Can you use this drive as a media storage in a HTPC but not necessarily in a NAS/Server configuration?
491982
The following drive would be a more appropriate solution for an HTPC. WD AV-GP 3TB AV Video Hard Drive: 3.5 Inch, SATA II, 64 MB Cache - WD30EURS
491983
It could be used but you're probably paying for some features that you don't need. I'd save a couple bucks and get the green or blue. This URL (http://techgage.com/article/western_digital_red_nas_hard_drive_review/) talks about the NAS specific changes they did to the RED line of drives. Hope that helps.
491984
Yes you can. It is supposedly specifically designed for the rigors of NAS storage though, in that it is designed to be run continuously. It is probably not necessary to pay the premium for this drive to use in HTPC setup. If the price is not really a concern, I would go with a faster drive, such as the WD Black range or the WD Velociraptor.
491985
The drive was used in a nas-synology.. Works fine even as a media storage.. Not too sure abt htpc though..
491986
I would highly suggest the use of NAS type drives over standard desktop and performance drives. This drive is designed to run 24/7. You sacrifice some performance with NAS and enterprise drives but you gain reliability. My Plex server was attached to desktop external drives and they both failed a little over a year later from the amount of use they get.
728817
I don't think you can. This unit uses its own proprietary file system (a pain, IMHO), and formats the drives at install.It's a decent unit if you know your way around linux and have time to configure it, but I have to say that overall it's not a system you can easily jump into and set up quickly...
1919574
Yes you could but one has to ponder how much space is available. I'd rather use a portable USB3 drive off one of the newer NUC's as we are using. Keep the C w/ os & maybe b/up partition on the internal drive as clean as possible. Keeps things EXTREMELY fast. You can then take that USB3 portable "movie" drive with you "on the road". We record HD and analog productions using Hauppage encoders and need portability.
1128816
Look at NAS (Network Attached Storage Devices) for hard drives that attach to a network. This is not for that use case.
1515538
SHR is more flexible, if you want to upgrade to larger drives later. No downside -- you're locked into the technology once you but the DiskStation, so you may was well leverage the proprietary RAID
1712412
Hello, You could definitely add upto 4 disks into the synology NAS drive. The maximum capacity for this server is 16TB. I have put 3, 2TBs of drives as those were the ones easily available.
1192600
Not to use as the main storage disk. You'll have to use a HDD with SATA hook ups.
1130199
I have 8 3TB WD-Red Sata drives in my QNAP NAS and store 500+ movies as VOB files and also converted to MP4...I have roughly 18 TB of space and it is around half full. The VOB files play on computers with PowerDVD, while I can use DNLA to watch the MP4's which I send to my PS3 and HDMI to my TV. Yes, you can do it, it's how you do it that counts. My smart TV's don't play MP4's or VOB's by themselves. Media Player will also stream video, but I don't use it.
232028
You might consider the HP MediaVault instead; which lets you set up and manage a Raid mirrored drive set easily via your PC interface and break the raid to put the copy into an Safety Deposit box. It uses inexpensive 500gb drives. I have two of them and they work great, super easy to manage compared to most NAS I have used.
2160449
Yes. This drive connects directly to your computer using a USB port. A different kind of drive, called Network Attached Storage (NAS) plug into a switch or router, and could (for example) be accessed wirelessly from a tablet - without your computer at all. These USB drives don't have that kind of support yet. It is possible to plug this drive into other hardware that isn't a 'computer', such as a media server in your entertainment center. The media server would take the place of a computer. (Actually, media servers are computers nowadays, just as TVs and tablets are.) Of course, whatever you want to plug it into will need to support the newer USB 3.0 standard. Yes. This drive connects directly to your computer using a USB port. A different kind of drive, called Network Attached Storage (NAS) plug into a switch or router, and could (for example) be accessed wirelessly from a tablet - without your computer at all. These USB drives don't have that kind of support yet. It is possible to plug this drive into other hardware that isn't a 'computer', such as a media server in your entertainment center. The media server would take the place of a computer. (Actually, media servers are computers nowadays, just as TVs and tablets are.) Of course,... » Read More Yes. This drive connects directly to your computer using a USB port. A different kind of drive, called Network Attached Storage (NAS) plug into a switch or router, and could (for example) be accessed wirelessly from a tablet - without your computer at all. These USB drives don't have that kind of support yet. It is possible to plug this drive into other hardware that isn't a 'computer', such as a media server in your entertainment center. The media server would take the place of a computer. (Actually, media servers are computers nowadays, just as TVs and tablets are.) Of course, whatever you want to plug it into will need to support the newer USB 3.0 standard. « Show Less
1233658
Technically, I doubt it. If you treat it as a series of JBOD disks, maybe, but anything with RAID will require the unit reformat all drives. In general, I don't recommend the unit -- it's slow, it's finicky, etc.
1470848
From what I know, these drives are specifically made for servers. I used it for my Synology without any issues, and I don't think you will get any issues also.
475147
If you buy cheap externals like I did yes but it will also force your RAID into read only. If you spend the extra on NAS drives then you're fine. It's not the enclosure that dictates that but the firmware on the drives themselves.
530030
You can, however I would not use it in a production environment. It is extremely slow unless you configure the vm swap file to local storage on the host.
860400
I concur with Robin V on this one - I suggest replacing any failed drives with a WD RED drive. They are built to work in NAS boxes under constant use while other drives are not built for this kind of use and abuse.
629941
I use my 3TB Seagate Central with a Plex Server. It supports DLNA. Tried Twonky before finding Plex.
1213234
Yes you can do this. You will need to use a media server in order to do this. Microsoft has one that is built in to most Operating Systems if you have windows Vista, or 7 you can use Windows Media Player and there are setting in there that allow you to setup a media server. You would then just choose a directory (aka your 2TB drive) to share and when you use the WD Play you go in to the storage app and chose the media server you setup and all the files will be on there. Now personally I have found Plex to be better and easier Media Server to use so I would recommend downloading Plex Media Server. (It is free) You do the same thing add the files and then the Plex Server will show up on your WD Box under the Storage App.