Source: Tom's Guide | Keywords: media, server | Themes: Networking
- 1. The Triumph of Streaming Media
- 2. Introducing the HP EX475 MediaSmart server
- 3. Installation and Setup
- 4. Pros, Cons, and Reflections
- 5. For the LaCie Ethernet Disk mini – Home Edition, software makes the difference!
- 6. Introducing Axentra HipServ Home Server
- 7. Installing and Configuring the LaCie Ethernet Disk mini Home
- 8. Using the LaCie Ethernet Disk mini – Home Edition
- 9. Pros, Cons and Reflections
- 10. Conclusions and Recommendations
- 11. More on this topic
8. Using the LaCie Ethernet Disk mini – Home Edition
One we got the unit set up and configured, we copied a whole range of media files to the relevant HipServ folders. Table 3 summarizes the media formats that this device supports, which are pretty darn extensive.
Table 3
Supported Media Formats
| Media type | Formats supported |
|---|---|
| Image | JPEG, PNG, BMP, TIFF |
| Audio | MP3, WMA, WAV, 3GP, M4A, MP4, LPCM, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, MP2, AC3, MPA, MP1, AIF, M4P* |
| AV | MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG2-TS, MPEG4, AVI, WMV, VOB, DivX, 3GP, VDR, ASF, MPE, DVR-MS, Xvid, M1V, M4V |
| Internet Radio | vTuner, Shoutcast |
| Playlists | WPL, PLS, M3U |
Note: M4P is a protected audio format that may only be played back on authorized machines as a form of DRM; iTunes uses protected AAC or M4P as its preferred audio formats.
In short, the unit handled everything we threw at it, including the notoriously challenging and difficult native Microsoft format for recorded TV, DVR-MS. It handled all of our music files (as much of the 50 GB we’ve acquired on our network that we wanted to play back, anyway) and all of our videos as well (which included the aforementioned DVR-MS, DivX, MPEG2, MPEG4 and WMV files). The LaCie Ethernet Disk mini – Home Edition also did a nice job of handling iTunes music as well as common Windows formats (a careful look at Table 3 reveals that the unit is good with Linux-oriented audio and AV formats, as well). We did notice that the LaCie unit was slower when it came to the massive file transfers it took to move our media around. The data transfer rate was on the order of 47-50 Mbps reported for the LaCie, versus between 100 and 120 Mbps reported for the EX475 MediaSmart server (using Vista’s Resource Monitor as a measurement tool). That said, the LaCie did fine playing back both regular and HD video, which is a far more demanding test of its networking capabilities.
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The review of the Mediasmart server was good but missed the mark, specifically in failing to mention the community of enthusiasts who continuously develop new software to expand the machine's capabilities. There is so much more to it than just backups and NAS!
The author also refers to the Mediasmart as having RAID, which it doesn't. It uses a somewhat different system of spanning multiple disks and making them appear as a single drive, but will make critical files redundant on multiple drives if a user wants.
Sure, it's an expensive machine, but like anything, there are deals to be found if one looks for it.
While this article is an interesting and informative read, it veered off course badly in its conclusion when the author stated “For those with home networks, we think the HP EX475 (or its less powerful and costly EX470 cousin) make sense only for those with lots of PCs and devices to manage”.
Every network, large or small, needs to provide a backup of important data. The HP MediaSmart Server does this often forgotten task automatically, through its daily backup of Client PC’s and Duplicate Folders on the server. The LaCie Ethernet Disk mini – Home Edition does not provide this capability, because it is an NAS, not a true Server, as evidenced by its lack of hard disk expansion, file redundancy, and Network Health monitoring, etc.
The old adage, “You get what you pay for” is never more true than when you compare the HP MediaSmart Server to the LaCie Ethernet Disk mini – Home Edition! There is no comparison, and the price reflects that.
While it might be convenient for basic Windows users to buy a solution like this from HP, an experienced user could get more mileage out of a low-end notebook computer with a decent hard drive and all of the hard disk expansion you might need with either USB, firewire, or eSATA drives externally. Several Linux-based server packages are available for media servers as well as Unison, rsync, or simple SMP or FTP for files and backup. Mac users can use Time Machine for a more elegant automatic backup. Mac & Linux users are not likely to want Windows Home Server packages.
Good article. I have a LaCie Ethernet Disk Mini Home Edition and I love it. The author made an error though when he said the LaCie has an embedded 900 MHz Marvell processor. In fact it only has a 400 MHz Marvell processor.
As well, Interlude in his comment above made an error when he said 'The LaCie Ethernet Disk mini – Home Edition does not provide this capability'. The desktop applications which come with the LaCie does provide a Windows and Mac application for automated backups of data on my PCs to the HipServ OS on the LaCie drive. Its based on rsync and it works really well for me. It does folder and file backups, but thats all I need. To boot, the LaCie device fully supports both the Mac and Windows which I love. The Windows Home Server does not provide this capability - Microsoft says Windows Home Server supports the Mac, but when you read the fine print it only supports the Mac if you install Vista on it. That is NOT supporting the Mac. As well, Interlude was incorrect when he said that the LaCie is not a true server - the LaCie drive runs HipServ which uses as its base the RedHat Linus Enterprise Server 4 OS. The same server OS that many banks around the world depend on.
The LaCie device even allows me to make a secondary backup to an attached USB hard drive through the HipServ MySafe feature. The LaCie may not have multiple drives, but it least that it will not corrupt my data... unlike the Windows Home Server does.