Whs 2011 Or Win8 For First Time Home Server?

I want to replace a Thecus N5200Pro NAS (3TB, RAID 5) with a home server. Was all ready to use WHS 2011 until I read Paul Thurrott's short take on Win8 used as a potential home server platform. My question is which OS would be better? While I have been building PCs for decades, I have no experience with either OS at this point. Somewhat concerned at the lack of real upgrade path from WHS 2011 since at $425, not sure Win Server Essentials 2012 really qualifies, especially since it is domain based.

Server Uses:

• Store and serve media files (Videos, Movies, Photos, Music, Recorded TV, etc.)
  
• Remote access to files from client Laptops
  
• Stream/transcode media for DNLA and other devices (TV, iPad, Droid phones, Win7 PCs, Xbox, etc.) both over the LAN and the remote over the Internet.
  
• Client Backup
  
• Remote media transcoding

If someone can point me to a comparison between WHS 2011 and Win 8 as a server platform or if you can provide some insight, I would be most greatful. Thanks.