Between high-resolution video clips, B-roll, music, effects, and more, it’s clear that you can never have enough storage when creating professional-grade video content. For instance, one hour of 8K REDCODE RAW 75 footage takes up about 7.29TB, which amounts to 121.5GB per minute, and storage requirements are bound to grow as we move toward 12K or higher resolutions. Even working at 4K resolution can amount to around 741.6GB for an hour of RAW BMPC 24 footage.
So, whether you prefer to shoot in compressed or uncompressed formats, it’s safe to say that the more storage you have on hand to offload and organize your footage, the better. Fortunately, QNAP offers a variety of RAID-compatible storage solutions that can connect to a 10Gb Ethernet network for collaborative projects or directly to your Thunderbolt™ 3-compatible Mac system.
Compact and Versatile
The QNAP TVS-472XT 4-bay enclosure is an excellent starting point for freelancers who want the flexibility to customize the storage and performance as their needs grow. It comes equipped with a 3.1 GHz Intel® Core™ i3 processor and 4GB of DDR4 memory that can be expanded to 64GB for heavier workloads. There is also a PCIe 3.0 x4 slot for compatible expansions.
Another benefit is that its relatively small size allows you to take the enclosure with you to different locations. But don’t let the size fool you. The TVS-472XT can reach read speeds of up to 1158 MB/s using a 10Gb Ethernet connection when four SATA III solid-state drives are installed in RAID 5 configuration. RAID 5 provides the ideal balance between speed and security, since the data are striped across all the drives for fast access, while correction codes called parity bits allow you to recover from drive failures. Another benefit is that you’re able to utilize most of the installed drive capacity.
Mac users with Thunderbolt™ 3 ports can connect directly to the TVS-472XT to enjoy up to 1087 MB/s read and 1024 MB/s write speeds. Transfer speeds can be further enhanced by installing up to two M.2 SSD cache drives. Also, having high-bandwidth 10Gb Ethernet and 40 Gb/s Thunderbolt™ 3 connections give you the flexibility to access files directly from the enclosure instead of losing time by copying them to your local system before editing and exporting them into different formats. Streamline your workflow by using them alongside the 10 Gb/s USB-C and USB-A ports to transfer files directly to the NAS from external drives without having to use a computer as a go-between.
If Thunderbolt™ 3 and 10 Gb/s Ethernet connectivity aren’t a priority, then the TVS-h474 makes an excellent alternative. Powered by a Pentium Gold processor and 8GB of DDR4 memory, it offers many of the same features as the TVS-472XT while delivering sequential read and write speeds of up to 590 MB/s through its dual 2.5Gb Ethernet ports. One of the other main differences is that it has fewer USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports. However, it does include available PCIe 4.0 x16 and PCIe 3.0 x2 slots for expansions. Adding a dual-port 25Gb Ethernet adapter can push read speeds to about 3086 MB/s with compatible devices.
Streamlining Collaboration
For small to medium studios, collaboration between different individuals and departments is paramount. When your projects include a multitude of RAW video, music, effects, and other media files, then the 6-bay TVS-h674 might be the right NAS enclosure for you. It has near-identical features and performance to the TVS-h474, except that is configured with Intel® Core™ i3 or i5 processors, up to 32GB of RAM, and includes a PCIe 4.0 x4 expansion slot.
Additionally, the six-drive capacity enables support of RAID 50 (aka RAID 5+0), which is essentially an enhanced version of RAID 5 that offers improved write speeds and faster rebuilds so you can quickly recover from drive failures, allowing you to focus on meeting deadlines. Built-in Intel® OpenVINO technology uses AI-driven image recognition to help you organize and manage your photos without impacting the performance of other applications.
Enhanced Productivity
If your project has the budget for an 8-bay NAS, then consider the TVS-h874X enclosure. Outfitted with 12th generation Intel® Core™ i9, i7, or i5 processors, 32GB or 64GB of memory, and dual 10Gb Ethernet ports, this system excels at multitasking heavy workloads. Performance can be improved by installing up to two M.2 cache drives and a PCIe 4.0 expansion card into the available slots.
Having the extra drive capacity enables RAID 60. Similar to RAID 5 and 50, RAID 60 stripes data across all the installed drives, but it also uses two parity bits instead of one, offering increased recoveries and better performance when drives fail. However, double parity comes at the cost of slightly slower write speeds and decreased storage space for you to use.
All these enclosures include HDMI ports and support up to 4096 x 2160 resolution displays, so you can view files directly from them. You can also take advantage of their real-time video transcoding capabilities using the integrated Intel® UHD graphics or a separately installed graphics card to encode and decode H.264 videos as they’re streamed to multiple devices. That means your entire team can view projects and clips from their computers, tablets, and phones and offer input without having to leave their desks.
Which QNAP NAS enclosure best fits into your workflow? The 4-bay TVS-472XT, 6-bay TVS-h674, or 8-bay TVS-h874X? Do you prefer accessing data via a network connection or directly using Thunderbolt™ 3? Let us know in the Comments section, below.
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