NAS overkill?

[bigred]

Hi everyone,

I've been lurking in the forums for quite some time, and every time I think I've figured out exactly what I need, other questions pop up, I start to second guess, etc. So I figured I'd just ask the experts.

I'm looking to buy a NAS to function primarily to stream ripped blu ray disks/1080p via gigabit ethernet, and as a server for my music. I will also use it as a file server for remote access, but primarily I want it to store and stream my media.

If I am reading the charts right, the two NAS boxes I am considering ought to be able to do this with no problem: QNAP TS-212 and QNAP TS-219PII. Then I read about problems with FF/Rewind and how much more throughput is needed and now I don't know what I need. So I could use some help with the following:

1. Is my proposed system even going to work for these purposes? Or am I missing some key component?
2. Will the TS-212 cut it? Or do I need something with more horsepower? Would the TS-219PII be overkill?
3. What potential issues should I be aware of?

Considering:
QNAP TS-212 OR
QNAP TS-219PII
Some kind of green drives, 300MB/s, 5400 rpm

Have:
Yamaha RX-V867 receiver. (I assume my cat5e would go to this and then signal would pass through to blu ray player via HDMI?)

Samsung blu ray player BD-C5900 (can play formats MPEG2, H.264, VC-1, AVCHD, DIVX HD, MKV, MP4, WMV9, 3GPP, HD JPEG)

Samsung PN50C8000 tv

I can't remember the make and model of my router, but it's gigabit ethernet.

Any feedback is most welcome. Thanks!

 

[GregN]

Have:
Yamaha RX-V867 receiver. (I assume my cat5e would go to this and then signal would pass through to blu ray player via HDMI?)

Samsung blu ray player BD-C5900 (can play formats MPEG2, H.264, VC-1, AVCHD, DIVX HD, MKV, MP4, WMV9, 3GPP, HD JPEG)

Samsung PN50C8000 tv

I can't remember the make and model of my router, but it's gigabit ethernet.

Any feedback is most welcome. Thanks!

Checking your receiver, it does not do networking over HDMI.

It is HDMI 1.3 you need 1.4HEC, and unless I've really missed something, I don't think there is a receiver that will handle switching from Cat5 to HDMI, Yet (?)

Maybe someone more on top of things can correct me, but for HDMI ethernet ( HDMI Enternet ) to work you need both ports on both ends to comply with HDMI 1.4(a,b) HEC standard.

There does appear to be devices out there that do this (extenders, splitters), but I haven't found any receivers that do (and Cat5 switching to HDMI, definitely not)

You'll need to wire both the Blu-Ray and the Receiver via Cat5. Additionally, though the Yamaha is DLNA compliant, it appears to only do music, not video.

 

[bigred]

Thanks, Greg. A few points to clarify:

The Yamaha is hdmi 1.4a according to the tech specs: http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio-visual/av-receivers-amps/rx/rx-v867/

If I understand it correctly, that allows for Ethernet over hdmi? Or is it the switching that you think s the problem? Also, it allows for audio return channel, so even if I couldn't pass the signal through the receiver, would it be possible to go the other way - Ethernet to the bd-c5900 and utilize audio return to get the audio to the receiver?

I know this isn't really about the nas, but I appreciate the help in this area.

Anyone have thoughts about the nas?

 

[claykin]

bigred

You'll need to check with Yamaha if they support HDMI Ethernet channel. HDMI 1.4 spec offers Ethernet channel as an option, however vendors are not required to implement it. See here:

http://www.hdmi.org/manufacturer/hdmi_1_4/hdmi_1_4_faq.aspx

Plus the HDMI Ethernet spec is 100Mb/s only.

 

[GregN]

Thanks, Greg. A few points to clarify:

The Yamaha is hdmi 1.4a according to the tech specs: http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio-visual/av-receivers-amps/rx/rx-v867/

If I understand it correctly, that allows for Ethernet over hdmi? Or is it the switching that you think s the problem? Also, it allows for audio return channel, so even if I couldn't pass the signal through the receiver, would it be possible to go the other way - Ethernet to the bd-c5900 and utilize audio return to get the audio to the receiver?

I know this isn't really about the nas, but I appreciate the help in this area.

Anyone have thoughts about the nas?

Hmm, must of looked at the wrong model...apologies.

Neither of those devices appear to support HEC on HDMI 1.4. I've yet to see, or searching find a receiver that has implemented "HDMI Enternet" (Seen both Ethernet and Enternet used for HEC acronym)

To Quote:

HDMI 1.4 has what they're calling HDMI Enternet Channel, or HEC. This IP over HDMI allows you to hook up one of your components to the Web (say, a TV with built-in WiFI) and then every component hooked to it via HDMI 1.4 can also access the Web.

A couple of caveats. Of course each of the components would have to have HDMI 1.4, and be built to talk to each other. A manufacturer can choose to implement this feature in different ways. The logical way would be to have the TV or receiver as the "hub," with the sources getting their Internet from the connection to the TV.

Oh, and you need a cable that is 1.4 rated. Current HDMI cables will probably work, but because the HEC uses a previously unused pin as part of a twisted pair, it's not guaranteed older cables will work with HEC. Look for cable companies to charge outrageously for HEC-rated cables even though there is absolutely NO reason for any extra cost.

The coolness of HEC goes further than just simplifying system hookup. Because information over HEC is regular data (not just video data) content copying can be easier. Think of it this way, all those photos on your Apple TV can now be recorded on DVD using your new DVD recorder, no extra cables.

HEC is the big new feature, and it has tremendous potential.

It seems you would connect the BluRay Player to both HDMI, going to the receiver, and to Cat5, going to your network. Using HDMI Video & Audio would go to the receiver, and on to your TV. The BluRay would talk to a DLNA server via Cat5 on the NAS, feeding it to the Receiver ( again HDMI ).

There are other choices, I use a HTPC which connects to my network, and connects to my receiver. There are Media Players that do the same thing, and finally (as I discovered this week) Thecus has a HDMI connector on their NASes (!?!) which can be connected to your receiver.

I'll leave the NAS discussion to those more familiar with QNAP and consumer NASes.

 

[GregN]

I searched far and wide, and lo, there is a hot chunk of kit that will handle HEC, as a hub no less, looks very interesting:

K8 Blu-Ray Receiver

Not sure what it will talk to via HEC, and probably costs more than a Ford Focus, but if you need bleeding edge learn to speak Deutsch.

 

[claykin]

Any chance of you running a Cat5e/6 cable and not bothering with HDMI EC? That would be my recommendation.

 

[petersw]

If you haven't done it already, I would suggest taking some time to read messages in the Media Servers forum at AVSForum.

You may want to consider getting something like the Popcorn or Dune device.

 

[bigred]

Thank you all for the advice. It's given me a lot more to consider! I did have some good success with one configuration. I connected the blu-ray player to my cat5e and installed Twonky on my desktop upstairs, turned on audio return channel on the receiver, configured Twonky to see the blu ray player as a Samsung tv, and voila! The blu ray player could browse my computer and play ripped dvds and mkv files, it found my music and passed them to the receiver via hdmi/audio return, which played them flawlessly. Surround worked in movies perfectly. The only issues were subtitles and the rewind/fast forward problem which many people have described. So I may still go for a media player like boxee, and I may get a hub so I can connect the receiver to the network too because I like some of the functions it offers, but I was very pleased to see that this configuration worked.

Thanks again!