Amazon.com: Verbatim MediaShare 1 TB Home Network Storage 97159 (Silver): Electronics

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3.2 out of 5 stars (59 customer reviews)

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52 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly what I needed! Using it to store/stream videos, May 27, 2010

J. Haggard (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Verbatim MediaShare 1 TB Home Network Storage 97159 (Silver) (Personal Computers)

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To start out I am a System Administrator, technology is what I do while at work and when I get home I want something that's going to be easy to use and that works. I've had the Verbatim MediaShare 1tb home network storage server up and running for only a couple days but so far I am very happy with it.

I have used the media server in 3 different roles so far as I try to figure out exactly the right role for this device in my home.

I started out using it as a share point to store files I needed to get access to everywhere. On the side of being a Sys Admin I also fix computers on the side so it's great having all my files in one location so when I am at a clients house I can connect to the drive and retrieve any files I am needing to fix their computer. The Storage server worked great in this area and it felt very secure, however I seemed to have better performance using my current web storage service I subscribe to so for me this wasn't the optimal role as most my files are very large. This did work great with smaller files like word documents and spreadsheets.

Next I tried using the media network storage server as an Apple Time Machine backup drive. Previously I was using a local USB drive; the thought of a network storage device was appealing. It didn't take much to get apple to see the device and prep it to be used as a time machine backup drive, very simple setup. And the response time was pretty snappy when browsing the time machine backup. Granted, i only had a few hours of backups on the drive and I am curious as the backups go from hours to months if the drive will still be as quick, but so far I am impressed. But since I already had an exteranl drive I was using this didn't seem like the optimal fit.

The last thing I tried is what I think this box will truly be in my house. A media server to share videos. On initial tests I ripped a few DVD's and put the video files on the media server and did a few tests. First I tried streaming to an Xbox 360 on my network and it had some issues initially connecting however once the connection was established it performed better then I expected. Next I tried to stream to a PC on my network, that to worked perfectly. The third test was the real external test. I fired up my laptop, jumped on my verizon wireless aircard and attempted to stream a movie, at first I wasn't sure if it was working as designed as the video appeared to buffer for a very long time, however I also noticed I had issues connecting to websites so I disconnected from verizon and reconnected and attempted the stream again, this time it started playing very quickly, I believe this was an issue with the verizon network and not so much the media share server.

overall I am very pleased with this storage server. With my different tests I was able to see how it would work best for me and I think I'm going to use this primarily as a Video streaming server and free up a lot of room on my other computers. This drive operated very quietly and over the last few days hasn't heated up to the touch as much as I thought it would. I am happy with this and would recommend it for anyone looking for a network storage server. This is a very universal product and for me has plenty of ways to utilize it.

I will mention, performance of your network will determine the quality of the server, time it takes to move file etc. For external access you really need a high speed broadband internet connection. If your connection is slow or unreliable your performance of accessing files externally will be significantly impacted.

***********UPDATED 7/15/2010*************
FYI, I just found out that there IS a iphone app to allow you to access your media content on your iphone and ipad! Simply go to the apple app store and download HipServ. Now it's not the best app, but it is the official app for accessing your MediaShare server. Please note you will need to sign up for the premium subscription which they do give you 30 days free to use this app. But the app itself is free, the 30 days trial is free then I think it's like $20 a year which isn't bad. Because the app doesn't have good directions on how to configure it, below is a copy/paste of the review I wrote about the app in the apple app store telling you how to configure it.

-----

I love this app. It is NOT the easiest thing to configure... Well it is, but they don't explain anything about it.

So, in my use I have a Verbatim MediaShare server. You MUST have the premium subscription to use this app with your mediaserver, if you look at the comparison chart between free and premium you'll see mobile access is only available on premium. Good news you get 30 days free at least through [...]

To configure the app do the following:

1. Launch the app
2. Click "Add Account"
3. for Portal Name put in [...] (if you are using [...] to access it remotely from a browser)
4. HipServ name is the name of your device. I called mine "MediaBox" so that's what I entered.
5. UserName is your username you configured to log into the box
6. Password is your password for your username you configured to log into the box.
7. Click "Save"

As long as you are a premium member you can now access your media share via your iphone anywhere you are.

I am having issues watching some videos, but they do show in my catalog. So I may have some video conversion settings wrong and I will be playing with that, but I can access pictures, music, etc. Videos are listed, they just don't play yet...

Anyways, this is a good app, wish they would write some instructions for it!

***********UPDATED 1/8/2011*************

After many months of use the Verbatim MediaShare is still doing pretty good. Although I found that I had some issues with it.

1. Every morning around 5am I noticed a lot of network and disc activity from the box. I had cancelled my Pro membership so I wasn't backing up to the MediaShare backup servers anymore, and didn't have any external drives connected. I did some network sniffing and couldn't identify what or where that activity was coming from. It concerned me a bit as the box would be quiet all day and then at 5am just come to life. If anyone knows what it is doing let me know!

2. I don't use the mediashare as much as I originally thought I would. I still use it as a remote FTP drive that I can access from work, my ipad, anywhere I go. I constantly am putting files on it to retrieve later. Works great for that.

3. I don't use it to stream movies anymore. As I mentioned I cancelled my pro membership so I no longer can use the mobile client. So I have moved all the movies to an external drive on my mac and am using pyTivoX (free mac app) to stream movies to the TiVo and then to stream to the iPad I am using Air Video Server and bought the app for the ipad which was like $5. Now I can stream any movie any time for free with no monthly fees. If Verbatim MediaShare included streaming for free I would still use it, but I can't justify paying when I get get another option for free.

4. Backing up computers, I don't use this for that. I did for a while but Remembered the 3-2-1 rule. You should have a total of 3 backups, on two different medias and 1 of those should be off-site. Now I could use it as one of the media types but I don't, mainly because around 5am the drive goes crazy and I don't know what it's doing with my data. So I don't store anything personal on it. What I use is a Western Digital passport (1tb) and I partitioned several drives. I made one 500gb parition for backups. So this gives me 2 of the 3 backups for a file. The one on my local computer, the one on the passport drive (using time machine on the mac to manage) and then I also subscribe to BackBlaze online backup which is $5 per computer, a great deal. This means I now have 3 backups of all my files, 2 different medias (1 external drive, 1 internal) and one of those is off-site so should my house get broken into and my backup disc and computer get stolen I still can get my data back.

5. But how did the media share do with streaming? It did good. Of course it all depends on your network. I tried both wireless and wired configurations and found that if the media share was connected to the same wired network I had zero issues with buffering, when I tried a wifi mix occasionally depending on what else my family was doing on the network at the time there was some slight issues. But nothing major.

6. The media share it does work, but I've found for my personal uses I was able to get the same results using other options that I have more control over. Now I am a total tech. I like to play and tinker and a lot of people wouldn't want to mess with my current setup. If you are one of those people the mediashare is still in my eyes an excellent option for non-techs to use. It works and it works well. But for me I can't customize or control it as much as I would like. It is still powered on and used as a file dump for me like I said, but in reality I use Box.net, dropbox, or my apple iDisk when I need to keep a file. If the file is to large then I fire up the mediashare connection. Other then that it looks cool sitting on my rack at home.

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22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some Info for Macintosh users, June 6, 2010

T. Campbell - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Verbatim MediaShare 1 TB Home Network Storage 97159 (Silver) (Personal Computers)

I purchased this unit primarily as a Time Machine backup appliance/NAS. Here are some points that will save you alot of fustration:

1. If you are using either Norton Antivirus for Mac or Symantec Antivirus for Macintosh (enterprise version 10.3.2), you MUST disable "Scan on Mount" in Norton/Symantec or the Verbatim software supplied with the unit will start creating new backup volumes on it's own and eventually cause a Time Machine failure. Turning off "Scan on Mount" in Norton/Symantec solves this issue (that only took 10 hours and 10 reformats to figure that out!)

2. DO NOT do your initial Time Machine backup over a wireless network! Get the Cat.5/6 cable out and connect your Mac to your router to access the Mediashare. I estimated that a 100 GB initial backup over a wireless G network would take 20 hrs. and I don't think wireless N would be a whole lot better.

3. The Mediashare Agent application is written in Adobe Flash so if you have an older smartphone with Windows 6.1, you will need a browser that supports Flash to access your Mediashare over the internet. I downloaded Skyfire for Windows Mobile and that works pretty well. I guess Verbatim has an iPhone/iPad app. you can download for those devices.

4. The Mediashare Agent application was written by Hipserv; don't know much about them but the interface is alittle tricky to get the hang of but it seems to be reliable.

5. I have a 320 GB Maxtor USB drive connected to the Mediashare. I can't figure out how to access it other them using it as a backup drive for Verbatim's proprietry backup software. There is absolutely no documentation on USB drives that are connected from Verbatim.

6. I am waiting for an eSATA cable to come in to try the RAID feature on this unit with a FD Green drive. I will report on that later.

Updated on 6/21/2010

One of the fustrations I experienced with the Verbatim Mediashare is when you shut down your MAC, you of course, lose connection with the Mediashare. Re-establishing connection to the Time Machine sharepoint is alittle tricky. To re-connect:

Finder>GO>Connect to Server>smb://mediashare2/ComputersBackup$
Connect as a Registered User: user=ComputersBackup (without the $ sign!!!!!) password= the password is the one you created when you setup your Computer Backup password in Admin Preferences. If you didn't do that step or forgot to, go back and do that first.

As for the eSata cable, it came in and the MediaShare works great in a RAID1 configuration, just plug in the cable and off it goes!

Another point, don't bother calling Verbatim Support in India. They know nothing about this product and the promise of escalating your issue to a higher level will NOT get you a return phone call.

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25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Works. If you're an expert. Just barely. Otherwise avoid., March 23, 2011

Aron Hsiao (New York, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Verbatim MediaShare Mini Home Network Storage 97329 (Silver) (Personal Computers)

This device is a Dilbert cartoon all by itself. It was clearly rushed out the door before development was completed; it is so unpolished that for most users it simply will not work. Unless you're a technology expert, don't bother.

If you are a technology expert or are brave enough to give this thing a try, here's what you need to know:

(1) The user guide doesn't include setup and install instructions, so don't bother searching through it.

(2) The seemingly promising "install tools" option on the setup CD either installs tons of stuff you don't need and that simply doesn't work (on Windows) or crashes outright (on Mac OS). Don't bother to open the container on Mac OS and unzip and run the binary by hand; you'll simply install the same tools that don't work and aren't needed anyway on Windows.

(3) The reason the tools don't work on Windows (or on Mac OS if you are knowledgable enough to bypass the icon and manually install them) is that they require an administrator login and password for the device... that you don't have yet because you haven't set it up. When you do finally have them (I'll explain how to set them in a moment), all these rather heavy (hundreds of megabytes) programs do is... redirect you to the device's web interface in your default browser. Seriously.

(4) There is a "setup" option on the Windows half of the CD (they forgot to include any kind of setup for Mac), and presumably it's meant to let you do things like choose a default username and password and name the device, but as you'll find, it simply doesn't work--it tells you that the device has already been configured by someone else and can't be setup, even when it's at factory default settings. So don't bother with the "setup" icon/application.

(5) Instead, on a Windows computer, with the device powered on and on the network, use the "Documents and Tools" option on the CD's autorun, and then in that area the "Reset" option to start the reset-to-factory-defaults procedure. After you issue the reset command, hold down the power button on the back of the device for five seconds to reboot it. You can't do this from Mac OS because the reset tool was also inconveniently omitted from the Mac OS half of the CD. Oops.

(6) Once the device has rebooted (solid light is back) after a reset, just open your web browser and point it at the device's IP address obtained via DHCP from your router. If you don't know this, log into your router and look at the current list of DHCP leases to obtain it. Visiting the IP of the device in your browser will take you to the web administration interface (the one that that should be mentioned in the user guide along with the setup CD in a section called "configuring the device" or something--but of course isn't).

(7) When you visit the web interface immediately following a reset, you'll see a special instance of the interface that asks you to give the default administrator account a password. The default administrator account matches the default device name, both of which are randomized because the device uses this name as your account at Verbatim's online sharing service, which is a proxy interface on the Web, through Verbatim, to your device. Just use the defaults for now; once you log in as administrator, you can create the account name you'd like and change the device name as you wish (which will also change your account name at Verbatim's online service).

(8) After setting the password, re-visit the IP of the device and log into the web interface. Add a user and mark them as administrator to get the administrator username you want. Then, to change the device name, go to the "Remote Sharing" section and edit the name in the box there.

CONGRATULATIONS, YOUR DEVICE IS NOW CONFIGURED. Thank god I spent many years as an IT professional or this would have been over my head, since:

- The printed guide included just tells you to insert the CD

- The CD includes only a single Mac application which crashes immediately

- The CD's Windows setup application refuses to talk to factory-fresh devices and is thus worthless

- The tools, if you manage to install them, require an already setup up username, password, and device name to work, but of course you don't have these because the setup didn't work

- The full user manual icons on the CD just go to broken links at Verbatim.com

- The full user manual PDF that you can find by searching Google for "mediashare mini user guide" doesn't give any information about setup, much less explaining that the device is configured to use DHCP by default and has a web interface

etc. etc. etc.

I do now have the device set up (took me about two hours to work through this) and while it does seem to work (it just mounts NTFS/FAT/HFS volumes and shares them via SMB), the quality does not impress. I had planned to use this for my online backups, but now I'm not so sure I want to trust it with my data.

Apart from the foibles above, here are some other things indicative of quality.

- They didn't bother to have it calculate free space correctly. It does show used space for files/folders correctly, but free space for any volume is always 9.2 exabytes (yes, exabytes).

- The web interface is entirely done in flash (yes, flash) so it's not what you'd call the most "futureproof" of devices

- The much heralded iPhone app actually sucks; you can open exactly one file per session--if you navigate 10 folders deep, open a file, and it's not the one you were looking for, you can't go back to the folder and look again, but must rather close the connection and then start all over again with a new connection in the root folder once again

- As mentioned, but it bears a more clear mentioning, there is absolutely no reason or purpose for or use for the software tools; all they do is remember the device name, username, and password that you enter and then redirect you to the web interface in your browser--and occupy several hundred megabytes in the process

- The device gets HOT, much hotter than I'd expect or feel comfortable with and there is no internal fan

- It takes quite a while to boot/reboot the device

- It's just rebranded technology (Verbatim MediaShare = rebadged Axentra HipServ technology in the same way that LiveScribe Pulse Pen = rebadged Anoto pen products), albeit with Verbatim-specific tools/applications on the CD; I'm not sure I feel comfortable as a result with Verbatim's level of commitment to the device in the future

- Trying to call Verbatim customer service to complain about all of this and recount my experiences led to the interesting result that they don't seem to be aware of this device or know what it is; see previous point

In short, unless you very much know what you are doing and are in search of a cheap, SMB-based, small-footprint, no-drive-included NAS for immediate rather than long-term use, do not buy this product. You will not be happy with it (there are a number of other reviews here that make this clear--I just assumed, correctly, that as a technology person I'd be able to make it go despite most obstacles).

On the whole, very, very poor--which is a shame, because the physical object is nice in appearance and the price is right, and it ultimately does seem to work. But this was clearly rushed out the door long before ready, hence my reference to Dilbert cartoons: the two or three engineering people developing this thing came into the meeting munching on sandwiches and said "Here's our prototype of the HipServe device," and the boss made four or five clicks, said "Wow, this is great, ship it now!" over the engineers' objections, and marketing had it listed on Amazon a day later. At least that's how it looks to this former industry insider.

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