefore you obviously don't need a NAS.

I hate being reliant on a service I don't fully trust. It's only a matter of time before netflix either increases in price or starts having a 1 minute ad break in the middle of a film. Personal storage is just that, it's personal: It's yours. There is no monthly fee or even a remote chance of ads.
 
R.O.S.S.I said:
The only reason I ask is that ive recently just got a NAS but looking through my collection of media I reckon the majority of it could be accessed through Netflix/Spotify etc.
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You see, I look through mine and sparing the music I wonder if I'll ever even watch 5% of it again!
 
As you wish.

I like my movies in high quality, so my NAS holds the rips. Netflix 1080p is pretty good, but still not a patch on on a 1080p/24 original.

Same with music. I'll take a CD original or FLAC backup over paying again for content I already own on Spotify.

Netflix, Spotify etc won't have the current content listed forever, it tends to change over time. Contracts are also for a fixed term, so there's nothing to stop say Warner Bros doing an Origin and pulling their content out and making their own service in the future.
 
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Fair points all round, hadn't considered that content could/would change and that usually the best bits of content are exclusive to one particular provider and so to get the best of everything you'd need multiple subscriptions.

The NAS will stay then!
 
The only way you can reliably get ALL your music at lossless compression is to buy the CD and rip it yourself to FLAC etc. If I'm paying for music I want it at optimal quality, not some dodgy mid-rate Mp3
 
Yes.

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I've used a few and Netflix is the only one that can reliably give me a 720p stream, providing nobody else is using the internet at the time. It'd be great if these services would allow you to pre-buffer or download but I guess they have no need to.
 
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Personally streaming is no good for me, I want films in the highest possible quality with the HD audio intact and music in lossless format.

I don't think anyone currently offers it. Last time I tried streaming a film it was awful.
 
I've got a Spotify and a Netflix subscription. They're both great services but there's definitely gaps in what they offer (especially films on Netflix).

I'm using them more and more but I still have a large back catalogue that I want to have access to. That's where the NAS comes in. I really like how services like Sonos allow me to combine streaming services like Spotify and NAS-based content into one playlist.
 
I use Play Music all access for music, but wouldn't even think about giving up my unraid server filled with all my content.
 
MagicBoy said:
As you wish.

I like my movies in high quality, so my NAS holds the rips. Netflix 1080p is pretty good, but still not a patch on on a 1080p/24 original.

Same with music. I'll take a CD original or FLAC backup over paying again for content I already own on Spotify.

Netflix, Spotify etc won't have the current content listed forever, it tends to change over time. Contracts are also for a fixed term, so there's nothing to stop say Warner Bros doing an Origin and pulling their content out and making their own service in the future.
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This for me

Previously it was more.. Ie. 1mbit inet made it a must (fibre this next month.. Yay)
But you can't properly stream 1080p full HD DTS MA 5.1

So blu ray rips it is
 
edscdk said:
not everyone has fast internet
not everyone has unlimited downloads
not everyone wants to pay for these services
probably more reasons ive missed
Click to expand...
My internet was down for about 3 days a week or 2 ago..

So another thing you could add is "Internet down time"
 
I've been wanting one, but quite rightly as you've said I can't justify it with the other services now available.

With a good internet connection, Netflix 'Super HD' looks perfectly great to me.
 
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