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Best Multimedia Hard Drive for Films/Music

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    #1

    Best Multimedia Hard Drive for Films/Music

    Evening,

    I would like to burn all my DVDs and CDs to a hard drive where I can watch/listen to them, uncompressed through an AV amp/TV.

    I'd like the full Dolby/DTS soundtrack for DVDs and would also like to try this flac standard for my music. I have looked at 2 hard drives:-

    This - Synology
    This sleeker looking one - Lacie
    Oh and this - Iomega TV Boxee

    I think I am drawn to the Lacie/Iomega as I can put it directly into the AV amp with HDMI and they do DTS/DD. Although I am worried it peaks at 2 Terrabytes.

    How much data is needed for a typical album in Flac format? Wav is 1411kps I think.

    Anyone using any hard drives for similar purposes or know of anything to suit me better?

    Thanks in advance.
    Last edited by 'Press Start'; 29-01-2012, 22:14.
    Tags: None
    #2
    I have 450 or so albums FLAC at 205GB

    Comment

      #3
      With these devices you'll always be limited by single drive capacity.
      Other options are a multi disk NAS device hidden away somewhere and a media streamer.
      You can build or buy a NAS relatively cheaply these days and a lot of recent TVs Bluray players etc can make use of them as DLNA devices.
      A streamer such as the WDTV live would also work with an attached drive and I would avoid Lacie or Iomega due to reliability concerns.
      Keep an eye out for Raspberry pi projects when it is released as this will be the basis for cheap streamer apps.

      Comment

        #4
        Indeed - if you spend a lot of time ripping to FLAC and mp4, you'll need some backup. I use my PC with 2 HDDs which I sync every week, or you can do RAID. Or some NAS boxes do it for you.

        Comment

          #5
          I've got a Synology for DLNA streaming to my Samsung TV - works like a charm. And the built in apps get better with every software release.

          Comment

            #6
            Synology or QNAP are both top quality NAS devices.
            The HP microserver is an alternative DIY option which still has a ?100 cashback offer available.

            Comment

              #7
              Just a quick post to say many thanks for the replies. I will investigate your posts later when a hyped 2 and a half year old isn't using me as a climbing frame!

              BTW, isn't the raspberry pi some sort of new British chipset that allows more powerful gaming then an iPhone? or am I thinking of something else?

              Comment

                #8
                So if I went for a NAS server can either the PS3 or Xbox play flac? or is the flac processing done by the NAS then just passes through the Xbox/PS3?

                Comment

                  #9
                  PS3 can play FLAC by default. The PS3 does the processing.

                  That HP box above is really nice, way out of my price range though. I'll just stick to the single 2TB in my desktop.

                  Comment

                    #10
                    HP looks top dog but I can't find anything that says it is DNLA certified, plus the cash back runs out tomorrow! ?150 is my budget too.

                    Also, does the DNLA nas drive plug into my router then the PS3 talks to it through that? I will not be using any wireless connections in this set up.

                    Also any opinions on D-link stuff?
                    Last edited by 'Press Start'; 30-01-2012, 20:39.

                    Comment

                      #11
                      Couple of guys here at work have the HP and love it.

                      Synology plugs straight into your router, but it also supports USB wireless dongles. It also has a number of DLNA apps as well apart from the default.

                      Comment

                        #12
                        The HP is not DLNA certified as it doesn't come supplied with an OS. It is Windows server certified but can also run Linux etc.
                        I'm running Ubuntu LTS which is absolutely great as it can do everything the NAS boxes do and more as these usually run a custom Linux build anyway.

                        DLNA is basically a UPNP server which publicises itself and the clients connect to without any config.
                        The Linux variants include Ushare on Ubuntu and Twonky on QNAP etc.

                        My Dad has the Netgear readyNAS duo and it is OK for a ?110 entry level 2 drive NAS but sloooww.
                        It can take 20 mins to startup and transfer speeds are poor but should be enough for HD streaming on a wired network

                        I'm guessing that HP cashback will roll-over again as it has for the past 6 moths or so.

                        Comment

                          #13
                          I use a readyNAS duo to stream HD to my PS3 too. I'm a NAS noob, and found it a doddle. Just some minor tweaks to get it as I wanted (display artwork / broadcast more frequently).

                          Comment

                            #14
                            Originally posted by speedlolita View Post
                            PS3 can play FLAC by default. The PS3 does the processing.

                            That HP box above is really nice, way out of my price range though. I'll just stick to the single 2TB in my desktop.
                            Ive got a 1TB HDD connected to my PS3 and it doesn't recognise any of my FLAC stuff. I'm I missing something?

                            Comment

                              #15
                              Hm, maybe I'm wrong then.

                              I'm using PS3 Media Server.. Maybe that provides the required codec.

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