What Network Attached Storage (NAS) to choose: Synology, Buffalo, LG, D-Link

I wanted to get a Network Attached Storage (NAS) mainly for backing up my videos and photos. I'm also planning to use it as a DLNA server for watching videos on my HDTV. And I want to use it for sharing data between 3 computers.

At first I wanted to get a cheap solution like Buffalo Technology LinkStation Duo 2 TB (2 x 1 TB) Network Attached Storage S-WX2.0TL/R1, but after reading reviews about all Buffalo products decided to get a NAS that is faster and better. Reviews of D-Link DNS-321 2-Bay Network Attached Storage didn't impress me much as well.

Also after reading reviews about these and other Network Attached Storage I decided not to mirror data using RAID-1. The reason is that it seems that if the NAS controller fails, it is very problematic to restore data.

If I wanted to share data only, I would go for Netgear Rangemax Wireless-N Gigabit Router with USB (WNR3500) which allows to get shared access to an external USB storage device like Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 1 TB USB 2.0 Ultra-Portable External Hard Drive


It seems like there are 2 decent alternatives:

1. LG Electronics N2B1D Super Multi NAS Enclosure with Blu-ray Re-Writer ($350)
2. Synology DiskStation 2-Bay (Diskless) Network Attached Storage DS210j (White) ($200)

Both feature
- Gigabit ethernet,
- 3 x USB2.0,
- RAID 0, 1 and JBOD
- DLNA support
- iTunes Server Support.

Synology products have excellent reviews. Besides I really like the community they have, so I prefer Synology DiskStation.

What do you think about these Network Attached Storages? What NAS do you use and how do you like it?

[KevinKillion]

I'm asking the same questions, so I'm curious how it turned out for you. What did you wind up buying, and what have been your experiences with it?
-- Kevin