Home Wireless Network/File sharing etc

[Rhino172]

ok so I'm what the cool kids would call a n00b when it comes to this kind of stuff and basically have no idea.

What I want is an external hardrive that I can connect to my network (with sky so got one of thier D-Link routers if that makes any difference) that can store all my files, docs, music, video, photos etc instead of what I have currently which is several small external hard drives and wires everywehere lol

I've seen the Western Digital My Book Live which seems to do what I want (I think)

It mentions something about itunes on there so does that mean if I move all my music onto this drive and point the itunes library to this folder then it will all sync up ok? I have two laptops both with Itunes (two different accounts, one for me and one for the missus) so would they both be able to sync to the same music folder?

I'd also like to be able to access the docs/photos etc when not on the wireless network using my iphone, if I read it right this is also possible using the WD app thats available?

My Tv is connected to the router for firmware updates etc so assuming I'll also be able to access these files on the Tv too (it works if I connect my currant harddrives to it via USB)

Just after some confirmation from those in the know before I go spending money on something that won't do what I want!

 

[Tom]

I use a pogo plug. (but this is more expensive) and the usb port on my router.

 

[Rhino172]

yeah I was reading into those...is it any good? assuming yes as you have one lol

 

[Tom]

Correct assumption

 

[Andy.]

Pogo plug is an awesome bit of kit if you need access to your files from outside your house, but overkill if you are just sharing files inside. Any drive with a network plug on it will do the job assuming you have a router.

The iTunes server means that you can have all computers use the music files in their library.

There are a couple of apps that let you browse through files on the network with your phone but they could well be hardware dependant. The same goes for the TV.

I have a WD media player on the network and can access all films, music and photos on it from both my TV (Samsung) and iPhone. It has a Twonky Server built into it which may be helping it to appear on the iPhone apps and TV though.

The WD forums have loads of topics about networking etc, it might be worth having a search on their and seeing if the drive you are after can do everything you want, or just post a question and ask.

 

[Sym0n]

Never seen that Pogoplug before, add an external HDD and it's a nice cheap NAS...hmmm Tom any issues with streaming HD over it?

 

[Dink]

i had a my book world before and it was dog slow (1Tb version)

5Mb/s was about it's max so build my own nas with the hard drive out of it and got nearly 50Mb/s

 

[Millsy]

Ryan, I've recently bought a netgear readynas duo 1TB and a Netgear DGND3300 dualband N modem router to replace a POS BT Homehub. The NAS drive is fantastic, took a little bit of setting up, but ive got all my photos, music docs etc stored on there. Can see my photos and stream HD non DRM films and music to my xbox as well as being able to remotely access the NAS via my iPhone, iPad and any other Mac or PC whilst away from home by using the netgear remote software which is pretty good.

Let me know if you need any advice etc.

 

[Ja5on]

bought a buffalo NAS and have that connected into my wireless route via ethernet cable.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001FNYWFU/?tag=cliospnet01-21

PS3 is also connected to the router and I can access the films and music from th NAS via PS3

 

[Rhino172]

Ryan, I've recently bought a netgear readynas duo 1TB and a Netgear DGND3300 dualband N modem router to replace a POS BT Homehub. The NAS drive is fantastic, took a little bit of setting up, but ive got all my photos, music docs etc stored on there. Can see my photos and stream HD non DRM films and music to my xbox as well as being able to remotely access the NAS via my iPhone, iPad and any other Mac or PC whilst away from home by using the netgear remote software which is pretty good.

Let me know if you need any advice etc.

cheers matey, looks a bit pricey though but I guess it's the usual case of get what you pay for

 

[Norris_309]

I've just bought a 2 bay nas enclosure http://www.ebuyer.com/product/124390 (although it was £49.99 last week, but goes out of stock quick!!) & added a 1TB drive for £35 for now, probably add a 2nd one into the enclosure. Seemed pretty good for £85 all in.
It gets good write ups generally. So hope it's ok, mainly to use as storage for my photos/vids etc... & at some point stream films to my tv (via the netbook)
It has built in iTunes/BitTorrent clients. & can be used as a webserver & FTP server so you can access your files from anywhere.

Only got as far as plugging it in & copied 1 divx film onto it which streamed fine wirelessly to my little netbook.
When looking around this one seemed about the best for the money. There the Synology nas's which are supposed to be good too. (i didn't want to fork out that much)
Something else for you to think about

 

[Millsy]

cheers matey, looks a bit pricey though but I guess it's the usual case of get what you pay for

Yeah I went with this specific one

I was looking at the Western Digital 2TB World Book Edition II but had read reviews stating it was poor at HD Streaming. The Netgear was very little difference in price and has good reviews across the net. the software you can download also makes it a good deal.

Direct Netgear link

The QNap Nas' are also very good and even more feature packed/faster, but they obviously carry a price tag that reflects this.

 

[Rhino172]

you get it from that site too? notice a link at the bottom saying get an extra 1TB drive for free? the link isn't loading on the work machine though

 

[Millsy]

Yeah bought from ebuyer, and yes you get a free 1TB Seagate drive to match the one in the machine. its a redemption offer, cut the barcode from the box, fill out a form and send it off. allows you to then either RAID 1 or 0.

Going back to your original question, the WD My Book Live will do everything that you want tbh(not sure it will handle HD Streaming as per the reviews though). as long as your TV is DLNA Compatible or you have the Xbox hooked up to it, in which case that will act as the extender, then the WD will do the trick and its a good price too.

I think i'm right in saying you wont be able to plug the WD into the TV directly as per the USB drives you currently use, it will have to go through the router via Ethernet. the main thing to check tbh is that the router is compatible with DLNA/Upnp devices, thats the reason I got the Netgear Router as the Homehub should theoretically support Upnp but it simply didn't work.

Check the Sky Forums to see if people have issues.

 

[Mot!]

The QNap Nas' are also very good and even more feature packed/faster, but they obviously carry a price tag that reflects this.

They're sooo worth it though, I had a single bay to start off with and got the 4 bay last year. Cost me a decent amount to fill it with drives but it's rock solid.
Sits in the spare room humming away.

 

[Rhino172]

good points! I'll do some digging regards the router...

How does the remote access work on the netgear one then? is it a simple case of going to a specific website, entering the log in/ID and you get access to it all or does each machine you use need to have the specific software installed?

also what iphone apps are being used to access the data?

 

[Millsy]

They're sooo worth it though, I had a single bay to start off with and got the 4 bay last year. Cost me a decent amount to fill it with drives but it's rock solid.
Sits in the spare room humming away.

As I said, they're very good bit out of my price range when all I need was access to about 280GB of music and photos, when I can be bothered to start ripping 450 DVD's and Blurays I'll have to expand to at least a 4 Bay in Raid 1

 

[Millsy]

good points! I'll do some digging regards the router...

How does the remote access work on the netgear one then? is it a simple case of going to a specific website, entering the log in/ID and you get access to it all or does each machine you use need to have the specific software installed?

also what iphone apps are being used to access the data?

Software on the Machine and an app for the iPhone, search for ReadyNas Remote.

you need the software unless you have a fixed ip.

 

[Dink]

how about building a nas pc?

mine is just a celeron based pc with ubuntu pulls about 70 watts streaming a 1080p video (3 hard drives)

although i'm looking to change to atom based and losing a hard drive to lower it to about 50 watts tops

 

[Millsy]

how about building a nas pc?

mine is just a celeron based pc with ubuntu pulls about 70 watts streaming a 1080p video (3 hard drives)

although i'm looking to change to atom based and losing a hard drive to lower it to about 50 watts tops

If you're bothered about power consumption my NAS only pulls 35w and I'm sure the WD pulls about the same. And they're a lot more compact to hide than a pc even one running a mini atx and case to match.

 

[Rhino172]

how about building a nas pc?

mine is just a celeron based pc with ubuntu pulls about 70 watts streaming a 1080p video (3 hard drives)

although i'm looking to change to atom based and losing a hard drive to lower it to about 50 watts tops

lol because everything in your post means 100% naff all to me and living in a 1 bed flat means space takes priority.

 

[Dink]

well the new one i'm building is going to smaller than a shoe box so not exactly behemoth lol

 

[iain187]

I've got one of those my book live things.

It's great for watching downloaded videos on tv via ps3.

The iTunes server thing is ok but a bit pointless for me - I have all my music on my laptop in my iTunes library and the a duplicate on the mybooklive iTunes server so I might as well just play from local disk (I have music in 2 places for obvious backup reasons.) might be more useful with your missus library though


Anyway if you have questions I can endeavour to find an answer for you if you like