I’m a complete beginner not only with the concept of homelab/NAS, but with network technology in general. You may have to ELI5 with some topics. Apologies in advance.

My main objective is to create a media server to archive movies/TV and large digital art files (think PSDs). I’ve done some research and have a sort of outline, but I’d really appreciate if someone with expertise could check my work and see if there’s anything major missing from my plan here.

My setup right now is that torrent files are saved on my PC & then played on a 'dumb' TV via Plex on a PS4.

I’d like to get the files off my PC & onto their own server, and hopefully bring an NVIDIA Shield into the mix.

I’m okay financially so I can splurge a bit, but I also realize my needs are pretty basic & I’m not tech-savvy enough to have to ball out any professional-level equipment.

After some research, I’m thinking about combining these products:

Synology DiskStation DS224+ 2-Bay NAS Enclosure

Seagate 8TB IronWolf 7200 rpm SATA III 3.5" Internal NAS HDD (OEM) (x2)

NVIDIA SHIELD Android TV Pro HDR 4K UHD Streaming Media Player (2019)

I don't have my heart set on any of these particular brands / pieces so please feel free to suggest alternatives in the same ballpark. I know in the Start-Up guide & other places it says to reuse old stuff, but since tech hasn't been a hobby for me before, I don't really have anything laying around.

QUESTIONS

• First and foremost: am I missing any equipment? Do I need anything else to get this stuff up and running and connected?
• When downloading torrents to the server, is the VPN on my desktop PC sufficient protection from the watchful eyes of my ISP? Do I also need to install a VPN on the NAS itself?
• Is the Synology DSM OS… okay? I get the impression OS is always kind of a hot topic. Is it possible to install a different one on this sort of device? Should I?
• This seems like an incredibly stupid question but… internet is faster via a wired Ethernet connection versus a WiFi connection, yes? If I’m controlling BitTorrent on my PC connected to WiFi but saving to my Ethernet-wired NAS, does the torrent download go directly over the Ethernet to my NAS, or does it slowly ramble through the WiFi of my computer over to the NAS? (Not even sure if this question makes sense, sorry. 🤦‍♀️)
• Any resources on setting up the RAID? Will there be options in the preloaded OS to set it up? If I understand it correctly, one of my Seagates will act as a backup for the other with this protocol(?), right? So rather than 16TB storage I’d really just have 8TB? (That should be more than enough for me.)
• The NVIDIA SHIELD says it’s storage is is “expandable by USB” - would a wired connection between the SHIELD & the NAS be preferable for streaming video? (Does that defeat the purpose of the networking, LOL? The important thing for me is PC → NAS so it’s OK...)

I know I'm pretty glaringly in over my head here, but I really want to learn. Thank you to anyone reading.