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Linksys Media Hub 405 review

Our Rating :
Price when reviewed : £300
inc VAT

Specifications

2 disk bays, 500GB storage supplied, 1x 10/100/1000Mbit/s Ethernet ports

http://www.ebuyer.com

Linksys emphasises the media-sharing capabilities of its Media Hub 405 NAS.

A program installed on each of your networked PCs automatically copies media files to the Media Hub; you can specify which folders it copies and when it looks for new files. Users can browse files using Windows Explorer or a Flash program that runs in your web browser.

The Flash browser recognises ID3 tags and EXIF data, which makes browsing your music and photos easy. It can even play music and videos if you have the right browser plug-ins installed, although it can’t play DRM-protected songs, and some videos play only if you have an outdated version of the VLC plug-in. You’re better off enjoying your media using a UPnP network media player or program, although iTunes didn’t recognise the Media Hub.

The program’s Home screen shows recently added files, and you can search for files by keyword. Bizarrely, there are no security controls of any kind, so anyone connected to your network can access your files.

You can also upload and download files to and from the Media Hub using the Flash program from any internet-connected computer, although it can feel sluggish over slower internet connections. A free one-year subscription to this remote access service is included, after which it costs $10 (around £7) a year. Annoyingly, some controls, such as uploading multiple files or creating music playlists, only work in Internet Explorer.

A front-mounted memory card reader and controls allow you to back up your photos without using a PC, although it’s slower than using a computer. A tool-free, pop-open door makes adding another internal hard disk quick and easy. Whether configured with a single disk or as RAID 0 or 1 array, the Media Hub performed reasonably well in our benchmarks, coming mid-table. You can also connect USB disks, but there’s no print server built in.

The Media Hub’s media features are slick and useful. However, we can’t recommend this NAS until Lynksys smooths out the rough edges and drops the price.

Basic Specifications

Price £300
Rating **

Storage

Capacity 500GB
Formatted capacity 465GB
Default file system ext3
Price per gigabyte £0.60
Interface SATA 300
3.5in drive bays 2
Free 3.5in drive bays 1
RAID modes RAID 0, RAID 1

Interface

Ethernet ports 1
USB direct access ports (front/rear) 0/0
Other USB ports (front/rear) 1/1
eSATA ports (front/rear) 0/0
Other ports memory card reader

Networking

Ethernet connection speed 10/100/1000Mbit/s
Universal Plug and Play support yes
UPnP media server yes
iTunes yes
Print server no
USB disk server yes
Web server no
FTP server yes
Protocols supported TCP/IP, SMB/CIFS, FTP

Miscellaneous

Size 200x113x165mm
Weight 2.6kg
Vertical positioning yes
Ethernet cable included yes
Additional features remote access, media aggregator
Power consumption idle 17W
Power consumption active 24W

Buying Information

Price £300
Warranty one year RTB
Supplier http://www.ebuyer.com
Details www.linksysbycisco.com

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