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NAS drives provide a vital link between the home computer and hi-fi system and TV. The first thing to realise is that they offer far more than an outboard hard drive. Here's a summary of what you can expect.

Storage

Just like a computer hard drive, NAS drives will store information such as music, films and photos by the GB. A storage space of 500GB (Gigabyte) is typical although many NAS drives now offer 1 or 2TB (Terabyte) - that's 1000 or 2000GB and enough for a massive music collection at an uncompressed standard (i.e. not MP3 but CD quality). To give you some idea, a 1TB drive will store around 25,000 tracks in top quality or 250,000 using MP3/AAC compression.

Media server

The great advantage of NAS drives over hard drives is the built-in media server. This allows you to stream your stored music, films or photos to compatible media streaming devices and home computers. In all cases this works via your home network hub and using an Ethernet cable. These days, most NAS drives go further still by offering a wireless, Wi-Fi connection.

Typical example -
NAS drive will stream photos to your laptop
NAS drive will stream video to your streaming equipped TV
NAS drive will stream music to your streaming equipped hi-fi
NAS drive will do all this from one, central location and, in many cases, wirelessly.

USB port

Many NAS drives also feature a number of USB ports. This allows you to add extra storage or back-up information with additional hard drives. Furthermore a USB connection lets you plug in a suitable printer. The printer then becomes a central printer for the network. For example, print to the printer from a laptop in the sitting room or PC in the study.

PC independent

Because NAS drives aren't connected directly to your PC, they work independently. This gives them many extra potential advantages. These include:

Access your stored material from a remote location

With most NAS drives you can access your stored music, films and photos anywhere in the world via the Internet. Your home computer doesn't need to be switched on at the time. This fantastic feature lets friends see your photos from anywhere in the world or, perhaps use it to watch one of your own films on your laptop whilst on holiday!

Schedule downloads

If you regularly download music and video content many NAS drives will allow you to schedule this, meaning that lengthy downloads (such as HD video) can be done at night and, again, without the need for your home computer to be on.

Home entertainment system compatibility

Many NAS drives feature the software needed to work with multi-room wireless systems and various music download applications. If you're looking for a multi-room music system, look for a NAS drive that's compatible with Sonos, Squeezebox or other system that you're using. Equally, check for iTunes support if that's your chosen music library.

Built-in CD/DVD drives

When does a NAS drive become an Entertainment Server? Well, truth be told, the two are pretty much the same thing but, generally speaking, once a NAS drive has a CD/DVD drive fitted it becomes an Entertainment Server. In addition to all of the above, a NAS-ES lets you rip CDs and/or DVDs straight on to the hard drive without needing to switch your home computer on. As the ripping process is often at high speed and, in many cases, allows for different quality recordings, it's far more convenient than using a home computer.

Visit any one of our 52 stores nationwide if you have any further queries on audio visual, flat screen TV or NAS drives. As always, Richer Sounds aims to bring you the newest technology as it's released– keep checking www.richersounds.com for NAS drive and entertainment server deals.