Use QNAP NAS as content server

Introduction

The tutorial below explains how to configure a QNAP NAS device as content server for HMP devices, how to publish content from Elementi (M or X) on the NAS, and how to configure the HMP devices to retrieve and display that content.

Notes:

• The HMP is able to automatically retrieve content from a web server, which is useful for large setups involving a centralized content server or whenever is not possible to push content directly on the player (for instance, due to firewall / NAT usage).
• To facilitate the content deployment for such setups, Elementi M and Elementi X offer the possibility to publish the content directly on a server through the Publish Location feature. This feature is not available for Elementi S.

Tutorial

• Difficulty: Easy.
• Total duration: 20-30 minutes.
• Requirements:
  • A QNAP NAS device.
  • Elementi M or Elementi X, version 3.0.0 or later. (The latest version is recommended.)
  • One or more HMP devices using firmware 3.0.0 or later. (The latest version is recommended.)
  • A project to be used as content.

Set up the QNAP NAS device

QNAP TS-120 NAS

1. Install the QNAP NAS device according to the quick installation guide.
   • For this tutorial, the QNAP TS-120 NAS model has been used.
2. Once connected to the network, access http://start.qnap.com.
3. Set up the NAS device using the automatic cloud installation.
   • At this point, the device name was set to "QNAP-nas" and the device firmware was updated to 4.1.2 (the latest version at the time of writing).
4. Once done, open the QTS web interface and sign in with your user.
   

Configure the QNAP NAS device

Create user

1. Click on "Control Panel" icon to open Control Panel window.
2. Click on "Users" menu / button under "Privilege Settings" section.
   1. Click on "Create" button and select "Create a User".
   2. Enter the details of the user (e.g., "hmp") that will be used by the HMP devices to connect to the NAS.
   3. There's no need to change anything else, so click on "Create" button.
      
3. Click on "Shared Folder" menu under "Privilege Settings" section.
   

   Create shared folder
   1. Click on "Create" button and select "Shared Folder".
   2. Enter the details of a new shared folder (e.g., "projects") where you will save the projects for the HMP devices.
   3. Click on the "Edit" button next to "Configure access privileges for users". (The button turns into "Close".)
   4. Set read / write permissions for your hmp user.
   5. Click on "Create" button to create the shared folder. (The "projects" folder appears on the list.)
      
4. Click on the "Web Server" menu under "Applications" section.
   

   Enable WebDAV
   1. Enable Web Server (if not already enabled)
   2. Enable WebDAV and select "Shared folder permission".
   3. Click on the "Apply All" button.
      
5. Click on "File Station" icon to open the "File Station" window.
   

   Create folder
   1. Select "projects".
   2. Click on "Create folder" button and select "Folder".
   3. Enter the folder name (e.g., "MyProject").
   4. Click on "OK" button.
   5. If needed, you can create in the same manner other folders (e.g., "MyProject2", "MyProject3" etc.) to host other projects.
      

Publish content on NAS

Publish Location for QNAP

1. Open Elementi and prepare the content to be published on the NAS.
   • For instance, you can use one of the sample projects included within Elementi or create a new project (this tutorial might also come in handy).
2. Open Elementi Devices view and create a new Publish Location with the following details:
   • Protocol - select "HTTP".
   • Hostname - enter the name of your QNAP NAS device (e.g., "QNAP-nas").
   • Path: - enter the path to the your project (e.g., "/projects/MyProject").
   • Security - enable it and enter the user (e.g., "hmp") and its password.
3. Publish the content onto the newly created Publish Location (e.g., "MyProject@QNAP-nas").

Display content on HMP350 or HMP300

The HMP can retrieve the content from QNAP NAS device and display it on the screen, using Scheduled Download or Client/Server mode (only if "live" playing is required).

• Scheduled Download is strongly recommended because it is resilient to network and bandwidth problems.
• See more about the differences between these two content pull methods.

Adding credentials

Saved Passwords

In order for the HMP to be able to retrieve the content from the NAS device, you need to add the credentials on the HMP.

For that, follow these steps:

1. Open HMP Control Center > System > Saved Passwords.
2. http://QNAP-nas/projects/ as Server URI, the user (e.g., "hmp") and its password.

Scheduled Download

Content - Scheduled Download

To add a Scheduled Download to the HMP, follow these steps:

1. Open HMP Control Center > Content > Scheduled Download.
2. Under "Server URI", enter http://QNAP-nas/projects/MyProject/.
3. Select the type of update to be performed (Manual, Hourly, Daily)
   • In case of Daily update, select the time at which you would like the publish action to take place.
   • In case of Manual update, you need to press the reload icon to trig the update of the content manually.
4. Click on "Apply" button. Once the download is completed, the HMP will display the content retrieved from QNAP NAS device.

Live content display

Live source configuration

Schedule - Live source

Serious testing & validation of the bandwidth and quality of the network should be done before using this option in a production environment. This is for advanced users only.

To configure the HMP for Client/Server mode (Live Sources), follow these steps:

1. Open HMP Control Center > Content > Live Sources.
2. In the Server URI enter http://QNAP-nas/projects/MyProject/.
3. Give the server an name (e.g. QNAP)
4. Click on "Apply" button.

To use the Live source:

1. Go to the Schedule page
2. Select "Live Sources"
3. Drag and drop any the live source with the name "QNAP" either in the schedule, or as default content the same way that you would schedule Playouts.

Display content on HMP200 or HMP130

The HMP can retrieve the content from QNAP NAS device and display it on the screen, using Pull_Mode or Client/Server mode (only if "live" playing is required).

• Pull_Mode is strongly recommended because it is resilient to network and bandwidth problems.
• See more about the differences between these two content pull methods.

Adding credentials

Network Credentials for NAS

In order for the HMP to be able to retrieve the content from the NAS device, you need to add the credentials on the HMP.

For that, follow these steps:

1. Open HMP Control Center > Network Settings page.
2. Click on the Credentials tab.
3. Add http://QNAP-nas/projects/ as Server URI, the user (e.g., "hmp") and its password.
4. Click on the "Apply" button.

Pull Mode configuration

Pull Mode configuration

To configure the HMP for Pull Mode, follow these steps:

1. Open HMP Control Center > Content Settings page.
2. Click on the Pull Mode tab.
3. Select "Manual settings" option and enable "Automatically upload project to the HMP[...]" option.
4. Under "Project source", enter http://QNAP-nas/projects/MyProject/ .
5. Select the time when the HMP should start pulling the content (you check the status within uploader.log).
6. Click on "Apply" button. Once the pull action is completed, the HMP will display the content retrieved from QNAP NAS device.

Client/Server Mode configuration

Serious testing & validation of the bandwidth and quality of the network should be done before using this option in a production environment. This is for advanced users only.

Client/Server mode configuration

To configure the HMP for Client/Server mode, follow these steps:

1. Open HMP Control Center > Content Settings page.
2. Click on the Content Source tab.
3. Set "Primary source" option to "Network Project".
4. In the field next to it enter http://QNAP-nas/projects/MyProject/ .
5. Click on "Apply" button. The HMP will start displaying the content from QNAP NAS device right away.

See also

• Use Synology NAS as content server
• Use myDrive as content server
• Publish content on a web server via FTP
• Use box.com as content server