Storage solution firm Thecus has developed a new version of their N2100 NAS appliance which adds new features and support for digital media standards.
First, a recap on the old N2100. We reviewed it at the beginning of 2006. It supports two SATA hard disks (up to 750GB in capacity each) in RAID and has a web interface not dissimilar from the N4100. We found that it wasn't the quickest network device in the world, but its features, which include an iTunes server, would make it desirable to some.
The N2100BM is a black model, and it comes with software that has a DLNA certification. The Digital Living Network Alliance is a consortium of manufacturers of digital home related products. DLNA certified products are able to communicate with each other, making it somewhat easier to get everything on that home network playing nicely. The 'Mediabolic' media server present on the N2100BM allows other devices, such as IP set-top boxes, digital media adapters and so on, to access data on the NAS box.
Thecus CEO, Edwin Lin, is positive about the adoption of standardised technology:
Meeting both UPnP specifications and DLNA Certification, the N2100BM makes digital media easily accessible over virtually any network. We are thrilled to have developed the N2100BM with Mediabolic technology, and are looking forward to further collaboration between our two companies in the future
Digital home hardware is still quite in the innovatory stage, but as standards gain momentum, it's important to be onboard, so providing DLNA proves a valuable standard to have, Thecus might have a product on which data can be stored for use with a range of other products.
