hi guys. i have a pretty general question on NAS.

NAS basically comes with one or two USB ports. im wondering if these ports are specific for printserver only (because most actually markets the USB for such)? i have a not-so-smart sony LCD TV and i depend on my portable HDD connected via USB to watch movies etc.

do NAS' USB ports function the same? or do i have to get a smart tv so i could access them via network?

at the moment i'm looking at entry level, home use NAS, particularly the D-Link DNS320.

another question, do i need to format the HDDs? i already have a 1TB drive full of stuffs.

quadcube

i dunno. bcoz some friends who bought NAS (not sure what model) had to format the drive because it has its own "file system".

ok for my earlier question:

can i use NAS' USB to connect directly to a device like LCD TV?

i mean just like USB drive or those portable harddisks, where u hook them up and the TV will be able to read and play movie files.

u made me google tv box .

they seem to be priced around RM300++ though. not exactly a cheap solution for me, since i'm looking to buy NAS to solve storage accessibility problems. adding another RM300++ is gonna set me back really bad.

Ok thanks!

im talking about the not-so-smart LCD tv. it only has HDMI and USB ports (apart from other analog ports).

yes it does work with USB or external HDDs. i havent bought the NAS, because to me, apart from the other characteristics, the ability to run movie files via USB is a dealbreaker. im still trying to convince my friend to buy one, so i can try hehe.

ok need help from NAS sifus here.

i bought and setup probably one of the cheapest entry level NAS in the market:

D-Link ShareCenter DNS-320L.

it works fine with my laptop and PC. i could stream movies from the NAS no problem. but i cant seem to stream avi via android.

i. is the limitation of D-Link's NAS android interface? is there a way around this?
ii. does it have the same problem with iOS?
iii. does other models/brands have the same problem?

everything else works exactly as i expected it would except for the avi streaming.

/in b4 "tu laa aku dah cakap beli synology aje..."

PC/laptop = using explorer, then double click AVIs or whatever file format. plays on my default media player (VLC).

android = using an app called mydlink Access-NAS. it basically allows me to browse the content of the NAS. opens images and music files no problem. i read online that it also plays mkv file, but no support on avi.

any idea how to get around this apart from dloading the avi to my device to play it?

what kind of file explorer? i've installed ES file explorer, but when i clicked the AVI file, it say no players supported. but it works fine with MP4.

these are all the AVI files i currently have in local memory. it plays normally using the defaul media player on my phone (Xperia S). but i cant play the same file on the NAS.

currently i'm using DLink N300 wifi router that's physically connected to the NAS via ethernet.

another question: does synology have this problem?

Haha entah. I use the default player that comes with the phone (xperia s). Looks like the screenshot below if it helps. How do I check what kind of player I use?


Attached thumbnail(s)

hmmm... weirdly enough, after installing VLC (beta), all players now able to play those AVI files. although some files are time-scroll constrained (meaning i cant scroll forward or backwards), but i guess this might have to do with how those files were encoded. most of my other AVIs dont have this problem.

thanks for the assist!