Learn how to install, customize and use ASUSTOR Portal

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this course you should be able to:

1. Customize and use ASUSTOR Portal.

PREREQUISITES

Course Prerequisites:

None

Students are expected to have a working knowledge of:

None

OUTLINE

1. Introduction to ASUSTOR Portal

1.1 Connecting your NAS to an HDMI Display

2. Installing ASUSTOR Portal

2.1 Installing ASUSTOR Portal from App Central

3. Customizing ASUSTOR Portal

3.1 General settings

3.2 Changing the ASUSTOR Portal desktop wallpaper

3.3 Adding your favorite websites to ASUSTOR Portal

3.4 Fixing overscan issues with ASUSTOR Portal

3.5 Configuring the screensaver

4. Introduction to the ASUSTOR Portal Interface

5. Using Multimedia and Social Media Websites

1. Introduction to ASUSTOR Portal

There's no need to turn on your computer when you want to play videos or browse the internet. Simply connect your NAS to any HDMI ready display and leave the rest to the ASUSTOR Portal! Within the ASUSTOR Portal you will be able to use browse the Internet using the Firefox browser.

ASUSTOR Portal provides browser shortcuts to streaming websites such as Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime, or Disney+ to make opening each service's webpage easier and faster. ASUSTOR does not provide any warranty for the user experience or content hosted on third party sites. Your mileage may vary when using third party websites.

Note: Surveillance Center, after upgrading to ADM 4.0, will no longer support local display mode, and there will be no Surveillance Center app on ASUSTOR Portal.

System requirements: AS31, AS32, AS50, AS51, AS52, AS53, AS54, AS61, AS62, AS63, AS64, AS66, AS67, AS70, FS67.

1.1 Connecting your NAS to an HDMI Display

Connect your NAS to an HDMI display via the HDMI port found on the rear panel of your NAS.

2. Installing ASUSTOR Portal

2.1 Installing ASUSTOR Portal from App Central

STEP 1

• Using your Web browser, log in to ADM using an administrator account.
• Select [App Central] [ASUSTOR Apps].
• Click on [ASUSTOR Portal] and then click on [Install] button to install ASUSTOR Portal.
• Other related Apps (Remote Center, Firefox and XOrg) will be installed simultaneously while installing ASUSTOR Portal.

STEP 2

• After installation has completed, you will be able to see the ASUSTOR Portal interface on your HDMI display.

3. Customizing ASUSTOR Portal

3.1 General settings

You can configure the following settings in the [General] section. After making configurations, click on [Apply] to make the settings effective.

• Default information displayed on ASUSTOR Portal including IP address, server name, time, ADM, YouTube.
• Default App that is launched when ASUSTOR Portal is opened.

3.2 Changing the ASUSTOR Portal desktop wallpaper

STEP 1

• Select [ASUSTOR Portal] from the ADM desktop.
• Make sure [Wallpaper] is selected in the left-hand panel and then select either the [Upload from PC] or [Upload from NAS] button to upload an image of your choice.

STEP 2

• After the image has been uploaded, select it and then click on [Apply] button.
• You should now be able to see the new desktop wallpaper for ASUSTOR Portal on your HDMI display.

3.3 Adding your favorite websites to ASUSTOR Portal

STEP 1

• Select [Favorite] from the left-hand panel.
• Click on the button and then enter the URL for your website and a description.
• Click on [OK] once you are done. You should now be able to see a new shortcut for the website you have just added on your HDMI display.

STEP 2

You can also change the order of the shortcuts appearing in ASUSTOR Portal. To do this:

• Click on the button.
• Drag and drop the websites to configure the order that you desire.
• Click on the [OK] button once you are done. You should now be able to see the changes that you have made on your HDMI display.

3.4 Fixing overscan issues with ASUSTOR Portal

If you find that ASUSTOR Portal has been overscanned on your monitor, you can use the following two methods to fix this problem:

• Adjust the aspect ratio of the content area on your monitor.
• Adjust the ASUSTOR Portal overscan value.

Note: If the [Ref. 5015] error message appears when adjusting the output resolution or other related settings, please check whether the HDMI is properly connected. After reconnecting the HDMI cable, restart the NAS to check if the problem persists. If issue persists, please contact the ASUSTOR Support Team.

In the following example we will be adjust the ASUSTOR Portal overscan value.

STEP 1

• Select [Overscan] from the left-hand panel.
• In the [Overscan] drop-down list you will see options for None, 1%, 2% and 3%.
• Select [3%] and then click on [Apply]. Now you will be able to see that the ASUSTOR Portal interface has shrunken slightly on your HDMI display.

3.5 Configuring the screensaver

You can use the setting shown in the graphic below to configure the screensaver. Clicking on [Apply] will cause the setting to take effect.

4. Introduction to the ASUSTOR Portal Interface

The graphic below illustrates the basic functions found on the ASUSTOR Portal interface.

NAS power control

Selecting the power control menu from the upper-right hand corner of the screen will give you the functions illustrated in the graphic below.

After using these functions to power the NAS off or put it into Sleep Mode, you will be able to use the power button* on the ASUSTOR Remote to wake/turn on your NAS.

*This function is available for use with AS-20, AS-30, AS-60, AS31, AS32, AS50, AS51, AS52, AS53, AS54, AS61, AS62, AS63, AS64, AS66, AS67, AS70 series devices.

ASUSTOR Portal Settings

The settings for General, Resolution, Overscan, Default App, Screensaver are the same as described in section 3.

Language settings: You can configure the display language and input language for ASUSTOR Portal. After configuring the settings, click on [] to apply them.

VirtualBox settings: After configuring the settings, click on [] to apply them.

• Display: Configure whether or not icons for virtual machines created in VirtualBox are displayed on the ASUSTOR Portal interface.
• VMs running in the background: Configure the following settings for virtual machines in VirtualBox.
  • Name
  • Status: On / Off / Save / Pause / Unknown
  • Action: Power On / Power Off / Pause / Save / Restart / Resume

5. Using Multimedia and Social Media Websites

Netflix and YouTube are installed by default along with ASUSTOR Portal. If you go to App Central to download the third party URL-Packs shown below, you can get even more streaming multimedia sites and social media platforms to choose from.

• URL-Pack-EN / EU / CN: Popular streaming multimedia Websites.
  • EN: HBO, Vimeo, Crunchyroll, Hulu, MetaCafe, Vudu
  • EU: Allocine, Dailymotion, Deezer, Emby, IMDb, Napster, Plex, RuTube
  • CN: Iqiyi, Sohu, qq, Tudou, Youku
• URL-Pack-Social: Popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Linked in, Pinterest, Hangouts, Telegram, Instagram, Snapchat.
• URL-Pack-News: Popular news website such as BBC and Bloomberg.

• After installing the URL-Packs, you will be able to see the associated icons on the ASUSTOR Portal desktop.

• Clicking on any icon will open the Web browser and link you to the website. The graphic below illustrates this using Plex as an example.

Learn More

NAS 136: Controlling ASUSTOR Portal