Nas for mac. I am looking for a NAS that I can use with a number of MacBook pros. Currently 3. To act as time machine backup for each machine and for transfer of existing backups on other storage.
I would like to be able to access the NAS remotely so that when I am working away, I can access everything either using my MacBook or using a third party computer.
I may in the future hook up surveillance cameras and would wish to keep a record of what the cameras are seeing.
I would recommend 4 drive option, which you can fill with just 3 drives to start with and add fourth one any time you run out of space. The DS418play or DS918+ will be quick enough to do more than 3 time machine backups simultaneously. Dual LAN connectivity will automatically do load balancing between connected computers. DS918+ will cost more, but it is useful if you plan to expand to 9 drives later on. Bot NAS feature transcoding engine which will allow you to watch multimedia over the internet or on the devices with limited compatibility. The possibilities are really endless. Once you setup up your NAS you learn about more and more exciting functions it can do. Including being Dropbox alternative with file version control built in.
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Of course I would prefer you choose
AMAZON UK
AMAZON USA
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What can I connect to a NAS?
Wireless Speaker Sonos
The great thing about Sonos is that you don't need to pay for music subscription service. With the cheapest NAS at home like DS115j or any other, you can have your backups done for all of your devices and still use your network drive as a Sonos music library. Sonos will connect to your NAS via your network and let access your provided music library. If you have little more of IT knowledge, you can even set up your Alexa or Sonos with Alexa built in to play music on your voice commands ("Alexa! Ask DS Audio to Play Music!").
Casting devices
Nowadays it is so cheap to upgrade your old TV and make it smart. All you need is Google Chrome or EZcast alternative plugged into your HDMI port at the back of your TV. Now you have great functionality added to your TV to send a video file directly from your NAS to a TV. No need for wires and chargers and other mess. You can use your phone as a remote to go to your movies or family videos and cast that content on your TV during family or friend gatherings.
Apple TV
Amazon Fire TV
You may not have a smartphone, or you just simply prefer to control your content with a remote in that case Amazon Fire TV will be a great addon to get to your TV. It also plugs into your HDMI port and will play content from your NAS to a TV. No wires no mess.
nVidia Shield TV
It gets even better! If you want some more entertainment and all previously mentioned functions - nVidia TV is a great thing to get. You can use it for playing games and watching movies from your NAS. The greatest thing is - shield TV does video transcoding. So even if you have a cheap NAS with a weak CPU, in a combination of shield TV you can now automatically on the fly change video file size and format for a destination device. It is a great way to reduce network load and let older devices to play video content which normally was not supported on the device.
