First Impressions: NVR 101

The very first thing that stands out on the NVR101 is the fact that the case of the unit is highly reflective. This gives the unit a very slick look and feel to it, but it does mean that you will be spending a lot of time cleaning dust, smudges and even fingerprints off the darn thing. Heck, during the photo shoot we had dust bunnies hitchhiking from other counties just so they could land on it! While our personal preference is for a flat or matte black finish, some people like shinny things so it really does come down to your own tastes whether or not this is a pro or a con. Either way it should not be considered a deal maker or a deal breaker as a unit is only as good as its performance regardless of it looks, and this one is a darn good performer.

Of course, the way in which they obtained this highly reflective surface is another matter all together. Unfortunately, this case is made from shiny, yet cheap plastic. Plastic is all well and fine when you are buying a $35 external storage unit but this unit is part of a thousand dollar kit, so the very least one expects is to see an all metal enclosure. The upside to QNAP using such a fragile material is that it does make the unit exceptionally lightweight. If one is careful, th=e NVR101 should last for a good long while; and lets face it, any kit that sets you back “10 bills” is going to be treated with kid gloves!


When one gets over the bright glare being cast from the surface of the unit (and gets over using it as a mirror) the next thing which becomes readily apparent is that it is an amazingly small device. It literally is no larger than a single bay external enclosure device, yet it packs some amazing options into a small space. On the front of the unit we have numerous indicator LEDs that with just a quick glance allow you to ascertain the status of the unit.

The top LED is to show USB status and when it is glowing blue you can press the backup video button to backup video to a USB device. When it is blinking said video is in the process of being backed up and when it stops blinking the process is complete. The next LED is called the System Status LED but in reality it is more concerned with the status of the installed hard drive than anything else. Depending on its color and whether or not it is blinking one can easily determine when the hard drive is full, failed or not even initialized. The LED below the System Status LED is the HDD1/eSATA LED and this light blinks when the internal (or external hard drive if one is plugged in) is being accessed. Needless to say, if this LED is blinking it probably would be a very bad time to turn off the unit. The last two LEDS are the LAN LED which tells you if the device is connected to the Network and whether or not it is accessing said network. Directly below this LED is the Power indicator LED which glows blue when the power is on.

On their own, these LEDS are well designed and executed as they are easy to see from a distance but are not so bright as to be annoying, but taken as a whole they can convey a lot of information quickly and accurately. Yes it will take a bit of getting used to in order to decode the LED combinations but in short order you will come to not only like that they are there but love them as they really do work and you don’t need to access a computer to get a good feel for the overall status of the unit. In a nut shell this has typical QNAP quality and refinement stamped all over it.


Of course, the front is not just there for housing the LEDs as you also get a nicely designed Power Button that blends in very well with the overall look and feel of the NVR101’s external design. On the other end of the LEDs is a QNAP trademark front USB port and One touch AUTO backup that will back up all data from the internal hard drive to an external one (such as a USB front connected external enclosure for example).


The quality and elegance of this unit does not stop at the front of this unit, as just as much time and effort was spent in the layout of the back of the NVR 101.


At the very bottom of this unit you have the power adapter connector, the factory reset button (that works very similar to the camera reset in that it sets everything back to factory default), the Kensington lock connector (lock is of course not included) and the 10/100/1000 “gigabit” Ethernet connector. Above the Ethernet port you have an eSATA port that allows you to hook up an external enclosure and RAID 1 the NVR101’s recorded data, and above the eSATA port you have two USB connectors.

Of course topping all these connectors is the NVR 101s cooling fan.