Dual screen NAS with Plex & Linux Ubuntu

After watching all your videos about the Qnap Ts-251B and the TS-253Be I was thinking I would pay the extra amount to buy the later if I can have one HDMI working with plex and at the same time have an Ubuntu running on the other HDMI. Is that possible with the 253Be? How many Gb of memory do I need in order to have a system going smoothly with this double option? If I wanted to watch a movie using plex and after that use Mozilla in Ubuntu in the Ts-251B how much time does it take? I mean, is that double use of surfing/watching a movie annoying in a 251B?

Qnap is very popular with its HDMI NAS models. Even with only one HDMI port, you can use it as a computer by just connecting a keyboard and a mouse. Or you can choose which app will be dedicated to this HDMI port. It can be Plex app, surveillance or you can even turn your TV into a Skype mode.

More HDMI ports will allow you to extend your screen or duplicate it. Most of the apps will allow being run simultaneously on two or more screens, but some apps like Linux station will have limitations.

You can not only run it as linux station but also Windows.

Once you connect the monitor, you can choose the resolution at which the apps will be displayed. If you want to specify an area to display on the connected screen you can do changes with Overscan setting. If you also want to access the HDMI output using the internet browser – then enable the remote desktop setting.

 

If you have an existing music system with the amplifier you might find an HDMI port on it. This is very useful if you have 5.1 or 7.1 or even flawless audio/video format multimedia files. You connect your NAS to the amplifier and choose which connection will be used for audio.

 

In the HD PLAYER app, you can even allow passthrough option enabling the audio and video passed a step further – from an amplifier to your TV.

 

A little extra which might be very useful for some people is remote learning. if you have any old remote at home, you can teach Qnap to be able to use this remote to control your HD station and its apps.

 

So, if you want dual HDMI option – TS-253Be will be the cheapest option for you. You can switch between Linux and Plex playback over the HDMI.

You should consider at least 4GB or preferably 8GB RAM option because Linux and Plex will take up quite a bit of space on your RAM (as well as other ups running on the NAS).  If you prefer to switch between Plex and Linux, it will take only a few seconds to do so- then you can use a single HDMI option – TS-251B.

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