Two Jobs, One Box
A NAS is often sold as a backup device, but for a lot of households the more exciting use case is turning it into a personal media server: a place to store movies, TV shows, music, and photos that can be streamed straight to a TV or any device on the network, while quietly keeping a protected copy of everything at the same time.
Why HDMI Output Matters
Not every NAS can plug directly into a television, which is what makes models with a built-in HDMI output useful for this specific job. The UGREEN NASync DXP2800 (Rs. 154,762) includes a 4K HDMI output alongside an Intel N100 quad-core processor and 8GB of DDR5 RAM (expandable to 16GB), so it can decode and push high-resolution video to a display without needing a separate media player box in between.
The DXP2800 also supports RAID 1 across its two SATA bays, which mirrors your data across both drives. If one drive fails, your files still exist on the other, which is exactly the kind of protection you want for a library of memories you can’t easily replace, like family photos and videos.
A Budget-Friendly Alternative
If you want similar media-server capability with more bays for a larger library, the UGREEN 65651 NASync DH4300 Plus (Rs. 145,286) is a 4-bay option that also includes 4K HDMI output, along with support for up to 120TB of total capacity across four drives (sold separately) and 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM.
Setting Up the Backup Side
The backup half of this setup doesn’t need to be complicated. Once your movies and photos live on the NAS, you point your phones and computers at it to save new files automatically, and if you’ve configured a mirrored RAID setup like RAID 1, the NAS itself is quietly protecting those files against a single drive failure in the background, with no extra effort on your part after the initial setup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I connect a NAS directly to my TV?
Some models can. The UGREEN NASync DXP2800 and the NASync DH4300 Plus both include a 4K HDMI output, allowing them to connect directly to a television for media playback without a separate streaming device.
What does RAID 1 actually protect against?
RAID 1 mirrors the same data across two drives at once. If one drive fails, your files remain intact on the second drive, which the DXP2800 supports alongside JBOD, Basic, and RAID 0 configurations.
How much RAM does the DXP2800 have for handling media streaming and multitasking?
The DXP2800 comes with 8GB of DDR5 memory, which can be expanded up to 16GB if you need more headroom for running multiple apps or streams at once.
Is a 2-bay NAS enough for a media server, or do I need more bays?
It depends on your library size. A 2-bay unit like the DXP2800 works well if you’re comfortable mirroring two drives for protection, but if you want more raw capacity for a large media collection, a 4-bay option like the DH4300 Plus, supporting up to 120TB, gives you more room to grow.
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