The evolution of information storage methods runs through the entire history of human development, from oracle bones to paper, from magnetic tapes to CDs. The enhancement of information storage capabilities not only directly reflects the progress of science and technology, but also inherits the wisdom and thoughts of each generation, thus promoting social development.

After entering the 21st century, with the rapid development of Internet technology, the amount of information data is getting larger and larger. Storage media such as hard disks and USB flash drives are gradually unable to cope with the situation. Therefore, the era of cloud storage has come. Cloud storage is mainly divided into public cloud and private cloud. The former is represented by Baidu Netdisk. Although it is free, its speed and data security have been criticized. Therefore, in recent years, private cloud with higher cost but better experience has become the choice of more and more users.

Why do we need a NAS?

The easiest way to build a private cloud is through NAS. NAS stands for Network Attached Storage. Those who are familiar with computers know that the operating system and all information in a computer are stored in a hard drive, while NAS is to install the hard drive into an independent device and connect it directly to the Internet. NAS has an independent power supply and can perform various operations through the buttons on the body and the supporting software. In other words, NAS is like a small server.

People choose NAS largely because of its flexibility. Ideally, users should be able to access NAS anytime, anywhere with any device to open, play, upload and download files. However, many traditional NAS products do not do well in this regard. Not only are there many restrictions on access devices, but some even require the same WiFi environment to be used.

Another function of NAS is data backup. With the data volume "inflation" today, even mobile phones have reached 1TB, and 1 or 2TB hard drives can no longer meet the backup needs of many people. Most NAS products have multiple hard drive slots, and the storage capacity can reach tens of TB, which can meet the backup needs of multiple devices such as mobile phones and computers.

In general, if one or several people need to frequently access the same batch of files on different devices, then NAS is an option that is very worth considering.

The domestic brand Jikongjian is an emerging force in the NAS field. Its Jikongjian Z4, launched at the end of 2020, has been widely praised. Compared with traditional NAS manufacturers, the biggest feature of Jikongjian is the flexibility and ease of use of its products. Not only can it be accessed through terminals such as mobile phones, computers, and TVs, but it also does not require too much network environment. This year, Jikongjian launched the 2022 new Z4 (hereinafter referred to as "New Z4") based on Z4, bringing the home NAS experience to a new level.

A NAS that even novices can easily use

Compared with public cloud, NAS has larger storage capacity, faster speed, greater security, and a wider range of applications, but why has it not been promoted on a large scale in China so far?

In addition to the price, another major barrier to NAS is the difficulty of getting started. If you search for relevant tutorials on video websites, you will find that even the "beginner" tutorials are nearly 90 minutes long and are filled with many unfamiliar terms. For many users who are interested in trying but are not proficient in technology, such videos are likely to discourage them.

After overcoming the difficulty of assembly, users still need to face the obscure operating interface. Nowadays, many products have added graphical operating interfaces, but there are still a lot of professional terms that make people confused. If you want NAS to realize various functions, you also need to install various "kits". They are like apps. Functions such as playing videos, managing files, backing up photos, and reading external storage devices all require corresponding kits. For novice users, finding and debugging kits also takes a lot of effort.

The new Z4 is a product that stands out in terms of ease of use. As a finished NAS, the new Z4 does not require users to find materials for assembly, but can be used by plugging in a hard drive, connecting an Internet cable and a power supply.

harddisk Bit Located on the front of the body, you can pull it out by pushing the buckle open, and the whole process is very smooth. The new Z4 has 4 hard disk slots, and the maximum support for a single disk is 20TB/7200 rpm, which means that it can store up to 80TB of data. For home use, this capacity is definitely more than enough.

The new Z4 supports screw-free installation of 3.5-inch hard drives. You only need to open the clips on both sides of the hard drive bracket, put the hard drive in and then snap it back. No tools are required, which is very worry-free.

Compared with the old model, the new Z4 has moved the USB type-A and type-C ports on the body from the side to the front cover, which is not only convenient for placement and use, but also enhances dust resistance. In addition, the installation method of the front version has been changed from a snap-on type to a magnetic type, which is more convenient to install and has a lower failure rate.

In terms of software operation, the operation of the new Z4 is also simple and clear.

After installing the device, you can use the mobile app to register an account and bind it to the device. Under the same WiFi, the App will automatically find and connect to the device. If it cannot find the device, you can also scan the QR code on the body cover to match it.

After the matching is completed, the hard disk can be formatted. In addition to the common RAID1 and RAID5 modes, the new Z4 also has a unique ZDR dynamic dual backup mode, which allows users to independently select important data for dual backup, which not only ensures data security but also saves hard disk space, and is especially suitable for home use.

After completing the above preparations, we can start using the new Z4. The biggest difference between the products of Jikong and other NAS products on the market is that it has a very simple operating system ZOS built in. The interface of ZOS is similar to common public cloud products such as Baidu Netdisk, and there are no terms on the homepage that ordinary users cannot understand. You can synchronize the content on your phone to Jikong through the "+" on the page. space It’s as easy as posting on Weibo or Tik Tok.

The operating status of the entire device can also be clearly seen on the mobile phone, including hard disk space, temperature, etc.

Common NAS products on the market often have some discounts on mobile client functions, but Jikong brings functions such as file management, movies, and reading external storage devices to mobile phones, and the operating logic is similar to the mainstream apps on the market, which greatly reduces the threshold for getting started.

On the NAS's "home" computer, ZOS's controls are also simple and clear, and can be operated using the client or web page. Unlike some software, it does not require the use of the client to download files. The computer-side operation interface is even simpler, and users can also hide functions that they do not use frequently, making the interface more refreshing.

The file management logic of ZOS is no different from that of common computer systems. Common operations such as sliding multiple selections, dragging and moving, and right-click options can all be replicated on ZOS, which also minimizes the user's learning cost.

The new Z4 from Jikongjian is very convenient in both hardware assembly and software operation. On this basis, it also realizes the deep integration of hardware and software, presenting commonly used functions in the simplest and most direct way, which greatly reduces the difficulty of getting started and makes it a NAS product that is very suitable for novice users to get started.

Enjoy home audio and video entertainment anytime, anywhere

Nowadays, NAS is a must-have product for movie lovers. Computer and mobile phone screens are too small, it is not convenient to find high-definition sources on TV, and the decoding capabilities and storage space may not be enough. NAS can become a bridge connecting various devices, allowing people to find sources on their computers and then watch them on TV, thus obtaining the best experience.

The new Z4 has powerful film and television service capabilities.

The new Z4 itself does not provide movie resources, so you need to import other resources first. If your movies are stored in a mobile hard disk, you only need to connect the mobile hard disk to the new Z4, then find the "external device" option in the file management interface on the phone or computer, open it and copy the resources. The copying speed depends on the specifications of the hard disk inserted in the mobile hard disk and NAS, and it is generally very fast.

Many users also store their resources in Baidu Netdisk. To address this, the new Z4 also has a "Netdisk backup" function to help users "move" smoothly. After binding your Baidu Netdisk account with your Jikongjian account, you can directly access the resources in the Netdisk from ZOS and download them directly to Jikongjian.

The new Z4's network disk backup speed is also very fast. In the test, the maximum speed during backup is faster than our usual download speed. In addition, this function does not require the client to be opened all the time to run. For users with more resources, you can turn on the backup before going to bed and shut down the computer to sleep. When you wake up the next day, you can see that the resources have been backed up.

The new Z4 also supports mainstream downloading methods such as BT, magnet, PT, etc. Taking magnet as an example, after copying the magnet link, the Jikongjian client will automatically recognize it, and users can choose the Jikongjian built-in download tool or the built-in Thunder to download.

However, Jikongjian is not a professional magnet download software, so the download speed will appear to be slightly slower. If you have a Thunder membership, the download speed will be improved using the built-in Thunder.

After the resources are stored, you can use the new Z4 to watch them. The new Z4 has a built-in "Ji Yingshi" function. After binding the folder storing the film and television resources to Ji Yingshi, the system will automatically identify the information of the film and television content and play it synchronously on mobile phones, computers, TVs and other terminals.

Jiyingshi's intelligent matching ability is very powerful. After uploading the movie, it will automatically identify key information such as cover, introduction, list of leading actors, ratings, etc. If the matching is wrong, it can be manually corrected. Just search the title to match the correct information.

Users who store a lot of movies don't have to worry about the clutter of resources. Jiyingshi supports filtering by movie specifications, production area, and movie type, and also supports sorting by addition time or movie release time. Users can also create classified albums according to their preferences. pole The video store stores multiple versions of a movie, and it can also store these movies under one entry to facilitate users to choose when watching.

For TV series, Jiyingshi can also automatically match information and divide them into episodes. In addition, Jiyingshi will automatically record the playback progress, thus avoiding the situation where you click on an episode and find that you have already watched it and have to manually jump to the next episode.

When playing film and television content, Ji Film and Television can also realize functions such as picture quality adjustment, audio track switching, and double-speed playback. In addition, it can also match subtitles. Just enter the film name to automatically match. It is very practical when watching foreign language film and television works.

The new Z4 has excellent hardware configuration, using Intel J4125 CPU, optional 4GB or 8GB memory, so that the new Z4 will not appear when watching true high-definition HDR movies. At the same time, the new Z4's network capabilities are also very outstanding, so that the movie will not suddenly stop loading when it reaches the climax.

We used the 60GB 4K version of The Matrix 3 for testing, and there was no ghosting or freezing during playback. In terms of loading, it only took a while to load at the beginning, and there was no frequent loading afterwards. It can even be said that the new Z4 can provide a viewing experience comparable to that of a Blu-ray player when watching true HD sources.

The new Z4 also has an excellent Internet experience. You can log in to your account and connect normally without any manual configuration, public IP or smart router. When accessing the Internet, the functions of Jikong are not restricted, and regular operations such as playing videos and sharing files can be completed. Taking video playback as an example, the new Z4 can still play high-definition movies smoothly in the Internet. It can be said that except for the download speed being affected, the experience in other aspects is almost the same.

The new Z4's feature of connecting internal and external networks is especially suitable for students, office workers and other groups. These people may not be in the same network environment as the new Z4 for a large part of the time, but they can still access the content at any time, making their NAS useful anytime and anywhere.

In general, the hardware and network capabilities of the new Z4 are already outstanding, and the user experience of Extreme Video is better than that of common suites such as PLEX and Emby. With simple binding, the smooth and synchronous playback of video content between various terminals can be achieved. The perfect combination of software and hardware makes the new Z4 a very suitable product to be used as the core when building a home theater.

Life, entertainment, work, just enough space

In addition to its film and television capabilities, the new Z4 has a wide range of uses in life, entertainment and work.

In daily life, backing up the photo album on your phone is a function that many users need. The new Z4 has a built-in "Extreme Album" function. After selecting the photo folder in your phone or computer, you can start backing up. Extreme Album has very fast backup and opening speeds in both internal and external network environments. When backing up, it will shield the small pictures generated by the icons of various applications and caches. After the backup is completed, it will automatically generate indexes and thumbnails.

Jixiangshu also has a unique "AI discovery" function, which automatically recognizes special formats such as animated images and videos, as well as people, places, and time in photos, helping users to archive and classify photos from multiple dimensions. In addition, Jixiangshu also supports an album cleanup function, which automatically scans duplicate photos in the album, reduces storage space, and makes the album more organized.

For freelancers or small studios, the new Z4 is also very suitable for work. After turning on the Samba service, follow the instructions on the client and you can directly access the content in the Ji Space with a computer in the same WiFi environment in a few simple steps. This function of Ji Space is very practical for work such as video editing and photo editing that often requires team sharing of materials.

For users who often need to back up and synchronize files, the new Z4 also provides a document synchronization function. After binding the document synchronization folder, changes in the local folder will be quickly reflected in the Ji Space folder.

File modifications made in the cloud will also be automatically synchronized to the local computer, eliminating the need to make separate backups after each modification.

For Mac users, the new Z4 also supports Mac's Time Machine backup function. You should know that the storage space on Mac is extremely valuable, and this function can help users relieve a lot of pressure.

In terms of entertainment, in addition to the film and television functions, Jikongjian has also added the "Jidudu" function on the Android side, which supports multiple e-book formats such as txt, epub, and pdf. In the test, we imported the txt version of "Dream of Red Mansions". We can see that Jidudu can automatically divide chapters and also supports memorizing reading progress. The only drawback is that it does not currently support manual correction information like Jiyingshi. The copy of "Dream of Red Mansions" we downloaded does not have a cover, and it would be better if it could be added manually.

Finally, let's talk about the power consumption issue that many users are concerned about. According to our test, the new Z4 with two hard drives inserted consumes about 17W of power when playing movies, while the normal power consumption is about 13W or less. Based on an average of 15W, 24 hours of operation, and 0.5 yuan per kWh, the new Z4 will incur an electricity bill of about 0.18 yuan per day, and the annual electricity bill is only 65 yuan, so there is no need to worry about incurring additional electricity burden.

The new Z4 also has a commendable control over temperature and noise during operation. The noise at the air outlet is 46.8 decibels, which is almost unnoticeable unless you put your ear close to the fan outlet. The air outlet temperature is only 26.4 degrees, which doesn't make people feel hot even in summer.

It can be seen that the new Z4 can meet the various needs of individuals, families and small studio users from entertainment to life to work, and simplifies the software system to the greatest extent possible, making it close to ordinary users. For users who are familiar with the basic operations of computers and mobile phones, the new Z4 has almost no threshold for getting started.

For a novice user who wants to build a home NAS, easy-to-understand is the most appropriate. In the past, the various barriers to building and operating NAS, including downloading and playing video resources, have always been a huge obstacle for novice users. They directly and indirectly waste users' time and money, and make many users give up the idea of ​​building a NAS. The idea of ​​the new Z4 of Jikong Space is to make a plug-and-play NAS, which is exactly the most scarce product on the market.

On the basis of ease of use, the new Z4's performance and scalability are not backward, whether it is network transmission speed, video decoding ability or rich built-in software, it can ensure that users can get an excellent user experience. Overall, the new Z4 of Jikong Space is very in line with the usage habits of Chinese people, and it is the best choice for users who are trying to build a home NAS for the first time.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.