Advice for NAS selection

[BjornB]

Hi!
I’m looking at buying a new NAS server to replace my old Synology DS210j as a home backup and media server and I would like some help with some of the features I’m looking at.

I have my whole image/photo and music library as well as home videos and ripped DVD:s and BD:s on my NAS. I edit films and photos directly from my NAS and I also stream music and videos to my stereo system and my Apple TV (4 gen.) respectively.

Here are a few models I’ve looked at:

QNAP TS-251, Synology DS214play, Synology DS216play, Asustor AS-302T

All above, except for the DS216play seem to have Intel-based cpu’s and they seem to support video transcoding. However, I haven’t got enough knowledge about video transcoding to decide if it’s a necessary feature. Maybe I could just pre-transcode the files.

I’ve had big problems streaming videos to the Apple TV with my current system though, using both Plex and Infuse. Usually the system is just buffering and keeps doing so forever. I’m not sure whether it’s got to do with the NAS hardware, Plex or the Apple TV.

I’m aware that the Apple TV doesn’t accept all formats but this happens regardless of what format I try to stream and it also happens when I try to show images on my telly through Apple TV.

Is it worth getting a NAS with Intel-based cpu or video transcoding functionality?

Thanks in advance.

 

[smitbret]

Hi!
I’m looking at buying a new NAS server to replace my old Synology DS210j as a home backup and media server and I would like some help with some of the features I’m looking at.

I have my whole image/photo and music library as well as home videos and ripped DVD:s and BD:s on my NAS. I edit films and photos directly from my NAS and I also stream music and videos to my stereo system and my Apple TV (4 gen.) respectively.

Here are a few models I’ve looked at:

QNAP TS-251, Synology DS214play, Synology DS216play, Asustor AS-302T

All above, except for the DS216play seem to have Intel-based cpu’s and they seem to support video transcoding. However, I haven’t got enough knowledge about video transcoding to decide if it’s a necessary feature. Maybe I could just pre-transcode the files.

I’ve had big problems streaming videos to the Apple TV with my current system though, using both Plex and Infuse. Usually the system is just buffering and keeps doing so forever. I’m not sure whether it’s got to do with the NAS hardware, Plex or the Apple TV.

I’m aware that the Apple TV doesn’t accept all formats but this happens regardless of what format I try to stream and it also happens when I try to show images on my telly through Apple TV.

Is it worth getting a NAS with Intel-based cpu or video transcoding functionality?

Thanks in advance.

For DVD quality, yes. For anything HD, no. If you are wanting to transcode HD video then build your own.

 

[BjornB]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I thought about that since I enjoy DIY, but for me in this case I think a ready solution with all that comes with it in terms of reliability etc sounds more reassuring. But you're saying that none of the NAS:es I mentioned above would be sufficient for HD video?

One thing I don't understand with my current NAS (DS210J) is that I can stream BD rips to my telly using the VLC app on Apple TV 4 (I've only tried a couple of BD:s) and the films are playing on nicely without image-related issues. Well, apart from the rather annoting fact that the sound is missing.

When I'm trying the same thing using the Plex or Infuse apps it doesn't work at all, it's just buffering.

 

[XavierMace]

If it's just buffering literally forever, then it sounds like you have some other problem.

However, in general most of the prebuilt NAS's (at the home consumer level) are woefully underpowered for full HD transcoding.

 

[smitbret]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I thought about that since I enjoy DIY, but for me in this case I think a ready solution with all that comes with it in terms of reliability etc sounds more reassuring. But you're saying that none of the NAS:es I mentioned above would be sufficient for HD video?

One thing I don't understand with my current NAS (DS210J) is that I can stream BD rips to my telly using the VLC app on Apple TV 4 (I've only tried a couple of BD:s) and the films are playing on nicely without image-related issues. Well, apart from the rather annoting fact that the sound is missing.

When I'm trying the same thing using the Plex or Infuse apps it doesn't work at all, it's just buffering.

Streaming and Transcoding are two different animals. Any cheap NAS can stream an HD file to a device but if the file isn't playback compatible then it has to be transcoded and that is where a good CPU is necessary.

I am not saying that none of the NAS's are up to the task but the TS-251 would be the very bottom of the barrel; the TS251+ makes me feel OK about it.

The problem I have run into in the past is that there is a big difference between HD transcoding and BD transcoding, a 6GB HD download vs. a 28GB Blu-Ray rip. My server used to run on an AMD FX 6100 and it was fine to transcode a couple of video streams, SD or HD, simultaneously...... until I tried transcoding a raw BD rip for streaming playback in full 1080p. It just couldn't pull real-time in that situation. I had to settle for SD or 720p at medium or lower quality.

Your sound issue may be a codec problem, too, which would also be solved with transcoding.

As a general rule, I recommend people get as much CPU in their NAS/Server as thy can afford if they mention transcoding. Just trying to scrape by can be so much headache.