To NAS or not to NAS?

[terrible]

I think the question says it all. I definitely need something for video source that's better than my outdated WDTV Live Hub. Just not sure whether it should be a NAS with HDMI or an Oppo BDP103. So do help me with your view.

The advantage of NAS as visible to me is that with two 6TB WD Red or Green I can bring around 10TB of films into one place and with access to them all the time. Unlike right now where the current two 1TB external HDD is what I am hanging out with while others are in deep closet. Though, connected through HDMI to the AVR they might not deliver any appreciable upscaling or improvement. I was looking at QNAP TS-251. This one seems to have the best reviews amongst Synology and Netgear. The only thing I am unsure is if each slot can accommodate 6TB or both slots together (2x3TB).

Onto the next choice which can be between Oppo BDP 103 and Marantz UD5007. Oppo BDP 103D and 105 are excruciatingly expensive here and Amazon US does not send it to India. Just BDP 103. Now to the advantages. I can upscale playback of the DVDs that I have as well as mkv files thru USB. I will also be able to play the music CDs that I possess. However, this will divorce me from keeping all media files in one place.

Totally confused. What would you do if you were me?

 

[regeHA]

Actually a NAS is not a media player, and obviously a media player is not a NAS.

Go with what is your primary requirement, either playback or storage. It seems to me you will need both eventually, if not right away.

Synology has more features to offer. You can also string together a home-made NAS with Raspberry Pi and external HDD.

To me, a NAS is an eventuality for everyone. Burning DVDs and adding external HDDs can only be done for so long.

 

[sam9s]

I think the question says it all. I definitely need something for video source that's better than my outdated WDTV Live Hub. Just not sure whether it should be a NAS with HDMI or an Oppo BDP103. So do help me with your view.

The advantage of NAS as visible to me is that with two 6TB WD Red or Green I can bring around 10TB of films into one place and with access to them all the time. Unlike right now where the current two 1TB external HDD is what I am hanging out with while others are in deep closet. Though, connected through HDMI to the AVR they might not deliver any appreciable upscaling or improvement. I was looking at QNAP TS-251. This one seems to have the best reviews amongst Synology and Netgear. The only thing I am unsure is if each slot can accommodate 6TB or both slots together (2x3TB).

Onto the next choice which can be between Oppo BDP 103 and Marantz UD5007. Oppo BDP 103D and 105 are excruciatingly expensive here and Amazon US does not send it to India. Just BDP 103. Now to the advantages. I can upscale playback of the DVDs that I have as well as mkv files thru USB. I will also be able to play the music CDs that I possess. However, this will divorce me from keeping all media files in one place.

Totally confused. What would you do if you were me?

I think you getting a little bit confused between, NAS and Media player. I know terms can be loosely used interchangeably these days as almost all HOME NAS today offers some capability of playing media as well independently.
Synology in which case is very dominant as its media playing capabilities, especially music are damm good. But still the main purpose, objective of a NAS is storage, a centralized storage, to keep all your files organized and accessible easily, and that's how you should target it for, as well.

Off the two NAS Qnap and Synology almost all of the members including me here will recommend Synology for its versatility and quality, and the two bay NAS of Synology (HERE) seems cheaper than Qnap as well. I have a 4BAY 413j and you can read my review on it as well.(in my signature) BTW you can put 1x6TB or 2x3TB both will work with Synology. (no idea about Qnap).

Now coming to oppo 103, maybe its me but just fail to understand, why a DB player be"that" expensive. A quick looks with the product tells me that it plays SACDs, AudioDVDs and online content like netflix, pendora etc. Apart fro that it has good upscaling capabilities. It might sound pompous but for me it does not justifies the cost. I personally am not a fan of upscaling, coz it hardly makes the difference. If I have a good collection of SACDs, CDs, BDs and DVDs, I will invest in a NAS and rip all my content and dump it all on it. Who plays discs anyway ... .... It becomes far easy to access and maintain my collection in that way. Rest for online content like netflix get Roku 3 for as cheap as 80USD or any decent media player like Minix or shield

 

[terrible]

Actually a NAS is not a media player, and obviously a media player is not a NAS.

I think this is what gave me a sense that it could play media too https://www.qnap.com/i/in/product/model.php?II=142

Go with what is your primary requirement, either playback or storage. It seems to me you will need both eventually, if not right away.

I have storage, which I plug into WDTV and play; though admittedly it may not be best quality reproduction. Also being an old unit, it does not have collaboration with good video streaming services. I think apart from playing the 'disks' I possess in large numbers, I'll be able to double the bluray player as a wholesome media playing unit. I think this'll be a priority.

Synology has more features to offer. You can also string together a home-made NAS with Raspberry Pi and external HDD.

QNAP TS-251 seemed like the only one with HDMI. Can you elaborate on the features please. It seems Raspberry Pi has issues playing 1080p.

Synology in which case is very dominant as its media playing capabilities, especially music are damm good. But still the main purpose, objective of a NAS is storage, a centralized storage, to keep all your files organized and accessible easily, and that's how you should target it for, as well.

I think on music I am sorted with Raspberry Pi. But now I am confused as a little earlier you guys said a NAS can't play media but only store it.

Off the two NAS Qnap and Synology almost all of the members including me here will recommend Synology for its versatility and quality, and the two bay NAS of Synology (HERE) seems cheaper than Qnap as well. I have a 4BAY 413j and you can read my review on it as well.(in my signature) BTW you can put 1x6TB or 2x3TB both will work with Synology. (no idea about Qnap).

I was actually basing my choice of the particular QNAP on reviews. Can you elaborate on versatility and quality?

Since the media storage requirement is ever increasing; and I already have 10TB worth of media files, would you recommend I go for a 4 bay?

Now coming to oppo 103, maybe its me but just fail to understand, why a DB player be"that" expensive. A quick looks with the product tells me that it plays SACDs, AudioDVDs and online content like netflix, pendora etc. Apart fro that it has good upscaling capabilities. It might sound pompous but for me it does not justifies the cost. I personally am not a fan of upscaling, coz it hardly makes the difference. If I have a good collection of SACDs, CDs, BDs and DVDs, I will invest in a NAS and rip all my content and dump it all on it. Who plays discs anyway ... .... It becomes far easy to access and maintain my collection in that way. Rest for online content like netflix get Roku 3 for as cheap as 80USD or any decent media player like Minix or shield

I pretty much had the same opinion, partly, as yours. But recently I saw a demo of Dune Prime 3.0 and Oppo BD103. The upscaling ability of Oppo is far superior. Not just that, even the picture is of normal Bluray is much sharper and colours much more fuller and frutier. And fortunately since I was witnessing this on the same TV I realised why Oppo is expensive.

With thousands of DVDs and CDs I am afraid I no longer have the enthusiasm or time to rip these. And where I come from, there's still charm in picking out the odd LP and playing it on a Crossley or reading a good hefty 'Suitable Boy' rather than an epub. Apart, I also reference a lot, so inevitably I pick out DVDs or CDs to play.

Having said that you still got me thinking.

 

[reju]

Instead of NAS you can also think of using your PC with haneWIN NFS Server and stream through network to a compatible player.

This is a much cheaper option with scope for adding more HDDs later.

 

[sam9s]

QNAP TS-251 seemed like the only one with HDMI. Can you elaborate on the features please. It seems Raspberry Pi has issues playing 1080p.

Who needs HDMI on NAS, you r not going to connect NAS to a display r u? thats not how NAS is used. I mean yes the provision is there but that for me would be the least of a requirement to make that purchase decision.

NAS gets connected to LAN and every media is accessed via LAN. The only way I might recommend to use NAS other than via LAN is to use synology's audio out via USB. Where in you can connect a decent USB DAC and your Synology NAS acts as a decent audio player. But in your case (and mine as well) you using Rpi for the same.

For video playback if you are really serious, I mean really serious assemble a dedicated HTPC. I would have recommended NUC DN2820, with openELEC but getting openELEC installed on 2820 is kinda tricky, however when installed it works wonders.
OR assemble a MiniITX based HTPC with any horizontal ITX cabinet with a GT630 GPU install openELEC or windows 7 with KODI. (OpenELEC is my choice) and you got ALL you need, including 1080p playback, full BD ISO playback even 3D ISO playback, with proper DTS-HDMA and Dolby-TrueHD Bitstreaming. The only thing that you might not get is 4K playback, for that you need to choose specific hardware.

Point teh HTPC towards your NAS which will be your storage for all BDRips. KODI/OpenELEC automatically creates a nice catalogue and a library with all movie/fan art downloaded via net (not sure if you even checked my XBMC thread which provides a nice over view of how KODI looks). This is how we all movie fans have done it. There is no better or easy way to do it.

I think on music I am sorted with Raspberry Pi. But now I am confused as a little earlier you guys said a NAS can't play media but only store it.

Where did I say NAS cannot play media .... quote me that statement plzz.

I was actually basing my choice of the particular QNAP on reviews. Can you elaborate on versatility and quality?

Since the media storage requirement is ever increasing; and I already have 10TB worth of media files, would you recommend I go for a 4 bay?

Ok I went through QNAP specifications quickly. The ONLY reason few reviews might be in favour of QNAP is coz of the dual core CPU that will transcode/downsample videos easily if needed,(synology low end models struggles in that dept), you can upgrade the RAM on QNAP and virtualization. BUT is the extra 100 USD worth the feature. You need to ask would you be even using Transcoding/Downsampling. Extra RAM IMHO will change nothing for what the NAS will mostly be used for and virtualization is not what I would do or recommend on NAS period. Plus Synology DSM OS is THE best out there with features I can not even start to write here, there are so many ......
As for no of bays, well if you ask me I would certainly recommend a 4 BAY nas not only coz you can have more HDD inserted, BUT also you can have a decent RAID (SHR in case of synology) implemented. Which if you ask me is very imp when it comes to storing data.

I pretty much had the same opinion, partly, as yours. But recently I saw a demo of Dune Prime 3.0 and Oppo BD103. The upscaling ability of Oppo is far superior. Not just that, even the picture is of normal Bluray is much sharper and colours much more fuller and frutier. And fortunately since I was witnessing this on the same TV I realised why Oppo is expensive.

There is a difference no doubt I know and I have seen it as well, but not as much as the extra $$$$ for the product. I mean if it was like paying few extra bucks for the difference, I might have understood, but 500 USD for a BD player.???? A decent Panasonic or Pioneer BD player (like Pioneer BDP-450) will play the same content with 19-20 PQ difference and will cost 1/4th the price....and will also play almost all formats available on earth

With thousands of DVDs and CDs I am afraid I no longer have the enthusiasm or time to rip these. And where I come from, there's still charm in picking out the odd LP and playing it on a Crossley or reading a good hefty 'Suitable Boy' rather than an epub. Apart, I also reference a lot, so inevitably I pick out DVDs or CDs to play.

Having said that you still got me thinking.

if you have so many discs and do not want to rip those manually and also keep purchasing more, you definitely need to assemble vortexbox if you can .....

 

[GeorgeO]

I have a couple of Synology NAS units for (only)storing audio and video, and am very happy with them, one is a 2 Bay and the other a 4 Bay. I use players for my front end-Squeezeboxes or Popcorn Hour/WD.

 

[terrible]

For video playback if you are really serious, I mean really serious assemble a dedicated HTPC. I would have recommended NUC DN2820, with openELEC but getting openELEC installed on 2820 is kinda tricky, however when installed it works wonders.
OR assemble a MiniITX based HTPC with any horizontal ITX cabinet with a GT630 GPU install openELEC or windows 7 with KODI. (OpenELEC is my choice) and you got ALL you need, including 1080p playback, full BD ISO playback even 3D ISO playback, with proper DTS-HDMA and Dolby-TrueHD Bitstreaming. The only thing that you might not get is 4K playback, for that you need to choose specific hardware.

(not sure if you even checked my XBMC thread which provides a nice over view of how KODI looks). This is how we all movie fans have done it. There is no better or easy way to do it.

I have great interest in good reproduction of films I watch. For that, I have been using the combination of MPC-HC and madVR (possibly the best way to watch visuals on a personal screen) which for some reason is not working so well in the current combination of TV+AVR+Windows 10. Its possibly Windows 10 to blame as my Mac OS displays beautifully on the TV through AVR.

I read some suggestions of an HTPC at AVSForum and even went through a few guides that led me to sites like this Assassin HTPC - Which made me realise that a good HTPC system is not cheap, especially if it has to play madVR. But yes it is not as expensive as BDP103. However, the biggest hindrance for me to create an HTPC is my absolute lack of knowledge of anything technical as well as the time required dedicatedly to purchase and build it.

I sure did check the XBMC thread you pointed me too. I even installed it on my Mac OS. Its much like Plex that I used many years ago. I stopped using it because I used to move from one HDD to another and the cataloguing would go for a toss. I also discovered madVR + MPC-HC.

Where did I say NAS cannot play media .... quote me that statement plzz.

I think regeHA and you started by saying a NAS is not a media player or that I might be getting a bit confused between a media player and NAS. I think that got me to think that way.No you did not explicitly say it cannot play media.

As for no of bays, well if you ask me I would certainly recommend a 4 BAY nas not only coz you can have more HDD inserted, BUT also you can have a decent RAID (SHR in case of synology) implemented. Which if you ask me is very imp when it comes to storing data.

Agree with you. RAID I imagine is mirroring of the existing files and hence a backup? Wanted your point of view on DS415play or DS415+.

There is a difference no doubt I know and I have seen it as well, but not as much as the extra $$$$ for the product. I mean if it was like paying few extra bucks for the difference, I might have understood, but 500 USD for a BD player.???? A decent Panasonic or Pioneer BD player (like Pioneer BDP-450) will play the same content with 19-20 PQ difference and will cost 1/4th the price....and will also play almost all formats available on earth

Could you point to a good BDP with video streaming from Pioneer? They have so many models that it gets really confusing.

if you have so many discs and do not want to rip those manually and also keep purchasing more, you definitely need to assemble vortexbox if you can .....

Sure. Will look into this. I used EAC years ago when I had more time in my hand.

Thanks again!

 

[terrible]

I have a couple of Synology NAS units for (only)storing audio and video, and am very happy with them, one is a 2 Bay and the other a 4 Bay. I use players for my front end-Squeezeboxes or Popcorn Hour/WD.

I already have a WDTV Live hub. I am not sure these playbacks give the best possible reproduction like a Bluray player. That is even when you play files through them they, I feel, have superior playback.

 

[manniraj]

I already have a WDTV Live hub. I am not sure these playbacks give the best possible reproduction like a Bluray player. That is even when you play files through them they, I feel, have superior playback.

I think a WDTV media player and the Oppo will give out the same kind of video/audio playback. The only difference is that the Oppo that you are referring to does much more functionalities compared to the WD like the disc playback, 2 channel analog out, 7.1 channel out etc. But when it comes to the picture and audio quality both of them will be same as your going to take out the output using the HDMI port which is digital unlike USB where the issues like jitter, power etc crop in. But I think these issues does not effect HDMI standards. Also the WDTV may not have a slick look on the menu/layout unlike say a XBMC or an Oppo for that matter but when you click on the movie it would play the same on both the players. I think Oppo might also provide a good upscaling capabilities if you have any DVD or lower quality files. But that would be my least priority to shortlist a media player.

 

[terrible]

I think a WDTV media player and the Oppo will give out the same kind of video/audio playback. The only difference is that the Oppo that you are referring to does much more functionalities compared to the WD like the disc playback, 2 channel analog out, 7.1 channel out etc. But when it comes to the picture and audio quality both of them will be same as your going to take out the output using the HDMI port which is digital unlike USB where the issues like jitter, power etc crop in. But I think these issues does not effect HDMI standards. Also the WDTV may not have a slick look on the menu/layout unlike say a XBMC or an Oppo for that matter but when you click on the movie it would play the same on both the players. I think Oppo might also provide a good upscaling capabilities if you have any DVD or lower quality files. But that would be my least priority to shortlist a media player.

Hey thanks for the feedback. You think or you are sure? I know for sure that audio reproduction of WDTV is nowhere close to Raspberry Pi or even a CD player. I have not compared for video though.

 

[sam9s]

But that would be my least priority to shortlist a media player.

+1

Ditto Here ....

 

[reju]

I think a WDTV media player and the Oppo will give out the same kind of video/audio playback. The only difference is that the Oppo that you are referring to does much more functionalities compared to the WD like the disc playback, 2 channel analog out, 7.1 channel out etc. But when it comes to the picture and audio quality both of them will be same as your going to take out the output using the HDMI port which is digital unlike USB where the issues like jitter, power etc crop in. But I think these issues does not effect HDMI standards. Also the WDTV may not have a slick look on the menu/layout unlike say a XBMC or an Oppo for that matter but when you click on the movie it would play the same on both the players. I think Oppo might also provide a good upscaling capabilities if you have any DVD or lower quality files. But that would be my least priority to shortlist a media player.

Oppo will out perform WDTV in both audio and video departments.

I have done video comparison with Pioneer BDP-450 and WDTV and the Pioneer wins hands down. And based on all the reviews, the superior Oppo will certainly be better for video. Moreover Oppo is well known for its audio capabilities and chosen by audiophiles.

 

[sam9s]

I have great interest in good reproduction of films I watch. For that, I have been using the combination of MPC-HC and madVR (possibly the best way to watch visuals on a personal screen) which for some reason is not working so well in the current combination of TV+AVR+Windows 10. Its possibly Windows 10 to blame as my Mac OS displays beautifully on the TV through AVR.

Seems like you are pretty mesmerised by this MadVR thingi, initially, when I discovered it I was too ... , and did all sorts of experimentation and implementations with MPC-HC. But frankly, the difference was not night and day so as to go in the trouble of configuring the same, when compared to PQ of what Kodi offers. I was much inclined towards the interface and jukebox presentation kodi/xbmc offers than these filters. Kodi gives a complete cinematic feel to watching movies, especially in a Home Theater and with CinimaXperience you enjoy exactly like you are sitting in a Movie Theater.

However just for the information, Kodi can also be configured with these filters if you may .....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fgO7vyHLko

However, the biggest hindrance for me to create an HTPC is my absolute lack of knowledge of anything technical as well as the time required dedicatedly to purchase and build it.

well thats what tut/youtube/forums are for ... ,you just need interest, dedication and patience ..... ....................... and oh! money too ...

I sure did check the XBMC thread you pointed me too. I even installed it on my Mac OS. It's much like Plex that I used many years ago. I stopped using it because I used to move from one HDD to another and the cataloguing would go for a toss. I also discovered madVR + MPC-HC.

XBMC is nothing like plex, ...well except may be both present media in a library format. Plex works on client/server architecture and XBMC is a front end media player ..... as a media player XBMC excels Plex in all fronts.

Agree with you. RAID I imagine is mirroring of the existing files and hence a backup? Wanted your point of view on DS415play or DS415+.

DS415Play and RAID is not all mirroring, RAID 1 is, rest are different.

Could you point to a good BDP with video streaming from Pioneer? They have so many models that it gets really confusing.

Pioneer BDP-450 comes to my mind awesome player can play BD ISO right out of the box, 3D ISOs as well ....but this one would be really difficult to source ... since availability is a serious concern....
Pioneer BDP-450 review | What Hi-Fi?

 

[terrible]

+1

Ditto Here ....

But I am not going to shortlist a player based on its upscaling abilities alone. I do have a feeling that much like audio, video processing of Oppo will be better than WDTV. Like someone on my Raspberry thread explained to me that the DAC in WDTV possibly adds unwanted artefacts etc which brings down the quality of conversion.

 

[reju]

Pioneer BDP-450 comes to my mind awesome player can play BD ISO right out of the box, 3D ISOs as well ....
Pioneer BDP-450 review | What Hi-Fi?

+1
sam9s, does it stream BD ISO also out of the box? I can't remember as I went for the jailbreak little too soon after I had bought it.

 

[sam9s]

+1
sam9s, does it stream BD ISO also out of the box? I can't remember as I went for the jailbreak little too soon after I had bought it.

Yes I think you are right ...its an old model ...I dont remember, but yes I think you require a firmware update for BD ISO ... but its easily available online ....
I am searching right now .....what's the alternative to 450? as its an EOS model and the available pieces are selling at a retard price ......

 

[sam9s]

But I am not going to shortlist a player based on its upscaling abilities alone. I do have a feeling that much like audio, video processing of Oppo will be better than WDTV. Like someone on my Raspberry thread explained to me that the DAC in WDTV possibly adds unwanted artefacts etc which brings down the quality of conversion.

I am not sure about WDTV, but with few more aggressive players like Minix or shield, I am sure its will not be a night and day difference, considering the price oppo is sold for ....

 

[manniraj]

Hey thanks for the feedback. You think or you are sure? I know for sure that audio reproduction of WDTV is nowhere close to Raspberry Pi or even a CD player. I have not compared for video though.

If you are hinting towards the audio (stereo) only playback via WDTV and comparing with Pi or a CD player then yes I am with you. But when it comes to video files playback the WDTV and Pi or a Oppo or HTPC will be the same but as I said earlier the added flexibility of HTPC (like upgrading/choosing the player/tweaking/XBMC/games/browsing etc.,) and the benefit of upscaling on Oppo are the aspects that the WDTV will be lacking. In my personal opinion a 1080p movie file should playback the same on all players over HDMI. I am saying this because I have built a HTPC and a 1080p movie plays on my TV the same way as my Dad's Asus Oplay Mini and I did not find any difference atleast to my eyes

 

[terrible]

Seems like you are pretty mesmerised by this MadVR thingi, initially, when I discovered it I was too ... , and did all sorts of experimentation and implementations with MPC-HC. But frankly, the difference was not night and day so as to go in the trouble of configuring the same, when compared to PQ of what Kodi offers. I was much inclined towards the interface and jukebox presentation kodi/xbmc offers than these filters. Kodi gives a complete cinematic feel to watching movies, especially in a Home Theater and with CinimaXperience you enjoy exactly like you are sitting in a Movie Theater.

Actually I am quite finicky about visuals, comes from the profession I am in. When I put XBMC and played a movie I could palpably feel the difference. Mostly in colour depth and blacks. With the right kind of config, madVR can make visuals pretty rich. You do need a very good graphics card. But then, maybe I am not using the features like CinimaXperience, thats why. I'll try it.

However just for the information, Kodi can also be configured with these filters if you may .....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fgO7vyHLko

My conclusion after you have shown me this link (of which I am grateful) is that I should move to XBMC and madVR combo once I have the NAS. As XBMC will help me create a kickass catalogue with stationary source (It will put to rest the constant shuffling of 1TB HDD).