Two NAS'es at different locations

[Joepie]

Having read a good amount of NAS posts, I am still doubting about how to best address my needs...

Problem:
- Not very experienced computer (etc.) user(s), with tendency to be lazy with respect to backup's and organization of data
- Interest to store and stream media at / from "centeral" point and if possible and easy to set up then also download Korean soap series (a very nice to have)
- Valuable family photo's on smart phone, multiple camera's and multiple computers (Mac Mini at home, Windows Laptop from work, old Netboook of my wife, XP Desktop of my parents) and several data carries (HD's, CD/DVD's, Memory cards) laying arround somewhere...
- Reasonable music collection (already ripped with iTunes) that I want access more easily (Smart Phone of my wife, Smart TV, hardly used XBOX 360, hardly used AC Ryan HD 2 Mini, my fathers Marantz receiver with DLNA compatibility and soon a wifi-only iPad or Galaxy 10" tablet to be added)

Raid sounds interesting and backups via USB connection also, but not perfect.
- Why not 2 cheaper / 1 single bay NAS'es at different locations? (one at my house and a copy at my parents, with automatic daily copying only new made photo's (and movies)) - then I am pretty much failure and fire & burglar safe (and prepared for all our combined needs)!!!

I have seen these two:
- QNAP TS-112
- Synology DS112j

As well as:
- Western Digital MyBook Live 1 --> 2 TB
- Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Home 1 -- 2 TB

All at comparable price level, but the first two without HDD. However I am pretty sure to have at least 1x pretty up to date 3.5" HDD laying around (and also 1x 2.5" USD HDD of 1 TB).

Which NAS does support this idea (preferably (close to) out of the box)?

 

[RealBeast]

It really depends on your budget, total anticipated storage need, and what features you absolutely need and those that would be nice. If you are lazy, a Linux based box that is not turnkey would be a lot of work. QNAP and Synology make some great products, but don't skimp on the drives -- get quality drives and above all DO NOT rely on this for backup of important data. All of the things you are looking at are storage devices, some with fault tolerance, and the simple WD or Seagate products are far less reliable when you really need the data.

Initially, I would suggest that you get the best single NAS solution that fits your budget and use a good cloud backup service to protect your data. A remote second NAS has potential pitfalls, particularly if you are not actively engaged in maintaining the system.