[Cancelled] Caprica (Season 1)


Recommended Posts

Syfy announced the premiere date for its ?Battlestar Galactica? prequel ?Caprica.?

The new series, whose pilot has already had its home video debut, will hit the air Friday, Jan. 22 at 9 p.m., with its two-hour opener.

'Battlestar' Producer Dispels Graystone/Starbuck Rumor

Are Starbuck and Daniel Graystone related?

There might be some character crossover between the now-completed "Battlestar Galactica" series from SciFi Channel and the upcoming Syfy spinoff "Caprica," but it's more to do with the Adamas than the Graystones.

Producer Michael Taylor told fans at San Diego Comic-Con Thursday that rumors Katee Sackhoff's Starbuck character was actually talking to Daniel Graystone, played in "Caprica" by Eric Stoltz, is simply not true.

Taylor said he had no idea where such a rumor started, but that he wanted to end the speculation right there. At the same time, while many speculate that Starbuck was an angel in the final season, it was never included anywhere in the story notes. Of course, that doesn't mean the people on the panel, which included science advisor Kevin Grazier, actress Luciana Carro (Kat) and original series star Richard Hatch, don't believe that's true.

Hatch, however, said that despite original trepidation to support the re-imagined series by Ronald D. Moore, he enjoyed playing terrorist-turned-politician Tom Zarek. However, he had no idea what the fate of his character was until he read the script, and had no say in how (or if) Zarek would die before the series ended.

Taylor, however, was quick to quip that the writers "couldn't wait to kill you, dude."

For those wanting to see more of Zarek in the series, Hatch said there was a lot of backstory that was intended to be revealed, but much of that had to be cut. That included discussions of racism as well as gender equality issues on Caprica.

Also attending the panel was "Battlestar Galactica" composer Bear McCreary, who is hosting a series of concerts with the Battlestar Galactica Orchestra at the House of Blues in San Diego during the convention weekend. He is releasing his latest soundtrack, a two-disc set "Battlestar Galactica: Season 4" through La-La-Land Records on July 28, but said while he looks forward to doing the House of Blues shows, there is one place he would love to play: The opera house featured in the Gaius Baltar dreams sequences located in Vancouver, B.C.

Could something like that happen? McCreary says to www.bearmccreary.com in the near future to find out.

---

'Caprica' Premieres Jan. 22, Edward James Olmos Will Direct Episode

There is now a premiere date for "Caprica."

The "Battlestar Galactica" spinoff will premiere on Syfy Jan. 22, coming close to taking on the old schedule of its predecessor, fans were told at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday.

National Public Radio's Faith Salie, who was moderating a panel featuring "Caprica" and the upcoming "Battlestar Galactica" telemovie "The Plan," told the thousands of fans in attendance about the premiere, but didn't elaborate if that would start with the pilot that was already released on DVD last spring, or if it would instead start with the second episode.

Either way, about a dozen episodes are already in, and the series is going to get a big boost right away. Edward James Olmos, who played Adm. William Adama in "Battlestar," told Airlock Alpha and a group of other reporters during a small press session after the panel that he would indeed be directing an episode of "Caprica," most likely in the first season.

"Yes I am [directing], toward the end" of the season, Olmos said. "They gave me a little hard time about an hour ago on it, and we decided that I would be doing something toward the end of the season."

Executive Producer David Eick, who worked with "Battlestar" showrunner Ronald D. Moore on the previous series, said he does plan to step in to write at least an episode this season after he finishes another project for HBO. At the same time, however, he said that it would be against the show's interest to hit some of the more extreme science-fiction that seems to be a part of these types of series, including some of the metaphysical aspects of "Battlestar" that made up the show's final episodes.

"I think really, it is a human story, at least in the early going," Eick told Airlock Alpha and other media outlets during a press conference following the panel. "Other than the fact that you're talking about the end of humanity beginning with an angry young girl, that is a metaphysical concept. We're asking the audience to take this one leap. Let's make everything around it very grounded, very naturalistic."

While the show definitely will have ties to "Battlestar" beyond the story and some of the familiar faces involved, "Caprica" will have to stand out as its own show.

"I think it would be a mistake for us to assume that everyone showing up for 'Caprica' is a 'Battlestar' fan and that everyone is bringing all that baggage with them," Eick said. "I don't think that's wise. We need to assume that there is going to be a lot of new audience for the show, and it should be. It's going to be a different kind of show."

Battlestar Galactica's prequel series, Caprica, may be about the origins of the Cylon killer robots, but a lot of its storylines will deal with battles between the twelve colonies... which may actually heat up into full-on interstellar combat. Spoilers below.

BSG and Caprica creators Ron Moore and David Eick, showrunner Jane Espenson, and actor Esai Morales, who plays Bill Adama's Tauron father Joseph, spoke at yesterday's Caprica/Battlestar Galactica panel about what we can expect from the show's first season.

If you were hoping the show would retain the topless nightclub shots from the DVD pilot, you're in for a bit of disappointment; the network demanded all nipple-y bits be digitally erased for the television premiere (officially announced today as January 22, 2010). But fans of Battlestar Galactica should still keep their eyes open for other visual goodies, says Eick:

The relationship between the two shows is very tangential, but there will be easter eggs for fans along the way. I think as fans of Battlestar watch Caprica there are occasional nods to Battlestar, to some knowledge that I think the fans will have.

For example, many fans noticed that the nightclub in the Caprica pilot suspiciously resembles the opera house shown throughout BSG:

Yes, as a matter of fact, we're going to some of the same sets. In fact, where Esai [Morales] and Trow have a conversation about what he has to do is the same place where we shot a lot of Helo and Sharon running for their lives in the first season.

At the same time, you won't see any of the twelve Cylon models we know and love, and we probably won't meet any other younger versions of our heroes, or their families, apart from young Willie Adama.

Although the look and feel of Caprica is a world away from the gritty Battlestar Galactica, the design team is the same, and Moore and Eick assure us that they'll maintain the same attention to detail, but to a different effect:

We wanted it to feel like it's a bit of a period piece, because it is a period piece for the Galactica. It's 58 years prior to Battlestar Galactica, so we wanted to have this feel like it's a different time within this particular universe. And yet we wanted to communicate different cultural identities, so we saw that the Taurons feel more like they're in the 1940s, with these hats, ties, and smoking clove cigarettes, the cars more vintage, and they sort of have that flavor throughout...it's a different style, an aesthetic different from seeing the contemporary Caprica during Battlestar.

And in the press roundtables after the panel, Moore told us that there was a deliberate decision to make Caprica look and feel as different from BSG as possible. That includes a lot more outdoor and street filming, as opposed to BSG's mainly interior shots. It's expensive and difficult to recreate Caprica in Vancouver on a regular basis, shooting one episode in seven days, but it's totally worth it, says Moore.

At the beginning of the panel, Moore listed Caprica's major theme as being mankind's relationship with advancing technology and the ethics of dealing with artificial intelligence. But as the panel went on, he, Eick, Espenson focused most of their discussion on the political and cultural conflicts between the humans. We'll apparently get to see more of the world-building around Colonial life that we glimpsed in the pilot. Says Moore:

At this point in time, the planets, the Colonies, are at war with each other periodically. It's not a time of war...the colonies themselves are a loose commonwealth, confederation. There is no president, no equivalent to Laura Roslin at this point in time. There's a prime minister of Caprica and there are heads of state on various other colonies.

There are tensions, reservations, biases. There's a certain racist thread that runs through some of the relationships in terms of Taurons and Capricans.

So does this mean we'll get to see what armed skirmishes look like between the individual Colonies? All signs point to yes. During the press roundtables after the panel, Moore told us that "the twelve colonies actually war with each other" during this time period. And instead of the Cylons being the main "other" that our heroes are threatened by, the humans treat each other as the exotic threat, because the Cylons don't really exist yet. Moore says science fiction can address thorny issues like racism, because people who would get offended by the discussion of such topics don't take the genre seriously enough to care.

Jane Espenson noted that this different situation for the colonies allows the writers and designers to differentiate between the different colonies through their dress, traditions, and ? she said rather pointedly into the microphone ? their tattoos, like the one on Sam Adama's neck.

The panel's moderator asked Esai Morales whether his character, Joseph Adama, has a tattoo as wel I may not have done what my brother did, but I may have a tattoo here or there somewhere. But we can't give it all away here. We have to save some of it.

In the press roundtables, Espenson added that she's trying to go against real-world ethnic stereotypes in portraying the twelve colonies. The writers have a bible describing all twelve of these worlds, saying things like "This one is like India, except," followed by a big list of differences. Each of these twelve worlds could be its own TV series, and they're trying to make sure each planet has a varied climate and its own mix of cultures and classes, rather than having planets that are purely homogenous. One example of avoiding stereotypes is Sam Adama, Bill Adama's brother ? he's a gangster, but he's self-educated and always speaks with perfect grammar. So he's a total thug, but without any of the usual cues that would make it easy for us to identify him as such.

[io9]

Syfy announced the premiere date for its ?Battlestar Galactica? prequel ?Caprica.?

The new series, whose pilot has already had its home video debut, will hit the air Friday, Jan. 22 at 9 p.m., with its two-hour opener.

thats nearly half a year from now. why did they release pilot so early?

I wonder if we'll see Galactica being commissioned etc?

Don't know probably not but we have more movies to come EJO said that which is awesome more backstory I hope and alternate views :D

6320_1119455060950_1064220057_30326007_2068428_n.jpg

6320_1119455220954_1064220057_30326010_7864111_n.jpg

6320_1119455260955_1064220057_30326011_2088322_n.jpg

6320_1119455380958_1064220057_30326014_82215_n.jpg

6320_1119455500961_1064220057_30326017_1857506_n.jpg

-As for Caprica, it is a "character drama in a sci-fi universe"

-Jane Espenson vows there will be lots of dark humor in the show (woohoo)

-There will be some Easter eggs for BSG fans in Caprica, but they are totally different shows

-They wanted a period piece look and won't be as "visually chaotic" as BSG

-They will explore other colonies, like Scorpia

Premiere date: January 22, 2010

The SyFy Channel got a "failing" grade for its depiction of gay characters, and promised to do better ? for one thing, there's Ming-Na's lesbian character on Stargate Universe, and her wife, played by Reiko Aylesworth. But also, it turns out one of the major characters on Caprica is gay and has a husband ? and it's a "goodfella" type gangster, who's a stereotypically macho leg-breaker. (And AfterElton thinks this character is Sam Adama, Joseph's brother and Bill's uncle. Which would make sense, since Sam's spouse is named Larry.) Separately, another major Caprica character is actually in a group marriage, with both men and women. And in all these cases, the character's sexuality isn't made into a big deal, says SyFy's Mark Stern. [TV Guide and AfterElton]

  • 2 weeks later...

lucianacarrokatbsg.jpg

Eddie and Luciana did a Battlestar Q&A at Wizard World Chicago Comic-Con this Friday.

Tweets cjbus: "Luciana Carro is going to be on Caprica. Only BSG cast member to be on there."

[battlestar blog]

I wonder if we'll see Galactica being commissioned etc?

Highly unlikely, unless Caprica goes on for multiple series. Galactica didnt get commissioned until the war, as it was a non-wireless ship specifically built to fight cylons. In all likelyhood, Galactica being commissioned will be in the final episode of the final series (Unless they decide to expand and show the cylon war, although it seems like they're only doing or concentrating on pre-cylon war).

Luciana Carro, who played Kat on BSG, will be in at least five episodes of Caprica ? but it's still not clear if she's playing a character connected to Kat, or someone totally new.Battlestar Blogb>]

The BSG prequel was filming in downtown Vancouver, at the Central Library. Polly Walker, playing Sister Clarice, was there, and so was Esai Morales, lurking amongst the crew. The set-up for a tense courtroom scene? Is Joseph Adama going to push Sister Clarice to reveal the truth about her involvement in the bombings? More pics at the link. [The 13th Colony viBattlestar Blogb>]

thumb800x80038200735542.jpg

pattonoswaltlargecloseu.jpg

Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille, this week's Big Fan) is joining the cast of Syfy's upcoming drama series "Caprica" as a recurring.

The Hollywood Reporter says Oswalt will play Baxter Sarno, a popular Caprican comedian talk show host on whose show Daniel Graystone (Eric Stoltz) and Amanda Graystone (Paula Malcomson), ultimately appear.

"Caprica" is currently in production in Vancouver.

Source: Comingsoon.net

jamesmarstersl.jpg

Caprica Snags James Marsters!

Caprica exec producer Jane Espenson is using her powers as a charter member of the Whedonverse for good. Sources confirm to me exclusively that Buffy all-star James Marsters is joining the Battlestar Galactica prequel for a sizeable arc.

Marsters will play a dangerous terrorist leader by the name of Barnabus Greeley in a minimum of three episodes. Driven by desires both moralistic and carnal, Barnabus is as lethal as he is unpredictable.

And no ones does lethal and unpredictable better than Marsters.

Caprica is set to make its Syfy debut on Jan. 22.

jamesmarstersl.jpg

Caprica Snags James Marsters!

Caprica exec producer Jane Espenson is using her powers as a charter member of the Whedonverse for good. Sources confirm to me exclusively that Buffy all-star James Marsters is joining the Battlestar Galactica prequel for a sizeable arc.

Marsters will play a dangerous terrorist leader by the name of Barnabus Greeley in a minimum of three episodes. Driven by desires both moralistic and carnal, Barnabus is as lethal as he is unpredictable.

And no ones does lethal and unpredictable better than Marsters.

Caprica is set to make its Syfy debut on Jan. 22.

Goes to listen to some Gost of the Robot music :D

  • 2 weeks later...

07629_120505_16398691.jpg

Welsh actor Peter Wingfield (who played the immortal Methos in the Highlander TV series and the last two movies) announced on his website that he's joining this show as Gara Singh, director of the Global Defense Department ? which makes him the boss of Jordan Duram, the GDD agent played by Brian Markinson.Peter Wingfieldb> viBattlestar_Blogb>]

07629_120505_16398691.jpg

Welsh actor Peter Wingfield (who played the immortal Methos in the Highlander TV series and the last two movies) announced on his website that he's joining this show as Gara Singh, director of the Global Defense Department ? which makes him the boss of Jordan Duram, the GDD agent played by Brian Markinson.Peter Wingfieldb> viBattlestar_Blogb>]

I always remember him more as the Gu'old from SG1

  • 3 weeks later...

Is Caprica in Trouble?

Is the Battlestar Galactica spin-off Caprica in trouble? One site reported over the weekend that the show is shutting down production due to concerns about the scripts ? similar to what happened to the V reboot.

CinemaSpy asked whether Caprica was on the brink of cancellation, citing a "100 percent accurate" source: A trusted industry insider informed CinemaSpy on Saturday that production faces suspension on Caprica due to serious script problems/shortfalls, and that the future of the series may well be in jeopardy. From what we've been told, the producers haven't been altogether happy with the caliber of the stories.b>

This would make Caprica the second new show this year to face a shutdown allegedly over script concerns. Last week, Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello said the production shutdown at V was over script issues, and specifically over concerns about producer Jeff Bell (who'd been showrunner on Angel's final season.)

But this isn't the case with Caprica, insists showrunner Jane Espenson. She tells AirlockAlpha that any shutdown on the show's production is entirely due to athletes arriving for the 2010 Olympics and causing disruptions, not script problems: I'm one of the producers and I'm absolutely thrilled with the work my writers have done... The Olympics might require a couple scheduling adjustments," Espenson said. "Those are probably being misunderstood.b>

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • (I know it's just an image and also not the point at all, but it really bugs me that the two halves of the necklace don't really fit together... 😅)
    • It is the same everywhere. Gitlab's boss recently had a lengthily blog post about the future of AI in the company and in general. The usual drum beating. When I saw it I checked their stock prices - close to 50% down.
    • Cloud Security Fundamentals eBook —was $131.95, now free to download by Steven Parker Claim your complimentary copy (worth $131.95) of "Cloud Security Fundamentals: Building the Foundations for Secure Cloud Platforms" for free, before the offer ends on July 1. Description In Cloud Security Fundamentals: Building the Foundations for Secure Cloud Platforms, cybersecurity leader and educator, Jason Edwards, delivers a comprehensive guide to safeguarding data, applications, and infrastructure in the cloud. The author offers a complete walkthrough of cloud security, moving from foundational concepts to advanced, forward-looking practices. The book is filled with practical examples, hands-on guidance, and lessons drawn from real-world cloud security incidents and breaches. It equips readers with the tools and knowledge they need to defend against threats in cloud environments and how to understand coming developments in cloud technology that will impact organizations in all industries. Inside the book: A thorough introduction to cloud-native and advanced security practices for contemporary firms A chapter on relevant cloud security certifications and professional growth advice Practical discussions of foundational concepts in cloud security, including IAM, Zero Trust, and DevSecOps Complete treatments of advanced cloud security themes, like leadership strategies, operational best practices, and techniques for dealing with common and emerging threats Perfect for cloud security professionals, IT managers, and DevOps professionals, Cloud Security Fundamentals will also benefit system administrators, compliance and risk officers, consultants, auditors, and technology students in a variety of fields who require a foundational understanding of cloud security concepts. How to download for free Please ensure you read the terms and conditions to claim this offer. Complete and verifiable information is required in order to receive this free offer. If you have previously made use of these offers, you will not need to re-register. Was $131.95, but is now FREE | Below link offer expires on July 1. Cloud Security Fundamentals: Building the Foundations for Secure Cloud Platforms The below offers are also available for free in exchange for your (work) email: The Vibe Coding Playbook: Building Your Tech Business with AI ($35 Value) FREE - Expires 6/23 The Persuasion Engine: How Any Business Can Use AI-Powered Neuromarketing to Understand and Win Customers ($28 Value) FREE - Expires 6/24 How to Do More with Less: Future-Proofing Yourself in an AI-driven Economy ($28 Value) FREE - Expires 6/30 Cloud Security Fundamentals: Building the Foundations for Secure Cloud Platforms ($131.95 Value) FREE - Expires 7/1 The Complete Free AI Learning: Master ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini & More ($21 Value) FREE How to Build an AI Design Workflow with Gamma ($21 Value) FREE The Ultimate Linux Newbie Guide – Featured Free content Python Notes for Professionals – Featured Free content Learn Linux in 5 Days – Featured Free content Quick Reference Guide for Cybersecurity – Featured Free content We post these because we earn commission on each lead so as not to rely solely on advertising, which many of our readers block. It all helps toward paying staff reporters, servers and hosting costs. Other ways to support Neowin The above deal not doing it for you, but still want to help? Check out the links below. Check out our partner software in the Neowin Store Buy a T-shirt at Neowin's Threadsquad Subscribe to Neowin - for $14 a year, or $28 a year for an ad-free experience Disclosure: An account at Neowin Deals is required to participate in any deals powered by our affiliate, StackCommerce. For a full description of StackCommerce's privacy guidelines, go here. Neowin benefits from shared revenue of each sale made through the branded deals site.
    • TerraMaster F4-425 Pro review: an octa-core Intel NAS that ships with AI (OpenClaw) by Steven Parker It has been a while since I reviewed a TerraMaster NAS, but the company reached out to me asking if I was willing to test the F4-425 Pro, which goes on sale today. It is an upgrade on the F4-425 Plus, which I reviewed back in October 2025 What you need to know is that it basically follows the design principles of the four-bay F4-425 series, with its all-metal exterior. Here are the most important specifications: TerraMaster F4-425 Pro CPU Intel Core N350 (8x E Cores/Threads, Max burst up to 3.9 GHz) Intel Core N305 (4x E Cores/Threads, Max burst up to 3.8 GHz) TDP: 7W / 9W (Base) Graphics Intel UHD Graphics 32 EUs (1.35 GHz) Intel UHD Graphics 24 EUs (1.25 GHz) Memory 1x slot 16 GB DDR5 4800MT/s non ECC SODIMM (Max 32 GB) 1x slot 8 GB DDR5 4800MT/s non ECC SODIMM (Max 32 GB) Disk Capacity 120 TB (30 TB x 4) Supported RAID Types TRAID, TRAID +, RAID0, RAID1, RAID5, RAID 6, RAID 10 Network 2x RJ-45 5 GbE Internal storage 3x M.2 2280 NVMe Slot (PCIe 3.0 x1) Bootloader 2Gbit 256 GB NAND Flash card (MX30LF2G28AD) USB port (internal) USB Ports 1x Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps) 3x Type-A 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps) HDMI 1x (HDMI) Hardware Transcoding Engine H.264, H.265, MPEG-4, VC-1 Maximum resolution: 4K (4096 x 2160); Maximum FPS: 60 Size (H/W/D) 219 x 181 x 150 mm Weight 2.9 kg System Fan 150 x181 x 219 mm Power 90W, 100V - 240V AC, 50/60 Hz, Single frequency Power consumption (HDDs) 45W (4x 4TB ST4000VN008 in read/write state) 14W (4x 4TB ST4000VN008 in hibernation) Noise Level: 20.9 dB(A) Using 4 SATA HDDs/SSDs in standby mode; Test environment noise: 17.3dB(A); Test distance: 1m Warranty 2 Years OS TOS 7.0.0706 (Beta) MSRP £639.99, $699.99, €739.99 / £739.99, $799.99, €839.99 As you can see above, there are two variants of the F4-425 Pro releasing today. The lesser variant has the slightly weaker N305 CPU and iGP, and 8 GB less RAM, although it also costs $100 less than the top variant we are testing today. In addition, these new F4-425 Pros are shipped with the as-yet-unreleased TOS 7 beta. So what is TOS 7 exactly? During the device initialization, you are warned not to use it in a production environment, which we'll get into later. My contact told me that TOS 7 exits beta today, June 23 with version 7.0.0746. The clear difference with the F4-425 Plus is that it contains the more powerful N350 Intel CPU released in the first quarter of 2025, with support for DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.1, LPDDR5 (4800), DDR5 and DDR4, and a max TDP of just 7W. It also supports AV1 decoding, as well as H.264, VP8, VP9, H.265 (8 bit), and H.265 (10 bit). The different capabilities in the Alder Lake-N (and Twin Lake) series are listed below. Processor E-cores L3-cache Turbo clock GPU GPU-clock TDP Intel N355 8 6 MB 3.9 GHz 32 EUs 1.35 GHz 9 W Intel Core 3 N350 3.9 GHz 1.35 GHz 7 W Intel Core i3-N305 3.8 GHz 1.25 GHz 9 W Intel Core i3-N300 3.8 GHz 1.25 GHz Intel N250 4 3.8 GHz 1.25 GHz 6 W Intel Processor N200 3.7 GHz 0.75 GHz Intel N150 3.6 GHz 24 EUs 1 GHz Intel N97 1.2 GHz 12 W Intel Processor N100 3.4 GHz 0.75 GHz 6 W The CPU is part of the Alder Lake-N series that sits just below the top N355 offering, albeit with an impressive TDP (less than the N355 and N305) for the features it offers. It is designed for low- powered systems and entry-level laptops. As before, we are seeing another NAS with an acceptable, if not great, amount of RAM. It should be noted that the F4-425 Pro only has one SODIMM slot, so if you are planning to upgrade the already 16GB included in this NAS, it will have to be on one module of Single Rank DDR5. As a reminder, up until a couple of years ago, it was commonplace to only get 2 or 4GB max on a flagship Synology or QNAP home NAS. Ever since the likes of TerraMaster and more have entered the market with ample RAM sizes included in their NAS offerings, it has gone a long way in forcing the hands of the traditional makers to up their game a bit. Before we dive in, you can view the different SKUs released so far since the 2025 series launched for Home and SMB users, with the most important specifications listed along with the MSRP listed below: SKU CPU Cores Memory Link Price F2-425 Intel N5095 4 4 GB DDR4 2.5 GbE x1 $249.99 F4-425 Intel N5095 4 4 GB DDR4 2.5 GbE x1 $369.99 F2-425 Plus Intel Core N150 4 8 GB DDR5 5 GbE x 2 $399.99 F4-425 Plus Intel Core N150 4 16 GB DDR5 5 GbE x 2 $569.99 F4-425 Pro Intel Core N305 8 8 GB DDR5 5 GbE x 2 $699.99 F4-425 Pro Intel Core N350 8 16 GB DDR5 5 GbE x 2 $799.99 The F2 in the product name means two 3.5-inch HDD bays, where F4 is four 2.5-inch bays. First impressions Like with the F8 SSD Plus packaging, the F4-425 Pro is using the upgraded box materials, which certainly look better than a plain cream colored box with TERRAMASTER stamped on the sides. The box gives off a premium feel and certainly adds a positive vibe to first impressions. In the box F4-425 Pro TNAS device Power adapter LAN cable (CAT 6) Quick guide [full online guide] Limited warranty notice Screws (for HDD bays) Stickers 2x rubber feet (spares) Design As has become kind of common with TerraMaster, certainly in the last three years, the 2025 F2- and F4-series have received a makeover that really adds to the premium feel of the NAS. Gone are the plastic shells, now replaced with an aluminum outer shell, with the front and back retaining the textured black plastic we saw on the 2024 models. Some key differences from the 2024 series include placing the power button back on the front, along with the addition of a Type A USB port. It's not much bigger or heavier either; in fact, it weighs 500 grams less than the F4-424 Pro. It's slightly shorter in height and depth (length), but only by a few millimeters. The front and back do retain a similar style to the 2024 series. On the front, you just have your four bays along with LED indicators for the HDDs and power. The welcomed change is having a USB port on the front for quick access, should you need to back up a USB drive, for example. Around the back, from top to bottom, you have a reset pin hole, an HDMI port, two 5 GbE Ethernet ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type A ports with a Type-C port below them, and a connector for the barrel port power source. Again, there's no Kensington Security Slot present, which is a bit of a shame considering it's a data storage device. Left side Right side On the left and right of the F4-425 Plus, it is completely smooth aluminum with a TERRAMASTER logo printed on both sides. On the bottom, there are some holes to assist ventilation. Unlike with the F4-425 Plus, the rubber feet did come unstuck during the teardown, which was also an issue on the 2023 series. It seems like other customers have lodged complaints about them, as TerraMaster now includes two spare rubber feet in the box, in case any of the preinstalled ones are lost; however, this seems more like a papering over the cracks solution rather than actually fixing the issue with better quality rubber stand-offs. There are also four screws that must be removed in order to access the internals. Teardown Upon removing the four screws, you can slide the device out of its shell to reveal the three NVMe M.2 slots (PCIe 3.0 X1) and single SODIMM slot connector, which is populated with a single 16GB DDR5 4800MT/s module. I added a couple of MP44Q M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSDs (2 x 4TB) that can be availed on Amazon for $492.99 that TEAMGROUP supplied us with, along with a 250GB 970 Evo Plus that my colleague Chris White sent me by accident and let me keep a few years ago. As I have said in previous reviews, TerraMaster support staff actually encourage installing whatever you want on their devices, and happily, the USB port for the bootloader is now easily accessible should you want to use it for your own flavor of NAS OS, such as TrueNAS, Unraid, or maybe Xpenology. Yes, because TerraMaster has now switched to a 256 GB NAND Flash card (3rd photo above) for the TOS bootloader. This is also replaceable, but you can also simply add a USB bootloader, access the BIOS, and tell the F4-425 Pro to boot from that instead of the Flash card. Unlike earlier iterations of TerraMaster NAS, you don't have to tear this down any further than the four screws on the outer shell in order to be able to access and manage the memory, NVMe slots, and USB bootloader. However, if you need to access the NAND Flash card or CMOS battery, then eight more screws (four on each side) need to be removed in order to take off the rear panel with the 120mm fan, and then the motherboard can be lifted off and removed from the SATA connector PCB. There's also no risk of threading the screw holes, because the four that hold the shell in place are metal on metal, while the screws that hold the rear panel on do screw into plastic. Either way, like last time when I reviewed the F4-425 plus, I was just happier to see larger screws being used. Overall, it follows some great improvements in build quality from the 2024 series and earlier. Setup BIOS The F4-425 Pro includes an Aptio BIOS from American Megatrends [1, 2], and you can setup pretty much everything here including the boot order, which is locked to the UEFI OS, however above that choice you can enable or disable booting to the USB bootloader so this would still allow you to switch to a USB stick with an alternative bootloader and boot from it, or disable it to instead always start from the first disk with an OS installed on it. Initial Setup Setup is roughly the same as the F4-425 Plus, along with the new TOS 7 setup dialogs, so there will be no surprises here. Upon connecting to the LAN and booting up, the F4-425 Pro can be reached by navigating to http://tnas.local. If that doesn't work, you can use the local address assigned via DHCP, which you can find using the TNAS PC desktop application, which is essentially a TerraMaster NAS finder. The setup process is pretty straightforward, through a wizard, and in full below: TOS 7 Initialization As you can see, TOS 7 received a new coat of paint, and the initialization requires fewer interactions. Happily, TOS no longer decides to throw all disks into the same Storage Pool; 2.5-inch HDDs are allocated into Storage Pool 1. This is because two of the HDDs are allocated to hold system files. Previously (with TOS 5 and 6), if you pre-installed HDDs and SSDs, they were all placed into Storage Pool 1, even if you did not select the SSDs for inclusion during the onboarding. TOS 7 Setup On first boot, there is a tutorial and some steps to take to harden the TNAS (or not), which includes an immediate update from TOS 7.0.0616 to 7.0.0706, of which the changelog screenshot is also included in the above gallery. It must be noted that the Security Advisor still contains (in my opinion) a pretty major bug in that if you enable SPC and then do the required rebooting, the Security Advisor still says that SPC is disabled. TerraMaster provided the following statement about it: It is disappointing that TOS 7 has been in beta since December, and this OOBE issue is still there. Shutdown option has moved Instead of a Taskbar option to manage the NAS, all of these options have been moved to a "Start panel", initially I didn't see it and my contact had to show me how to power off the F4-425 Pro. To logout, reboot or power off you can find those controls at the top right of the Panel. It is also possible to power off through the TNAS mobile app beta. Storage setup Above, you can see the steps I took to create the Storage Pools and Volumes. I made a second Storage Pool using TRAID on two 4TB MP44Q SSDs (which, in this instance, is similar to RAID 5), and finally, I added the 250GB 970 Evo Plus drive as Hyper Cache on Storage Pool 1 in Balanced mode. Registering If you decide not to lock down the F4-425 Pro in Security Isolation Mode (blocking all external connections), then you could set up a TNAS device ID through the Remote Access setting in the Control Panel (which must be unique). This works in combination with an online TerraMaster account. TOS 7 TNAS Online Creating a TerraMaster account and linking the device online activates the warranty when you provide proof of purchase and the serial number, but it also gives you access through the TNAS mobile app, which allows you to complete certain operationsб including powering off and restarting the NAS remotely. A TNAS mobile update is required to gain access through TOS 7, and this is provided on the TerraMaster website, as it is not yet on Google Play. The app is evolving all the time and has made leaps and bounds since I first started reviewing TerraMaster devices almost three years ago. It is not quite there yet if you are comparing the likes of Synology, which, sadly, a lot of users online do all the time. OpenClaw setup One of the main selling points of the new F4-425 Pro is the inclusion of OpenClaw, with TerraMaster claiming that it is "powered by the world's first AI-native TOS 7 OS, supporting local-first smart workflows and independent data control." However, I immediately ran into problems trying to enable OpenClaw. After waiting 20 minutes at the "Enabling" message of the OpenClaw app following installation, I decided to do some searching online and discovered that it couldn't complete the installation process due to SPC being enabled, which is something TOS 7 immediately recommends to be enabled on first boot. SPC for NAS (TOS 7) is basically the same principle as UAC in Windows; it blocks executables from being launched by non-Super Users. After reaching out to my contact about these issues, I received the following response: Anyway, this only became clear when I closed the OpenClaw app screen and clicked on the OpenClaw icon in the taskbar; that is when I saw the message about disabling SPC. I think, due to the fact that this is a requirement, this should be a prompt during the installation process, not when closing the App Market and then trying to launch OpenClaw. There's also no 'Getting started' guide for people like me who have never used OpenClaw. I tried to add an LLM and discovered the tutorial led nowhere. That's when I started looking around the official TerraMaster forums, and I found a guide that helpfully explains that you won't get anywhere with OpenClaw unless you have a paid plan, which is disappointing because I imagined there would be an option to use a local LLM as I do in SubtitleEdit with Whisper-XXL. In addition, with the marketing imagery on the official site, it says that the OpenClaw feature is "all processed 100% locally for absolute privacy." which led me to believe that I could install a local LLM, not one that required paid tokens. In any case, TerraMaster does not provide guidance for this new feature, which was also a selling point of the F4-425 Pro! My contact also provided clarification about the above points I raised with TerraMaster Since it is not in the scope of the review to add paid services, I'll leave that to the people who are more qualified with OpenClaw. F4-425 Pro Surveillance App TOS also comes with a Surveillance app, which is not installed by default; it can be found in the App Market recommended section. In addition, after installing, it doesn't drop a shortcut on the Desktop or top taskbar, but you can "Send to Desktop" from the App Market listing for the app for a quick way to open it. Adding my Reolink POE doorbell camera was painless. TerraMaster doesn't appear to have a repository of preconfigured cameras; instead, the camera must be added using ONVIF or RTSP. No mobile Surveillance app TerraMaster still doesn't have a dedicated Surveillance app, although from searching online, Surveillance can be used and managed through the TNAS mobile app. I tried this with the updated TNAS mobile app beta in combination with TOS 7 and got a message that Surveillance was "Only accessible through web browser," so I reckon this must be limited to the stable versions of TOS 6 and the mobile app. More quirks In addition, whenever I minimized the Live View window in the browser Surveillance app, the feed appeared to switch to the Low-bandwidth stream, and there was no way to get the High-quality stream back. To get the High-quality stream back, I had to close Live View and then reopen it. Benchmarking A pretty cool feature of the TOS 7 is that it allows you to install directly to the NVMe M.2 SSD. In order to do that, you would have to leave out any HDDs during initialization, and even then, the system partitions are always written to two HDDs when they are eventually added. With three NVMe slots, this also gives an interesting scenario where you could build a TRAID storage Pool for installing all your apps and Docker on, and keep the third for SSD cache on the HDD pool. Limitless options! SATA PCIe 3.0 X1 A CrystalDiskMark test on a mapped network drive from within a Windows 11 25H2 PC (image above) connected over a 5 GbE hub was well within acceptable ranges. Although the read result on SATA was a little less than with the F4-425 Plus, for some reason, while writes were generally better. SATA PCIe 3.0 X1 I also ran the NAS Performance tester, which tests the link speed performance. As you can see, it pretty much maxes out the 5GbE connection. Of course, you can also opt to bond the two 5 GbE connections for a bit more umph, but I didn't do that. TOS 7, which, as of testing, is still in Beta, comes with an App Center that has a bunch of handy programs you can install right off the bat, such as Emby, Plex, Docker, as well as in-house Backup and Surveillance solutions. As you can imagine, any media streaming services you would want to host off the F4-425 Pro will work great, thanks to the Intel Core N350 CPU and its 16 GB of DDR5 memory. Accessing from mobile is only possible if Security Isolation Mode is disabled, which can put your NAS at risk from external sources, so there was no way to access it from the TNAS Mobile app. It's also quiet. I had this sat next to my computer on my work desk for the past week, and I did wonder if the noise I was accustomed to with NAS devices would annoy me, but all I could hear was a soft whirring of the rear fan (which was a little annoying) when the disks were not actively copying or reading data. Conclusion So what have I learned? Unfortunately, this release raises a few important questions and concerns that I feel haven't been adequately addressed. What I didn't like Our variant shipped with TOS 7 beta, and it's advised not to use it in a production environment. I feel that's a bit limiting on an $800 device. The mobile app is also still in beta and does not support some of the first-party apps, like Surveillance, and it still has quite a few bugs. I am a bit confused about the OpenClaw marketing along with the F4-425 Pro. I feel like that if it's going to be a main selling point, then offer official guidance on how to get started with it. TerraMaster recommends enabling SPC, but then markets the NAS for use with OpenClaw, which requires disabling SPC to be able to use it, opening up genuine security concerns for the NAS; and that's before you get into the security concerns of OpenClaw itself. Of course, the above issues won't be a problem if you decide to install something else on it, or even go back to the stable TOS 6. I wish TerraMaster had just given TOS 7 as opt-in rather than shipping with it. TOS 7 has been available as a preview since December 2025 (so well before my last TerraMaster review), and according to a thread on Reddit where a user shared a screenshot from the TerraMaster Facebook page, it is scheduled to launch today, June 23, but there's nothing about that in the TerraMaster news blog. My contact confirmed over email that TOS 7 exits beta today. The rubber feet also deserve a mention as they continue to be a problem, with them coming unstuck the moment you shift the F4-425 Pro anywhere on your desk. What I liked What it comes down to, though, aside from what I already mentioned, you are still getting a quality, affordable device here, so recommending it will depend on the individual's use case. If you're just looking for a relatively small NAS device to manage virtual machines on, backup your files, and take care of your home theater streaming, then it is a great device that will certainly futureproof you for some time. It provides good performance, takes up little space, and is, on the whole, very quiet. Four bays afford proper redundancy using TRAID or RAID 5, and you can even expand on storage capacity by adding the 2-bay D5, or 4-bay D8 Hybrid DAS over a USB 3.2 (10Gbps) link. Considering the 2024 releases were more about power, with the likes of an Intel Core i5-1235U high-end laptop CPU under the hood, I asked my contact last time if we could expect more of the same in higher-end models and was told: It makes a lot of sense to use Intel's N350 chip inside a NAS; it is more than capable of doing what the F4-425 Pro is intended for, media streaming and backup. The only downside is still the clear lack of community and even staff support on the official forums. In the past, I have had topics go unanswered for days, or there would be generic-type "we've noted this and passed it onto our developer team" type responses. Along with the other things I mentioned, it all ends up costing it a couple of points. If you are comfortable with the command line, Docker, and setting up TrueNAS or Unraid, you'll be fine. You can do great things with this hardware. In TOS, the apps are a bit lacking, and things don't always work as expected.\ AI NAS?! What has become clear to me this year is that we are going to start seeing all kinds of "AI NAS" come to market, and while that might be good for us consumers, be diligent and research these claims. Although the F4-425 Pro technically comes with AI, it is really using a cloud service that is externally sourced off-device through the third party OpenClaw app. My colleague did review a newcomer to the NAS space earlier this year, and it includes a local AI assistant inside the Zettlab D4 NAS, and they do not even use AI in the product name, check out Chris' review here. Where to buy and a discount coupon However, it does not change the fact that this is truly a great entry-level home media-class NAS that you can buy right now. TerraMaster is having a 20% off launch discount, plus you can also still apply our unique 10% off coupon on checkout, which only works on the official website. So here is a breakdown of the pricing that is only valid on the official TerraMaster website. TerraMaster F4-425 Pro (N350) + 20% discount + 10% coupon = $575.99 TerraMaster F4-425 Pro (N305) + 20% discount + 10% coupon = $503.99 TerraMaster F4-425 Pro (N350) + 20% discount + 10% coupon = £525.59 TerraMaster F4-425 Pro (N305) + 20% discount + 10% coupon = £460.79 Use NEOWIN coupon code during checkout for 10% discount Over on Amazon US and UK, the F4-425 Pro also gets a 20% launch discount, but here, the above 10% coupon cannot be applied. TerraMaster F4-425 Pro (N350) for $639.99 at Amazon US (was $799.99) TerraMaster F4-425 Pro (N305) for $559.99 at Amazon US (was $699.99) TerraMaster F4-425 Pro (N350) for £583.99 at Amazon UK (was £729.99) TerraMaster F4-425 Pro (N305) for £511.99 at Amazon UK (was £639.99) As an Amazon Associate, when you purchase through links on our site, we earn from qualifying purchases.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Rookie
      DaviKar went up a rank
      Rookie
    • Dedicated
      HidekoYamamoto94 earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • One Month Later
      timbobit earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Month Later
      nates earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Almohandis earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      463
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      161
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      112
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      85
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      71
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!