Freecom Network Media Center

Product: Freecom Network Media Center
Website: www.freecom.com
Specifications: 3.5-inch SATA2 hard drive 500GB/1TB/1.5TB/2TB capacity, Gigabit LAN interface, enclosure 155mmx148mmx43mm, 1.4kg
Price: £147 (1TB)

ANOTHER SOLUTION for those who require centrally accessible storage on a network is Freecom’s Network Media Center, which tilts its cap towards an increasing number of audio and video files that are being shared around the modern home.

A sleek, solid, brushed stainless steel minimalist design simply offers power and Gigabit LAN connectivity and provided in the box are two rubberised supports to both stand the drive upright and offer an acoustic dampening effect for quieter operation.

Setup is straightforward and simply involves connecting the drive, installing the Freecom Network Storage Assistant software supplied and running through a setup wizard through a web browser – the whole process only takes a couple of minutes.

From here it’s possible to configure shared folders, FTP server management and media server configuration to automatically scan shared folders for new media to share across a network.

This is controlled via the Twonkymedia UPnP client, which hasn’t changed over the years and still offers a rather convoluted yet comprehensive array of settings and controls for managing media files and choosing how they are displayed via the device.

The web interface also offers access to the torrent client for downloading direct to the device. This is predictably basic and involves either copying and pasting the torrent URL into the textbox supplied or copying the file itself into the Public folder on the drive. Upload and download limits can be configured for each and progress viewed in both basic and advanced modes, the latter allowing you to control aspects such as seed time/ratio and peer connections. It’s a shame there isn’t a shortcut for quick access to the torrent folder on the drive, and we did have some issues with connecting to trackers before forwarding the necessary ports, but generally there’s just about enough here to initiate and control downloads successfully from afar.

Core functionality is controlled via the Network Storage Assistant utility, from which multiple drives can be located and controlled, shared folders mapped as drives, network settings adjusted along with repair and recovery tools.

Generally, we were impressed by how easy it is to configure and control the Freecom Network Storage, with even advanced settings presented as straightforward as possible. In terms of performance, we noted a reasonably quick random write time of just over two minutes per gigabyte of data, and saw flawless playback of high definition 1080p video across a network.

One particularly impressive aspect of Freecom’s drive is that it’s extremely quiet. During our copy and playback tests (with sound muted) we struggled to detect even a faint whine despite being just a couple of feet away. This was despite the drive being active for over four hours, and it’s notable that it still felt quite cool to the touch after this time.

In Short
Overall it’s quite an impressive showing from Freecom, and despite the fact that the web interface and supplied software is a little basic, this at least allows less experienced users to access core functionality without getting bogged down in needless menus and settings. It’s also quite reasonably priced at €169.99 (£147) for the 1TB model so won’t break the bank. For those who want additional storage to access media across a network independently of a computer, there’s plenty to like with Freecom’s Network Media Center. µ

The Good
Solid, stylish design, quiet, decent performance, reasonably priced.

The Bad
Web interface and general control is a little basic, torrent download client is rather glitchy.

The Ugly
Hard drive is not removable, no enclosure-only option.

Bartender’s Score
8/10