Best Budget NAS for Emby Server?

[sobeitjedi 4]

Hi

Currently running a Synology DS215j

Anyone recommend a good/cheap replacement NAS that can handle transcoding better?

[RanmaCanada 345]

You could always just build your own?  Prebuilts are expensive as heck and are extremely limited.  You could get an inexpensive 8th gen HP from flEbay as that would do all your quicksync needs.  It will hold at least 2 drives.  Maybe more if you get fancy.  How many drives do you want to be able to hold in your NAS?  Do you want it to be upgradeable?  And lastly, would you feel comfortable running either UNRAID $$ or TrueNAS (FOSS)? or other none proprietary software?

[sobeitjedi 4]

My NAS is really only for Emby - it has two drives but I'd be ok with one drive really. As long as it performs, is small and low power consumption. Not sure what UNRAID or TrueNAS are, but happy to give them a try.

 

[Ronstang 202]

I really don't understand why people spend so much money on NAS boxes that have limited capabilities for the most part unless you spend even more money.  Old PCs are everywhere, in people's closets or garages having been put out to pasture for one reason or other.  I constantly get free PCs that people claim are broken that I fix with either no money or not much and almost all are far more powerful than most NAS boxes so they can actually transcode if necessary.  Throw a hot swap cage in, fill up the inside with discs and for very little money you have a way more powerful NAS.  Windows 10 is basically free (every machine I have gotten free actually had legal Windows 10 on it already so another legal license for me)  and you can actually use an internal Microsoft hack to get around the hardware specifics for Windows 11 and upgrade for free.  You can basically build a far more capable NAS for a little more than the cost of drives, which don't come with NAS boxes anyway.  

I had my second server running this way for quite some time on a second desktop I got out of my buddy's mother's garage when she asked me to haul it off.  A new CPU cooler was all it needed and the video card was bad but I didn't need it anyway.  I filled it with drives and hooked it up to my network.  It was not only my file server and emby server but I used it to remote desktop into my other box which is  my beta server, test machine, and the one I use to encode and organize content for emby.  All this for under $100.

Edited August 27, 2023 by Ronstang

[RanmaCanada 345]

Some people like the form factor, others like the ease of use.  Not everyone knows how to build their own PC, and a prebuilt solves that issue for them.  The fact that a Synology Rackstation RS4021xs+ sells for 5 grand USD with no drives, when you could easily buy the hardware and build your own for under a grand, shows just how insane the cost of knowlege is.  If more cases were available in synolgy 8 or larger bay form factors, it would be fantastic.  As it is, proprietary load outs or massive server towers/disc shelves are your only options.