A few of new Synology’s just announced.
The DS418 which has a Realtek RTD1296 CPU, but unlike the DS418j does have a Hardware Transcoding Engine:
https://www.synology.com/en-uk/products/DS418
The DS918+:
https://www.synology.com/en-uk/products/DS918+
And the DS418play looks imminent:
Need to upgrade my aging DS410 and curious what the expectations are for Plex transcoding with these?
Thanks!
There won’t be any support for transcoding on the ARM cpu where the Intel CPU does have Intel Quick Sync support and is HW transcode capable.
I will be upgrading our NAS to the new Synology DS918+ and I would like by a Life time pass of PLEX if Plex server is compatible with the DS918+.
I have been runing Synology NAS for years on our network but I admint I am new in regards to PLEX… but very impressed up to now by PLEX
The prior answer was not clear for me so I ask again, will PLEX Server and transcoding work on Synology DS918+
For your information from the Synology web site:
Synology DS918+ has a Intel Celeron J3455 - 64 bit.
Running Synology app it is said to transcode : “capable of transcoding up to two channels of H.265/H.264 4K videos at the same time”
Synology DS918+ “Hardware Transcoding Engine H.264 (AVC), H.265 (HEVC), MPEG-2 and VC-1; maximum resolution: 4K (4096 x 2160); maximum frame rate per second (FPS): 30”
It carries 4Gb and upgradable to 8Gb of DDR3L memory
Base on what I read on PLEX FAQ on NAS it seems the Synology DS918+ has all the needed bells and whistle to transcode up to 4K using PLEX Server.
Thank you
Francois
@fdurocher@gmail.com said:
I will be upgrading our NAS to the new Synology DS918+ and I would like by a Life time pass of PLEX if Plex server is compatible with the DS918+.I have been runing Synology NAS for years on our network but I admint I am new in regards to PLEX… but very impressed up to now by PLEX
The prior answer was not clear for me so I ask again, will PLEX Server and transcoding work on Synology DS918+
For your information from the Synology web site:
Synology DS918+ has a Intel Celeron J3455 - 64 bit.
Running Synology app it is said to transcode : “capable of transcoding up to two channels of H.265/H.264 4K videos at the same time”
Synology DS918+ “Hardware Transcoding Engine H.264 (AVC), H.265 (HEVC), MPEG-2 and VC-1; maximum resolution: 4K (4096 x 2160); maximum frame rate per second (FPS): 30”
It carries 4Gb and upgradable to 8Gb of DDR3L memory
Base on what I read on PLEX FAQ on NAS it seems the Synology DS918+ has all the needed bells and whistle to transcode up to 4K using PLEX Server.
Thank you
Francois
You can ignore any part of the synology spec which mentions a hardware transcoding engine because it’s proprietary and only synologys own DS Video is capable of using it, the only part that matters is the CPU used in the device.
The DS918+ CPU does have quick sync, so plex can make use of that (with the current hardware transcoding preview build) to achieve hardware transcoding.
I am currently trying to get the needed architecture name information about the 18 series units which have Intel chips. Until I get the architecture name(s), I can’t even build a test package as there are no test units currently in house.
Following your message, I got in contact with Synology to find out the architecture name information you need about the series 18.
Synology’s answer was … and I quote:
“The DS218+, DS718+, and DS918+ uses an Apollo Lake series Intel Celeron CPU.”
Source: answer to : Re: Synology Inquiry Ticket: #323790 (Product)
I am the person who made the inquiry this morning after reading your message.
Does this help ?
I don’t have the power to tell them to ship you a unit but if I can be of assistance to get you more information, I can offer to be a go between if pertinent and if need be… as long as your questions are clear.
By the way, in Canada, Synology may be shipping now. A few retailers are posting September 25th for in house availability of the DS218+, DS718+, and DS918+ on their web site.
Francois
Thanks Francois
I know the processor but don’t know the Architecture code name they use .
This is the only list I have to go by and it’s not listed there. https://github.com/SynoCommunity/spksrc/wiki/Architecture-per-Synology-model
I have a DS-918+ running in front of me. If you write exactly what and how to check, then tonight / tomorrow I will try to do it.
tar to extract its contents into a subdir (tar xf filename.spk)arch= line from the INFO fileuname -a
Thanks,
Our units are on order
Just heard back from Synology Product Support to your last comment on September 21st.
I actually copied and pasted the content of your message in my message to them.
The answer they gave me is the following, and I quote:
“If you’re referring to the instruction set (e.g. the DS418j uses the armv8 instruction set), the DS918+ uses the x86_64 instruction set.”
Hope this helps.
I have ordered a DS918+ and I am waiting for delivery.
Francois
Francois,
Thanks for confirming. I am aware of the CPU type in the models. Synology has a ‘architecture name’ they also assign. This is what they use to find the proper software. My DS1815+, while being x86_64, is a avoton architecture. I need to know that name. It sounds like they don’t want to tell you the answer.
We are gearing up for ARMv8 support but it is not yet available. There is no expected availability date at the time.
@ChuckPA said:
We are gearing up for ARMv8 support but it is not yet available. There is no expected availability date at the time.
Ah, nice! Just to clarify, IF you do eventually launch ARMv8 support, would that mean the DS418j would likely be capable of encoding (up to) 4K? Or is that still unlikely?
The ARM CPUs can only do, at most, SD video and low bit rate 720p transcoding. 4K is a pipe dream 
PMS cannot use Synology’s proprietary hardware chip. For that you need Video Station.
ARM CPUs are ok with audio transcoding and, as i said, low bitrate 720p. Since 4K videos are typically 50+ Mbps average, you’re lucky to be able to do DirectPlay. I have tested DirectStreaming of 4K (changing only the audio) on a DS1813+ (Atom D2700 cpu). It failed miserably and just as I suspected.
It takes approx 30% of a DS1813+ to DirectPlay 58 Mbps 4K. That’s significant.
I downloaded DSM 6.1.3 .pat file for the DS918+ and used 7-zip to extract the VERSION file which contained the line:
unique=“synology_apollolake_918+”
I checked this against the DSM 6.1.3 download for the 1815+ whose VERSION file shows:
unique=“synology_avoton_1815+”
So it appears that Synology’s codename for the 918+ is apollolake
@ChuckPA said:
The ARM CPUs can only do, at most, SD video and low bit rate 720p transcoding. 4K is a pipe dream
PMS cannot use Synology’s proprietary hardware chip. For that you need Video Station.ARM CPUs are ok with audio transcoding and, as i said, low bitrate 720p. Since 4K videos are typically 50+ Mbps average, you’re lucky to be able to do DirectPlay. I have tested DirectStreaming of 4K (changing only the audio) on a DS1813+ (Atom D2700 cpu). It failed miserably and just as I suspected.
It takes approx 30% of a DS1813+ to DirectPlay 58 Mbps 4K. That’s significant.
Thanks for clarifying, ChuckPA. Think I’ll wait for the DS418play to be officially launched and then see how it’s Intel CPU performs.
Hi guys,
I have just setup my DS718+ which has the same CPU as the DS918+ (Celeron J3455). I didn’t realise only certain models supported Plex and just presumed the latest and greatest would automatically have the necessary spec, silly assumption on my part! Plex is not available as in the package centre and it the 18 series is not yet listed as compatible here https://www.synology.com/en-global/dsm/packages/Plex_Media_Server. I’m presuming/hoping this will likely change in the future.
What are my options here? Could I try installing it manually and if so is it likely to break every time there is an update for the DS? Or am I best waiting until it is officially supported and in the package centre and if so how long is that likely to take roughly?
Also, the info above about the hardware transcoding is interesting. It seems Synology are never likely to allow Plex to make use of the proprietary hardware transcoding but do you think it is likely that the quick connect Intel Quick Sync feature will make it possible to transcode 4K or at least decent HD?
I have a Plex pass if that makes any difference to anything and I have upgraded the memory on the NAS to 6GB if that helps with transcoding requirements etc. (though I guess the processor is more important for that)
Cheers,
Dan
Dan,
Synology uses a different architecture name for the DS918+. I submitted the changes and they are in the QA process. I needed to wait until we were able to dissect one of the DSM PAT files and verify the name they use. They haven’t published it anywhere and it’s not otherwise listed anywhere.
I do have this thread bookmarked to inform you when it’s released but support will also be published in the release notes.
Okay Chuck, thanks for your help and the quick response! I have a DS718+ but it sounds like once sorted for the DS918+, it will be sorted for the DS718+ also.
Thanks again.
The DS918+ is the apollolake architecture.
If you download a .pat file (DSM) or any SPK apps for it… What is in the architecture line? It should be synology_xxxxxxx_yyyyyyyy form
I see unique="synology_apollolake_718+"
Yes pretty sure it is Apollolake but I’ll try and follow the steps you mentioned futher up in the thread.
