Do I need a NAS? Worth the money for what I need?

[DavidPreston16]

Hi,


I have a home PC with 4TB (almost full) of media. We also have iPads, windows tablets, iPhones, laptops etc.
I am wanting something where I can just store all media or other relevant files so that I can access them from any device without having to power on my main PC. A lot of time I am away from home too and would like to stream the HD video content to my devices. My home 120mb internet connection has good upload speeds.

I have no previous network experience what so ever and have been reading from site to site but am still unsure on what I need.

I have looked at the synology DS413j but am still unsure if it can stream HD video to a device away from the home network?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[patonb]

It'd work for that.

it really depends on how technical you want to get.

My asus router does all that too using its 2 usb connectors.

 

[DavidPreston16]

Ok thanks,

You stream media from router with your pc powered off?

I guess I'm asking do I need to spend that much money to do what I'm wanting in original post?

The main issue is the ability to stream in HD away from home.

 

[patonb]

Yup, here's my router.
Networking - RT-N16

You have 2 usb ports that I have a 2T western digital elements drive plugged in.

 

[iFargle]

^ That might be an easier solution.
however, I'd go with setting up your own *nix server and installing Plex. I use it at home and wouldn't have it any other way

You can choose bit rates on streaming videos so if you're streaming something like a 1080p video you won't have any issues.