Hey all,
I am hoping someone can give me some recommendations who has either done this before or knows the technology...

I have the following:
1) PC which I still use for various programs
2) Macbook which I am using for general stuff
3) PS3
4) A girlfriend who has a laptop

I want to buy a NAS that will allow the following:
a) storage of music, videos, photos and files
b) access by any of the above machines to the media files to play either via PS3 or iTunes
c) allow timemachine on the macbook to backup to


I've considered a timecapsule but they are quite pricey for what they are and havent managed to find a consensus on its ability to stream to PS3
I've also being looking at the linksys and buffalo NAS devices but dont know if they will serve the functions I require.

Anyone done this already or know the answers?

Many thanks,

mads

I was looking into a very similar set up. You basically would like a central memory bank (hard drive) that can be accessed and edited from anywhere. I have two PCs, a MAC laptop, a PC laptop and an XBOX360. I had basically two systems to choose from.
This: http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=349884&CatId=2720
This will plug into your router and allow access through that. As long as all your hardware is DLNA complient it will work. I think all of your stuff is.

The other alternative is any non-DLNA NAS or hardware with this firmware added to it:
http://www.twonkymedia.com/ask.html

This was recommended to me by Misco technical. I think it should work.

I use Misco whenever I buy stuff. I must state I dont work in IT i just know about things I want to buy! Also remember I did not do this in the end as I felt I could live with just turning on my main PC each time!!

Hope this is all ok, and good luck!
I wont check this post again so U2U me if you need any other help regarding this

Your MAC should be able to connect to a Windows/Samba server without problems in addition nNearly every NAS box on the market has a built in FTP server in adition to Windows/Samba networking so just about any operating system can transfer files to and from it.

Something like like this should do what you want

Ebay item 310158755857

I have a similar unit which I bought as a bare enclosure and fitted my own hard drive it has been in use about 6 months without any problems .

I keep looking at this sort of thing myself and the best thing i can think of is building small server, the NAS boxes are good but just dont have the ability for media streaming (ie to the PS3) unless you want to pay lots of money.

We have at work some HP DC7900 ultraslim boxes which are perfect for a small server, think i might have to 'borrow' the spare one

[Edited on 8/8/09 by Gav]

Hi,

I have a Time Capsule and can would highly recommend them. They have also recently doubled in capacity for the same price point so you can get 1TB and 2TB drives now. I don't know if they work with the PS3 but they certainly work with Mac's and PC's.

Another thing to consider is building your own NAS. There is a free piece of software called FreeNAS which you can download at http://www.freenas.org and then all you need is an old PC with a hard drive or two and a USB stick or CD to hold the freenas software and you are set. This stuff is dead simple to set up and supports a large number of protocols including AFP, SMB, FTP, etc.

I hope this helps,
Craig.

Im a fan of Buffalo NAS boxes. They are very reliable in my experiance.

Depending on the space you need I would say this is a good mix of price vs space:
Amazon


Alternitives:
Amazon


[edit]hopefully then URLs work now[/edit]

[Edited on 9/8/09 by fov]

Just thought I'd update this for anyone who searches the topic.

I went with a Buffalo Linkstation Live 1TB and am very happy with it so far. It connects to both PC and Mac, and after a bit of fiddling it is also syncing with time machine on the mac.

It's mediaserver feature is great and connects with the PS3 so can watch movies on there.

It's quite small, relatively quiet and not bad looking. Highly recommend to anyone who doesnt want to build their own.


thank you to all who replied and gave me food for thought.

[Edited on 4/9/09 by mads]