Product review: 5 Raid 5 NAS (page 13: Multimedia servers)

Multimedia servers

In an ideal world, NAS will not only be a central server for all the computers in homes but also for all the digital devices which read multimedia content: game consoles, DVD/Divx players, Hifi systems, audio/video amplifiers, digital photo frames, LCD televisions, etc.

We aren’t there yet, but we are making large strides in this direction. This is thanks to the DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance), which has no less than 245 members including computer component and consumer electronics manufacturers, software companies, etc. All the major players are responding to the call. The goal is to establish a communication standard between the different electronic and computer devices in order that they are able to communicate with each other in an autonomous manner. For example, a DVD/Divx player should be capable of connecting to the NAS and directly read content entirely eliminating the need for a PC.

On the technical level, the peripheral storing the multi-media files should run a DLNA server which sends data to clients that are connected. The system relies on UPNP A/V (Universal Plug and Play Audio/Video) protocol.

The DLNA delivers a certification for all compatible products. Except Synology’s CS-407, all the NAS tested here have this, some via an installed multi-media server:
– Twonkyvision for Qnap ;
– Mediabolic’s (acquired by Macrovision) server for Buffalo and Thecus.

The absence of certification does not necessarily signify that Synology’s multi-media server is not compatible with DLNA players. Moreover, you can find a rather large compatibility list at Synology.

So concerning compatible players, what are the exact products? For audio/video, we find almost all DVD/Divx players equipped with a network connection, most medialinks such as Pinnacle’s Showcenter, or game consoles like the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360. As for exclusively audio players, the list is larger: dedicated players (the Noxon series from Teractec, Logitech’s Squeezebox, Pinnacle’s Roku, etc.), Hifi systems (notably Philips’ Streamium), audio/video amplifiers (notably with Denon), etc.

That’s it for the theoretical side, but what about in practice? We have mixed feelings on the subject. The problem is especially in terms of the user interface and simplicity of use, especially for video. Basically, the server sends file lists to the client who has the responsibility of structuring them. Many players do not make an effort in this area and provide file lists that are very incomprehensible and in which it is frustrating to navigate. Let’s just say that we sometimes approach zero user friendliness with entry level DVD/Divx players. While this isn’t too bothersome in navigation when looking through several films burned on a DVD, it does become complicated to find small ones on a NAS composed of several Terabytes!

Here are two examples of the interfaces you may encounter. The first with a blue background represents the bare minimum: if there are too many, files are left off the page and navigation becomes a real task. On the second, the player displays a slightly more elaborated interface while it limits the number of files per page.

The only thing is that user friendliness of the player does not just encumber the client, because instead of simple file lists, for example, the server can also send web pages. This is the case of the Mediabolic server in the Terastation Live, which thus offers much more user friendliness than the others and this regardless of the player.

Twonkyvision, the UPNP/DLNA server integrated to the Qnap (but also available separately), also enables improving user ergonomics especially for audio files. More specifically, you can define for yourself the classification of tracks based on ID3 tags (for example, Genre, then Artist, then Album) and regroup some categories by multiple initials (ABC, DEF, GHI, etc.). This may appear minor; however, with a MP3 library of several thousand files, you can save a lot of time. The system also functions with photos and videos but the latter do not have as large an ID3 tag and so the possibilities for personalization are significantly less.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of the various types of files recognized by each server.

Concerning the management of sub-titles by Thecus servers, it’s something we could not evaluate. In fact, we started some tests with a Pinnacle Showcenter 200 player and while it is entirely capable of this function, it seems this is only when they are sent by Pinnacle’s own program server. We realized this when subsequently testing the Terastation Live which we knew otherwise is capable of managing sub-titles. As sub-titles did not always appear, we then replaced the Pinnacle with a generic DVD/Divx player (on-hand in our offices and equipped with a Sigma Designs EM8620L circuit); however, we couldn’t do this with the Thecus systems as they were already gone.

In addition, you should know that testing the recognition of files is not easy. This is because you have to determine what is handled by the server and not the player, and then what the player recognizes and not the server. For this reason, the above table is not exhaustive.

It did however enable us to find the audio/video formats that are the most commonly supported: movies in Avi (Divx) and Mpegs as well as music in MP3/WMA. Those who are fans of original version movies will be happy with the Synology which recognizes – and this is quite a feat – all current sub-title formats. On the other hand, this same function is and has been the Achilles heel of Twonkyvision (Qnap), which offers no support whatsoever. Buffalo is limited to SRT, which is the most widespread (by far) and it should be sufficient.

Finally, except the N5200BR Pro, all the NAS tested here have integrated an iTunes server. When launching this eponymous program on one of the network’s computers, it can then access the music library stored in the Nas.