ReadyNAS Ultra 6 plus vs. Pro 6

[mdgm]

I would go with the Pro 6 personally but it's up to you. For streaming alone no need for the Pro 6 CPU but if you need to transcode (convert video on the fly to a format your device can playback) video to stream it to your device then the Pro 6 is the way to go.

[Flash]

This thread was useful..I'm on the same boat. Not a business user but will be doing streaming/transcoding of HD content. Seems like the general opinion is to go with Pro 6 for the additional CPU power? This is more than I expected to pay but definitely does all I want it to do for the devices I have at home.

It looks like you should definitely shop around on price. When I bought mine the price at Newegg was only $30 different between the Ultra 6 Plus and the Pro 6. Just a few weeks later they've both gone up and the Pro 6 is now $92 more expensive than I paid.

If you're not in a rush I'd start checking prices everyday and be ready to pounce if you see a good deal.

[oozzzii]

Thanks Flash, exactly what I plan to do. Hoping to pay no more than $850 if possible.

[Flash]

Thanks Flash, exactly what I plan to do. Hoping to pay no more than $850 if possible.

I was happy to snag my Pro 6 for $908 at Newegg a few weeks back. Of course I waited until we were up against a storage crunch and couldn't afford the time to shop around very much!

[yoh-dah]

Thanks Flash, exactly what I plan to do. Hoping to pay no more than $850 if possible.

How is NETGEAR going to continue paying for my Ferrari if folks like you keep waiting around for the cheapest price???

[mdgm]

Well with hard drive prices so high at the moment that does push the budget for many. Funds are not unlimited. Before the floods I'd been hoping for drive prices to fall further before buying more ReadyNAS units. Now I'm waiting for prices to come back down. Even upgrading existing units is expensive. Would need to spend about $800 AUD to add 4x3TB drives to my Ultra 6 to expand it. Also as my SeaGate 1.5TB drives (not a very reliable drive, I know, but I've only had one failure so far and that was in a NV+ unit) are not supported in the Pro 6 I can't simply buy a Pro 6 and move the drives across. I'd need to buy a new set of drives.

Edit: That's interesting. Looks like my drives are now listed on the compatibility list for the Pro 6. Maybe I just missed that and hadn't noticed it before or noticed it and forgot about it.

[oozzzii]

[quote="How is NETGEAR going to continue paying for my Ferrari if folks like you keep waiting around for the cheapest price??? [/quote]

I hear you yoh-dah, economy doesn't lend well for the "wants" right now and this purchase falls in that category.

[Flash]

Well with hard drive prices so high at the moment that does push the budget for many. Funds are not unlimited. Before the floods I'd been hoping for drive prices to fall further before buying more ReadyNAS units. Now I'm waiting for prices to come back down. Even upgrading existing units is expensive. Would need to spend about $800 AUD to add 4x3TB drives to my Ultra 6 to expand it.

Exactly. The fact that newer cheaper drives aren't on the HCL doesn't help this issue at all. Money spent on hard drives is just less money going to Netgear...

[oozzzii]

So, thought I should update this thread after my experience with a ReadyNAS device. I pulled the trigger on a lower model and that was clearly the wrong choice. I've owned the Ultra 4 Plus (RNDP400U) for about 3 weeks now, installed PLEX and tested it with my PS3, Roku, Tivo, Media player, etc. I am returning it back to the vendor, mostly because of the poor CPU performance and also because the Tivo support is quiet limited, it only transfers shows without some sort of DRM (hasn't transferred very many).

I am still not willing to spend $900 for the Ultra or Pro 6, doesn't make any IMO and quiet frankly don't need the 6 bays. So I'll be placing an order for the Synology DS412+, which comes with a slightly better CPU, supports PLEX, and is compatible with the drives I already purchased.

Thanks everyone who helped me with this..I still think ReadyNAS is a great product and would consider/recommend it for other things.