Originally posted by Jenntray
Hello all!
I am attempting to tackle the daunting task of organizing our photos and videos. We have lived overseas for 5 years and between all the moving and traveling and different devices, our pictures are a hot mess. I'm looking for a solution and have no idea where to began. I do have an external hard drive that I plan to keep all of our photos, videos, music and important documents on, but I also want an online cloud type storage that will give me access to all of our photos and videos across both apple and non apple devices, won't change the quality or size of the files, will host photo and video, is secure and won't cost me an arm and a leg. Any suggestions?
That's a big list to of items to get into Santa's sack for Christmas, and as I'm not Santa I can only talk about my experiences and what I'd recommend.
I expect you'll get a range of advice from forum members, but in the end a bit of research around the recommendations provided should point you in the right direction for price and capabilities that you seek. I use three data storage systems, the first being the storage in my computer, the second is a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device and the third is a Dropbox account. Storing locally on a single computer is not really a viable option for security and accessibility to others so this leaves us with an NAS solution, a cloud solution or a combination of these.
Lets start with a cloud storage solution. With cloud storage you will have tiered options based on cost. This will be based on storage capacity, accessibility and other functions. Some options include OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, Box and Amazon Cloud Drive. I expect there's more too, but the principles will be the same. Most will give you some free storage, get you into their system then once you're there you would look at a subscription to gain more storage capacity and options. There's lots of info on these options via a Google search so I'll leave that up to you and focus on the one cloud storage I have experience with: Dropbox.
I established a Dropbox account several years ago, I started with a free option and then upgraded for the extra space and ability to manage access to selected the folders I had in Dropbox. The free version for an individual is only 2GB with the two paid options offering 1TB. There's two paid levels with the storage capacity the same but the control and access options better in the Pro subscription that's twice the cost of the Plus version. Depending on how much space you actually need you might want to adopt a Dropbox 'Team Plan'. These are more expensive with a 2TB option and unlimited options if you're prepared to pay. Obviously these are aimed at business solutions but it's worth going to the cloud solution websites to see what you get for your money. For others to access your Dropbox folders you need to add them to individual folders using an email address. With the right folder hierarchy this is not a big issue but it's something to be aware of considering what you seek to do. You can be the only person to add new members accessing files or allow others to do invites so there is flexibility that might work for you.
The other option previously mentioned is to use an NAS. Again there's several options to consider but if you want a solution with the greatest flexibility for who can access it whilst maintaining control and backing files up this is the one I'd use. I'd suggest you consider two NAS companies as the best choices, these being QNAP and the one I use, Synology. How much space do you need? Well both these companies (and all the others doing NAS) will give you options to look at. Just remember though, to buy an NAS may mean you also need to buy the HDD's too. So the cost of a 2 bay device might seem reasonable until you add the cost of two drives to go in it. But here you also have the choice to pick hard drives by size to reduce costs. Just remember though that you want to install HDD designed to work in an NAS like Western Digital Reds. Other HDD options might be less reliable in the NAS role due to the higher up time an NAS is expected to maintain.
To summarise my recommendation: An NAS can provide primary file storage in your own home, it can be accessed remotely by others and even be set up to have a back up at another person's home using a similar system. This will give you good access to yourself and others via the internet, provide control options to manage the files and allow a back up remote to the primary source in case of fire, theft etc.
I've not explored hosting of a website using my NAS so I won't make comment on it other than it could be another option to provide a workable solution for people to access files remotely.
The last thing I'd consider is a standardised file naming system. You can look for software to help you with this but a simple folder/file naming discipline based around year/month/day might be a good upper level approach, or maybe you have an association to places and circumstances/events that would suit you better. Getting this sorted as you decide on your storage management solution will save you time once you've identified what best suits your needs.
I hope you find your solution soon.
Tas