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Forum Discussion
ReadyNAS 214 or 316
I am looking at the 214 or 316 models for home use. My wife is a photographer, so we need a lot of storage. I will be using Raid 1, so 24 TB = 12 useable TB. I will also be using this like DropBox...
There are actually more apps available for the RN316. All the ARM apps available for the RN100 and RN200 are also available for x86 products like the RN316. The reverse is not the case.
The RN316 includes lifetime free software chat support, the RN100 and RN200 do not.
Current US Amazon pricing has the RN214 at ~$500 and the RN316 at ~$550. At those prices the RN316 is a better deal.
The wrinkle is that the RN214 is spec'd to provide 1080p on-the-fly transcoding with plex. The RN316 is not.
I actually use a separate HTPC. Will I still need the NAS to transcode?
MathemAddicts wrote:
I actually use a separate HTPC. Will I still need the NAS to transcode?
How are you accessing the media? DLNA, NFS, SMB, ???
If DLNA, what server are you using now? Plex?
Right now the media is on the SSD in the HTPC. I do not store a ton of media, so I may not use the NAS for media at all; however, if I do, could I map it as a network drive and store videos from, say XBox Video app (in Windows 8) and shows DVR'd from Windows Media Center? Would I still need the NAS to transcode or, since they are being played through the relevant app in Windows 8 on my HTPC, am I okay with transcoding on the NAS?
MathemAddicts wrote:
Right now the media is on the SSD in the HTPC. I do not store a ton of media, so I may not use the NAS for media at all; however, if I do, could I map it as a network drive and store videos from, say XBox Video app (in Windows 8) and shows DVR'd from Windows Media Center? Would I still need the NAS to transcode or, since they are being played through the relevant app in Windows 8 on my HTPC, am I okay with transcoding on the NAS?
If you are access the media via a mapped drive (or directly from the share using NFS or SMB) then you don't transcoding. All the NAS is doing is hosting the file.
PLEX is more complicated. It streams to browsers, mobile devices, and some players - both locally and over the internet. Transcoding is quite important with Plex - sometimes because the player doesn't support codecs or media container, and sometimes because the network connection isn't fast enough to carry the media w/o transcoding. The RN316 will transcode 720p - not sure about 1080p, but I've heard that might stutter.
Anyway, I'd say the RN316 is a better choice for you (esp. given the small price gap at the moment). Having unused bays for future expansion is always good (it is most cost effective to expand into an empty bay).
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