Just recently built a NAS, something that I really wanted to be a powerhouse Plex Media Server (with the potential to transcode a few 4K streams simultaneously).
But was super bummed when I tested out the first PMS stream and the GPU didn’t get utilized.
Found this thread that confirmed that it’s not currently possible to do (at least not without doing an annoying Virtual Machine workaround).
So I guess this is my prayer to the Plex gods that somehow this functionality will be released in the near future and we can unlock the FULL POTENTIAL of some of these newer QNAP NAS machines.
Correct, QNAP is working with Plex to provide HW transcoding for the Ryzen processors.
Status:
It is working at the development level.
It has been turned over to the build team for final productization
Be also advised; that same build team (the one I have been detailed to) is the same one overhauling all the repositories and how packages are built. HW transcoding on QNAP is on that short-list.
Thanks gents
I for one was simply hoping that I would not have to run a VM to have found utilisation in Plex.
I only have the TS 673.
But thanks for sharing
To clarify what is coming: The QNAP native app will support HW transcoding for AMD just as it now does for Intel QSV. As I understand the implementation, this will be through the normal libva mechanism. As such, it will include support nVidia or AMD cards which can be accessed via libva and lays the foundation for further AMD work in the future.
Thanks for you help.
I done really need to encode video.
For me the use case scenario is mostly to be able to decode 4k to 1080p and other resolutions.
Since I have a 4k TV, a 1080p, phones and laptops with different resolution …
But maybe I have misunderstood the process.
Maybe decode happens and the encode?
If so would I need a larger card?
well transcoding is 2 parts, decoding the original stream and encoding it back into a different stream.
so that means the 1030 can DECODE your 4k, but the nas CPU will have to ENCODE it back to 1080 or 720 or whatever.
So you are only getting half the benefit. If that nas cpu is powerful enough, then it may not be a big deal to encode 1080 or less (plus audio, which doesn’t go to the gpu).
Versus a 1050 or up, the gpu would fully handle both sides of the video transcode task.
I have a gtx 960 (listed under older gpu in that page), which is very similar, it has partial support for x265 decode, but no x265 encode.
The 1030 is worse, it has NO hardware encoding support. (not even for x264 bluray/720/etc).
I’ve just bought a 1277 and can’t wait to see this feature implemented. Is it still a priority for Plex and is there a way I can track the progress of development?
I may run a Windows VM in the interim with the P2000.
Still very much a priority.
There is nothing publicly trackable because all the notes are Plex-internal.
It is working.
There will be a forum preview thread when it’s packaged and ready for testing.
Right now, other new packaging work must come first (packing system overhaul)
I can tell you what I’ve accomplished so far and hope I don’t feel a ruler across my knuckles
Using the Ryzen CPU,
I’ve been able detect and select a “QTS enabled” graphics card.
I check for a) Card installed b) Drivers installed and c) QTS mode enabled
If the card is present but any of these are missing, I report appropriately in the QTS log
If all are in order, I add the necessary information to the PMS startup variables so the Transcoder can find and use the card.
All this was fine until I upgraded to the latest (NVIDIA 9.0) drivers.
This has changed something.
I’m getting a VAAPI initialization error. This most frequently happens when the ABI is out of sync. I’m working with QNAP now to find out what this is.
Once this is resolved, HW transcoding progress is otherwise ready for an Alpha test IMO (subject to Engineering, QA, and Management approvals.
I hope this is good news to all.
I wanted to get it out for Christmas but didn’t make it. it’s SOOOOOO close. I can guarantee the tweak I need will be trivial! (Murphy’s Law and Occam’s Razor)
I love this, please keep it up. I have a 1677x with Ryzen 1700 , 64gb and a quadro P4000. Still having issues with a VM that gets 8 cores, 32gb of ram and the Quadro with full gigabit wired network. Please keep up the good work, I’d love to kill the VM and go full native with QNAP!!!
@nSchmidt7 stated here that he “tested out the first PMS stream and the GPU didn’t get utilized”.
The thread’s title is “Enable Nvidia GPU Hardware (HW) Transcoding Acceleration on Ryzen Qnap TS-877”
@ChuckPa explained here that “…the implementation (…) will include support nVidia or AMD cards”
So I assume the majority of this thread’s followers are definitely looking for the GPU feature. The CPU acceleration can therefore be seen as a “nice to have” but is needed for the implementation.
My implementation on QNAP will include all external GPUs which QNAP supports.
IF there are multiple cards, whichever card is in QTS mode will be the card I select for PMS use.
PMS does not yet differentiate between multiple cards so I rely on the QNAP enumeration list (first found) to give to PMS.
