ASK NC

Hello

Ive recently been looking to get into buying a NAS however im overloaded with choice...

Im mainly looking for one to store all my media files on and watch with plex

I do like to watch 4k movies + tv shows

And i will want to be able to watch them at home or at my friends house (whilst my NAS is at my home)

Im mainly wondering with my budget will i be able to buy a NAS capable of that?

Thanks for any advice

For your use case, I would recommend the Synology DS220+ over the DS218. The DS220+ has a more powerful processor and more RAM, which will allow for smoother media streaming and transcoding. It also supports hardware-accelerated 4K video transcoding, which is important for your requirement of watching 4K movies and TV shows.

In terms of remote access, the DS220+ has a built-in VPN server that allows you to securely access your files from outside your home network. It also supports remote access through the Synology mobile apps, which can stream media up to 1080p.

If you want to stream 4K media remotely, you may need to upgrade to a more powerful NAS such as the QNAP TS-674 with an i5 processor. However, for local streaming and remote access up to 1080p, the DS220+ should be sufficient.

As for your budget, the DS220+ is priced at around $300-$350 depending on where you buy it from. You will also need to factor in the cost of hard drives, as well as any additional software or apps you may want to use with your NAS.

Overall, the DS220+ is a good choice for a budget-friendly NAS that can handle media streaming and remote access.