Worth adding a NAS to my media server setup? (QNAP TS-409?)

[Smurfin]

Hi all

After lots of reading, lots of hair pulling and a very steep learning curve, I'm finally a little closer to achieving my aim of a fully fledged media server/jukebox configuration. My knowledge base started at pretty much zero (I knew what RAM and hard-drives were basically ), and I feel pretty chuffed to have built a PC, got it working with a RAID array and have successfully (almost) setup a Popcorn Hour PCH-A110 with a jukebox on the very front end.

The PC is:

Intel Quad-Core 6600 2.4ghz processor
Asus P5Q Deluxe motherboard
8GB DDR2 800mhz RAM
Coolermaster Elite 330 Case
Coolermaster 650w PSU
Asus 4670 512MB Gfx card
Samsung 20" LCD monitor
Logitech G-15 keyboard
Rayzor Diamondback mouse
1 x Seagate Barracuda 500GB HDD (system drive)
4 x Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB HDDs (in a RAID 5 array)

The Popcorn Hour is:

PCH-A110 with a 1TB Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB HDD.

It's been sooo time consuming, but happily it's almost there. Aside from a hard drive failure which killed the RAID and my PC (4TB takes soooo long for windows/the RAID controller to analyse!) and lots of gnashing of teeth getting the PCH configured and working properly, the biggest issue has been streaming. As I currently rent, a fully wired network is not possible to achieve, so I'm stuck with the Media Server upstairs in the spare room, and the PCH in the living room directly below it. Even with homeplugs, streaming with my current setup simply doesn't work, and if there was a movie called Revenge of The Stutter that would barely do the quality justice. It's unwatchable.

As a result, the alternative solution has been to install a HDD in the PCH itself, so I have 1TB of storage there with another 3TB (available space) on the RAID. I'm backing up my entire BluRay collection, so as soon as I've got to around 38 movies I'll have run out of space on the PCH drive and will have the annoying task of copying specific movies across the network (which takes up to 2 hours per movie) as and when I want to watch them.

Unfortunately, due to the noise level (and the space), it's not feasibly to situate the Media Server in the living room, so I'm left with the above scenario.....or do I look at a NAS?

I've been looking at the Qnap TS-409, and with this I could feasibly sit this next to the sofa and connect it directly to the PCH; hey presto, 1TB storage on the PCH and 3TB on the NAS. That gives me one hell of alot of storage. But is this the way to go? Some specific questions:

* I've found the WD Caviar HDDs to be extremely quiet, and the one running inside the PCH doesn't give me any hassles. With 4 of them in a qnap ts-409, is this going to be a quiet running unit? Is the qnap itself quiet?

* How would I connect the NAS to both the network and the PCH? I naturally need some link to the network from the PCH, this is facilitated by CAT5 cable via a homeplug, which takes up the only network port on the PCH. Similarly, the QNAP NAS only has one network port, and I need to connect this to both the network AND the PCH. Am I right to assume that I'd connect the NAS to the network via a homeplug (as I do currently with the PCH), and then a long USB cable between the NAS and the PCH? Would this work for streaming?

Are the any other options I should consider other than the Qnap I've mentioned? The best price I can find is approx £377 from Ripcaster.

Any advice would be much appreciated

Cheers
Matt

[Cyril]

For streaming, I would just tack a very long white ethernet cable all the way to the PCH.

Otherwise upgrading the PCH to a 1.5TB disk would mean more of your Blu-rays would be available.

[Smurfin]

Originally Posted by Cyril

For streaming, I would just tack a very long white ethernet cable all the way to the PCH.

Unfortunately that's not practical, it will have to go across the spare room, down the hall, down the stairs and across the living room

Otherwise upgrading the PCH to a 1.5TB disk would mean more of your Blu-rays would be available.

Not looking at 1.5TB HDDs as they are unreliable, and the best thing about the WD Caviar Greens is that they're low power consumption, low heat and very quiet!

[Cyril]

Originally Posted by Smurfin

Unfortunately that's not practical, it will have to go across the spare room, down the hall, down the stairs and across the living room



Not looking at 1.5TB HDDs as they are unreliable, and the best thing about the WD Caviar Greens is that they're low power consumption, low heat and very quiet!

I've lifted my floorboards to get ethernet and hdmi downstairs and drilled a small hole in the dining room cupboard where it can't be seen.Ask your landlord if this would be ok, as streaming HD really needs a wired connection unless you are willing to spend thousands on cutting edge HD wireless stuff. In theory homeplugs could work, but it may require re-wiring the house which I guess is not an option.

I guess you will also have to wait for the 1.5tb version to come out. Or alternatively re-encode your blu-rays to lower quality.

[Smurfin]

Originally Posted by Cyril

I've lifted my floorboards to get ethernet and hdmi downstairs and drilled a small hole in the dining room cupboard where it can't be seen.Ask your landlord if this would be ok, as streaming HD really needs a wired connection unless you are willing to spend thousands on cutting edge HD wireless stuff. In theory homeplugs could work, but it may require re-wiring the house which I guess is not an option.

I guess you will also have to wait for the 1.5tb version to come out. Or alternatively re-encode your blu-rays to lower quality.

Funny you mention that, was scratching my head last night and have decided to drill a hole through the ceiling. It turns out the router/PC location is directly above the PCH - I've got a structural wall to guide me so should be pretty straight forward. Just transferring files across the network onto the PCH is a major PITA, so finally I can put my streaming woes to bed.

The only question is....do I go to the expense of spending £380 on a NAS and put my HDDs in there......