02-17-2023, 02:38 PM
Based on your requirements, you can consider QNAP and Asustor NAS devices. You mentioned a preference for HDMI connectivity to connect the NAS directly to your TVs, and QNAP's TS-464 supports this feature. Additionally, you would like a unit that can accommodate expansion units, and both QNAP and Asustor have this capability.
Regarding populating a 4-6 bay NAS with two 8TB drives, you can certainly start with just two drives, but if you are using a RAID 5 setup, it is recommended to have at least three drives for redundancy. You can add more drives or larger ones later, and the NAS will automatically rebuild the RAID array. But you can start also with 1 drive.
To connect the NAS to your devices, you will need to use an Ethernet cable. Mesh Wi-Fi may not provide sufficient data transfer rates required for smooth media streaming and remote access, so using Ethernet cables would be the best option.
In terms of upgrading the NAS with RAM, SSD, and PCI slots, most NAS devices support RAM upgrades, and some models may offer SSD and PCI slots. However, you will need to check the specifications of the NAS device to confirm if it has the features you need.
Regarding populating a 4-6 bay NAS with two 8TB drives, you can certainly start with just two drives, but if you are using a RAID 5 setup, it is recommended to have at least three drives for redundancy. You can add more drives or larger ones later, and the NAS will automatically rebuild the RAID array. But you can start also with 1 drive.
To connect the NAS to your devices, you will need to use an Ethernet cable. Mesh Wi-Fi may not provide sufficient data transfer rates required for smooth media streaming and remote access, so using Ethernet cables would be the best option.
In terms of upgrading the NAS with RAM, SSD, and PCI slots, most NAS devices support RAM upgrades, and some models may offer SSD and PCI slots. However, you will need to check the specifications of the NAS device to confirm if it has the features you need.