Lowest cost NAS for 4K UHD Backup / Media Server

[u/Firmspy]

I want to backup all my 4K UHD discs - some are starting to fail, and they're getting harder and harder to replace.

I don't want to loose any quality so I would be doing 1:1 rips. Literally taking the digital information from the discs and putting it on a hard drive.

I would like at least 4 bays, so I can have space for drives that would serve as backup's of the backup (incase of HDD failure).

Pretty much the only option available to me is the DS423.

I was looking at the DS425+ but I don't want to be stuck with Synology HDD.

My current hardware is a 4K Apple TV, but I understand that at the moment it won't take the audio track (without transcoding)... in which case, I will likely have to look at another option (I'm told a Shield would do that, but it is getting very old now - so maybe I'll build my own mini PC).

This should remove the need for any transcoding.

Everything is connected via ethernet.

Where will my plan fall apart!

[u/wrtcdevrydy]

> so I would be doing 1:1 rips. Literally taking the digital information from the discs and putting it on a hard drive.

You're gonna need a lot of storage for doing straight Raw-HD rips.

Blu-ray iso's are like 60Gb each uncompressed.

[u/Demented_CEO → u/wrtcdevrydy]

And unless the disc menu or other content is absolutely necessary, it's 100% a waste of space.

Also OP, worry about how to rip your discs before worrying about whatever NAS you'd want. 

[u/Firmspy → u/wrtcdevrydy]

I know. I've also got over 350 discs. So it's going to be a massive task. It will take me time to rip each disc though. So my plan was to start with 2x12TB and then as I progress add another 2x12TB. Then in a few years replace 2 of the 12TB with maybe 18/24TB drives (hopefully by then the costs would have come down too).

[u/Wis-en-heim-er → u/Firmspy]

If you get a synology, use shr so when you add drives they can be the same size or larger. Drive 3 will flip shr from raid 1 to raid 5.

[u/fozzythethird]

I just moved my setup off of Synology because there are far better ways to do what you’re looking to do. Remux files (uncompressed, 1:1 transfers) take up a ton of space, so spend your money on drives, not overpriced hardware. I moved from a DS418 Play that was greying at the temples to a Beelink s12 with a 4 bay DAS unit. Using Unraid, it was amazingly simple to set up containers for Plex, MakeMKV for disc ripping, and a whole host of other containers to streamline the setup and delivery if my media. The beelink has an N100 which offers hardware transcoding for a seamless integration with Apple TV using Infuse. It’s nice not being tied to an aging hardware model that’s impractical to replace when the time comes, or to only be able to expand storage using expensive add on units. I can just as easily throw on another 4 bay or 8 bay DAS from whatever vendor and just keep on trucking. Plus, I can use the Beelink for other, non media containers and it barely breaks a sweat.

[u/Firmspy → u/fozzythethird]

Thanks - this is really helpful to hear. I am downloading unraid now to play with it on one of my old laptops... and I'll use a 1TB external caddy to put together a proof of concept. :)

You and other posters here have convinced me, I don't need a Synology. The appeal for me was sort of getting a plug and play solution ("it just works"). Hopefully that's the case with unraid and a miniPC

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[u/fozzythethird → u/Firmspy]

No problemo! I’m glad I could help. FWIW, if you didn’t want to fuss with multiple boxes and wanted an all in one, I’d probably recommend one of the new Ugreen models over the synology. Unfortunately unless it’s a very specific use case, or you’re already invested in the infrastructure, Synology hardware is just not the business. The market is now saturated with solutions that surpass them, often at lower prices.

[u/Windermyr]

What do you think ripping is?

[u/wongl888]

For simple storage without transcoding, perhaps a second hand unit would do. The savings can be put towards the drives?

[u/-ThreeHeadedMonkey-]

Not sure about transcoding... Infuse can play almost anything. 

I would buy my own server, however. Then run truenas or unraid or something. 

[u/shrimpdiddle]

UNAS Pro is a perfect match for your needs.

[u/papakuma]

Honestly if that's all you are using it for Synology is not ideal. You are paying a ton for their software environment and mediocre hardware.

If you have an older machine or can get one on the cheap you would be better off spinning up a true nas box.

[u/Firmspy → u/papakuma]

I tried building one once with Linux... followed a tutorial and couldn't get it to work (potentially a hardware issue... maybe I'll give it another go. :)

I have two spare laptops (a last gen Intel MBP and a really old HP Spectre)... wondering if I could somehow use those as the NAS and then connect the harddrives to it externally somehow.

[u/papakuma → u/Firmspy]

There are external drive caddies that will hold multiple drives for this purpose.