WD MyCloud EX2 Ultra - Is it good for Local 4k Media streaming (without transcoding)

My Cloud OS 3 Personal & Network Attached Storage My Cloud EX2
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Hello Everyone…
I ran out of reviews to watch and after finding no helpful answers to my question, I finally decided to make an account here at WD and ask you guys for help.

Where I live, we cannot return a product once purchased and have a 1 Year warranty as compared to 3 years (available in other countries.) Also, the prices are marked up at least 30-40 percent on top of the actual USD value. So whatever my decision is, it needs to be 100% confirmed that it will work for me… My questions are in reference to the WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra (Running 2x 4Tb WD RED drives)

SETUP
Samsung MU8000 4k TV
Nvidia Shield AND an x92 Android Box
A Core i5/16 GB RAM based laptop with 2 Tb HDD (5400 rpm)
Denon x3500H for Atmos/DTS X and other playbacks

My laptop has my 4k Ultra/BlueRay/1080 movies stored in the 2 TB drive. The average file size ranges between 10gb - 80gb. I am running KODI on the laptop which then creates a library available to my TV via DLNA and on the Android Box, this is accessible via the UPNP option.
The connections between all devices are Gigabit Ethernet.(minus the Denon)

Running movies of the highest bitrates are no problem with the current setup. If I copy the highest file size to a portable HDD (Transcend 2TB) and play it form the TV or Android box, that works fine too.

I recently started using PLEX after hearing so much about it Installed it on the laptop and this also seems to run without issue, apart from the initial starting buffer and then smooth sailing all the way.

QUESTION
I am wanting to remove the LAPTOP from the mix and want to buy a NAS drive. My goal is to have the NAS work and serve for just LOCAL network play only. I will not have any other devices that need to access the NAS for movie playback. Only my 4k TV or the Shield/Android Box will be accessing it for playback at any given time (apart from that my I will downloading torrents to the NAS directly)

Will the WD MyCloud EX2 Ultra suffice for me under the following conditions:
1. Will I be able to download Movie Torrents to the NAS (using my laptop which has the NAS mapped to it)… Will it run similar to a locally installed Hard disk drive or will it be slower?
2. Running Kodi on the Android and using the NAS as it’s media storage?
3. Running the built-in File Explorer on the 4k TV (Tizen) and using the NAS as it’s storage?
4. Running PLEX on the NAS itself and letting the 4k TV / Android box do the hard work? I do not want to get into any of the Transcoding Mumbo Jumbo. I just want my TV and Android box to directly playback the files at their maximum without and coloration or tweaking from PLEX whatsoever?

I know this is a long writeup, but I have been going mad with this for over two weeks now and I cannot finalize on what to get. I simply need the convenience of a NAS so that I do not need to download a torrent to the laptop HDD >> copy it over to a portable USB drive >> then connect it to the TV/Android box and then watch it >> then repeat the cycle.

Somebody please be a savior here and suggest if the WD EX2 Ultra will work for me here???

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Hi, my thoughts / comments below:

  1. Yes you can download direct to the NAS from an external device, I do this via a Raspberry Pi without any issues. As a side note, you can run Transmission (torrent client) directly from the NAS and it is already part of the listed Apps on the device. This would potentiallly take your laptop completely out of the loop in that respect.
    1a) If you are using a VPN then I would keep it on the laptop, the EX2 Ultra doesnt natively support OpenVPN itself and you would need custom (and not supported) firmware to get that working (there is info about that online if you look :slight_smile: )

  2. Yes, the NAS is essentially just a networked drive in that respect, as long as you can see it, have the permissions set, then you can access it. Pretty simple to do with Windows based clients and sure others arent too hard.

  3. I have a 4k Samsung TV (Tizen based) and have no issues doing this. However, see point 4 for more.

  4. Plex is not directly supported by WD, but the WD EX2 Ultra NAS is a supported device by Plex itself. You can get the latest server app directly from the Plex site and install it manually. I have been running Plex media server for several months without any issues, although I am only running up to a max of 1080p. Also, if you are running Plex you can install the Plex app on the TV and just access everything through that (Films, TV, Music, Pictures etc), no need to go through a file explorer.

If you are not transcoding (recommended not to if you are using the EX2 as it doesnt really have the processing power) then the main consideration is your network speed rather than the device itself. I doubt you will have any issues there. I have family accessing my Plex from outside my network (via the Plex app) and they have no issues watching 1080p content and have had 2 or 3 streams running simultaneously with no issues.

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Okay… you strike off all my checkboxes…
THANK YOU for that.

Given the fact that I primarily will be watching 4k Rips… Do you think the EX2 Ultra can support playback without issue over Gigabit (given the 1 GB RAM and Armada 383)

OR do you suggest that I get the EX 4100 instead… (The PR4100 is Waaaaayy out of my league and too pricey for me).
I don’t want to spend on something that may possibly get discontinued or loose support in a year (knowing the ULTRA came out in 2016)

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I dont believe the RAM and CPU are likely to be an issue unless you are transcoding, if you can stream 4k over your network currently I dont see any reason why the NAS would make any difference as is more down to the network, not the storage device.

I can have simultaneously streamed to 3 devices, 1 LAN and 2 WAN with no issues. My EX2 Ultras primary purpose is the Plex Media server for me and my family (in different houses).

In my opinion the 4100 is massive overkill for what you are suggesting, link below provides a bit of a comparison between the EX2 Ultra, PR4100 and EX4100.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/compare/WD_EX2_Ultra_vs_WD_PR4100_vs_WD_EX4100/BHitems/1224323-REG_1339611-REG_1121921-REG

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Thank You very much for all the detailed help
So i Finally purchased the My Cloud ULTRA EX2 with 2 WD RED drives.
Setting it up took a bit but got through it…

Here is my feedback soo far:

  1. Successfully able to play full-fat 4k HEVC prints (close to 80 Gb) on my Samsung MU8000 from the EX2 Ultra … take a little bit in the beginning but no issues once it starts.
  2. Able to play any formats on my cell phone from the EX2 Ultra… (as long as your phone has the processing power to play heavy formats)
  3. Able to run PLEX MEDIA SERVER on the EX2 Ultra without any hiccups (Thank God)
  4. Able to download TORRENTS directly onto the EX2 Ultra, using the TRANSMISSION torrent client.

I do not have a home laptop at this time and i have not felt the need for it till now… So I am a Happy Camper :slight_smile: