# Want a NAS for Tivo



## HockeyFan (Oct 9, 2010)

I am considering purchasing a NAS nextweek. I chose synology ds411j for economic reasons.

My current setup is a USB 3.0 single drive enclosure. I am getting tired of replacing drives with new ones for writing more data from the Tivo.

This will also allow me to use ethernet transfer instrad of usb. Currently have 35 Mb internet which will be downgraded to 15Mb soon.

Anyone else using a nas for download/upload to Tivo and happy with their coice?

I have the premeire xl tivo.

Thanks for any input.


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## smbaker (May 24, 2003)

HockeyFan said:


> Anyone else using a nas for download/upload to Tivo and happy with their coice?


Personally, I use a Linux fileserver. This offers a lot more flexibility than an off-the-shelf NAS. For example I'm able to run my streaming Sirius/XM server, do home automation stuff, provide backup storage for the Windows PC, house a dozen virtual machines I use for work, and of course it also serves my digital video library via PyTivo. Consolidating many functions into one box also saves energy costs (not too long ago I used to have a room full of PCs running 24x7 for different reasons).

That DS411j you picked does look like it has a pretty sweet feature set. The IP camera surveillance integration in particular looks interesting. I wasn't aware that commercial NAS boxes did that.


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## HockeyFan (Oct 9, 2010)

Thanks smbaker. just have quad-core laptop with 8GB ram. I have linux installed and use it for vmware also. conteplating $150 for a 4bay external enclosure or $360 for an 4 bay nas device.


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

I'm using a bunch (9!) of external 2TB USB and Firewire drives stacked on a G4 Mac Mini.

I'll be moving those to a hackintosh tower anon.

I just bought my first 3TB drive. 

My philosophy is to always have the drives that can be read elsewhere, thus no RAID or Drobo. I've been burned by not having access to the data when the host dies.

If you use Linux and software RAID that's less of a problem because you can always boot something from a Linux Live CD.

My only complaint is I spend a lot fo time managing what goes where and dealing with full or almost full drives. I use symlinks to map from the main folders to where the content is.


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## smbaker (May 24, 2003)

HockeyFan said:


> Thanks smbaker. just have quad-core laptop with 8GB ram. I have linux installed and use it for vmware also. conteplating $150 for a 4bay external enclosure or $360 for an 4 bay nas device.


ah, a laptop does complicate it a bit. My server is a desktop, so I can at least fit all the bits inside (3ware raid controller, 4 x 2TB disks in raid trays, etc).


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## Thom (Jun 5, 2000)

Check out the Netgear ReadyNAS Ultra line. They will automatically transfer non-copyprotected KUID shows from the TiVo to the ReadyNAS, plus serve the shows back to your TiVos.


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## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

I've ready that the ReadyNAS KUID upload feature was broken by the 14.8 update. Not sure if there has been any resolution on that.

I use a ReadyNAS Duo which is cheaper but lacks the auto-archive feature but you can always download to the share using other tools.


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## lafos (Nov 8, 2004)

I use WHS, or Windows Home Server, with 12TB of storage across 8 drives. It runs TiVo desktop+, so I can autotransfer shows from the TiVo (if the CCI byte permits), plus I have all our movies on it. Decided a complete dive was better than a partial solution.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

I use the big brother of the NAS you are looking at. The Synology 1511. They run the same firmware. pyTivo and HME for python run fine on the Synology linux based NAS boxes. You will be well served by the Synology product line and thier support network. Far greater capability than the Netgear line.

Before choosing the 411, just be sure you are not going to outgrow it in the future as its not expandable like the 1511.


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## HockeyFan (Oct 9, 2010)

Also considering NETGEAR ReadyNAS Ultra 2 Plus. 
Will the dual core and 1GB ram be a worthwhile trade off over the 4 bay ds411j for Tivo use? 
Is their future plans for GPT on the ultra 2 plus?
Any resolve for the 14.8 update and auto archive?
These two meet my price target range.

Thanks again for owner advice.


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## GordonB (Jul 16, 2003)

jcthorne said:


> I use the big brother of the NAS you are looking at. The Synology 1511. They run the same firmware. pyTivo and HME for python run fine on the Synology linux based NAS boxes. You will be well served by the Synology product line and thier support network. Far greater capability than the Netgear line.


Is the 1511 very noisy? I have a ReadyNAS right now and its quite noisy compared to my PC. I'd prefer something on the quiet side.


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## alexofindy (Apr 16, 2010)

Concerning the readynas. I have a readynas ultra 6 plus, and use it to archive Tivo shows with the "keep until I delete" (KUID) flag set on the tivo.

Since Tivo did the 14.8 firmware update, this has not been very reliable - the readynas would keep rearchiving shows it already had, and as a result, would often not get around to archiving new shows. Readynas (i.e., netgear) has come out with a new firmware release, which I just installed; it's too early to see if this fixes the issues. I'll repost when I know more.

The readynas provides two way communications - it archives non-copy-protected shows with KUID set, and allows playback on the tivo. This is NOT the same as adding a Western Digital expansion drive to the Tivo, or increasing the Tivo capacity with a weaknees system. The shows are copied for archiving, and copied back to the tivo for playback. Note that the readynas archives the shows in Tivo encrypted format; they can be played back on the Tivo, or I think on windows PC's with Tivo Desktop installed (this installs the necessary codec for decryption). The shows cannot be directly played back on a Mac without being decrypted using the tivodecode program. This isn't hard, but it is an extra step.

Most of the currently available readynas units are based on Intel processors running Linux; these systems use the GPT partitioning scheme, and therefore do support 3 TB disks. My Utra 6 Plus certainly works with 3TB (which is what I use), and the Ultra 2 plus should as well. Some older readynas systems such as the readynas Duo have sparc processors, and do not use GPT, and don't support 3 TB disks. This is not likely to be fixed, since Linux for sparc is no longer being updated much.

One note on support: when the 14.8 problems occurred, I put in tech support requests with both readynas and Tivo. Readynas was responsive, though they were not immediately able to fix the issues, but Tivo offered no assistance at all. Admittedly the readynas is not a tivo product, but it uses a published tivo media interface, and I was disappointed in Tivo's attitude.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

GordonB said:


> Is the 1511 very noisy? I have a ReadyNAS right now and its quite noisy compared to my PC. I'd prefer something on the quiet side.


The 1511 itself is nearly silent. Overall noise level is dependant on the hard drives used but in mine, with the WD green drives, its very quiet. It also spins down the drives when not being used and is very power efficient compared to a pc.


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## HockeyFan (Oct 9, 2010)

I decided to go with the ds211. I look forward to upgrading to the 1511 or equivalent in about a year. My office closes this week and I decided to take year off to finish BS. 2 3TB hitachi drives should be decent space.

Thanks for all the input.


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