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I am looking for a suitable NAS device to store and play 4K videos for my family. My main need is to store movies, personal videos and be able to stream to the TV in my house via the local network. I also want to use the NAS to back up photos from my phone and computer. I am confused between Synology and QNAP, not sure which one is more stable and easier to use for beginners? The minimum requirements are 2 hard drive bays, support 4K transcoding if needed, and good compatibility with Plex. Can anyone suggest a suitable model? Thanks in advance!
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I was in a similar spot a few months back, looking for a NAS mainly for storing and streaming 4K home videos and backing up photos from phones and PCs. I’d suggest going for something with a Celeron CPU — it gives you hardware transcoding, which is super helpful if your TV or streaming device doesn’t support all formats.
Two models I’d recommend looking at:
Synology DS423+ – really user-friendly, great for beginners, and runs Plex pretty well. DSM (their operating system) is clean and easy to use. Also does a solid job with backups and photo management.
QNAP TS-464 – a bit more flexible on the hardware side, still beginner-friendly, and really strong Plex performance with 4K stuff. QTS (their OS) has more bells and whistles if you want to tinker down the line.
Both are 4-bay units (so a little more future-proof), and you don’t have to fill all bays right away — you can start with 2 drives and expand later.
Hope that helps a bit. Good luck with your setup!
