Hard drive, nas, music server

[Rosenarayanappa]

All, I want to save my flacs on a external hard drive. Connected to my home wifi and access those files from my mobile ( same wifi connected)to stream.
What do I need to buy please.
Will a external hard drive that has wifi do?

 

[zeta148]

Maybe all you need is a WiFi router to which a hard hard can be connected.

 

[shibashis]

And an app on your phone that can access the music being 'served' by the DLNA server running in your router. I recommend BubbleUpnp, buy the pro version if you want all the features. It is only available for Android though, there are similar but pricier alternatives available in iOS.

If this is a long term solution and you are serious about the content residing in your hard drive, it is advisable you invest in a NAS like those offered by Synolgy or Netgear and use WD Red hard drives for the storage or similar alternatives by Seagate. Or get a readymade solution like the WD Mycloud.
Reliability will also depend on your wifi router, as long as you are not using the absolute cheap crap ones you should be fine.

 

[superczar]

You have a lot of choices
If all you need is the ability to stream , a router that supports USB and DLNA is all you need
If you want a long term solution that is scalable , get a good NAS like synology
If you want scalability, don't want to spend much and are technically inclined, provision an old laptop or even a raspberry Pi as a central media server

The key here is how much you want to spend in terms of money and time

 

[MaSh]

Well at the grass root simplest level, all you need is a pc, any old laptop or desktop not being used can be connected to the drive via usb and router for WiFi, however I would prefer a wired LAN connection for this. Share the music folder over the network. Install VLC player in your mobile devices and you are done. Works like a charm.

MaSh

 

[jaiwant_alex]

This is exactly my setup. An ext HD is connected to my wifi router. The files there can be accessed by all other devices in the house. Music plays on a RPI which is on the same network and I control playback through android apps (Jriver or MP droid).
A NAS would perform the same function but at a higher cost since it has some additional features. I would probably consider uprgrading to a NAS at some point but i dont see the value in the extra spend at this point

Maybe all you need is a WiFi router to which a hard hard can be connected.

 

[Rosenarayanappa]

Thanks all. I think will go for the cheapest option for now. Wil just hook up a ext hard drive. Let me check If my airtel basic router 777vr1 supports USB and DLNA. I have got no clue.

 

[arunkvivek]

Thanks all. I think will go for the cheapest option for now. Wil just hook up a ext hard drive. Let me check If my airtel basic router 777vr1 supports USB and DLNA. I have got no clue.

If you can afford and have about a TB of data, go for SSD. It makes a world of difference. External HDD develop mechanical issues over a period of time. I have used WD, Seagate, HP, Kingston etc.. all of them started making audible mechanical sounds after a couple of years.

 

[Avinash Pai]

I store my music on a HDD, sync it to my Plex account and stream it through my Yamaha app to my system.