While cloud storage has been receiving wide attention from businesses and individual users, a more budget-friendly and efficient storage hardware has hit the market. Referred to as NAS or Network Attached Storage device, this is a relatively inexpensive and space-efficient storage solution deployed by both business enterprises and homes.So a best NAS is necessary for you.
NAS also is known as NAS box, NAS unit, NAS server, or NAS head can be considered as a server containing storage disks or drives, processors, and random-access memory (RAM). This hardware device houses NAS software that is deployed on a lightweight operating system. The software sends and receives only 2 types of requests; data storage and file sharing.
NAS boxes are becoming popular among home users as it can store your mega-media collection. This can serve as your personal Netflix with movies and series from your own collection being stored on one device and accessible at the time of your choice.
Here are a few Best NAS for Home Streaming that will help you get the best real-time storage solution.
Product Highlights
Synology DS220+ NAS solution is an upgrade enhancement to the DS218+ which was released in 2017. This NAS box is a compact network-attached storage solution designed to streamline your data and multimedia management. It features smooth data sharing, video streaming, and photo indexing. It also has well-rounded data protection and recovery options.
Best Features
This device features a powerful CPU with a dual-core 2.0GHz that clocks up to 2.9GHz. It is built to boost the speed of computer-intensive applications up to 15%. It also improves photo indexing, database response times, and web PHP response efficiency.
The front features a pop-off lid that opens to sport two bays built into the unit. A 2GB RAM is soldered onto the device’s motherboard. There is an additional RAM slot that can hold an extra hard disk of up to 4GB. Therefore, the system’s memory stands at 6GB. The DS220+ also supports 4K transcoding and has a faster CPU clocking speed.
What We Like About Synology DiskStation DS220+
You can easily access multimedia content remotely via a smart, web-based interface.
What We Don’t Like About Synology DiskStation DS220+
Memory capacity could be improved.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Smooth synchronization between private and public clouds Affordable | No USB Port |
Product Highlights
Packing a ton of features the QNAP HS-453DX-8G is a NAS device from a powerful brand designed for your home streaming needs. Considered a pricey investment, it’s a multimedia powerhouse that will not only stream files but will also play them directly on your TV via HDMI. Complete with 10GbE performance, silent running and good looks, this device packs enough features to make it an efficient data storage device for home needs.
Best Features
Featuring a wide design it is a good addition to your home theatre setup in your living room. There are two models available one with 4GB DDR4 memory and the other with 8GB of DDR4 memory. Powered by an Intel Celeron J4115 quad-core processor, this device is praised for its silent operation as it is fanless. The HS-453DX is a four-drive unit featuring two drive bays and two M.2 slots. The latter slots can support SATA 6Gbps SSDs and can be used for caching.
This hybrid HDD + SSD structure coupled with 10GbE NBASE-T port executes fast file transfers and a flawless video streaming experience. Armed with QTS 4.4 software, the device also boasts data protection and backup features.
What We Like About QNAP HS-453DX-8G
It is a versatile device and can act as a central repository for music.
What We Don’t Like About QNAP HS-453DX-8G
Since there is no fan depending upon the use, the device will overheat.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Versatile Speedy System | Overheating Expensive |
Product Highlights
The Buffalo LinkStation 520 is a budget-friendly device, packing a pair of 3.5-inch hard disks with capacities ranging from 2TB to 8TB. This device is for basic home data storage needs and is compact enough to hide in any corner of the house. Featuring an easy setup, this two-bay unit also has a choice of RAID settings.
Best Features
Featuring an easy setup, the Buffalo LinkStation 520 has a compact form factor with a minimalist design. It is sold with hard disks pre-installed and also without disks called the LinkStation 520DE. There is an easy to remove the plastic mounting bracket that gives access to the disks.
It is fitted with a dual-core processor and 256MB of RAM that promotes flawless HD streaming and good response times. The transfer speeds can hit up to 100 Mbps, making the data transfer tasks easy and speedy. Users can also choose from RAID support for customized capacity and redundancy according to their specific needs.
What We Like About Buffalo LinkStation 520
This device is affordable and user friendly.
What We Don’t Like About Buffalo LinkStation 520
It has durability issues.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy Setup Drivers can be upgraded | Hard to reash USB Port |
4, Synology DS418
Product Highlights
Another Diskstation from Synology, the DS418 is ideal for users who want to create their home-based multimedia storage and streaming platform. Fitted with Synology’s DiskStation Manager software, this machine features an intuitive and easy to navigate user interface. The DS418 is typically sold diskless, which allows you to install the drives you desire.
Best Features
The DS418 is equipped with a quad-core processor with a base clock of 1.4GHz. Coupled with 2GB DDR4 memory it functions as an excellent private cloud storage service. The device runs on the Realtek RTD1296 64-bit processor that accompanies hardware encryptions engine as well as a 10-bit H.265 hardware transcoding engine. Plus, the NAS has an empty slot that can handle an additional 4GB.
The DS418 sports dual Gigabit Ethernet ports support both link aggregation and failover. There are also two USB 3.0 ports to connect it to external devices.
What We Like About Synology DS418
DS418 can automatically create backups of all the PCs that are connected to the network.
What We Don’t Like About Synology DS418
There is no hardware transcoding of media files.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Gigabit Ethernet ports Excellent for home use | Pricey |
Product Highlights
Western Digital’s My Cloud range is a line of external 2TB, 3TB, and 4TB hard drives at budget-friendly prices. Weighing just 960g, the NAS features a well vented mock-metal top and rear to keep it cool and quiet. There are 2TB, 3TB 4TB 6TB, and 8TB versions of My Cloud Home.
Best Features
My Cloud is an entry-level model for multimedia streaming solutions for home-based users. While this model doesn’t have software potential like the Synology Diskstations, this is a user-friendly model and is enough for basic home needs.
You will be able to stream locally-stored files across your home network and access the same from a remote location. It can stream data at 90 Mbps on LAN and 50 Mbps over Wi-Fi approximately. My Cloud Home can store all of your files from iOS and Mac devices in one location.
What We Like About WD 4TB My Cloud Home
My Cloud has good features at this price point.
What We Don’t Like About WD 4TB My Cloud Home
It is a single drive system, hence there is no data redundancy.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Reasonable Fast Transfer Speed | No data redundancy |
Conclusion
NAS is apt for people who are hosting a business at home or have a large personal media collection that used up all their hard drives. One of the best NAS drive use cases is for media playback. NAS allows you to view your personal video library on TV over the Wi-Fi network without having to connect to anything. Many models feature additional hard disk slots so you can store extra data as per your requirement because you can increase the capacity of the device. It perfectly functions as a private cloud for home users without monthly rental charges.
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