I would like to use a storage device for all of my music, movies and pictures.

After a bit of quick research, it looks like I need a NAS device?

My set up is as follows:

MacBook Pro
Windows PC hooked up via HDMI to TV (mainly used for downloading and streaming stuff)
Xbox 360 hooked up to TV and used for Sky, LoveFilm and playing DVDs etc

I think I’ve got about 500GB of stuff at the moment, not sure how much that will grow by, other than photos I can’t see it growing massively, but the option to expand would be useful.

It will be wired to my router.

What sort of products come with a good reputation and will work with both my Mac and PC?

Thanks 🙂

I have a Synology DS411j (think thats what it’s called), and it works with my MBP and ATV flawlessly (including time machine).

From looking at your setup, I would say the most sensible thing to do is use your windows PC for Network attached storage alongsie it’s current role… I’m not the right person to ask for that, but it sounds like that would be pretty simple.

use your windows PC for Network attached storage alongsie it’s current role

Problem with this (I found) is it not being an ‘always on’ device, too expensive to leave it sitting there idle and a pain in the arse to keep booting it up everytime I needed access to a file.

You could use it this way and enable offline files/syncing I suppose, but that’s not going to help with streaming?

Personally I took the plunge and bought a Synology DS112-J, ability to configure boot up and shut down times, hibernation etc. There’s also a download station which will manage all your downloads leaving you free to shutdown the PC or laptop.

All in all very happy with it so far.

I had a similar dilema a while ago and went with a NAS – it’s great and sounds like what you want. Quiet, always on, low power.

Mac mini as a music/media server and wireless streaming
Linux Laptop
Windows Laptop

QNAP NAS drive serves files to all of these, plus runs my webserver, iTunes server, downloads torrents, print server and all sorts.

Network transfer speed is usually limited by the CPU in the NAS (despite many claiming Gigabit LAN) so buy as fast as you can justify if you plan on moving large files around between machines.

Also, don’t forget to backup your NAS. Get one that supports USB backup to an external drive.

I back up all machines, phones etc to the NAS, then back up the NAS to an external removable hard drive. For extra paranoia, store a spare one at your work/mates.

I have a Western Digital NAS, slightly older version of this I think. It’s wired into my router, I think that one is wireless, otherwise very similar. 2 x 2TB drives mirrored so protected against h/w failure.

It’s mounted by a Mac Mini which is cabled via HDMI to my TV and is running plex, this provides a nice interface to movie/tv show media, itunes and iphoto libraries. It also has plugins for things like iPlayer. All in all a nice media set up which the missus can use.

I can access the NAS from laptop, iPad, phone etc if required, so drop media straight onto that rather than sending to Mac Mini first (eg ripping DVDs on laptop).

QNAP or Synology.
I got a QNAP TS-219P II. Mirrored 2 * 2TB drives.
I have a mixed environment of Mac’s and Windows, ipads and iphones. Works pretty well. There’s still loads of functionality to investigate.

Thanks for the responses.

I’ll start having a look on Ebuyer 🙂

I got a seagate go-flex home recently – 2Tb but they do smaller – very easy to set up and use for both network storage and as a backup device.

Synology 212j with 2 x 2Tb drives setup as RAID1. Synology app control from smartphones, and their remote access seems the best around atm. You could always save cash and get a single 2tb drive for now, then another when funds allow. WD ‘Green’ drives are good value, and spin slower so less likely to overheat.

You’ll need wireless n for streaming HD though, as g struggles. Cat5 better still if you can do it.

A cheaper way might be to connect a USB HDD to your xbox and use Connect360 software but a NAS is great and is flexible for future upgrades. Just a shame HDD prices are still almost double since the Taiwan floods :-/

I have the single bay Synology and use an existing USB external hard drive for backing up, works just fine.

Be careful with the WD Green drives if you go down that route, there are known issues with some versions that may contribute to premature drive failure.

Something to do with high LCC counts or something else way over my head.

This is the one I’m considering buying. NAS/RAID with remote access via mobile app:

looks like your PC is already acting as a server of sorts for streaming and downloading stuff.
If its always going to be on then just turn it into a nas server.

serviio is an excellent dlna software that will stream it all to your devices and is free.

all a nas is a small pc that you can connect to via a web interface and is quiet.

also check out the hp proliant micro servers if you want massive expandability, you could chuck windows home server or linux on it. you probably guessed but thats what i do.

we use a QNAP NAS system powered with a mega small factor windows pc running a front end software called xbmc, we’ve tried a few small pcs and variations of this and this is only one reliable and quick enough for our demands.

Another vote for QNAP here ( 219P ) they are excellent machines, and QNAP are always improving the software on them by adding new features.

There’s always off-site ‘cloud’ back-up:
http://www.backblaze.com/internet-backup.html