NASLite Network Attached Storage

Thanks Nick, Mike for your answers-in-plain-English.

Pieter

hi all.this could be a godsend for me.
i currently have naslite 2 which i love.has 3 750gb drives.it is full of m2ts files rougly 25g a movie.(blue ray backups.)and other movie files and recordings.i acess these via a httc vista machine running to a pana 50 hd plasma 1080p.currently play these with media player cllasic.(it plays files directly from the nas) the windows machines see the nas no problems.

i now am venturing playing with nmt's.(network media tanks.eg hdx 1000,popcorn hour 110).a friend had popcornhour 110 and i bought a hdx1000.
both nmts see my vista machine but not the nas.
my vista machine sees the nmt's.the mnts play m2ts files from windows.
i am hoping that upnp av fixes the problem of the nmt not seeing the nas.
i not interested into venturing into complicated smb comands to fix this.

the andvantage of using the nmt is it will pass through hd audio codecs over hdmi. its quiter and faster than using a httc.
the picture quality is practally the same between the nmts and computer.

cheers

Just read through this thread, sounds like a winner!

Would be the answer for me to share music/movies over my networl. It's a mix of Mac, PC and a Beyonwiz PVR with wireless streaming.

Any news on a release date yet?

cheers

Grabman

Ummm. . .in my experience, the clam that Naslite-M2 will stream video via DAAP is incorrect. Even though all mp3s that I have transferred to my NASLite-M2 box will stream to any iTunes (Mac or Windows) I have in my network, I have been unable to get iTunes on my MacBook Pro or iTunes on my Windows partition to stream videos copied to my NASLite box that have always played normally from my local iTunes folders (both are iTunes v8). In OS X Leopard, all videos stored on my NASLite box (mp4, mov, mpeg, AVI in mov wrapper via Quicktime) appear in my "SHARE" as audio files and only play the audio track, and in Windows they refuse to play at all. Also, in OS X, Front Row complains that it "is unable to play files of this type." SInce DAAP was the feature that attracted me to NASLite-M2, I must conclude that unless this issue is resolved, the extra money paid for this version was wasted. Google searches seem to leave me with the impression that I am either the only NASLite-M2 user suffering from this malady or the only one who has not figured out the magic words to make my installation perform as advertised. In any case, I am of the opinion that commercial computer products should not make a person jump through hoops to get them to live up to the claimed functionality.

OK, so let me get this straight. On your second post, rather than ask for help, you proceed to announce that the cost of $35.00 for a piece of NEW, JUST RELEASED, software is to much. Also, that it fails to deliver the functionality it claims to be capable of, on a notoriously closed application such as iTunes. By your own admission you appear to be the only one to be experience this problem with the software but it doesn't work and so the $5.00 extra you spent is wasted. Do I about have it?

I have got a great idea, why not go and buy another Apple Mac to run your proprietary and DRM bound titles on and see just how well it works for you then. We shall not get into the cost of this as it is far higher and the performance is at best near that of M2 once it is properly configured.

Have you even tried to access a PC from an Apple, you have to goto the command line and run a couple of commands to get it to work without all the login and password BS. I can't think of a distro of an MS product that has worked as advertised once without a DL of a patch or fix. I have had iPhoto crash on a Mac and take several hundred GB of photos, the work organizing them, and throw it to the wind never to be recovered but in a giant mess. My guess is that you are just the kind of user that Apple counts on.

My advice is that you help us to help you by first stating the problems you are experiencing, the hardware involved, the software you are using and a bit about your skill level so the answers can be tailored to you.

Mike

I'd also like to add, I think it's probably wise not to edit posts with UPDATED comments when someone is trying to help, the time/date never gets updated on the thread.

Your more than welcome to return to that thread and post properly, and I will help you with your issue.

Point taken. My feathers were ruffled. Your response prevented a rather poignant post on my part. I assure everyone concerned I am well experienced to deal with networking issues. I apologize for any misunderstanding. I would appreciate, however, that responders would take into consideration that not all participants in the NASLite forums are total idiots. Some of us do have skills.

mikeiver1: I would like to point out to you that, just because I use a Mac is no reason for you to resort to childish name-calling. I am well aware of the limitations and benefits of every platform I have ever worked with be it Mac, Windows, BEOS, Linux, Unix, SCO Xenix, DOS, Double-DOS, Netware, CP/M, or Apple BASIC. And, yes, I even have experience programming an ALTAIR 8800. I have 30+ years of experience to fall back on. Don't assume, dude. That's all I ask.

My point, well you got it.

There are a good number of us that are more than willing to help out, both n00bs and seasoned users. Tony and Ralph have both gone to the extreme of rolling a different kernel in an attempt to fix issues users are having. They will if possible get this sorted out and if they can't they will make it right. That has seemed to be the way they have operated in the past and I doubt it would change with you.

I think that all the pressure over releasing M2 might have lead to the two of them releasing it before the last few bugs could be found and worked out. As we all know, this is par for the course. Kinda sucks for some since it means that they end up playing Guinna pigs, not that Tony or Ralph intended or like to do that to any of us.

Sorry about getting in your a$$ but I have to admit that I get a bit miffed at people going to the kind of post you layed on before even asking for help. Hopefully you find out that I am an a$$hole but a nice one for the most part.

Mike

Bugs is bugs. But advertising a feature that, at best, has to be coaxed out through undocumented means is what one would expect from freeware, not commercial for pay software. As it is, it's an impressive piece of work.

And you are mistaken. I did ask for help. But as Ralph pointed out, by updating my post rather than posting new, he was not alerted that the post had been made. A limitation of phpBB, no doubt.

Also, as it stands, my problem is not totally solved. I am still unable to use Front Row or view videos in full screen. Also, from Ralph's posts to me I believe he was unaware that saving an XviD AVI as a reference movie (.mov) in quicktime causes the mime type to be reported as a QT movie file and allows QT extensions to work in iTunes. This is currently the only way iTunes will import anything but QT mov, mp4, or m4v. The limitation, I would guess, is in NASLite by not being fully compliant with Apple's new DAAP implementation in iTunes 8.0.2. I plan on dusting off an old iMac I have (I know, ewwww.) and upgrading it to OS X to test this theory. If it will share videos normally between iTunes on the iMac and iTunes on the MacBook, then there's the answer. Since my only iTunes for Windows is on my Bootcamp partition, I have no theory as to why videos will not even begin to play in iTunes 8.0.2.20 for Windows from the NASBox. I'll most likely work on that another time, but for now, I really have no interest in playing them with Windows. In fact, I only downloaded iTunes for Windows to test for playability after I found my podcasts wouldn't play from the NL box.

And, BTW, I have no proprietary DRM'ed files. If I can't copy it and play it on whatever I damn well please, I have no use for it. XviD is far from proprietary. It's open source. Philips DVD players even play it (as well as several other brands)! FYI: XviD now streams from my NL box the same (with the same quirks) as mp4/m4v podcasts (that is, you have to start the movie, log in to the webserver on NASLite when prompted using "admin" and [nameOfNASLiteBox] as username and password, click on the empty album art in the lower left corner of iTunes, and video appears--but no full screen). I am streaming an XviD in iTunes as I write this (using the aforementioned .mov reference file created in QT Pro and Perian QT extensions). Way too many hoops to jump through for video no matter what label you put on it, and totally useless in Front Row. And, yes, $35.00 is too much to pay for that (since DAAP was what interested me, I wouldn't have been a NASLite-M2 user otherwise. I would have simply declined my friend's offer to buy it for me and accepted his old NASLite 1.x copy instead).

I find that being an a$$hole takes too much energy. Me? I'd rather be a d**k. But seriously, I'm not trying to be either one. Just stating my observations in an honest manner. If one is going to sell software, then one should make sure it works. If the functionality of said software is not intuitive and requires undocumented features to make it work as intended, then said software should stay in beta until those problems are corrected or documented. IMHO, betas should never cost money. I don't know if NL-M2 qualifies, but it would seem from your comments that it fits as well as any description of beta software I have heard.

Smiles!

Let me step in. Dear Scott, this is not a million dollar business. This about some people trying to supply a decent piece of software for a more than decent price. I found this corner of the Internet by shere chance. My initial installation -not being a newbie either- was troubled. I turned to the forum with questions, just questions. And I got answers. From Ralph, from Tony, from Mikeiver1, from YouNameIt. Never a stupid answer, never a incoherent answer. Eventually I got my NASLite box up and running, and it is running ever since. Everybody who is participating, here, at this forum, is convinced that the software supplied is of extreme quality. That goes for NASLite -2, that goes for NASLite-M2. If you are not capable installing the software, and are not willing to pose questions and wait for comprehensive answers, just uttering vague & wild accusations, you should consider your purchase as a loss. Buy some of the boxes available in the market. Go to Amazon and type 'Network Attached Storage' followed by 'Apple' or 'ITunes'. That'll work.

HTH

It would seem that just about every piece of software released now days is Beta. I don't think that the guys could have found every one of the issues with it by them selves.

To be fair to the guys, they are in uncharted territory with M2. Also they have to deal with Apple working to break any app that is not theirs, just like MicroShaft does, with their "updates" to the software. This is in slight contrast to every other release of software from them that basically worked flawlessly out of the image, all while adding more features and support for more hardware.

If you are game I would recommend you try and stick with it for a bit, I expect that they will get it sorted out fairly soon.

Looking forward to your added input here in the forums.

Mike

PieterB: I don't understand this prevalence toward a, "if you don't know what I already know about software that you have never used, then go away, you retarded n00b" attitude. I also find little help in a "if you do not agree with my opinion, then go away." response. Perhaps your reply to my comments to mikeiver1 are made without the benefit of having read the initial posts. Maybe you should read this thread: http://www.serverelements.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=2800 and perhaps that will shed some light on my opinions.

mikeiver1:

I plan on sticking it out, and thank you. I will report as situations develop. I will also be more than happy to help others install their NL box. This is my 3rd installation. One with NL 1.x, 2nd with NL2, and now NL-M2. I am sure Ralph and Tony are more than cut out for the task.

Scott,

I have to say that I do take offense to parts of your post for a host of reasons, but since your frustration stems from a single functionality that you are trying to squeeze out of NASLite-M2, I'll concentrate my efforts on addressing that alone. The first thing to understand is that NASLite-M2 is not Apple's iTunes. NASLite-M2 offers an embedded DAAP service that, as the name implies, is specifically designed for audio streaming. Expecting it to fully match the native capabilities of iTunes is unrealistic especially for someone of your experience.

Your words: "Bugs is bugs. But advertising a feature that, at best, has to be coaxed out through undocumented means is what one would expect from freeware, not commercial for pay software."

I doubt that you really believe we would advertise a broken feature. The description of NASLite-M2 states as follows: "DAAP clients such as iTunes and other hardware and software-based music players can now stream media from the NASLite-M2 server without the ability to natively mount exported volumes." That feature is not only supported but is fully and stably implemented.

Now with that out of the way, I think that it is fair to say we've done our due diligence to try and help you out with the problem you posted. Streaming video using DAAP is indeed possible and does work with the current implementation. It may work much better after some work, but it will never be as good as native iTunes. Without getting into the technical details of what is involved, I hope you understand that unless we include libraries and code to parse all pertinent container headers or include transcoding support, emulating iTunes in full is clearly outside the scope of NASlite-M2.

Tony,

Please understand that I respect what you are doing here. My comments in no way were meant to offend. Quite the contrary. My attempts at expressing my opinion in an informative way were misconstrued. I took offense to the tone in this thread that I was a Mac fanboy, a n00b, or otherwise disgruntled. None of these apply to my feeling about what is a really great effort on your part.

I don't think anyone who goes to this much effort would intentionally advertise a broken feature. However, your contention that M2 is fully and stably implemented causes me to question what your definition of that might be. Since there is no mention in your documentation of how a user goes about implementing the video part of media streaming (I assume you meant video as well as audio or you would have used "audio" in your description instead of "media"), then I would not agree that DAAP is fully (although stably) implemented.

And the help is appreciated. I do not expect an iTunes clone. But I would hope that the limitations of NASLite-M2 would be either addressed or documented. I was disappointed to find that NL would not stream to Front Row (which uses iTunes as its back end). I understand the problems dealing with a dynamically changing app like iTunes, especially when it seems that Apple is trying to stifle competition by releasing updates designed to break compatibility with 3rd party apps. But, if I understood Ralph correctly, he was aware of the quirks with iTunes 8.0.2 and there was no inclusion of this fact in the user docs that I could find. Nor was there any indication that video streaming would work differently than an iTunes to iTunes share.

I am disappointed that video will not stream without clicking on the album artwork pane or switch to full screen but I can live with the limitations because NL performs great as a NAS and DAAP audio share. I simply took exception to what I perceived as a hostile responses from mikeiver1 and PieterB to my honest posts about the limitations I experienced and lack of adequate documentation explaining those limitations.

On another note: When formatting a storage volume that has NL installed on it, the warning fails to notify that the boot partition will not be reformatted. In fact, I believe it says that all partitions will be removed, leading one to believe that formatting Disk-0 would delete the hard disk installation in the process. I noticed this on both NL-2 and NL-M2. Not a criticism, really. Just might want to make that clear in the next version for those who are new to configuring NASLite. The warning tends to contradict the manual.

Cheers