Which NAS could/should I consider?

Posted 22nd Apr 2023

I'm looking for a NAS for using with my Plex account.

It would be the base where I store all my media so different applications/devices can connect without having limitations or at least giving me the option to upgrade in future if ever needed.

The devices I would like to keep in mind are

Compatible with Plex
Mobile phones.
TV smart apps.
PC/laptop
Internal use or external use.
4K and 8K (not sure if this is applicable but thought to state)
Doesn't take up a lot of room when storing.
If possible can be turned off/on at set times.
Wireless
Facility to transfer files to i.e. FTP type of service

Anything else I may have not considered/don't know which may be be worth considering.

I've seen a few on here but not really clear what they offer from one to another.

Does anyone have any in mind that I could look at?

Thanks

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12 Comments

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stuartw
22nd Apr
Depends on cost vrs ease. I run the HP Microsever gen8 as it was cheaper than a Nas at the time. It's a Windows based server, pretty small and once setup had been running solid for years
jamiepattison Author
22nd Apr
I'd consider both sides but I prefer it to be future proof where possible without the cost going too high
stuartw
22nd Apr
Don't forget the cost. 4k, 8k. You're looking at quite a bit in HDD for the redundancy. Plex is definitely an expensive hobby once you get into the larger files and especially if you are building up a library. What budget are you looking at? What size fits are you thinking of and his many?
When I look at what I have spent it is probably the same as just subscribing to a few services over the years.
C0mm0d0re_K1d
23rd Apr
Use an old or spare pc with truenas/unraid. (edited)
Mail
24th Apr
As someone who had a NAS and then moved to an actual computer, I wouldn't recommend A NAS.

Problem I had was wanting to put more hard drives but had to pay an extortionate amount to upgrade to a NAS with more bay drives, when if I upgraded to a computer I wouldn't have that restriction, granted getting something like a PCI-E to SATA adapter.

Can get a very cheap old office computer, if you wanted to upgrade and get higher quality video can get a dedicated video card such as an a380 (intel) and transcoding videos using AV1

Depends on how extensive you want to go really, but I wouldn't go NAS personally.
LD2DVD
27th Apr
I started with an HP Micro server and it's fine if you know a bit about IT and how to set everything up. I tried the WD and Netgear NAS offerings and niether were great. I then bought a Synology and have upgraded a few times to better models over the years. Synology secondhand fetches decent prices. A + model from the last 3 years should fulfil your needs and the 220+ is a model I have owned and has good performance. You can connect an external USB drive to it if you run out of space and do not want to change the NAS. The Synology software is fantastic and easy to use. I have used Plex on the Synology and accessed it through a RPi and it worked very well. Hope this helps.