HP MediaSmart EX495, Windows Home Server w/ Intel Pentium Dual Core 2.5 Ghz 64-bit 2GB DDR2 1.5TB HDD installed (three open bay), 4 USB & 1 eSATA expansion ports , Mac Compatible, TiVO support

Pros: This server has done everything i wanted it to do and then some. Even after 2 and a half years it still working, and i never shut it off but once every 6 months for a deep cleaning. It lets you use internet to access the files form anywhere in the world (which ive done), and the backup system is amazing.

Cons: Takes a bit of knowledge than the average user to install, but once you install it on one computers the other computers are much easier to install.

Other Thoughts: Be nice to have external addition storage (not just adding a HDD) but external bay to put multiple HDDs in, but i think 8 tera is enough for me.

Pros: Nice form factor
Looks great
Works as advertised

Cons: Out of production
Old operating system
Headless design can be challenging

Other Thoughts: I used one of these for a couple years (the cheaper 490 model which I just upgraded the CPU and memory for myself).
It worked fine for a couple years, but the headless design (can't plug in a monitor) means all your troubleshooting needs to happen through RDP which can be difficult. I eventually had problems being unable to power it on (or restart) when warm which was very frustrating, so threw it out and built my own.
With WHS2011 selling here for $50 or so, you can easily add a case, mobo, low power core I3 cpu with video, a heap of memory, the drives of your choosing and build your own home server that will outperform this by a mile for a couple hundred less.
Sure, it won't look as cute, but why would you buy a system built on the prior generation OS?

Pros: I just bought another one for a Friend - Excellent features, and will serve you far more than a NAS Device. Best Windows Home Server (WHS) Product on the market. Also, you suggest this for your non-technical friends to purchase as it is fairly easy to setup including AV, Tivo add-on, etc.

Cons: The HP decision to drop this product is idiotic. HP printer quality has fallen badly the past 18-months, yet this great product with significant demand has been dropped? What were they thinking??

Other Thoughts: Buy one, you won't regret it.

Pros: New to Windows Home Server (WHS), and after several reviews seemed like EX495 was the way to go. Quality product, nicely sized, nearly silent, but because discontinued ships with WHS 2008 which is fine. WHS does a good job keeping your PCs backed up on a daily basis, and integrates nicely with Windows Media Center.

Cons: Install procedures were missing several important steps, but they become fairly evident after a good once through. WHS automatically excludes Recorded TV folder from PC backups, and cannot be overridden from WHS console. This is compensated for by having to manually set up archiving in Windows 7 Media Center, but do not see any provisions for XP Media Center (though a TV tuner may need to be installed to enable this). Even though the mainboard has VGA/keyboard/mouse/serial these are not usable without a specialized accessory that isn't even available from HP. And then that requires you opening up the case which instantly voids your warranty (hey, thanks HP). But if you want to upgrade to WHS 2011 or other OS you really need to have it, and you'll have to get a DVD too for the convenience. McAfee made a great antivirus for WHS, which a 90-day trial is included, but McAfee has followed HP and discontinued this product (hey, thanks McAfee). It's too bad because any WHS should have it.

Other Thoughts: Appears these as well as the Acers are built by the same 3rd-party company. Regardless, not sure why these were perceived as the way to go for WHS. With all the extra jerking around you have to do, along with the extra $100-$150 you have to spend just so you can upgrade it, you are WAY better off getting an HP business-class computer, and then buying/installing WHS - all for the same money. Man, wish I could return my EX495 now big time.

Pros: Delivery was excellent. Unit arrived in perfect physical condition. Small package is ideal for my use. Adding a second drive from the very start was extremely simple.

Cons: Software installation produced warning messages that were undocumented and essentially indecipherable. Getting HP Update to work correctly was byzantine at best. Then came "incompatible client software - remove and reinstall from server." This did not die until a server shutdown and restart was done, again undocumented and readily part of ordinary S/W distros.

Other Thoughts: That being said, all the computers in the house are running as expected and desired. File sharing is working as is folder duplication.

High marks for value per TB; even higher marks for WHS interoperability with Windows 7 and Windows XP SP2. No user interface changes needed other than "shared folders are here" and that can be a desktop short cut.

A very satisfactory overall initial experience - helps and doc's could be improved a lot, but that is a tired old song.

Pros: Works great for backing up all the PCs in my house (up to 10). Great place for storing all my digital photos (thousands) and CD files. Also use it as the central location for documents.

Cons: About the only con now is that HP has discontinued this product. I bought this to repalce my EX475 which had developed a bad power supply fan after 3.5 years.

Other Thoughts: Great way to get a home server with backup automation software for your PCs. I also have a Roswill 4 slot e-sata enclosure populated for a total of 8 drives of storage! This should hold me for a while now that I'm starting to migrate to 2gb drives.

Pros: The HP Mediasmart ex495 is an excellent buy if you know what you are looking for. For me I was looking for a way to centralize all my data (video, music, photos and documents). My other requirement was to have low noise and power consumption.
This mediasmart server did it all for a reasonable price. I can add storage anytime I want (which I did). It backups up the data for users on the network. I also like that I can install virus software for my PCs from it.
Since I know that bandwidth on my upload isn't that great I didn't expect to stream video. I stream my music all the time no matter where I go (which is awesome). I also like that it backups my files even when I travel from home (as long as I have internet connection where I am at in the world).

Cons: The pros outweigh the cons which is good. I only have a few dislikes about the server...
1.) I wish the media server could join a domain permanently which it cannot because of the media server runs windows home server and it violates the EULA of Windows when joining a domain (other than to transfer data for a short period of time).

2.) Probably the worst thing is using the media converter to play media to other devices. The media smart doesn't convert files on the fly instead it makes another copy of the same file in mp4 format. Multiple copies of the same file is a huge waste of hard drive space especially if you have a lot of digital media.

3. No RAID. I really wish the box could perform RAID. Instead of mirroring and stripping the drives ,the media server is doing a copy and paste of the data from one drive to the next of course this is all seamless to the user but not the most efficient method by far.

Other Thoughts: The mediasmart has good ram which isn't a problem. The CPU however runs pretty high which lets me know that the processor should be upgraded to something better. All in all and dollar for dollar its a great investment. The media server answers the bulk of centralized management problems on the average small network environment.

Pros: Quiet. Easy to setup and configure.

Cons: Twonky is hit and miss.

Other Thoughts: This is really easy to set up. I'm not a high end user and mainly purchased this to share pictures and video with family members.

Streaming the kids' birthday parties or other video over the internet to family members is nice. TMS craps itself every now and then at which time I will have to go in and remove it and add it back again (Takes about 45 seconds) and everything is working again. For what I use it for, it works perfectly albeit with some issues with Twonky. Overall I think this is a good purchase.

Get one while you can since HP has stopped making them for some reason. Once all the HP models are gone, plan to pay around 1500 for the same thing.

Pros: I decided to centralize all my documents, photos, music and movies (Over 600+ movies) into a single location so I can share it with he home PC and Laptops, This unit servers that job just fine if not great it makes dual backups (in separate hard drives via folder duplication) of the selected folders I choose to be most important, I stream my movies to a WDTV Live box via Ethernet Cable and just for testing I played the same bluray movie on the WDTV Live and my Home-PC at the same time with no problems. it collects the media from all pc which you installed the media collector on and backs them up in the server, and also creates backups of the computers that you have added to the user list. I even setup my sisters laptop to back up to the server and she lives in NY while I am in FL (used Hamachi to accomplish this (Free from Logmein.com).

Cons: Like other have said Twonky Server.. is slow and I have yet to install the latest (Non-HP) version of the Twonky server it is said it works better but althought it is slow it does work I can play all my music from work Like if I was home but streaming Video (Via Internet) is not possible I need a FASTER internet upload speed it seams..

Other Thoughts: Also Just to add I have the EX490 Model is the same as the EX495 (except for the CPU) and I upgraded that CPU to this (Intel Core2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor / http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115056 ) Which makes my unit a little more faster that the EX495 Model.
Paid 399.00 for the EX490(with 2TB Drive @ Costco) + 124.99 for CPU @ NewEgg
Total of : 523.99

Pros: I had to have my friend order this for me as I DO NOT have a credit card (THANKS GERRY)!!! It is ONE of the BEST investments I have made SINCE starting up with PC's (back in the 70's). Now I can backup to a REMOTE location (whenever I want) and watch movies or listen to music to my hearts delight. Furthermore I can set it up so anyone in my house (OR ELSEWHERE) can do the same - which is a neat feature. This is something I couldn't even do when I ran a BBS. Now all I need is a way to hook this up to a HAM RADIO and then I'll be all set. WHY MS would drop the DRIVE EXTENDER feature is a loss to me - THIS is 100 times better than a RAID feature. WAKE UP MS and smell the roses. For ONCE give us something we ASK FOR - NOT WHAT YOU THINK WE WOULD LIKE!!! I hate to think what the NEW WHS is going to look like - it DEFINATLY will NOT sell for $400 - $600 for the average user. NOR will it have the features we're looking for as a HOME USER!!! IF YOU HAVE ONE - HAVE FUN. IF YOU DON'T - GET ONE!

Cons: IN A WORD - TWONKY MEDIA!!! It's a HOG!!! If you go to TWONKY's Website you can get a NEWER version that WORKS 100% better then this version. It EVEN has a link that TELLS you HOW to install it (8 Pages). HP does not have it - NOR will they get it. If you don't want to use TWONKY you can use the VideoLan/VLC Program to watch videos OR you could use WinAmp to listen to music & watch your videos (VLC is better as it supports a wider range of formats than WinAmp - but it's up to you.) Either one will work. Now on to Add-Ins & Help Sites. There are TONS & TONS of websites out there & they have TONS of help files & Video's that walk you through anything you might ask. As far as Add-Ins - AGAIN there are TONS of them - & a majority of them are FREE!!! You can get ones that will Automate your home, act as a uTorrent Server, enhance your Server, change your Website Pictures, or pretty much anything else you have in mind. ONE recommendation - PRINT OUT the MANUAL (It's OVER 400 PAGES!) Have fun

Other Thoughts: HP is discontinuing this Server... If you want to buy one in the future you will HAVE to get the ProLiant version. The cheap version is $319 & has RAID support - but ONLY has a PUNY 160GB HD & a PUNY AMD Athlon II NEO N36L processor which is SLOWER than the one that comes with the EX495. The next Server (the ProLiant ML110), will set you back $1,199 (for a HOME Server - THIS IS TOO MUCH)! The added features this unit has are that it has BOTH a PS2 Keyboard & Mouse Connector & a Video Output (Which I WISH the EX495 came with)!!! You CAN get a Video & PS2 Keyboard & Mouse Connector IF you REALLY NEED ONE! Again, just go to the sites & you'll find one. The ProLiant ML110 ALSO has NO HARDWARE RAID & includes NO DRIVER CD's & AGAIN comes WITH A PUNY 160GB HD - COME ON HP (WHO USES A 160GB HD nowadays - it's time to get rid of the OUTHOUSE & get INDOOR PLUMBING FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!!! Whichever decision you make - You have better make it quick. Get'em while they last OR be sorry you didn't!!