I recently bought a Nas from qnap (TS-253A) and installed the plex server.
I immediatly could not play 4k movies without stopping every 5 seconds.
So i thought that the settings from transcoding the movies where setup wrong, but i could not find anything.
I tried to optimize all movies to let them transcode before i wanted to watch the movies.
But this does not help, even when plex optimized it in for example to mp4 it still transcodes when i am watching it.
Is there something i can do that the movies are playing without transcoding at the same time ?
I apparantly do not have a cpu that is strong enough to play and transcode at the same time.
I need details about the equipment that you using to view films, and how it is connected. Specifically:
Is QNAP connected to a gigabit LAN ? If not, more details please
Is the “client” connected to the same gigabit LAN ? If not, more details please
What is the machine that you are using as “client” ? Are you using DLNA ? Or are you using a “plex client” (in this case I need the name of the “plex client”) ?
Or do you have a TV connected to QNAP’s HDMI port ? In this case I need to know which “client” you have installed on QNAP
Streaming 4K requires gigabit LANs, and if Plex decides to transcode the TS-253A will not be able to do it for 4K films (unless you use HW transcoding, but this requires a plex pass subscription)
It depends on the codecs and bitrates. A transcoding process has two phases:
Decoding the original codec - TS-253A supports HW decoding of HEVC (8-bit) and H264
Encoding to the target codec - TS-253A only suports HW encoding to H264
High bitrates can be a problem, there is no data available (yet) about its limits for a Celeron N3160.
HW encoding only applies to video, if audio transcoding is necessary it will use SW transcoding.
Anyway, for speed, and also for quality, avoiding transcoding is always preferrable.
Yes, I dont think my internet is a problem. (200 Mbps down / 20 Mbps up)
Yes, the client (qnap server) is connected to this network trough a gigabite lan.
I have tried a lot of different clients. I thought to vieuw it by the local qnap plex server was the best. But i usualy just use the internet to watch. (so the ip adres of the nas)
I also tried trough a hdmi cable to a normal samsung full hd tv, but it still makes no difference.
Do you think HW transcoding makes a difference ?
I hope you have enough information. if not please let me know
@rubino1896 said:
But i usualy just use the internet to watch. (so the ip adres of the nas)
You should play 4K content locally only, and using Plex clients that support 4K natively, otherwise the client will request transcoding to the NAS.
Do you think HW transcoding makes a difference ?
To answer this I need to know the mediainfo (xml format) of one of your 4K films.
I only play 4k locally, that is why i open plex from my qnap nas. I also tried playing it with my ps4 pro, but this does not help.
I have some media info of the movies that do work, and the ones that do not work.
But you do not tell me which Plex client are you using. You cannot play in QNAP. If you use the browser on your PC (or Mac) pointing to the QNAP IP you are playing in the PC/Mac, not in QNAP. If you use a Roku (or another box) you are playing in it, etc. If you play in a TV I need to know make and model.
There are various plex clients for PC/Mac, for example if you have Windows you may use PMP, OpenPHT or PlexWeb, if you use Mac PlexWeb and PMP, etc. So I need to know what operating system your PC has (Windows xx, Linux xx, OSX xx, etc), which Plex client you are using (PMP, PlexWeb, etc), and if it is PlexWeb what is your browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, etc).
Regarding HW transcoding, it will help (in principle) for films 1&3 above (it will not work for film 2 because it uses HEVC/10-bit depth and this is not supported by the GPU that comes with the Celeron N3160). You can test by subscribing 1 month of plex pass (it’s very cheap). There is no data about the maximum bitrate that the N3160 processor can support when HW transcoding is used, that’s why I say that “in principle” it should work but you need to test.
You could try playback via HD Station (with CodexPack) if you use the community OpenPHT or PMP qpk’s that Father Mande has on the QNAP Forums http://forum.qnap.com
But as moody said, even with those Plex clients you are still limited by what the GPU supports from a Direct Play perspective.
I am still learning about everything on Plex. I love it so far. But having some problem with the 4k playback. In all the drop downs, it is currently showing me that the highest quality is 1080p. I am running:
Qnap TVS-873e
24gb of ram
Gave my graphics processor 2gb to run 4k
quad core AMD processor with a R7gpu built in.
Hooked up to a Netgear Nighthawk x10 via 10gb SFP+ connection.
Internet is 200 up and 200 down.
Plex Server: Version 1.14.1.5488
Playback is on an apple tv 4k 32gb
Has all the newest updates from apple and the newest app updates.
Any help on this would be really appreciated. I have tried most stuff. But you guys are the pros.
