How to Set Up UGREEN NAS for 4K Video Editing

A smooth 4K editing workflow does not put every file on the NAS. Store original footage, shared assets, project files, and exports on your UGREEN NAS, while keeping media cache, previews, and temporary renders on the editing workstation’s internal NVMe SSD.

Edit directly from the NAS only when the network and storage pool can sustain your codec, stream count, and number of editors. If they cannot, copy the active project to a local SSD or create proxies instead of trying to force full-resolution playback across an undersized connection.

If you have not selected your hardware yet, start with our guide to choosing a NAS for video editing.

Choose a 4K Editing Workflow

The first decision is where the active media will live while you edit. 

For solo editors, local cache plus NAS-hosted media provides the best balance. The NAS supplies shared capacity and centralized project storage, while the workstation handles the small, frequent reads and writes generated by the editing application.

Create the Storage Pools and Project Share

Before connecting an editing workstation, decide whether active media belongs on an HDD pool or a dedicated SSD pool.

A multi-drive HDD pool provides affordable capacity and enough sequential throughput for many compressed 4K workflows. A dedicated SSD pool is the better choice for high-bitrate media, frequent multicam work, or projects that demand lower latency.

SSD cache serves a different role. UGOS Pro SSD cache is designed mainly to accelerate random reads and writes on an HDD pool. Video source files are usually read sequentially, so adding cache does not guarantee faster timeline playback. If the HDD pool cannot sustain the project, a dedicated SSD storage pool provides more predictable performance.

Confirm that the exact HDD or SSD model is listed on the UGREEN NAS compatibility list before installing it.

Create a Storage Pool and Volume

Creating a storage pool formats the selected drives. Move any existing files off those drives before continuing.

1. Open Storage in UGOS Pro.
2. Go to Storage pool & volume.
3. Select Create > Storage pool.
4. Select the drives that will belong to the pool.
5. Choose the RAID type and select Next.
6. Choose whether to run a disk check.
7. Set the volume capacity and choose the file system:
   • Choose Btrfs if you want UGOS Pro snapshots for point-in-time recovery of active project folders.
   • Choose EXT4 only when large sequential-transfer performance takes priority and an independent versioned backup will provide recovery.
8. Select Create.
9. Confirm the formatting warning and enter the administrator password.

The file system cannot be changed in place after the volume is created. Switching between Btrfs and EXT4 requires backing up the data, recreating the volume, and restoring the files. For active project volumes, Btrfs is the more practical choice because accidental deletion, unwanted changes, and corrupted project files are common recovery scenarios.

The system creates a volume after the storage pool is configured. Keep approximately 20% of the finished volume free for project growth, proxies, exports, snapshots, and filesystem operations.

Do not use RAID 0 for the only copy of an active project. It increases throughput but provides no drive-failure tolerance. Our UGREEN RAID guide explains the capacity, performance, and rebuild tradeoffs between RAID 5, RAID 6, and RAID 10.

Create the Video Project Share

Open Files, select the + icon, and choose Create a New Shared Folder. Name the share Video_Projects and place it on the volume intended for active media.

A consistent folder structure prevents missing-media problems when projects move between workstations:

Video_Projects/
└── Client_Project/
    ├── 01_Footage/
    ├── 02_Audio/
    ├── 03_Graphics/
    ├── 04_Project_Files/
    ├── 05_Proxies/
    ├── 06_Exports/
    └── 07_Deliverables/

Leave the Recycle Bin enabled for protection against accidental deletion, but remember that deleted footage continues consuming volume capacity until it is cleared. One deleted project can occupy hundreds of gigabytes and consume the free-space headroom required for active work.

Open Recycle Bin > Settings > Cleanup Plan and create a cleanup plan for the video-project share. Use a shorter retention period than you would for ordinary documents, based on the size of your projects and the schedule of your independent backup. Review the Recycle Bin before a large ingest rather than discovering that deleted footage has filled the volume.

The Recycle Bin provides a short recovery opportunity. It is not an independent backup.

Do not create a shared Media_Cache folder. Each editing workstation should maintain its own cache locally.

Create Accounts and Permissions

Open Control Panel > User Management and create a standard account for each editor. Do not give the team one shared administrator login.

For a small team, create groups based on what each person needs to do:

• Editors: Read/Write access to active project folders
• Reviewers: Read Only access to exports and deliverables
• Archive managers: Read/Write access to completed-project folders
• Other users: Access Denied

After creating the shared folder, assign permissions in the Shared folder permission configuration window. You can change them later by opening Files, right-clicking the folder, and selecting Properties > Permissions.

Permissions control file access. They do not prevent two editors from overwriting the same project file if the editing application lacks project locking.

Connect the Editing Workstation over SMB

Use wired Ethernet for direct 4K editing. Wi-Fi is suitable for browsing files, reviewing exports, and light transfers, but changing signal quality makes it a poor foundation for sustained high-bitrate playback.

In UGOS Pro:

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Go to File Service > SMB.
3. Enable SMB Service.
4. Select Apply.

Keep SMB 1 disabled. Current Windows and macOS systems support newer SMB versions with better performance and security.

Connect from Windows

Open File Explorer and enter the share path:

\\NAS-name\Video_Projects

You can also use the NAS IP address:

\\192.168.1.50\Video_Projects

Sign in with the editor’s UGREEN NAS username and password. To assign a permanent drive letter, right-click This PC, select Map network drive, choose a drive letter, and enter the shared-folder path.

For a team using Adobe Productions, map the share to the same drive letter on every Windows workstation. Inconsistent paths can cause media to appear offline when the project moves between editors.

Connect from macOS

In Finder, select Go > Connect to Server and enter:

smb://NAS-name/Video_Projects

Or use the IP address:

smb://192.168.1.50/Video_Projects

Select Connect, enter the NAS account credentials, and choose the project share. Use the same mounted volume name on every Mac participating in the project.

For additional protocol and permission details, see our guide to UGREEN NAS file sharing with SMB and NFS.

Verify the Network Path

Every component must support the intended link speed:

• NAS Ethernet port
• Workstation network adapter
• Network switch
• Ethernet cabling
• Any Thunderbolt or USB Ethernet adapter

A 10GbE NAS connected through a 2.5GbE switch will operate at 2.5GbE. The fastest component cannot compensate for the slowest link.

Use these practical file-transfer figures as a reference:

The 10GbE result requires a storage pool and client drive fast enough to keep up. A small HDD array may reach its storage limit before the network reaches its limit.

Start with the standard MTU of 1500. Jumbo frames can reduce processing overhead during large transfers, but the NAS, workstation, switch, and every intermediate interface must use compatible settings. An MTU mismatch can cause transfers to stall or fail intermittently.

Put Each Part of the Project in the Right Place

The NAS should hold files that need capacity, sharing, centralized access, or protection. The workstation SSD should hold temporary data that needs low latency.

Keeping cache and previews local also prevents one editor’s temporary files from consuming shared capacity or generating unnecessary network traffic.

Configure the Editing Application Around the Storage Layout

Once the share is mounted, point the application to the correct locations:

• Import or link source media from the NAS project share.
• Place media cache, cache databases, previews, and temporary renders on the workstation’s internal NVMe SSD.
• Save exports to the project’s 06_Exports folder.
• Maintain versioned project files instead of repeatedly overwriting one master file.
• Keep autosaves separate from the primary project file.

Shared storage does not make every editing application multi-user safe. The collaboration method must support project ownership, locking, or a shared project database.

In Adobe Premiere, Team Projects and Productions solve different problems. Team Projects stores project information in Adobe’s cloud, while every collaborator still needs access to the media. Productions is designed for shared-storage workflows and uses project locking so editors can work on different parts of a production without silently overwriting each other.

Adobe recommends SMB for Premiere Productions on NAS storage. It also recommends keeping Media Cache Files and the Media Cache Database on a fast, directly attached SSD for each workstation. See our detailed guide to optimizing UGREEN NAS for Premiere Pro for the application settings.

Final Cut Pro 10.4 and later supports libraries on compatible SMB and NFS shared storage. Follow Apple’s shared-storage requirements for Final Cut Pro, especially when more than one Mac needs access.

Regardless of the application, do not let several editors open an ordinary project file with Read/Write access unless the application explicitly supports that workflow.

Test the NAS Before Moving a Live Project

A successful SMB connection proves that the folder is reachable. It does not prove that the complete editing path is fast enough.

Run this test before moving an active client project:

1. Select one large file, preferably at least 20GB, on a fast workstation SSD.
2. Copy it to the NAS and record the sustained write speed.
3. Copy it back and record the sustained read speed.
4. Confirm that the workstation and NAS negotiated the expected Ethernet speed.
5. Compare the recorded speeds with the required-throughput figure calculated when planning the NAS.
6. Open a representative project using the real codec, resolution, effects, and stream count.
7. Test timeline scrubbing, multicam playback, rendering, and export.
8. Repeat the test with the number of editors expected to work simultaneously.

Direct editing passes only when the sustained NAS read speed remains above the calculated requirement while the representative timeline and expected users are active. The NAS write speed must also satisfy the ingest and export workload.

If either result falls below the requirement, use proxies, copy the active project to local NVMe storage, or upgrade the limiting part of the storage and network path.

Open Task Manager and Storage in UGOS Pro during the test. Watch CPU, memory, network, and disk activity instead of assuming every stutter comes from the NAS.

SMB signing verifies the integrity and identity of SMB communications, while SMB encryption protects the data carried by the connection. Both can reduce throughput when the NAS or workstation CPU becomes the bottleneck. Windows 11 24H2 Pro, Enterprise, and Education require SMB signing by default.

Do not disable signing or encryption simply to improve benchmark results. Measure the effect and address the CPU, network, or workflow limitation without removing security controls. Microsoft provides additional context in its guidance for diagnosing slow SMB transfers.

If the basic transfer test fails, fix that path before changing settings inside the editing application. Our NAS performance troubleshooting guide provides a deeper network, storage, and workload diagnostic sequence.

Use Proxies for Remote or Heavy 4K Workflows

Proxies are smaller editing copies linked to the full-resolution originals. They reduce network throughput and decoding load without changing the source media used for final color work and export.

Use proxies when:

• The workstation struggles to decode the original codec
• A multicam timeline exceeds the available network throughput
• Several editors share the same storage pool
• An editor works over the internet
• High-bitrate originals must remain on the NAS

For a solo editor in the same building as the NAS, local proxies provide the lowest latency. For a team, generate one shared proxy set instead of asking every workstation to encode the same footage independently.

Assign one ingest workstation or editor to generate the proxies. Save them in the project’s shared 05_Proxies folder, then attach that proxy set on every editing workstation. This avoids duplicated encoding time, inconsistent filenames, and multiple copies consuming shared capacity.

The NAS stores and distributes the proxies. The ingest workstation or another designated editing computer performs the encoding unless you have configured a separate, verified proxy-automation workflow.

Keep proxy filenames and project paths stable so the application can switch between proxies and original media without manual relinking.

Remote editing needs a different expectation. A 40Mbps upload connection has a theoretical maximum of 5MB/s. Uploading 100GB takes at least about 5.6 hours before network overhead, congestion, and service limitations.

For that situation, use one of these approaches:

1. Synchronize the shared proxies to the remote workstation.
2. Transfer only the media required for the current sequence.
3. Remotely control an onsite editing workstation that already has fast access to the NAS.

Reconnect the full-resolution originals before final color grading, quality control, and export.

Protect Project Files and Original Media

An editing workflow is not complete until the source media and project files can be recovered.

RAID keeps a storage pool available after supported drive failures. It does not restore footage deleted by an editor, recover an overwritten project, or protect the library if the entire NAS is lost.

Back up:

• Camera originals
• Project files and autosaves
• Audio and graphics
• Custom presets and templates
• Final masters and deliverables

You can normally exclude:

• Media cache
• Preview files
• Temporary renders
• Regenerable proxies

Use versioned backup rather than a mirror that immediately propagates deletion or corruption.

If the active-project volume uses Btrfs, configure UGOS Pro snapshots for the Video_Projects shared folder. Snapshots provide point-in-time recovery on the NAS, but they still consume pool capacity and remain vulnerable to failure, theft, or compromise of the complete device. Schedule them outside major ingest, move, or archive operations so they capture a consistent project state.

Snapshots are not available on EXT4 volumes. An EXT4 editing volume therefore depends more heavily on frequent versioned backups for recovery.

Schedule large backup jobs outside active editing hours so they do not compete with timeline playback. For off-site protection, follow our guide to automating UGREEN NAS cloud backups.

A UPS protects writes and storage-pool operations during a power failure. It does not replace backup, but it reduces the risk of an active project or filesystem being damaged by an uncontrolled shutdown.

Before moving the live project, confirm three things: the sustained transfer speed exceeds the calculated requirement, the representative timeline plays correctly, and at least one important file can be restored from the independent backup. Keep the ingest drive untouched until all three checks succeed.