Great comparison, I watched your WD My Cloud vids too but still went for the Seagate for the specific reasons you pointed out. After watching your vids this last one convinced me to subscribe, like your clear voice and your English phonetics is quite easy to pick up and sounds very universal, your mannerism and friendly approach is also a plus. Please do continue the good job.
You talk very fast but you talk with so much sense and useful information. I came here sidetracked when I was actually looking at ways on how to better configure my My Cloud. Thank you for this thing that you do. And I do hope that WD updates their firmware as well so that users can interface with My Cloud using more flexible configurations.
Thanks for the comparison. I've been trying to decide between the two and this comparison really told me about all the things that the marketing materials would rather we not know. It seems like the My Cloud will be the direction I end up going.
***** What I'm really looking for is flexible sharing. I plan to move my media Library to a standalone DLNA server that I can point XBMC to. Have you tried XBMC on either of these drives yet?
I had the WDMyCloud (4TB) for 11 days before it got a red light (of death) so I returned it and went with the Seagate. Maybe I had a lemon but I just didn't feel comfortable getting another one.
It seems you post videos on almost everything im thinking about purchasing haha. Im glad ive stumbled across this today and I have 2x4tb and 1x1tb= 9TB external hard drive system setup to my touchscreen computer that I use for backing up digital photos and movies but I need a NAS drive and I found this one for £179.99 but ive always been a bit sceptical about Seagate as ive had a nightmare with there drives in the past. I think I may just stick with western digital as there software functionality is more plausible than Seagate. Again great video and thanks
Thanks Lon for the review, I saw the Seagate Central and it was cheaper than the WD My Cloud, then I saw both your reviews and I can see that the Seagate has a lot of "it can't" stuff. I'd be getting a WD My Cloud instead.
great review!! still can't decide which one to buy, transfer rate is important, hopefully seagate will update the firmware to add those my cloud features
Great indepth reviews on both the Seagate and the MyCloud, you are now my go to guy for this info, like Budger commented in a previous post I also went for the Seagate over the WD and your reviews gave me the ammo I need to get the one that suits my needs.so many thanks for your in depth analysis. Regarding the ability to add an external drive to both and although the Seagate can't do what the WD does and use the added drive as additional back up, am I correct in saying that the drive added to the Seagate shows up on your network and files can then be dragged and dropped from the Seagate to that drive and although its a very convoluted way of doing it , isn't it possible to back up the Seagate in that manner?. Also do you think Seagate could possibly upgrade the software some time to allow that facility to mirror the WD's capability's ?
Has the firmware/software been updated to fix any of the issues you mentioned in the video? Or it still better to get the WD cloud device. Thank you for your videos I came looking for Seagate Central Review and have now started watch many of your videos. Very good productions I must say.
Hi Lon - your review was over a year ago - has the firmware etc improved on the Seagate since then? I am just about to get one of these, and your review is fantastic - all the information I need - and I am leaning now towards WD - just want to make sure nothing has changed dramatically in that time?? Thanks
Hi Lon, Have you followed the software updates for this device? Nine months later, do you still prefer the My Cloud? I'm looking to buy one of them, but I don't need a lot of the advanced features. I'm primarily interested in on-the-fly back up of my laptop data over my home network (and it's just me). I may also use it at some point as a media server.
I have both central and WD cloud. Same thing as on your video. I bought wd because on your video your review was Great. I as bought this wd it had more issues than seagate central. The sad thing is WD have problems on remote access. 98% of the time is offline. I tried everything. As i research it online about this issue. Many people having this same problem that even WD president apologize on its server. I even changed my wd cloud to a new wd cloud. But sadly same thing. My seagate central runs smoothly online though it has its downtime but not as most as the wd. If i will have a chance to return or refund this product i will. But i have some important files uploaded on this wd cloud. So i cant return it and swap it. I'am stuck with this product. 👎 wd never again.
May i ask, after you have used this 2 products, which one you feel that more "user friendly"? I like your reviews. and which 1 you will recommend for office use? Thank you.
I have a DLINK 2750U modem and I can simply connect a wired USB drive to it. The speeds are low. Maybe 1mb per second at times when transferring files. however, I think considering it is free, I can't complain. So users may want to check if their modem/router supports such a config.
Great comparison! One of the best I've seen on any 2 products! Anyway, just a question. I learned from your video that the Seagate is faster than WD MyCloud. But how does the MyCloud perform when watching HD videos/movies via a streamer/player? I have a WDTVlivehub which I use to store movies and I'm able to watch those movies via wifi/ethernet thru another player/PS3 in another room. If the movies play out fine from the MyCloud, then the speed different won't be an issue to me. Thanks in advance!
Hi Lon, I was just wondering if firmware updates have been released for the app or the drive itself that has improved things for you. I'd appreciate it if you can get back to me on this. Keep up the good work. Thanks.
Hi Lon, Since your review has the Seagate Central. Has it had any updates from Feb when you reviewed it? on the end of your video you said to watch out if any updates had been done. I am very interested since I am deciding between the cloud and central. I do like the fact the cloud has more features and that you can back it up easily off a usb 3 to another drive, but the speeds on the central intrigue me and am curious to know if any update son the firmware/software for either have been done. especially on the Seagate? Great review by the way. Cheers
Ah okay, so the read/write speed now on the cloud has improved, since this video? It seemed like the central was close to double the speed? Thanks for the quick response and I will definitely look into the synology drives too. Also I was wondering since it's been over a year if there was any word on a new model for either of these devices? Pity you don't have the central anymore, it would be good to know if any of the firmware updates have fixed some of its issues and the mobile phone app. Cheers Again
Hi Lon .. your videos on WD mycloud are very precise yet informative. My question is how mycloud is accessible wover internet when it would in a private home network.
Hi Lon, I guess the biggest question I'd like to ask is with regards to the USB port available on both the Seagate Central and WD MyCloud. My question is that is it possible for me to have 2 or more external hard drives to be connected to either one of them [Seagate Central or WD MyCloud] via a USB hub? As thus, utilizing my existing external hard drives which I'm currently accessing via a USB hub instead of migrating all the data into either one of those network drives [Seagate Central or WD MyCloud].
Thanks for your videos talking about WD My Cloud. However, I am wondering whether it is difficult to set up time machine on WD My Cloud?? Because I am thinking about to get a WD My Cloud or the Time Capsule.
Hi Lon, great vid, was researching this product today and stumbled across this brilliant review... Thinking about picking up the seagate, main use will be music flac files via my sonos connect, the sonos forums state a nas must have "CIFS / SMB file sharing protocol",, i did not find any literature that confirms if the seagate has this, any idea's ??
I noticed that the WD Mycloud has its own webserver running on it. I am eager to see if its possible to ssh into the drive and add to the server. A website or even a Linux version of Owncloud. would make a interesting video
You mentioned Synology has the best at home beginner NAS such as the Central or Cloud. Which i make or model would you recommend for like a 4TB in the same price range?
Nice video though I sit here pondering my options. I currently have a 2TB Seagate central thats all hooked up and works "ok"...I would certainly not call it fast when transferring files, Infact i think its pretty slow & especially so when trying to get to files remotely. I have it hooked up to a ASUS RT-N66U. Yesterday i received a WD My Cloud 3TB, But im not sure if its worth keeping to replace my Central. One last thing about the Central is that the remote access features seem to have some sort of subscription fee after 3 years use....Surely seagate wont start charging people to remotely access there NAS?
***** Oh yeh Wireless transfers can be a real pain, Thus I rarely use it that way unless im away from home. In work we have a 100Mb Fibre connection that as you can imagine runs SUPER fast, But trying to download a 1Gb file of the Seagate is the most painstaking wait ever....Im talking many hours. I have noticed this trend no matter where i go...and this is using wired connections. I ponder if the My Cloud is faster in this sense. Thank you for your swift reply & keep up the great work :)
I just bought the Seagate Central yesterday and I'm planning to return it because of my "ACTIVE" status expiring in three years. You mention purchasing additional seats but how much functionality will I lose in 3 years if I don't subscribe? I saw in another review that a new version is due to release in March 2015. Any thoughts?
Hi lon, greater review! Can I just ask will both of these work if I was to use it to put all my films on and then stream using my ipad but at the same time air play the steaming content from my ipad to the my Apple TV?
Hi Lon, the best comparative video I have seen to make a decision I am making to buy NAS. I will be buying the seagate central- my primary usage is intranet usage. Can you comment on the ethernet cable that comes in the box, is it Cat5e or Cat6? Also, since the ethernet transfer speeds, as you suggested are below 100MBps, will it make a difference is I use the traditional Cat5 Vs Cat 6?
Hi ***** I understand from the video that wireless transfer rates will vary depending on a lot of variables. What is the approximate wireless transfer rates that you have seen for uploads and downloads? an estimate is fine
Do you know if it is possible to use the USB port for a print server (to plug in my printer)? I've read somewhere that it is possible although it is not advertised...
I Would think that If you set up a static address on the My Cloud & a static address on a PC NIC, you could use a crossover cable to directly connect... I have not tried this, should work.
Hi Lon This is brilliant thank you so much! Like Susan before me I am wondering about any changes since the review was made. I have a WD MY Cloud and it has caused me so much grief, especially when plugging in a USB drive. I am thinking of replacing it, but from your review, I think Seagate Central will be a backward step.
G'Day Lon, Great videos - really appreciate the effort you've put in! I'm trying to find a device that I can backup my Mac to, as well as operate wirelessly through my iPad and iPhone however the most important thing for me is being able to play media directly from my AppleTV. From your videos I see that neither the Central or My Cloud can do this - I'm wondering if there is an all-in-one system that can? I'd also need functionality that would allow me to create multiple levels of sub-folders, as well as password protection for personal files Have you come across anything? Hope to hear from you soon. Ryan
***** thanks for the quick response. iTunes match seems like a good idea & I guess for movies I can always just play the movie through iTunes and air play it to Apple TV. Would the Synology DS214se be your recommendation?
hi, very nice video....well i would like to ask you...if i put my chrome download path at the seagate, are the downloads going to be direct from the router to the seagate? or it will use my pc as buffer and then send it to the seagate? many salutes from Greece
Ok Lon, So I'm hoping you can help me.... My set up is as follows; Netgear Nighthawk R7000 router, with a Seagate Central 3tb connected, LG 55UB820V Smart TV (DLNA Certified) connected to the router via ethernet. My problem is my TV won't see any of the files on the Seagate NAS. The TV will SEE the NAS (It comes up as SCSSDLNA-Server) but when I go to view the TV just says 'No File'. The files are only .avi or .mp4 which I have had playing via a USB connection previously so I know the TV can play them. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong? It's a completely new set up, do I need to change a setting on the NAS or router? I've tried wired and wireless connections with my TV but nothing. Any suggestions? I'm hoping it's something simple. PS, totally sub'd :)
Since I installed Sierra My Seagate Central will not run Time Machine. Any ideas? I was thinking about dumping it but my needs are pretty simple. All I want is a simple Time Machine Backup. GREAT videos!!!!! Can you run Time Machine on Drop Box or any of the online sites?
Doing a speed test on my 4TB my cloud using Crystal Disk Mark 3 after mapping as a network drive my speed results were 55.09 MB/s Read 29.82 MB/s Write which is a faster result than you had. Nice compassion.
Great video ! but two questions: 1 - I want to back up my MAC, To do the first time machine back up for the GB's of data, can i cant via ethernet to make this faster? 2 - is it possible to partition both devices? I want to get a 4TB drive, and use 2TB for time machine and 2TB for other random storage, movies, photo back up from the phone etc. Thannks ! Matt
***** Thanks Lon,i didnt want my timemachien backup consuming the whole HDD was all, but the more i look at it, the more im tempted to bite the bullet and just go synology ! The 214se and J units are very affordable now.
I think you are frying the Seagate console a bit too much bruh. Otherwise thanks it was an informative video. Also please consider that the price of those two products is different, and you also have to buy additional NAS HDD for the My Cloud unit , which actually makes it twice as expensive and little over that. cheers
Watch out for the v4 firmware upgrade for the WD MyCloud. I have spent 2 days with tech support with no resolution. Also, many on the WD community forums are having similar issues.
I have heard that the MyCloud has some issues with stopping the disc from constantly spinning, even when inactive. Can you confirm this? With the remote access issues sorted out this is the only thing preventing me from swapping my seagate central for a mycloud.
before a couple week ago, WD my cloud have a patch to fix stop-disk-problem. I have used 4TB seagate Central. and 8TB WD My Cloud EX4 for several monthes I think, Seagate Central is simple and easy and a product for family. but WD My Cloud is just a NAS.. a small NAS.
Hello Lon - have you seen issues with My Cloud drive going offline frequently? i bought mine 5 days ago and two times already it went offline and I had to hard boot the drive.
I think it is not a good comparison. Seagate Central function what a typical network storage does. Copy network data to be available to anyone in the network. Plus the reviewr did not mention about other use such as you can attached a printer to serve as network printer in the usb port. WD my cloud as what its name is it act as a personal cloud. Even WD did not want to mention that the product is a NAS.. As its said its a cload and does what cload application do.
Hi Lon, This video was almost close to what I was looking for. I am looking to buy a NAS like the one in this video but WITH RAID. What is your opinion about following 1)Seagate STBN Business Storage 4TB 2)Buffalo LinkStation 420 LS420D 4TB . Does any one of them have same features of CLOUD like WD Cloud has, like accessing data from any device from any where? Any Suggestions?
***** Thank you I will subscribe. Meanwhile, I have found 2 models of WD with RAID version 1)WD My Book Live Duo and 2)WD My Cloud EX4. Does both are Cloud or only the second one? The first one is 2-BAY and second one is 4-BAY. I would prefer 2-BAY with cloud. But I dint find in WD. Any idea about WD My Book Live Duo supports Cloud?
Kaleemullah Mohammed WD just introduced a new model : WD My Cloud EX2, which is a two bay version of the EX4. Both support the cloud connection. Both work on your internal network as well.
***** Lon, can I suggest you use different testing methodology to test out the drives. Something like Robocopy would give better and more consistent results than the AJA code (which really isn't a benchmarking program).If you look at Smallnetbuilder.com, they show the My Cloud as one of the faster performing NAS products in its class.
Hey Lon, i noticed you mentioned that wd my cloud will not stream to ios devices, the reason im asking is i have a huge music library on a mac environment and i would like to stream it to my iphone when away from home. Is there any way to get around this?
It uses one of the latest versions of Twonky Media server - which imo is the best DLNA server out there. As far as iso files - DLNA does not support isos. You can store iso files on your server, then mount them in a player such as WDTV.
Not sure what the technical term is - but so you can stream/watch direct to your personal cloud as opposed to copying to and playing on your phone/tablet.
I've just got the wd and my write speeds are around 85mb a second. I transferred 570gb of video data in just over 2 hours. Not done a read test but i assume it will be faster.
Hell Lon, my Seagate Nas DLNA all of sudden is giving me isssues, It's been working all this while with no issues, all of a sudden the twonk server cannot see the data in my public folder. Any solution?
Im thinking of getting the Seagate one to serve as a mapped network drive for my Steam games and as scratch directory for After effects. Do you think the read and write speeds can deliver?
I want to ask why do I require WD my cloud if I can access my external hard drive through my router? Is there something different which I am not aware. Cloud drive is $50 costly then normal external hard drive of the same size.
cant the administrator assign passwords? if the administrator configures passwords through the Seagate app .....they then retain control over the group.....
what's the seagate media center like for mp3 playback? I have a huge music collection and the experience with Samsung sync using Samsung Smart TV is abysmally bad. Takes minutes to scroll down and has no proper album play / by track number. It seems to be these apps by the TV manufacturers aren't really tested against big music / video libraries, as they are very slow even over LAN. it should be possible to run a player on TV to listen to my collection (as I do with WinAMP on my PC).
well when you say locally, obviously I have my mp3 files on my (LAN) network, so that should be fine. I think the problem with the built in Samsung software is that it probably does not cache the file list, so it might read 30,000 titles whenever I start the Smart Hub (but I might be wrong about this). Just hope the app is allowed to store all file locations after reading the mp3 folder for the first time. I have never bought anything from iTunes but then I wouldn't have enough bandwidth allowance for streaming from the cloud anyway.
***** How does Apple's iTunes cloud compare to Google Music? Google music is free however for 20 000 songs uploaded, not including songs you buy from google.
I have important files on my computer and I need to buy external hard drive or nas. Is this product right to buy?( I have a few computers in the house where I work and I needed a common storage location or I carry external hard drive all the time)
Hi Lon, Thanks for the review. How can I use this Seagate Central without ethernet cable, just using wireless as describe at 00:55 Thanks in advance Ash from Australia
Lon. Do you know If i can stream video save on the MyCloud directly via my IPAD interface? Or do I have to download them first. I want to be able to access my MyCloud while travelling and play videos on my IPAD. If not possible with MyCloud is this possible with the Seagate Central?
Thanks Lon. I am still debating which one to get. From your video the MyCloud seems better. Typically I have alot of videos and files that I want store on the drive. And access remotely if I am on vacation. Streaming movies is important to me. Do I have to download the videos first or stream them directly from my IPAD? Also to copy my files to the MyCloud you can copy them via the USB right which would be faster? That would be preferred over the wifi network. I appreciate you comments.
hello. I can not access my seagate center. and I do not know if my nickname or/and my password is the problem. I check the webside seagate support and could not solve anything. I could only change the account that I have with them on the Internet, not the one that is in the seagate center. I hit a button underneath the hard drive and does nothing. is there any way I can do to resolve this? thank you..
The Seagate Central has a massive security hole that their technical support department say is by design and that I should have bought one of their business class NASs. I wrote about it here, but basically ALL users (admin or otherwise) can access ALL other users' data via SFTP - netizensmith.org.uk/wp/?p=92
Thank you, I don't like giving my user password to Tappin... To access your child folders, you can ask them for theirs passwords. But anyway, everything is getting in the public folder... (backups). So it is pretty risky to open it in FTP at distance...
Great comparison, I watched your WD My Cloud vids too but still went for the Seagate for the specific reasons you pointed out. After watching your vids this last one convinced me to subscribe, like your clear voice and your English phonetics is quite easy to pick up and sounds very universal, your mannerism and friendly approach is also a plus. Please do continue the good job.
You talk very fast but you talk with so much sense and useful information. I came here sidetracked when I was actually looking at ways on how to better configure my My Cloud. Thank you for this thing that you do. And I do hope that WD updates their firmware as well so that users can interface with My Cloud using more flexible configurations.
Love your reviews, you are pointing very important details, and making it simple enough to understand. Keep up the good work. Cheers
Ty Lon, I have worked my way through all your Videos on NAS and they have been a great help in coming to a decision on what NAS to buy, keep it up.
Thanks for the comparison. I've been trying to decide between the two and this comparison really told me about all the things that the marketing materials would rather we not know. It seems like the My Cloud will be the direction I end up going.
***** What I'm really looking for is flexible sharing. I plan to move my media Library to a standalone DLNA server that I can point XBMC to. Have you tried XBMC on either of these drives yet?
I had the WDMyCloud (4TB) for 11 days before it got a red light (of death) so I returned it and went with the Seagate. Maybe I had a lemon but I just didn't feel comfortable getting another one.
It seems you post videos on almost everything im thinking about purchasing haha. Im glad ive stumbled across this today and I have 2x4tb and 1x1tb= 9TB external hard drive system setup to my touchscreen computer that I use for backing up digital photos and movies but I need a NAS drive and I found this one for £179.99 but ive always been a bit sceptical about Seagate as ive had a nightmare with there drives in the past. I think I may just stick with western digital as there software functionality is more plausible than Seagate. Again great video and thanks
Lon, Thank you for your product reviews.
Now I have a better idea on what product to buy.
Thanks Lon for the review, I saw the Seagate Central and it was cheaper than the WD My Cloud, then I saw both your reviews and I can see that the Seagate has a lot of "it can't" stuff. I'd be getting a WD My Cloud instead.
Defiantly the WD My Cloud seems to be the better choice, thanks for in-depth review.
great review!! still can't decide which one to buy, transfer rate is important, hopefully seagate will update the firmware to add those my cloud features
From Amazon reviews, most people complain about the slowness of seagate. Thus, WD is a winner without any reservation
Nice comparison. Wonder why the MyCloud is so slow, especially since WD do networking now.
Great indepth reviews on both the Seagate and the MyCloud, you are now my go to guy for this info,
like Budger commented in a previous post I also went for the Seagate over the WD and your reviews gave me the ammo I need to get the one that suits my needs.so many thanks for your in depth analysis.
Regarding the ability to add an external drive to both and although the Seagate can't do what the WD does and use the added drive as additional back up, am I correct in saying that the drive added to the Seagate shows up on your network and files can then be dragged and dropped from the Seagate to that drive and although its a very convoluted way of doing it , isn't it possible to back up the Seagate in that manner?.
Also do you think Seagate could possibly upgrade the software some time to allow that facility to mirror the WD's capability's ?
Thanks for your prompt response.
Has the firmware/software been updated to fix any of the issues you mentioned in the video? Or it still better to get the WD cloud device.
Thank you for your videos I came looking for Seagate Central Review and have now started watch many of your videos. Very good productions I must say.
Hi Lon - your review was over a year ago - has the firmware etc improved on the Seagate since then? I am just about to get one of these, and your review is fantastic - all the information I need - and I am leaning now towards WD - just want to make sure nothing has changed dramatically in that time??
Thanks
Hi Lon,
Have you followed the software updates for this device? Nine months later, do you still prefer the My Cloud? I'm looking to buy one of them, but I don't need a lot of the advanced features. I'm primarily interested in on-the-fly back up of my laptop data over my home network (and it's just me). I may also use it at some point as a media server.
I have both central and WD cloud. Same thing as on your video. I bought wd because on your video your review was Great. I as bought this wd it had more issues than seagate central. The sad thing is WD have problems on remote access. 98% of the time is offline. I tried everything. As i research it online about this issue. Many people having this same problem that even WD president apologize on its server. I even changed my wd cloud to a new wd cloud. But sadly same thing. My seagate central runs smoothly online though it has its downtime but not as most as the wd. If i will have a chance to return or refund this product i will. But i have some important files uploaded on this wd cloud. So i cant return it and swap it. I'am stuck with this product. 👎 wd never again.
excellent review Lon! Thanks a lot! this is what ive been searching for the past week!
May i ask, after you have used this 2 products, which one you feel that more "user friendly"? I like your reviews. and which 1 you will recommend for office use? Thank you.
Thats a real nice smart TV, I wish I had one!
well, i wish i had one
Right click COMPUTER, click MAP NETWORK DRIVE. It CAN be connect similarly to a USB external hard drive.
Great Job, which one would have the better backup software, for backing up incremental differential sets.
I have a DLINK 2750U modem and I can simply connect a wired USB drive to it. The speeds are low. Maybe 1mb per second at times when transferring files. however, I think considering it is free, I can't complain. So users may want to check if their modem/router supports such a config.
Great comparison! One of the best I've seen on any 2 products! Anyway, just a question. I learned from your video that the Seagate is faster than WD MyCloud. But how does the MyCloud perform when watching HD videos/movies via a streamer/player? I have a WDTVlivehub which I use to store movies and I'm able to watch those movies via wifi/ethernet thru another player/PS3 in another room. If the movies play out fine from the MyCloud, then the speed different won't be an issue to me. Thanks in advance!
Thanks for the insight, i'm in the market for wireless hard drive and seagate vs WD are lined up
Hi Lon, I was just wondering if firmware updates have been released for the app or the drive itself that has improved things for you. I'd appreciate it if you can get back to me on this. Keep up the good work. Thanks.
Hi Lon, Since your review has the Seagate Central.
Has it had any updates from Feb when you reviewed it? on the end of your video you said to watch out if any updates had been done. I am very interested since I am deciding between the cloud and central. I do like the fact the cloud has more features and that you can back it up easily off a usb 3 to another drive, but the speeds on the central intrigue me and am curious to know if any update son the firmware/software for either have been done. especially on the Seagate?
Great review by the way.
Cheers
Ah okay, so the read/write speed now on the cloud has improved, since this video? It seemed like the central was close to double the speed? Thanks for the quick response and I will definitely look into the synology drives too.
Also I was wondering since it's been over a year if there was any word on a new model for either of these devices?
Pity you don't have the central anymore, it would be good to know if any of the firmware updates have fixed some of its issues and the mobile phone app.
Cheers Again
Thanks lon
Thanks for that info. Now I am narrowing it down to My Cloud and Apple Time Capsule what are your thoughts?
Hi Lon .. your videos on WD mycloud are very precise yet informative. My question is how mycloud is accessible wover internet when it would in a private home network.
I've also found the transfer speeds to be slow. As a drive just to store files it does the job.
Very good comparison. Have you compared wd Mycloud 2tb and wd Mybook duo 4tb boxes? Do they have the same access speed and functionality?.
Hi Lon, I guess the biggest question I'd like to ask is with regards to the USB port available on both the Seagate Central and WD MyCloud.
My question is that is it possible for me to have 2 or more external hard drives to be connected to either one of them [Seagate Central or WD MyCloud] via a USB hub? As thus, utilizing my existing external hard drives which I'm currently accessing via a USB hub instead of migrating all the data into either one of those network drives [Seagate Central or WD MyCloud].
Thanks for your videos talking about WD My Cloud. However, I am wondering whether it is difficult to set up time machine on WD My Cloud?? Because I am thinking about to get a WD My Cloud or the Time Capsule.
Hi Lon, great vid, was researching this product today and stumbled across this brilliant review...
Thinking about picking up the seagate, main use will be music flac files via my sonos connect, the sonos forums state a nas must have "CIFS / SMB file sharing protocol",, i did not find any literature that confirms if the seagate has this, any idea's ??
Good comparison
I noticed that the WD Mycloud has its own webserver running on it. I am eager to see if its possible to ssh into the drive and add to the server. A website or even
a Linux version of Owncloud. would make a interesting video
Great comparison thanks for the video
Yararlı bir ön bilgi oldu teşekkürler.
Kişisel bilgilerine uzaktan ulaşmak isteyenler için. WiFi ile kullanışlı fakat Mobil operatör /cep ile bağlanılamıyor.
You mentioned Synology has the best at home beginner NAS such as the Central or Cloud. Which i make or model would you recommend for like a 4TB in the same price range?
Nice video though I sit here pondering my options. I currently have a 2TB Seagate central thats all hooked up and works "ok"...I would certainly not call it fast when transferring files, Infact i think its pretty slow & especially so when trying to get to files remotely. I have it hooked up to a ASUS RT-N66U. Yesterday i received a WD My Cloud 3TB, But im not sure if its worth keeping to replace my Central. One last thing about the Central is that the remote access features seem to have some sort of subscription fee after 3 years use....Surely seagate wont start charging people to remotely access there NAS?
***** Oh yeh Wireless transfers can be a real pain, Thus I rarely use it that way unless im away from home. In work we have a 100Mb Fibre connection that as you can imagine runs SUPER fast, But trying to download a 1Gb file of the Seagate is the most painstaking wait ever....Im talking many hours. I have noticed this trend no matter where i go...and this is using wired connections. I ponder if the My Cloud is faster in this sense. Thank you for your swift reply & keep up the great work :)
I just bought the Seagate Central yesterday and I'm planning to return it because of my "ACTIVE" status expiring in three years. You mention purchasing additional seats but how much functionality will I lose in 3 years if I don't subscribe? I saw in another review that a new version is due to release in March 2015. Any thoughts?
Great presentation so easy to listen to and very good at explanations
Hi lon, greater review! Can I just ask will both of these work if I was to use it to put all my films on and then stream using my ipad but at the same time air play the steaming content from my ipad to the my Apple TV?
Hi Lon, the best comparative video I have seen to make a decision I am making to buy NAS. I will be buying the seagate central- my primary usage is intranet usage. Can you comment on the ethernet cable that comes in the box, is it Cat5e or Cat6? Also, since the ethernet transfer speeds, as you suggested are below 100MBps, will it make a difference is I use the traditional Cat5 Vs Cat 6?
Thanks for the reply Lon. I just ordered a 3tb one for $115 after your reply. Cheers!!
Hi ***** I understand from the video that wireless transfer rates will vary depending on a lot of variables. What is the approximate wireless transfer rates that you have seen for uploads and downloads? an estimate is fine
cool.... thanks a lot again!!
Do you know if it is possible to use the USB port for a print server (to plug in my printer)? I've read somewhere that it is possible although it is not advertised...
Hi Lon.
Which one is better WD my Cloud or Apple Airport Time Capsule?
I Would think that If you set up a static address on the My Cloud & a static address on a PC NIC, you could use a crossover cable to directly connect... I have not tried this, should work.
Hey..thanks for the video.. any updates so far to the Seagate firmware??
Hi Lon,
Are these network drives create thumbnails when uploading photos, like Synology nas does, which can take very very long time?
Thank you!!
Hi Lon This is brilliant thank you so much! Like Susan before me I am wondering about any changes since the review was made. I have a WD MY Cloud and it has caused me so much grief, especially when plugging in a USB drive. I am thinking of replacing it, but from your review, I think Seagate Central will be a backward step.
G'Day Lon,
Great videos - really appreciate the effort you've put in!
I'm trying to find a device that I can backup my Mac to, as well as operate wirelessly through my iPad and iPhone however the most important thing for me is being able to play media directly from my AppleTV. From your videos I see that neither the Central or My Cloud can do this - I'm wondering if there is an all-in-one system that can? I'd also need functionality that would allow me to create multiple levels of sub-folders, as well as password protection for personal files
Have you come across anything?
Hope to hear from you soon.
Ryan
***** thanks for the quick response. iTunes match seems like a good idea & I guess for movies I can always just play the movie through iTunes and air play it to Apple TV. Would the Synology DS214se be your recommendation?
A year on would you still recommend the WD my cloud or has Seagate bought out some new updates?
hi, very nice video....well i would like to ask you...if i put my chrome download path at the seagate, are the downloads going to be direct from the router to the seagate? or it will use my pc as buffer and then send it to the seagate? many salutes from Greece
Ok Lon, So I'm hoping you can help me.... My set up is as follows; Netgear Nighthawk R7000 router, with a Seagate Central 3tb connected, LG 55UB820V Smart TV (DLNA Certified) connected to the router via ethernet.
My problem is my TV won't see any of the files on the Seagate NAS. The TV will SEE the NAS (It comes up as SCSSDLNA-Server) but when I go to view the TV just says 'No File'. The files are only .avi or .mp4 which I have had playing via a USB connection previously so I know the TV can play them.
I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong? It's a completely new set up, do I need to change a setting on the NAS or router? I've tried wired and wireless connections with my TV but nothing.
Any suggestions? I'm hoping it's something simple. PS, totally sub'd :)
Since I installed Sierra My Seagate Central will not run Time Machine. Any ideas? I was thinking about dumping it but my needs are pretty simple. All I want is a simple Time Machine Backup. GREAT videos!!!!! Can you run Time Machine on Drop Box or any of the online sites?
Doing a speed test on my 4TB my cloud using Crystal Disk Mark 3 after mapping as a network drive my speed results were 55.09 MB/s Read 29.82 MB/s Write which is a faster result than you had. Nice compassion.
With the ethernet cable or wireless connection?
Great video ! but two questions:
1 - I want to back up my MAC, To do the first time machine back up for the GB's of data, can i cant via ethernet to make this faster?
2 - is it possible to partition both devices? I want to get a 4TB drive, and use 2TB for time machine and 2TB for other random storage, movies, photo back up from the phone etc.
Thannks !
Matt
***** Thanks Lon,i didnt want my timemachien backup consuming the whole HDD was all, but the more i look at it, the more im tempted to bite the bullet and just go synology ! The 214se and J units are very affordable now.
I think you are frying the Seagate console a bit too much bruh. Otherwise thanks it was an informative video. Also please consider that the price of those two products is different, and you also have to buy additional NAS HDD for the My Cloud unit , which actually makes it twice as expensive and little over that.
cheers
Hi Lon Please tell me which one to buy i want to use as for storing data and media and i want to stream videos to my TV and smart phones over wifi...
Watch out for the v4 firmware upgrade for the WD MyCloud. I have spent 2 days with tech support with no resolution. Also, many on the WD community forums are having similar issues.
At the end of the day, this one is better or WD? Is there any better option for both of them?
I have heard that the MyCloud has some issues with stopping the disc from constantly spinning, even when inactive. Can you confirm this?
With the remote access issues sorted out this is the only thing preventing me from swapping my seagate central for a mycloud.
before a couple week ago,
WD my cloud have a patch to fix stop-disk-problem.
I have used 4TB seagate Central. and 8TB WD My Cloud EX4 for several monthes
I think,
Seagate Central is simple and easy and a product for family.
but
WD My Cloud is just a NAS.. a small NAS.
Can it be plugged in to a TV (not smarttv) directly using the USB port?
Hello Lon - have you seen issues with My Cloud drive going offline frequently? i bought mine 5 days ago and two times already it went offline and I had to hard boot the drive.
Hi,
Just got this drive but when i plug my external drive in to the USB on the back it don't show up on the comp (Mac or PC)
Any ideas??
I think it is not a good comparison. Seagate Central function what a typical network storage does. Copy network data to be available to anyone in the network. Plus the reviewr did not mention about other use such as you can attached a printer to serve as network printer in the usb port.
WD my cloud as what its name is it act as a personal cloud. Even WD did not want to mention that the product is a NAS.. As its said its a cload and does what cload application do.
Hi Lon, This video was almost close to what I was looking for. I am looking to buy a NAS like the one in this video but WITH RAID. What is your opinion about following 1)Seagate STBN Business Storage 4TB 2)Buffalo LinkStation 420 LS420D 4TB . Does any one of them have same features of CLOUD like WD Cloud has, like accessing data from any device from any where? Any Suggestions?
***** Thank you I will subscribe. Meanwhile, I have found 2 models of WD with RAID version 1)WD My Book Live Duo and 2)WD My Cloud EX4. Does both are Cloud or only the second one? The first one is 2-BAY and second one is 4-BAY. I would prefer 2-BAY with cloud. But I dint find in WD. Any idea about WD My Book Live Duo supports Cloud?
Kaleemullah Mohammed WD just introduced a new model : WD My Cloud EX2, which is a two bay version of the EX4. Both support the cloud connection. Both work on your internal network as well.
***** Lon, can I suggest you use different testing methodology to test out the drives. Something like Robocopy would give better and more consistent results than the AJA code (which really isn't a benchmarking program).If you look at Smallnetbuilder.com, they show the My Cloud as one of the faster performing NAS products in its class.
Excellent video. Thank you so much, you're a star.
Hey Lon, i noticed you mentioned that wd my cloud will not stream to ios devices, the reason im asking is i have a huge music library on a mac environment and i would like to stream it to my iphone when away from home. Is there any way to get around this?
Hi Lon. Can a pc and mac see an external DVD drive attached via USB to a NAS ?
what cable/app did you use to display you iPhone on the PC?
Did you install MacOs on your Asus T100? Because everytime you look at it we see the macos
hi how can i attatch it with ps4
Lon, how is the DLNA-support on this device, does it support .mkv and .iso files? How is it compared to the WD My Cloud?
It uses one of the latest versions of Twonky Media server - which imo is the best DLNA server out there. As far as iso files - DLNA does not support isos. You can store iso files on your server, then mount them in a player such as WDTV.
Hi Lon,
Im comparatively untechy. Can you livestream from the Seagate/WD? Which is more secure?
Many thanks,
Not sure what the technical term is - but so you can stream/watch direct to your personal cloud as opposed to copying to and playing on your phone/tablet.
Good video full of useful consumer information
Very useful
Lon...good review bud. Keep up the good work. I watch your channel more than any other I've subscribed to.
I've just got the wd and my write speeds are around 85mb a second. I transferred 570gb of video data in just over 2 hours. Not done a read test but i assume it will be faster.
With the ethernet cable or wireless connection?
Can any of these two back up a mac and PC on the same time ?? Do they have to be in the same network?
Hell Lon, my Seagate Nas DLNA all of sudden is giving me isssues, It's been working all this while with no issues, all of a sudden the twonk server cannot see the data in my public folder. Any solution?
So the Seagate has a USB for an external hard drive but it cannot connect to a PC using that USB port?
Im thinking of getting the Seagate one to serve as a mapped network drive for my Steam games and as scratch directory for After effects. Do you think the read and write speeds can deliver?
+Ricky Fajiculay no network drives aren't fast enough. Look for some external SSDs for that.
I want to ask why do I require WD my cloud if I can access my external hard drive through my router? Is there something different which I am not aware. Cloud drive is $50 costly then normal external hard drive of the same size.
cant the administrator assign passwords? if the administrator configures passwords through the Seagate app .....they then retain control over the group.....
what's the seagate media center like for mp3 playback? I have a huge music collection and the experience with Samsung sync using Samsung Smart TV is abysmally bad. Takes minutes to scroll down and has no proper album play / by track number. It seems to be these apps by the TV manufacturers aren't really tested against big music / video libraries, as they are very slow even over LAN. it should be possible to run a player on TV to listen to my collection (as I do with WinAMP on my PC).
well when you say locally, obviously I have my mp3 files on my (LAN) network, so that should be fine. I think the problem with the built in Samsung software is that it probably does not cache the file list, so it might read 30,000 titles whenever I start the Smart Hub (but I might be wrong about this). Just hope the app is allowed to store all file locations after reading the mp3 folder for the first time. I have never bought anything from iTunes but then I wouldn't have enough bandwidth allowance for streaming from the cloud anyway.
*****
I would just *love* it if you could jail break the Android on these TVs and then download WinAmp to it; that is such a superior music player.
***** How does Apple's iTunes cloud compare to Google Music? Google music is free however for 20 000 songs uploaded, not including songs you buy from google.
I have important files on my computer and I need to buy external hard drive or nas. Is this product right to buy?( I have a few computers in the house where I work and I needed a common storage location or I carry external hard drive all the time)
***** Thank you for good guide, because I have only 100mb switch on my router so I think I'll need a better router first
Hi Lon,
Thanks for the review. How can I use this Seagate Central without ethernet cable, just using wireless as describe at 00:55
Thanks in advance
Ash from Australia
amazing videos thank u
Hey, can you install software like Ms-MySQL or Oracle stock all your Database?
Lon. Do you know If i can stream video save on the MyCloud directly via my IPAD interface? Or do I have to download them first. I want to be able to access my MyCloud while travelling and play videos on my IPAD. If not possible with MyCloud is this possible with the Seagate Central?
Thanks Lon. I am still debating which one to get. From your video the MyCloud seems better. Typically I have alot of videos and files that I want store on the drive. And access remotely if I am on vacation. Streaming movies is important to me. Do I have to download the videos first or stream them directly from my IPAD? Also to copy my files to the MyCloud you can copy them via the USB right which would be faster? That would be preferred over the wifi network. I appreciate you comments.
hello. I can not access my seagate center. and I do not know if my nickname or/and my password is the problem. I check the webside seagate support and could not solve anything. I could only change the account that I have with them on the Internet, not the one that is in the seagate center. I hit a button underneath the hard drive and does nothing. is there any way I can do to resolve this? thank you..
Hi Lon,
Can the Seagate Central support multiple external USB hard drive via a HUB, like the WD My Cloud appears to be able to??
Thanks. I actually have one here in the box, but after watching your review, im thinking about taking it back & swapping for the WD.
psg au, did you ever find an answer on this?
No, i took the seagate back un-opened & swapped for the western digital.
The Seagate Central has a massive security hole that their technical support department say is by design and that I should have bought one of their business class NASs. I wrote about it here, but basically ALL users (admin or otherwise) can access ALL other users' data via SFTP - netizensmith.org.uk/wp/?p=92
Thank you, I don't like giving my user password to Tappin... To access your child folders, you can ask them for theirs passwords. But anyway, everything is getting in the public folder... (backups). So it is pretty risky to open it in FTP at distance...
do you know of a NAS that I can sync with something like AWS Glacier?
Excelente video, una lastima que lo vi después de adquirir el Seagate Center :(