I'm planning to buy a NAS for private files (currently some documents (not much compared to Pictures and video), lots of pictures taken the last 15 years, approx 50 tapes of (full quality) 45 VHSC that I will digitiza and approx 50 mini-DV tapes), plus loads of pictures that I have taken over a period of 20 years that I will digitize.
To me it seems like the NAS 104 or DS413j seems to offer enough Storage capacity.
However I get a bit worried regarding the Netgear Product when seeing all the DLNA-problems listed here. And I have been told that QNAP and Synology are the best when it comes to functionality since they are the most experienced ones. Unfortunately, the software standards listed on Synology Products and Netgear Products are not easily comparable unless you are an engineer working in the storage business.
I have seen some comments about the "light processor" solutions not being good enough for some (transcoding(?) cases, so I wonder if I have to buy a ReadyNAS 314 or DS413 instead of NAS 104 or DS413j. But I Wonder if I really will need this, because I don't expect having to transcode old films into Full HD i the NAS since both my TV (Samsung UE46ES8005) and a networking capable Surround receiver (Onkyo TX-NR 616) seems to have such functionality. And I do of course Wonder if these Products are compliant With the DLNA implementation in these NAS Devices...
Since I have taken lots of pictures and video in the past, I will of course do so in the future too.
And I have two kids and a wife who use computers, tablets and Smartphones.
Currently we have one HP NC8430 (Windows xp), one ACER ASPIRE E1-571 (Windows 8 ) , one Google nexus 10, one Samsung 7 tablet. In addition I sometimes bring a HP laptop from work running Windows 7 and my wife sometimes brings her work Laptop running Windows XP or Windows 7. And in the future we may install another smart TV and another (networking capable) surround receiver
So there are loads of different Devices in my home, and I Guess this is only the start...
I'm educated in telecomms and data comms,but I don't know the details of every protocol used in such Storage solution. 😞 I think it would be Nice if I could specify that data is stored perhaps in one disk in my house and in another disk in my parents home or my Brothers home. 😎
And sometimes I have Family visiting me With ipads, iphones and other Windows Devices and Android Devices. It would of course be Nice if they were able to store files in the NAS Storage or download files from it as well (from only "Public" folders) So based on this scenario, do you have any recommendations (explained) for me?
Re: ReadyNAS 104 vs DS413j vs ReadyNAS 314 vs DS413
Your current media is limited to standard definition. If you digitize it sensibly you shouldn't need to do any transcoding to play it on a range of devices. Since ipads are in the mix, then I would suggest the MP4 file format, with H.264 video and AAC audio. This would be a standard MP4. 1-2 megabit per second video rate should be enough. Keep the originals of course.
DLNA generally is loaded with interoperability issues with clients and server. I don't own a synology, but my guess is that this is probably an issue for all NAS.
I presently have plex installed on the RN102, and I can use DLNA on both the iPad (with 8player) and the built-in video player in my Samsung Galaxy S4. 8player is a paid app though.
Though this might surprise you, the open source itunes server used by both Synology and Netgear cannot be used to render to an ipad or iphone. You can thank Apple for that.
Anyway I think an arm processor product (like the RN104 or DS413j) should be fast enough. The RN104 uses 1.2 Mhz dual core, the DS413J has 1.6 Mhz single core. I suspect speeds are pretty close.
OS6 is of course brand-new, and it is a bit of a work-in-progress. There has been a lot of improvement since its initial release, but it is not quite finished yet. IMany posters here would give synology an edge in software (which is more mature) but would give Netgear an edge in hardware build quality. Since I don't own a Synology NAS I can't really say one way or the other.
