QNAP TS-x51 NAS Series: Intel Quick Sync Gets its Killer App
by Ganesh T S on June 22, 2014 6:45 PM ESTConcluding Remarks
This piece originally started out as a small pipeline article. However, digging deeper into the TS-x51 announcement brought to fore interesting information about Silvermont-based platforms in general (and Bay Trail, in particular). In particular, the appearance of Quick Sync as an update to the Bay Trail-D/-M platforms has opened up a a multitude of use-cases. QNAP has grabbed this opportunity to deliver compelling features in the TS-x51 series. Before proceeding further, I wish to comment upon two different aspects.
Value Proposition of the DIY NAS
In the comments section of every 'off-the-shelf' NAS review, we usually see multiple readers indicating how it would be cheaper to build a DIY NAS with a better CPU and/or more number of bays for the same cost. While I would have agreed with them wholeheartedly 2 or 3 years back, the market dynamics have changed quite a bit now, particularly in the consumer / SOHO NAS market. These units are no longer PCs with a Linux distribution, but more of an appliance.
The increase in popularity of mobile devices for both content consumption and creation (capturing photos and videos using a smartphone camera, say) has resulted in a situation where the NAS OS has to be backed up by a complete suite of mobile apps. These apps have to provide a seamless experience while streaming media from the NAS, as well as backing up data, irrespective of the user's location. This also requires operation of a relay server and/or operation of a DDNS service (with appropriate port forwarding). As far as I can see, a one-stop solution to these problems for DIY NAS units is pretty much non-existent. Obviously, these factors are more important in NAS units targeting home consumers and the SOHO market. Even home consumers who are computer-savvy (the typical AnandTech readership) don't want to spend a lot of time building a NAS, configuring it with the appropriate OS, and be on the hook for regular maintenance. In this situation, the value proposition of a DIY NAS for the consumer / SOHO market segment is fading rapidly.
Consumer NAS Market Marches Ahead
In the concluding remarks of the DS214play review, I had praised Synology for being the first NAS vendor to try to bring hardware-accelerated transcoding for media serving into the market. QNAP has taken on the baton now, and brought the more widely tested and supported Quick Sync into the picture. In a similar manner, QNAP deserves praise for being the first to support hosting of virtual machines on the NAS. These types of interesting applications and innovative use-cases are helping the consumer NAS market march ahead.
The QNAP TS-x51 units also sport HDMI ports and XBMC support. In terms of hardware, it is possible to connect either 5- or 8-bay expansion enclosures using one of the USB 3.0 ports. An IR remote is also available as an optional purchase (the TS-x51 units all have an IR sensor for control of media playback). There are a host of other features. Readers interested in getting a more detailed overview are advised to check out the TS-x51 Series Brochure linked on QNAP's website.
I often get asked for NAS recommendations, and irrespective of the use-case, I have always recommended Synology units over the past few years. The reliability and mobile app ecosystem of Synology's DSM has simply remained unparalleled till now. If QNAP manages to deliver on the paper specifications of the TS-x51 (particularly with respect to the video transcoding and virtualization features) and back it up with a good suite of feature-rich mobile apps, Synology might end up with some real competition to worry about in the home consumer / power user / SOHO market.
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ganeshts - Monday, June 23, 2014 - link
To Intel's defense, they never claimed it would be part of Bay Trail, actually.But, I do agree that they could have created new part numbers instead of just stepping changes. I have asked Intel for comment, and will update the piece when they respond.
beginner99 - Monday, June 23, 2014 - link
After seeing the pricing a DIY looks like a very sweet deal again...ryanmt - Monday, June 23, 2014 - link
Yeah... for me, the value prospect of a DIY is in the next-gen file systems with the atomic-COW, bit-level versioning, etc. Until the vendors get on that bandwagon, I don't think they'll get my business.rocktober13 - Monday, June 23, 2014 - link
Maybe I missed it, but will Plex use QuickSync if installed on the QNAP? Or does QS only work with QNAP's apps?ganeshts - Monday, June 23, 2014 - link
QS will work only with QNAP's apps. (Qfile and built-in media server)rocktober13 - Monday, June 23, 2014 - link
Thanks, I think the adoption of QS is great, but I still think the one or two apps I might use aren't worth the price premium over a DIY NAS.Netscorer - Monday, August 11, 2014 - link
Thanks. This & the price makes it a no-go for me. Yet another 'Multimedia' NAS where 1+1 does not equal 2, as they have video transcoding and Plex server but not the two together.For now it's still cheaper to buy no-thrills 4-bay NAS fronted by Haswell-based HTPC. You get full Windows on TV, better performance, full-featured (and fully-supported) Plex plus better upgrade flexibility.
snakyjake - Monday, June 23, 2014 - link
I have five main concerns before I'll consider a NAS:1) If a small file is accessed, do all drives spin up?
2) Data integrity. There's a difference between drive failure and bad data blocks found from a drive surface scan.
3) Is my data stored in a propriety format?
4) Upgradability. I can't afford to keep purchasing a new complete system. And what about new vendor software?
5) Cost.
OpenMediaVault, FreeNAS, UnRaid, FlexRaid, are very easy. Windows Home Server used to be a viable option too.
I'm just not willing to let my data become hostage to a proprietary vendor, without assurances.
ganeshts - Monday, June 23, 2014 - link
All the popular NAS vendors who offer off-the-shelf NAS boxes use software RAID (except for Drobo, whom we have never covered on this site in a review as yet). This means you can take out all the drives, image them and mount on a PC. After that, you could just use something like UFS Explorer to recover the data.For 'bad blocks', I have usually seen vendors reallocate without proclaiming drive failure. They do sound a warning in the logs, though (Again, haven't tested for all vendors)
I have never seen these NAS vendors charge for OS upgrade (that said, sometimes the OS is quite 'demanding' and 4 - 5 year old models are not capable of running the upgraded version).
(1) and cost vary from vendor to vendor, I guess.
mannyvel - Monday, June 30, 2014 - link
< This means you can take out all the drives, image them and mount on a PC>Has anyone actually attempted to do this and get it to work?