How to organize home server storage?

Question

NAS

Hi all.
I want to organize a home network storage, but I don’t know what equipment to choose and how to configure it later. I don't understand Linux/Androids at all, so I'm looking for simple solutions whenever possible.
However, if there are none, I'll figure it out in Linux, with your help :)
So ...
There are the following tasks that I would like to be able to implement:
Mandatory list
1. Dropping photos, videos, etc. from iPhones to NAS via WiFi (I assume that this is done through the FileBrowser program)
2. Dropping files from Desktop and Notebook to NAS via Lan and Wifi
3. Reading files from NAS to:

• iPhone (via WiFi)
  
• iPad (via WiFi)
  
• Desktop Windows 7 (by Lan)
  
• Notebook Windows 8 (via WiFi)
  
• Media player for watching Videos, photos, movies in 720p/1080p format (via Wifi)
  

4. Backing up selected data (some folders) to the cloud (I don’t know how much this is necessary, but I think that family photos and videos need to be backed up so as not to lose them)
Desirable list
1. Backing up sites via FTP (I don’t know how this is done, but some NAS saw the FTP function and thought that it could be used for this)
2. Downloading torrents directly to the NAS (again, I saw it in the declared functions, but I don’t know how it works)
3. Support for recording from IP cameras
Choice equipment
I assume that for all this I will need fast and reliable WiFi (I currently have a Zyxel Keenect with 1 antenna, constant WiFi drops and speed drops). Also, probably, it should be powerful, because. the router is in one room, the media player will be in another, and the iPhones are walking around the whole apartment (4-room, 100m2)
As well as the NAS itself and the media player.
Found the following options:

• Apple Airport Time Capsule - sort of like a powerful WiFi + has 2TB / 3TB disk on board. But how it works as a NAS and whether it can perform my tasks is not clear, because all the reviews consider only setting up and using it as a router and nothing is said about working with it as a NAS and interacting with Windows. Among other things, it does not work with providers that work through a VPN, so, as I understand it? I will need a "gasket", which my current Zyxel can act as, there are no problems, it seems ...
  
• iconBIT XDS100 3DW media player ( shop ). It seems to have everything you need to play video over WiFi, however, I'm not sure that the speed will be enough for this. It also has the ability to install a 3.5'' HDD inside, which can turn it into a NAS. Whether this is an acceptable solution, I don't know.
  
• The third option is to buy separately a good WiFi router + NAS + media player
  

Please help me decide on the configuration of the equipment ... the priority is speed, reliability (I like quality things in terms of internals and appearance) and ease of installation and operation ... the price, although it matters, is a secondary factor.
Thank you!

Answer 1

Thanks everyone for the advice and help!
So, what did I stop at
1. NAS Synology DS214play + 3TB "WD RED" drive
~40,000 rubles
2. As an Apple Airport Extreme router, the American version, because you should not take a Time Capsule in Russia
~10,000 rubles Ebay delivery
3. Xbox One as a media player + games. Because I still wanted her, but she turns out to be good at video playback.
Hope it will be useful for someone else

Answer 2

Given the number of Wishlist 1, there is no universal solution for you. Your case is to raise any fairly popular assembly of linux on anything (for example, ubuntu 14) and on it, in turn, solve each of the tasks you set. All of them are solved, but do not expect that 1 click in the corner of the screen will be enough for this, you will need to poke around in all sorts of configs and other guts of all the software you need for a long time, and you need a lot of it to implement all the Wishlist. On Windows, this can also be done, but in terms of the reliability of this "NAS", you can immediately count on the fact that sooner or later it will fail.

Answer 3

Raspverry pi 2, debian + plex + ftp + toreni rocker + samba + external hard drive to it, with additional power supply via usb. Asus rt n 18 u from routers, on asus we hang the latest tomato firmware. I have such a system. Works fast and cheap. Why plex you ask, but they produced excellent software for the apple.

Answer 4

I have Synology.
On Windows and Mac OS it is connected as a network drive, iOS and Android through a proprietary application. It downloads torrents, Plex streams videos to a TV, makes backups from all devices, deploys a home site for a smart home, plus a bunch of lotions.