Best Router & Disk for Samsung TV UE50MU6172: Wi-Fi Network, DLNA, Toshiba Canvio Basics 1TB

Hello,
I have a Samsung TV UE50MU6172 with Wi-Fi, constant plugging and unplugging the pendrive is tiresome for me, so I wanted to create a network drive at a relatively low cost (that's why I excluded NAS servers).
I am green in the subject, so I ask which Router (price up to about PLN 250 although I would prefer cheaper) will be the best, then which drive to choose (I was thinking about Toshiba Canvio Basics 1TB) to make it all work, because I read that you can use the DLNA protocol that my TV has .
Via wi-fi, I connect mainly to TV, laptop and 2-3 mobile phones.
I wanted to upload movies via PC to a network drive and then play via Wi-Fi on TV. Both the TV, router and PC would be in one room, but unfortunately connecting the TV via cable with other devices, hence the idea of a network drive

Launch the DLNA server on the computer.

https://www.howtogeek.com/215400/how-to-turn-your-computer-into-a-dlna-media-server/

For the price of the router you can buy very decent equipment:
- https://botland.com.pl/przelaczniki-cyfrowe/4...fet-2-20v-ochrona-przed-pradem-wstecznym.html
- http://allegro.pl/serwer-plikow-nas-synology-ds110j-i7049785513.html
- http://allegro.pl/nas-synology-diskstation-ds115j-chmura-streaming-i7044587016.html

There is no point in pushing a router with USB - sometimes with such a configuration (most often) you need to change FW to Alternative and also be able to configure such equipment - it is not all in one - but undoubtedly the cheapest option.

Thank you for your answer, gentlemen,
Bogiebog - I'll check this option when I get home from work, but it seems too good to be true
Hermes-80 - I do not know how it was supposed to work, if I buy such a server for ~ 400 PLN, I will have to connect a portable disk to it, right? It doesn't seem like a particularly cheap solution, what are the advantages of something like this? I am asking because I do not have any special requirements, I mainly care about wireless playback of movies from PC via TV, maybe also sharing music to play it on TV or mobile phone, the rest are "goodies" which I would rather not use anyway

You can easily start the DLNA server on the PC - for this to work, the PC must be turned on.

Quote:

It does not seem like a very cheap solution.

I do not understand your approach: router - 250 disk - 200, NAS - 250 disk 200 - where you see some discrepancy in price.

In addition, connecting the tv to wifi and streaming movies is not a very good solution - in addition, you have other equipment on wifi, which can cause jams at a higher bitrate of the movie.

I meant that the new NAS, specifically the model you wrote about, costs PLN 400, probably a used one costs less, like the one you gave for ~ 250 but looking in this way I can also buy a used router and it will come out less than 250 I am not convinced of used things, because they usually break down quickly, if only because of wear and tear from the previous user.

In short, at the moment the most appropriate solution is:
- NAS server (quite an expensive option)
- server for PC (free option, the downside is PC enabled)

Can there be problems with the file formats / subtitles with the NAS, as with the DLNA server on the PC? I read that with DLNA there is a problem with the mkv format and subtitles in other than srt, fortunately, there are also options to fix it, but the thread was quite old, does anyone know any current, more effective solutions / programs?

And should I definitely exclude the router + external disk option?

You connect the NAS server via LAN to the router you have at home, this is the basis. Preferably a router with Gigabit LAN ports. TV is also best for the router after LAN. In this way, you have a stable performance when playing FHD or 4K movies with high bitrate. You insert a disk into the NAS, it has SATA connectors. Other devices can use the NAS via the WiFi network created by the router. The cost is about PLN 350 plus a disk because I assume that you already have a router at home. Playing mkv files or in another format is a matter for the client, not the NAS, i.e. on the Samsung TV side in your case. When it comes to a router with USB, they usually have a problem playing files with high bitrate (USB only, too weak processor, etc.). Sometimes there are DLNA certificate problems, they only see disks in FAT. for PLN 250 it is difficult to buy a router that can handle high bitrate movie streaming, especially with WiFi and other customers. The NAS is devoid of these problems. A USB router supporting external mass storage + disk is a budget solution, some avi files will work for it. If you care about 4K in decent resolution and files for several dozen GB, then the NAS via the cable to the router and TV is the same.

As a colleague wrote above - problems with playing various formats usually lie on the side of the DLNA client, i.e. TV - Example - Panasonic did not play the mkv format on the bottom and Samsung did - but Panasonic supported smb, which already completely changed things.

If you need to change the router, it is worth buying one with multimedia capabilities, but if the current one works well for you, it is not worth replacing it only for this reason, and it is better to buy a NAS.

Besides, if some format will not work on your PC with the DLNA server running, it will not work on any other DLNA server - because it will be the client's fault.

The problem with customers is usually that when a producer sells a TV, he completely ignores FW updates to him, so waiting for the situation to improve does not make sense.

It is best to buy TVs that support the smb / nfs network protocols to cut off the client-server service.

@ Kickers86
Watching (and implicitly copying) movies weighing several GB via wifi in the router for PLN 250 - good luck.

You do not have to worry about the used NAS Synology, Qnap - they are not assembled in China and in Taiwan, you can safely buy used ones.
For this there must be a LAN connection - forget about wifi.
The ports in the router are only 1 Gb (although the TV is probably only 100 Mb) - but the LAN network must be efficient.
I think that you should add a lot to your assumptions up to PLN 250 - of course you do not have to listen to our advice, but you will understand your mistake after purchasing cheaper solutions - after all, the money is yours .

Gentlemen,
I am afraid of the situation when I invest in a NAS server and it turns out that I cannot play files in the .mp4 or .mkv format, I am writing about this because with the advice of the user Bogiebog, I created a DLNA server on a PC and even though my TV played movies in the aforementioned formats with a pendrive connected directly to it, it did not play them with the "DLNA for PC" server option, maybe it has to do with the Windows Media player which acted as an intermediary in this situation?
Therefore, I have a fundamental question, will connecting such a NAS server will allow me to play files in the .mp4, .mkv etc format? Because if I create such a server and I will not be able to run films anyway, the whole idea loses its sense and I will stay with the option of plugging and unplugging the pendrive

Uninstall DLNA from PC.
Share directory on PC, insert video files there and check if TV can see / play these files.
If so, the NAS will work just like PC file sharing.

And you just ran into the problem of a bad DLNA client on TV - Install PS3 Media Server and check (without transcoding) - if they don't work, they won't go on NAS or DLNA router.

What TV model is it - look for a FW update for TV?

Bogiebog - I'll check as soon as I get home, thanks
The Hermes-80 TV is Samsung's UE50MU6172. I had a plan to check some programs for this DLNA, so far I heard "Serviio" I will check later what effects and let me know, maybe it will help someone in the future

For me, the UE32H5303AW is calmly playing mkv via miniDLNA on the router.
Update the FW for TV if there is a newer version via its menu.

bogiebog wrote:

Uninstall DLNA from PC.
Share directory on PC, insert video files there and check if TV can see / play these files.
If so, the NAS will work just like PC file sharing.

I have not met Samsung with CIFS support

Kickers86 wrote:

I'm afraid of the situation when I invest in a NAS server and it turns out that I can't play files in .mp4 or .mkv format

But it's not the NAS that recreates them! - his task is to store and share.

Kickers86 wrote:

The TV is Samsung's UE50MU6172. I had a plan to check some programs for this DLNA, so far I heard "Serviio" I will check later what effects and let me know, maybe it will help someone in the future

After all, Samsung itself has its own application for Windows, where such a DLNA server starts.