DS916+ is not doing HW transcoding. Plex pass, 64 bits, HW box checked

Plex Media Server NAS & Devices
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Server Version#: 1.14.0.5470 x86_64

I followed all the procedures and my Synology DS916+ is still doing software transcoding with 99% cpu usage. I’m extremely upset, and I paid for Plex Pass to give a try.

Yes, I installed the 64 bits PMS.
Yes, I checked the “enable hardware acceleration” box in PMS
Yes, I logged off and re-logged on
Yes, I have Plex Pass

I played a number of videos and the DS916+ was not even doing hardware transcoding. For example, I played Justice League 4K REMUX (.mkv and 50 mbps original, I think) on my Samsung UN64KS9000 4K TV (LAN connected), and PMS was showing
“Video: Transcoding HEVC to H264”
“Audio: Transcoding AC3 to AAC”

The cpu on the DS916+ was at 99% and of course, the video was skipping like crazy. I’m pretty sure DS916+ supports hardware acceleration. I set the quality to 8 mbps at 1080p just for testing. I’m so tired of spending hours (8-10 hrs) to optimize one video to mp4 before being able to watch it smoothly. I spent a lot of time reading the posts on the forum, and I followed all the necessary steps. I’m extremely upset and disappointed. Luckily I only paid $4.99 on Plex Pass for a month, and I’m not going to renew it. Either the DS916+ is garbage with the crappy Pentium CPU (likely) or Plex sucks (maybe).

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The graphics chip in the Pentium N3710 does not support HEVC, and the CPU does not have enough power to transcode 4K in software.

Try a H264 video, 1080p or lower resolution. Also, make sure subtitles are disabled.

References:
Using Hardware-Accelerated Streaming
NAS Compatibility Sheet (Google Docs Spreadsheet)
Intel N3710 Datasheet (PDF), Table 8-4 Hardware Accelerated Video Decode / Encode Codec Support, pg 80.

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