get the education discount when you go to buy your mac mini

>>103241546
>For instance, would an SBC of some kind be able to drive it?
depends on what you want to use it for. it will be slow as fuck for transferring files but if this is just a toy you'll probably never use after a month then you're better off going for an SBC than a real NAS

>>103241960
I'd describe myself as a datahoarder. I have a decent collection of music and anime/movies that I wanted to make available to any TV/computer in the house and potentially make available over the internet when I'm traveling.

>>103241546
>For instance, would an SBC of some kind be able to drive it?
drive it? is it a nas or an suv?
you can get a second hand old actual real computer for about the same cost as a nas.
if you are streaming video, especially over the internet, you probably need to understand transcoding. hardware encoders exist in modern gpus for certain codecs which may help.
if you only really have e.g. 2 tvs then just buy a long hdmi lead and plug them. dont' bother with plex etc bullshit. its aids.