With the DS418play featuring the Celeron J3355 with QVS (Quick Sync Video), should it not be capable of default hardware transcoding up to a certain resolution? I don’t seem to get the results I was expecting.
Have you enabled it?
Yes, it is enabled… System goes straight to 99% load, with or without hardware transcoding enabled.
XML of the item being played?
Not all codecs have hardware transcoding support at this time. Engineering is working on enabling more decoders
H.264 is primary.
HEVC 8 bit is secondary.
<Video ratingKey="657" key="/library/metadata/657" parentRatingKey="656" grandparentRatingKey="655" guid="com.plexapp.agents.thetvdb://318408/1/1?lang=en" librarySectionID="7" librarySectionKey="/library/sections/7" type="episode" title="Islands" grandparentKey="/library/metadata/655" parentKey="/library/metadata/656" grandparentTitle="Planet Earth II" parentTitle="Season 1" contentRating="TV-G" summary="Remote islands offer sanctuary for some of the planet's strangest and rarest creatures. The rare pygmy three-toed sloth enjoys a peaceful existence on an idyllic Caribbean island, while nesting albatross thrive in predator-free isolation.
<pre><code> But island life always comes at a cost. On the Galapagos Islands, young marine iguana must escape an onslaught of deadly racer snakes the moment they hatch from the sand. On the sub-Antarctic island of Zavodovski, life gets more extreme still. Every day, one and a half million penguins risk being battered against the rocks by fierce waves as they try to get on and off the island." index="1" parentIndex="1" rating="9.8" viewOffset="118231" lastViewedAt="1511285087" year="2016" thumb="/library/metadata/657/thumb/1511000309" art="/library/metadata/655/art/1511000310" parentThumb="/library/metadata/656/thumb/1511000310" grandparentThumb="/library/metadata/655/thumb/1511000310" grandparentArt="/library/metadata/655/art/1511000310" grandparentTheme="/library/metadata/655/theme/1511000310" duration="3049800" originallyAvailableAt="2016-11-06" addedAt="1511000263" updatedAt="1511000309" chapterSource="media">
<Media videoResolution="4k" id="1520" duration="3049800" bitrate="40019" width="3840" height="2160" aspectRatio="1.78" audioChannels="6" audioCodec="dca-ma" videoCodec="hevc" container="mkv" videoFrameRate="PAL" audioProfile="ma" videoProfile="main 10">
<Part accessible="1" exists="1" id="1524" key="/library/parts/1524/1510953900/file.mkv" duration="3049800" file="/volume1/Media/New Releases/Planet.Earth.II.S01.2160p.UHD.BluRay.HDR.DTS-HD.MA5.1.x265-ULTRAHDCLUB/Planet.Earth.II.S01E01.2160p.UHD.BluRay.HDR.DTS-HD.MA5.1.x265-ULTRAHDCLUB.mkv" size="15256161823" audioProfile="ma" container="mkv" videoProfile="main 10">
<Stream id="3608" streamType="1" default="1" codec="hevc" index="0" bitrate="35411" language="English" languageCode="eng" bitDepth="10" chromaSubsampling="4:2:0" colorRange="tv" colorSpace="bt2020nc" frameRate="25.000" height="2160" level="150" profile="main 10" refFrames="1" title="Planet Earth II - Season 1, Episode 1: Islands (2016) [TV Mini-Series] - Release for ULTRAHDCLUB" width="3840"/>
<Stream id="3609" streamType="2" default="1" codec="dca" index="1" channels="6" bitrate="1536" language="русский язык" languageCode="rus" audioChannelLayout="5.1(side)" bitDepth="24" profile="ma" samplingRate="48000" title="DTS-HD MA 5.1 @ 3560 kbps - AVO, OMiCRON"/>
<Stream id="3610" streamType="2" selected="1" codec="dca" index="2" channels="6" bitrate="1536" language="English" languageCode="eng" audioChannelLayout="5.1(side)" bitDepth="24" profile="ma" samplingRate="48000" title="DTS-HD MA 5.1 @ 3320 kbps - Blu-ray GER"/>
<Stream id="3611" streamType="2" codec="dca" index="3" channels="6" bitrate="1536" language="Deutsch" languageCode="ger" audioChannelLayout="5.1(side)" bitDepth="24" profile="ma" samplingRate="48000" title="DTS-HD MA 5.1 @ 3840 kbps - Blu-ray GER"/>
<Stream id="3612" streamType="3" codec="srt" index="4" bitrate="0" language="English" languageCode="eng" title="Blu-ray UK"/>
</Part>
</Media>
<Director id="9607" filter="director=9607" tag="Elizabeth White"/>
<Extras size="0"></Extras>
</Video>
</MediaContainer>
</code></pre>
<p><strong>Moderator Edit: Added CODE paragraph formatting for readability</strong></p>
Does that cover it?
The processor is not sophisticated enough to handle:
HEVC + 10 bit + 35 Mbps
Am I better off limiting my expectations, exchanging the 418play for a different NAS, or buying a 3rd party unit to handle transcoding?
If you have something like an i7 KabyLake class NUC, PMS will be able to DirectPlay to it. It will do all decode locally in the NUC.
The KabyLake class machines are the first Intel iGPU machines to handle HEVC 10 bit in hardware. I have a i7 SkyLake. It cannot handle HEVC 10 bit
Okay… With the J3355 in my current unit, which level should I reasonably be able to transcode to?
Have a look at
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/201774043-What-kind-of-CPU-do-I-need-for-my-Server-
Basically your NAS CPU has a Passmark of 1289 which is not even enough for 720p/4mb
A 918+ has a CPU with a Passmark of 2161 which is just enough for 1008p/10mb
Basically Synology don’t make NAS’s for the Prosumer market with decent CPU’s
I don’t agree that DS918+ processor can’t transcode 4k HEVC 10 bit. It’s not powerful if its using software decoding. But hardware decoding works perfectly. You can check it on this link for the capabilities of Apollo Lake Processors :
I tried Emby with different videos on the same DS918+ and it transcodes 10bit 4k HEVC 60Mbps to 1080p h264 30Mbps perfectly with 25% processor usage.
I love Plex , using it for years and bought Lifetime Plex Pass recently, but they really need to update their transcoder so it can fully use Apollo Lake Processors because obviously Kaby Lake is not needed for 4k HEVC 10 bit.
@khr2011 said:
I don’t agree that DS918+ processor can’t transcode 4k HEVC 10 bit. It’s not powerful if its using software decoding. But hardware decoding works perfectly. You can check it on this link for the capabilities of Apollo Lake Processors :I tried Emby with different videos on the same DS918+ and it transcodes 10bit 4k HEVC 60Mbps to 1080p h264 30Mbps perfectly with 25% processor usage.
I love Plex , using it for years and bought Lifetime Plex Pass recently, but they really need to update their transcoder so it can fully use Apollo Lake Processors because obviously Kaby Lake is not needed for 4k HEVC 10 bit.
Which programm or extension do you use to get this detailed information about transcoding?
It’s Emby web client - stats for nerds option.
Another transcode of 918+ with around 25% percent CPU usage:
918+ is a monster 
When Plex upgrade the transcoder everything will be perfect
I am leaning towards keeping the 418play, and adding on a MSI Cubi 2 or similar to ensure enough transcoding power. Once you have tasted 4k, it is really difficult to go back. 
I was working in the post production industry when HD started to become the norm 10-15 years ago, and once I started working in HD or 4k, it was damn difficult to go back and watch a dvd, let alone flow tv.
I bought a ds416Play about a year ago and recently upgraded to a 4K tv. I was reading that the 418Play can handle two 4K streams but your comments make me feel like that isn’t true. I’d rather not upgrade if it’s not going to solve my issues regarding streaming 4K content. What do you guys recommend?
@KOTULCN said:
I bought a ds416Play about a year ago and recently upgraded to a 4K tv. I was reading that the 418Play can handle two 4K streams but your comments make me feel like that isn’t true. I’d rather not upgrade if it’s not going to solve my issues regarding streaming 4K content. What do you guys recommend?
Just wondering how the 416Play went with 1080p transcoding in Plex? Two simultaneously?
Emby even works on DS418 which has Realtek chip. Plex really needs to upgrade.
Hi guys
I had a ds414j and installed pms on it from package center but never used it.
I migrated the drives to a ds418play and launched again pms. It told me to manually install the latest package, which I did (I have the 1.13.0.5023) and then I set up my libraries.
This morning I subscribed to a Plex pass. I rebooted the server but I don’t see “enable hardware acceleration” in the advanced settings.
I even rebooted the nas but no luck.
Has someone any idea ?
Thanks a lot
Indeed, I did not have the 64 bits version of pms. After rebooting, I
h s the option and it works. Thanks a lot.
