Help me choose a NAS

dl8860 · 11 Jul 2018 at 13:54

Until now my data backup efforts have just been using a 1TB external HDD to back up my PC's HDD, which is also 1TB. I also have a 256GB SSD which is not backed up, as SSDs are invincible amirite? PC's HDD is now pretty old, since 2011 I think. My HDD data is a mixture of videos, photos and music. SSD content is just programs and games.

So it's about time I upgraded my backup approach to this decade, and seems like a NAS is a good way to do this. The benefits of being able to have access to all my files on the go, and also stream directly to Plex on my TV would be nice too. Wife's mac hasn't had a backup in a while either.

My initial thoughts are a 2 bay NAS with 2TB in each bay, which gives me room for all of my current data plus more, and ability to have a RAID setup for extra performance and failure proofing.

Regarding plex and video streaming, I keep reading about transcoding and hardware acceleration, but still can't work out if I need it. I never had any problems using direct play with my plex server just set up on my PC's hard drive and playing directly from there. So would I be OK with basically any remotely up to date NAS? Or do I need to worry about being able to video transcode?

e.g. the Synology DS218Play chipset won't work with plex directly I don't think, whereas the DS218+ can. But is that just a transcoding thing and do I need to worry about it?

dl8860 · 12 Jul 2018 at 11:30

Thanks guys that's useful info. Any idea if I even need to run with transcoding though? I've tried reading on plex help pages but can't work it out. When do you need to transcode as opposed to just playing direct? I almost always watch plex on my Samsung H6400. And you need plex pass to transcode anyway right?

And if I'm not transcoding, then I guess I don't need to worry about which exact model I get, is that right?

dl8860 · 16 Jul 2018 at 11:19

Avalon said:
Just to throw further fuel on the fire, if you run your Plex server on other hardware, the NAS doesn’t have the same overheads as it’s just serving files to the actual server, something like a ShieldTV, NUC or your existing PC/mac could do the heavy lifting (running Plex server/transcoding). Either way think carefully before going the NAS route.

I've used my PC in the past to do the actual playing, but that means I need to have my PC turned on any time I want use plex. Sounds like a minor thing, but there's something attractive about an all in one box that sits on in the background and handles everything. I don't actually use my PC at home that often, 1 night a week maybe.

dl8860 · 17 Jul 2018 at 16:43

When I said what I want is an all in one box that sits in the background and handles everything, I only meant handling data storage, access and playback, on an always on basis. As far as I can tell from research, I don't need any of the other benefits and features of setting up a fully fledged server.

As far as adding content to the plex server, am I missing something here? Isn't it as easy as telling plex which drives to search? That's how I've always done it when I've hosted the plex media server on my PC's HDD.

Your penultimate paragraph is lost on me.

Content playback will be through my Samsung h6400 TV as per post #4. In future (if I get a plex pass) I may well sync content to my phone also.