21.5.2013

I have the 2TB Seagate "Central" Media Server, listed as STCG2000200. According to the Seagate website this uses the 5900rpm 2disc ST2000VM003-1CT164 drive with a sustained data transfer rate of 159MB/s and a capacity of 2,000,398,934,016bytes (ie almost 1.8TB formatted). So it is fast enough for streaming over the Gigabit interface.On this page Az also offer the other two variants with 3TB and 4TB which share the chassis and software and just have the different capacity drive inside with the one digit in the number varying; STCGn000200.The "Wireless" mentioned in the Az description is that supplied by you on your LAN; it is NOT part of the drive, and the drive packaging does not claim it to be a wireless drive,it merely shows how to plug it into an existing wireless system.Enclosed in the package are; the drive, an RJ45 Ethernet lead, a 12V power supply with nifty slide-on mains prong options, the quick-start page, and some warranty info. There was no CD in my package.The drive has just three connectors;. RJ45 Ethernet (Gigabit 1000/100/10). Fast USB (type A). 12V Power.One small LED indicator is visible on the top, but the mesh-grill top-cover allows us to see a couple more sometimes working inside. The RJ45 also has the usual activity LEDs.The box feels reasonably strong, and it lies flat on the surface, meaning it cannot be stacked with others nor stand on an edge. No fan so it is silent, and in use it merely gets warm. The plug-top power supply is reasonably small and again just gets slightly warm. Both box and PSU run at about five to ten degrees C above ambient.I just plugged it all together, switched on the mains and, after a few seconds wait while it found its feet in the network, it worked. Just as well because the enclosed quick start effectively said just that; plug it together first, then switch on the power. One could then simply use it as a network drive direct from the PC, because W7 found the drive immediately after it woke up. I was immediately able to play the supplied Sample files and add new files to its Public area as usual.There is not much info supplied with the machine, and for more options and software, and for only slightly more technical detail, it is necessary to visit the Seagate Central website. However the machine worked well enough with W7 'as is' so I've not bothered to add any software to my PCs to cope with it. An XP machine might need a helping hand however, as I had to persuade my big XP desktop to go and mount the Seagate even though it's Norton had found it and mapped it as a Shared Network drive.I managed to open the resident web application, which talks us through the initial set-up. I ignored the email address requirement, but stored a log-in ID and password for a personal area. I then noticed that it encourages a firmware update, so I asked for this to happen; it did two successive updates using the Internet, taking about fifteen minutes in all.My Samsung 'Smart' TV, W7 PC, and the two DVRs could play the demo videos already on it using my Ethernet LAN because the Seagate's DNLA is already set to allow sharing of the Public folder. I copied a file (originally recorded off-air by the Humax DVR) via my video archive 1TB drive held in a USB caddy to a Public folder on the Seagate using the Seagate's USB connector, and again all the connected devices could play the file.The Ethernet interface is full Gigabit, according to my network hub's diagnostics, and only limited during streaming by the transfer rate out of the drive, and of course the slower 100/10 Ethernet devices such as the old PCs and Humaxen and TVs. A 1.2GB TV program file took about two and a half minutes to copy to/from a 100/10 PC over the Ethernet, 8Mbytes/s plus headers and wrappers etc, which means the 100Mbit/s Ethernet was limiting it. I don't use a wireless LAN, so cannot comment on that.I only have USB2.0 devices to test the USB interface speed, and the 1.2GB file when initially copied from the USB 1TB drive took about five minutes, going from the USB port up to the PC and then back into the Seagate hard drive, so it did not slow down the 100Mbit/s Ethernet. I guess a Gigabit interface in the PC would have been much faster since the internal drive on the PC was not in action.Unlike my Synology back-up RAID drive, the Seagate does not seem to enter a low power snooze state when idle, and I could not find any settings to enable this. The Seagate seems to be running at about one watt all the time, and a bit more when busy.The Seagate is NOT a RAID array drive, so it is not suitable as the sole back-up of all your photos and files (eggs - basket, etc, having been stung by the broken basket of a WD Netstore, never again). But as a play-out Media Server it is excellent, and I left it overnight copying a few hundred GBytes of music and home video to become the inexpensive work-horse machine that I don't mind breaking (because it is running copies and not the masters).Summary.This is a good, fast Media Server compatible with most of the standard network applications, but I would never recommend using a single drive for a sole back-up system.

21.5.2013

Setting this drive up is quite easy. It showed up under 'Networks' in Windows Explorer just after powering it and connecting it to the Router with the provided network cable. From my main Laptop, it appeared as network drive under Network Locations, I was easily able to drag and drop a few video and music files into the public folder. When I visited Windows Media Player on one of the Laptops connected to the same router via WIFI, I found SCSS DLNA Server: Seagate-XXXXXX (The xxxxxx will be your particular drive's last 6 MAC number). I was able to play both videos and music files. The web - based setup and registration is fairly straight-forward.Once registration is complete you can access it remotely by providing an Email and a Password that you provided during setup.It has a USB port for expansion, so that you connect an external Hard Drive. To me this is not useful.It is equally easy to access the Seagate Central on an Android mobile phone. I connected to the same router via WIFI and downloaded the seagate media app from Google Play Store. I opened the app and it took me to the setup sreen, it asked me to tap the home icon and open the video folder and played some sample videos, and some MP3s via the integrated Media Player, complete with cover art, and allows you to skip forward and backward. On the top you can choose to view artists, songs or playlists, albums and genres. The video view shows large icons of each video, each with a title so you have an idea of what a video clip is all about before you play. While playing video clips, you can skip with a video clip or within the library and contrariwise. You actually can use the same app to play what you have in the phone, so you toggle between your phone and the seagate! It's really cool to enyoy my media library on my phone. If you forget your password and Username like I did just reset it by way of the reset pin hole under the device.It allows creation of private folders that are password-protected. This folder is created during setup. While any user on the Local Area Network can access the public folder, a username and password must be provided if one wants to access the private folder. I had serious connectivity issues and almost thought this Hard Drive was to blame, but later discovered all the problems were as a result of the kindness of the folks at Microsoft who made a nice Operating System that goes mad after updates!At some point I had serious WIFI issues that I could not connect to the internet so I tried what is not recommended, connecting the Seagate Central directly to my Laptop, and I was able to access my files without issues. However that is not the way but it's good to know that should Internet fail, or should I find myself without internet, I can still access my data.I highly recommend this device, because it is so easy to set up, offers a lot including DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) offers a lot at a low price.

4.1.2015

Well, pluses and minuses. It is very small and looks very neat on the desk. It is very quiet, although it does have rotating disks inside so it isn't actually silent. Unobtrusive though. I found the setup instructions difficult to follow. Easy to plug in etc, but setting up the user accounts - it wasn't at all clear, but I managed it in the end. I use it for two things. First, as the NAS for my iMac Time Machine - automatic backup, for those on Windows! Seamless, very easy to use. I also dump photos on there for the family to see remotely. Works OK, but -.... To manage the files on it, in particular to delete, you have to use a silly web interface - can't just go into iMac Finder, or Windows Explorer,

12.3.2015

I will update this once I've used it longer. I only got it yesterday and thought there a few things worth noting. It is incredible value for money at £52 for 2tb, let alone a NAS capable one is amazing. It looks discrete and wouldn't be out of place anywhere, though most people will have it next to their routers.The setup is not totally plgu and play. I'm pretty handy and it took me a few hours to get on top of it. You plug it into your router and power it up and wait for the green light to go solid. That bit is simple. You go to a web page where you are asked to create a user. This is the 'owner' of the public part of this drive. What isn't immediately obvious is you HAVE to use the name convention one letter then one number,

20.5.2013

For those unsure as to what this is and does, it is a hard drive, and media server, that sits on a wireless (or wired for that matter) network on which you can store, and pipe around your network, anything you like, be it music, films, documents, photographs etc etc.Upon unpacking I noticed that this isn't a lightweight, portable unit, it's weighted and designed to be sat sleekly on a desk (or under a desk) somewhere. The casing is attractive and provides vital, quiet cooling. Setting up the device was easy - connect it to your network using the supplied cable, use the web interface to set a password and set up wireless if appropriate, and then away you go. The device is managed through an attractive,

16.4.2013

Almost perfect, I have had mine for about a week now and really rate the device. Works flawlessly with my new Samsung TV although i think the Seagate media app is awful.Basically does everything you need it to do as a NAS drive & media player, Had 6 different devices streaming HD Movies from it at the same time & it worked a treat without any stuttering.My one gripe is the transfer rate to the device or from it over wireless. Its really realy slow imo. I have a top of the range router (Asus RT-N66U)& transfer between my Galaxy Note 10.1, Galaxy S3, iPhone 5 or Laptop & this device is slow. Im talking 30-40mins to transfer a 3gb file.Other than that one issue (I think its common for these types of devices anyway)

8.2.2015

Pros: Time Machine compatible for more than one computer, no error messages Time Machine - apparently this is a known problem for the Western Digital My Cloud, works seamless with my macbook pro and airport extreme base station, compatible with iTunes library - that means I keep my whole library on the Seagate Central.Cons: Not compatible with Aperture. My main goal was to keep large Aperture picture libraries on the NAS, whoever this app and some other Mac apps have known issues with NAS (Network Attached Storage).If your house runs on macs, the software that is offered by Seagate is practically useful,

7.7.2013

I love my iPad, but I made the mistake of buying a 16GB model--that's not enough storage for all my apps, home videos, movies, TV shows, photos, and documents. I can rely on cloud storage, but since my iPad is Wi-Fi only, I like having extra local storage. I've been using a Kensington Wi-Drive, but it has its limitations.I recently replaced the Wi-Drive with Seagate's Central Wireless Hard Drive, a Wi-Fi equipped portable hard drive that offers 2TB of storage. It has a few limitations of its own, but it's a nice storage device with good iOS apps and useful features.The device has more than adequately met my needs and wants.

22.5.2014

Having several lap tops and a Samsung S5 plus iPad I needed to have a place to store other than a separate hard wired hard drive. I now have my seagate. Setting up if done correctly is fine but do remember passwords and site address for later. It accepts info sent wirelessly but big bundles makes it a bit slower so small chunks are better. But if your near your unit hard wire it Emory to transfer big files. But away from home at least you can access your stuff easyGreat buy for me

30.1.2014

Setup was easy although the instructions aren't particularly clear, plug and play pretty much, drive was recognised by all the wireless devices in the house including, amazingly, my wired but not smart Sony TV and even got access from our phones sorted quite easily, transfer times are limited if your doing it wirelessly but not really an issue from my wired PC. Nice and quiet too, its so useful to have all the files and photos backed up and accessible to everyone.

29.7.2014

Bought this as the predecessor external hard drive was running out of steam with all the usage and music I had on. Linked this up to the whole house so everyone can stream their own music (with their personal accounts) and view all the photo's with the shared folder. This is a top quality Wireless hard drive and I'd recommend it to anyone. Very impressed with the remote access anywhere in the world (as long as you have wireless connection or 3-4G

31.3.2014

The disk drive unit works well, but my Windows 8 machine cannot 'see' it properly with the dashboard software, hence it will not back up to it. Instructions do not say that you need to rename the 'Central' folders z or y or whatever. I think may be there is a conflict with my maxstor unit. Seagate help desk tried to help but were not wholly successful.My Windows xp and 7 machines work properly with the system.Remote access works well.

3.2.2015

Great! I backed up my computers to the drive and took less than half an hour! Remote access is recommended by using chrome. Mobile app is dreadful (hence the lower star) Unfortunately my TV doesn't support video files from the NAS but I should have done my homework. Recommended and great for my college life while accessing my files anywhere. This is available in Currys for £85 so £10 cheaper than Amazon.

13.2.2015

After reading a few reviews i was a little worried as to set up and reliability. Many said that the storage packed in after a year. ive not had it a year out of it yet but as of a few months there are no issues. i also found it very easy to set up contrary to some of the reviews.

4.12.2016

Amazing hard drive, means that I can access my films and TV series wherever I have the Internet, had a snag after about 10 months, contacted seagate and after sending away for repair was sent a new one, only had to pay for postage

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