Spec me a NAS

I have never understood the need to transcode on the fly. is this for play ISO files, rather then rips? I have 1080P blue ray rips from makemkv on my Synology DS215j and then play fine to the DLNA client on my Sony TV or through the Synology app on my iPad.
I have been very please with the Synology. The software interface is so easy to use and I backup to another drive via USB, but i see plenty of option for cloud backups in the system.
I would prefer Plex or Kodi on the TV for the interface, but while basic DLNA is fie.
 
I stream to a FireTV and from what I've read Plex will need to transcode most files. I could be wrong though, I'm no expert at this kind of thing.
 
Goose said:
I stream to a FireTV and from what I've read Plex will need to transcode most files. I could be wrong though, I'm no expert at this kind of thing.
Click to expand...

Yep and I'd heard that Plex was awesome on the Synology. I think the thing is underpowered.

It's very frustrating. Does anyone know if the ProLiant is a good alternative? I want it ideally to handle that sort of work and also have it schedule regular backups to my Amazon Cloud Drive.
 
bledd. said:
For playing on what though?
Click to expand...

Anything.

I sometimes use the iPad to play things from Plex, before I had a FreeNAS machine I used a combination of PS3mediaserver and Kodi and there were certain files that wouldn't play native on my iPad on both of the above.

Using the Plex app with Plex I can play any file on my iPad/TV/Xbox/Web-browser and the server does all the work. It's a very slick system.

I still don't see your point. If you have the option (assuming you've not bought any hardware) to buy something that can transcode, or something that cannot. Why would you limit yourself?
 
Whilst I do rate Synology products you will pay through the nose for performance I have found. As I mentioned earlier the QNAP TS-453 mini is a little powerhouse. Asustor also make some cracking models with quite powerful hardware. Both I feel offer more bang for buck than synology. I've just moved to the new QNAP os and to be fair, I now prefer it whereas Synology used to be the top for me.

The HDMI out too is actually quite handy depending on where you site your nas. Kodi with a few choice plugins works well...
 
Thanks for your posts Welshdragon. Really appreciate your advice.

However, I'm starting to wonder if a ready built NAS is really going to solve the problem here. I suspect that both Synology and QNAP are both cutting corners on the grunt they supply, and I want my solution to last another 7 years at least. I just feel a little bit cheated by the Synology product, rightly or wrongly.

I'm starting to wonder if the HP Proliant is the right option - better processor and I can just install XPenology. Or screw it - just build my own small server from scratch.
 
Fair points. The nas will do everything you want but it means spending the right money on the right device.

eg 453 mini is not cheap but it will do all that.

That said you'll likely get better value for your money if you're happy going down the microserver route. My 453 mini handles pretty much everything. Dual core Celeron and 8gb ram and it's really good.
 
Marakith said:
Update - the DS415Play is pretty poor at transcoding. It struggles and maxes out at 97% CPU when playing high res MKV files.

Perhaps I have to re-code some of my files to prevent this, but I was really hoping it would have a bit more grunt.
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How and why are you transcoding?

Surely if you are playing within your network there is no need to transcode???
 
My Synology Diskstation DS415+ has been nothing but faultless. Excellent software with great functionality. Even the iphone apps work really well and quite handy.

Pricey but well worth it.

I don't know how I got by without one for so long.

Love my NAS!
 
demon8991 said:
How and why are you transcoding?

Surely if you are playing within your network there is no need to transcode???
Click to expand...

I'm playing video that's on the Synology via Plex server through the Plex app on my Amazon FireTV.

Perhaps my settings on the Plex app are wrong? I can use Kodi on the FireTV with no problem, but
1] The interface isn't as nice
2] I always have to power cycle the FireTV after using Kodi. Otherwise the FireTV won't play Netflix.
 
Try this:

1. Logon to Plex page for the NAS. For me this is like: http://192.168.1.66:32400/web (replace my IP with yours).

2. Go to settings in the top right.

3. In the Web section go to player.

4. Click Show Advanced.

5. Set Local Quality to Original. Also check all of the options. This includes the Direct Play options. I don't think my NAS transcodes locally when I play stuff, is smooth :)

Note: You should see if you can apply any updates too. For me I had to download the Server update manually and install it.
 
Eulogy said:
Try this:

1. Logon to Plex page for the NAS. For me this is like: http://192.168.1.66:32400/web (replace my IP with yours).

2. Go to settings in the top right.

3. In the Web section go to player.

4. Click Show Advanced.

5. Set Local Quality to Original. Also check all of the options. This includes the Direct Play options. I don't think my NAS transcodes locally when I play stuff, is smooth :)

Note: You should see if you can apply any updates too. For me I had to download the Server update manually and install it.
Click to expand...

Literally what this man says, there is absolutely no need to transcode within your own network.

Further to this also check the client application on your Amazon Fire to ensure that there are no transcoding settings applied here also.
 
Thanks everyone for your patience with this thread, which has gradually moved from a NAS conversation to a conversation about video formats.

I had already implemented the configuration settings described by Eulogy and they made no difference as far as I can tell.

However, I do have a big bunch of mp4 format video that plays with no problems at 720p and I would be happy with that. I'm no expert but I think that the mp4 format file is just a container and there are other variables inside the file that might have a bearing on this.

I'd really appreciate some pointers on how to easily batch up a job to convert all the other videos into the same format. I imagine it would go something like this:

1] Understand in more detail the format of the working filetypes and be able to capture their settings for step 2.
2] Run an overnight or overweekend process that I can trust to convert the whole damn lot (somewhere between 200 and 600 GB) into the format that works.

Can anyone suggest a good how to or share their own experiences of good freeware that can do this?

Thanks all1
 
Could your problems be caused by Wifi as well? I play high res (1080p) MKV files over the network no problem to Plex but my RPI is hard wired into the network.
 
I thought you had no choice but to transcode when the client is a FireTV because they cant play MKV files?
 
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