MyDitto Review: Affordable Network Attached Storage That’s Simple To Use

Josh SmithMarch 30, 2011

MyDitto is a dead simple way to add network attached storage to your home network. The MyDitto system adds a hard drive to your home or office network and thanks to the included USB keys, can easily be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection — even away from home. If you don’t want to use the USB keys, you can can also mount the disk like a standard network drive for easy access. There’s also an iPad app and the whole system can be set up in about 15 minutes with a power cord and a network cable.

MyDitto Easy to Use Network Attached Storage

The MyDitto home network storage tool is honestly one of the easiest ways to add extra storage to your home setup and share files between computers. The [amazon_link id=”B003DYWO7M” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]MyDitto[/amazon_link] we have in for review comes with a 500GB hard drive and retails for $150. You can also get a 1TB MyDitto that retails for $183, a 2TB MyDitto for $203 or a 4TB MyDitto for $378. The MyDitto system includes 2 hard drive bays so we could easily add more storage with a standard hard drive or connect a hard drive to the USB ports if you need more storage.

MyDitto Hard Drive Bay

MyDitto Video Overview

Access

The MyDitto NAS allows you to access files stored on the device from Mac and PC using a standard network share method in Explorer or Finder, which is great for those of us with a little bit of tech knowhow, but there are also two included USB thumbdrives that can be plugged into your computer to open up the MyDitto app which connects to the storage from any network, not just at home.

MyDitto Thumbdrive

You can choose to install the MyDitto Client to your computer full-time as well, which allows you to leave the flashdrive at home. If you want to create multiple logins and access for users you can create new MyDitto thumbdrives using the MyDitto device. The use of a thumbdrive for easy access is what sets the MyDitto system apart from the competition in terms of ease of use. Network shares can be finicky and most average users don’t understand them, but they do get that they can access their files by plugging in a thumbdrive.

MyDitto Map Network Drive

There is also an iPad app that can connect to view files and can be used to play music files as well. The iPad app has come a long way since we first saw it late last year, but there are still a few times where we had to wait for the app to be ready for our password. Once connected we had easy access to our files and could play back mp3 files we had uploaded to the MyDitto.

Backup

The MyDitto system includes software that can be used to automatically back up your local computer. We had mixed results with this tool, ranging from an easy setup and initial sync to high CPU usage during some backups. If you want to use this as backup you might want to look at the Crashplan which provides free software for backing up to an external hard drive or folder.

Unfortunately you cannot use the MyDitto with Time Machine on Mac, but you can access the files through the Finder App or with the MyDitto drive and you can use CrashPlan to backup to the network attached drive.

BitTorrent

MyDitto BitTorrent Settings

One really cool feature that comes with the MyDitto is the ability to use it to download torrent files. You can login to the Advanced settings and paste in a torrent location or upload a torrent you have downloaded and the MyDitto will download the torrent and place it in the MyTorrents folder for playback. We tested this out and had great results.

Media

In addition to acting as storage, the MyDitto can be used as a media server to serve up media files to iTunes and to UPnP/DLNA compliant devices like the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3. We found that the iTunes sharing worked fine and were able to listen to a collection of music streamed over the home network without any issues, while we downloaded a movie on Bitorrent.

MyDitto iPad App Music Playback

The streaming to DLNA and UPnP devices does work, but the MyDitto won’t transcode or convert the video files to match the system you are streaming to. This means that if you download popular movies or TV shows online you won’t be able to stream those. You can however give TVersity or Air Video access to those folders to stream to your iPad or Xbox 360.

Print Server

The MyDitto has a built in print server which will allow you to network a printer. We weren’t able to test this feature out, but some users may find it to be a great extra.

Conclusion

We held off on posting our review of the [amazon_link id=”B003DYWO7M” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]MyDitto[/amazon_link] because it was a little rough around the edges when we first received the unit. Fortunately, there have been numerous updates to the MyDitto device, software and the iPad app which have really shown what the MyDitto can do. The MyDitto is easy to setup, easy to use and allows you to access your files wherever you go. We also like that there are no monthly fees associated with the service. Once you purchase the MyDitto device you can access your data wherever you are even if you don’t have the IT skill normally needed to setup this type of network attached storage.

While the MyDitto device is simple enough for novices to use, there are enough advanced controls and settings to keep advanced users satisfied.

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