Netgear Announces “Death of Local Media Storage”

NETGEAR, Inc. eliminated the requirement for local media storage. The new ReadyNAS Ultra family of 2-Bay, 4-Bay and 6-Bay network storage systems is for power users yearning to set their digital entertainment content free. The Ultra family is the first-ever storage with media-shifting capabilities, enabling users to centralize media on a ReadyNAS and consume it in any networked location and on any networked device. The Ultra family is more than twice as fast as legacy ReadyNAS systems and has already received glowing reviews.  

NETGEAR ReadyNAS Ultra Beta Testers Praise
TiVo, Skifta and Orb Technology Integration
"The ReadyNAS Ultra 4 is a tech-head’s dream come true; it lets me encode, decode, stream HD video, and no matter where I am, play music and video to any DLNA certified device and a large number of mobile devices thanks to NETGEAR’s embedded Skifta and Orb technology partnerships," says Shawn Markins, a beta tester and long-time advanced ReadyNAS user. "Couple it with Intel Atom processors, full X-RAID2 functionality, and you have a ‘force to be reckoned with’.  Now, I have a central location with full data redundancy and enough total storage space to be happy for years."

The ReadyNAS integration with TiVo enables users to stream video programming, music and photos to any TiVo box in the house. "By streaming television programming, the ReadyNAS gives easy access to stored content and offers a great way to expand the amount of content available to TiVo users," says Tom Cramer, ReadyNAS beta tester and TiVo DVR owner.

The ReadyNAS Ultra family transforms the way
people interact with their multimedia content
"NETGEAR’s ReadyNAS Ultra family is a major breakthrough, converging mobility and content consumption," said Drew Meyer, director of storage marketing at NETGEAR. "ReadyNAS has always been an excellent choice for storing, sharing and protecting media content, but now our technology firsts take that content to the next level. Users may now shift media from any networked location onto nearly any device and unplug their direct-attached disks."

• NETGEAR ReadyNAS Ultra products are the first TiVo compatible DVR network storage systems. Users can now alleviate storage capacity concerns by streaming HD programming content to any TiVo box in the house at a later date without additional software or computers.
• NETGEAR ReadyNAS Ultra products are the first storage systems with Skifta media-shifting capabilities, so users can access their private media libraries remotely from any DLNA certified device without worrying about the physical location of their content.
• NETGEAR ReadyNAS Ultra products are also the first-ever network storage systems to include transcoding. The Orb integration means that a ReadyNAS Ultra device automatically formats and sizes streaming video content for mobile devices or browsers – on the fly.

"These are the first storage devices we’ve seen of this kind on the market – no one else is doing this yet," said Norm Bogen, industry analyst, In-Stat. "The Ultra models are great additions to NETGEAR’s home storage product line. They provide advanced features for the multimedia enthusiast, enabling fast access to stored media content from any location via any DLNA certified device."

Additionally, the NETGEAR ReadyNAS Ultra family continues to offer the most advanced storage features for the consumer NAS market today, including X-RAID2, the only self-managing volume expansion technology; ReadyNAS Remote, the only secure drag-and-drop remote access technology; and ReadyNAS Vault, the only embedded online backup and recovery service. ReadyNAS Ultra is the ideal storage system for media enthusiasts looking for a better way to interact with their extensive media collections.

The NETGEAR ReadyNAS Ultra 4 ($599.99 MSRP diskless and $899.99 MSRP 2 x 2 TB) and Ultra 6 ($899.99 MSRP diskless and $1349.99 MSRP 3 x 2 TB) are available for immediate pre-order at amazon.com, with shipping starting in mid-July. The NETGEAR ReadyNAS Ultra 2 will be shipping in October.