Hello,
I read lot of posts on the forum but I am still clue on my situation for more than one year now!
So I have a NAS Synology DS213+ and a Xbox One, Iphone, Ipad and LG TV. I am Plex gold and first I though that Plex will be the best solution to watch movies everywhere, the reallyty is I am not using Plec anymore and I am fed up with Netflix! Plex Server is on my NAS. Plex theatre is working “ok” on the LG Tv with an USB key but not working with the LG App. Plex is not working on the Xbox and that the big issue because I am using the Xbox on my Cinema room. >> Server not powerfull enought!
My Question is : Can I really use my Syn. DS213+ with the Xbox One?
Do I need something else like Chromecast? or change the NAS ? or buy an other hardware and forget about Plex?
Thank you to lead me to the best solution.
Let’s do it!!
Mathieu
Since Plex cannot transcode with the cpu in your NAS, all clients do only really work if they are able to Direct Play your content.
The only clients which can Direct Play almost every content type are PHT (nowadays OpenPHT) and Plex Media Player.
For all other clients (like the XBox) you need the ability to transcode now and then. But since your NAS is unable to do that…
Some NAS owners try to work around this issue by specially converting their media to a lower common denominator. This may work for you too.
The better solution would be to get a dedicated computer (with a cpu strong enough to transcode) and install Plex server onto it. Then point it to the media files on your NAS.
(the Intel NUC i5 and i7 models are popular choices for this)
Post-note:
for a real Home Cinema (with a big screen, so you want the highest video and sound quality), you might want a playback device which is able to Direct Play all your media and which is able to play also the high quality surround sound formats like DTS HD MA or TrueHD.
Reason is: every transcoding makes the quality worse. So if you want the highest quality, you better avoid transcoding.
The clients which can do that currently are
a HTPC with either OpenPHT or PMP on it. the graphics adapter must be selected carefully, so its HDMI output supports the specification of HDMI 2.0a to be able to ‘bitstream’ the highend surround sound formats.
an nVidia Shield whic supports pretty many surround sound format and also 4K video
if the sound quality must not be the extremely ‘high end’ and video is OK @ 1080p, then a Raspberry Pi3 with Rasplex or ‘PMP embedded’ on it might be a good option.
an up-and-coming device might be the Odroid C2 (once the software is mature) which is said to be able to bitstream most surround sound formats and playback HEVC 4K video.
Thank you OttoKerner.
So I will keep my Nas and I am not going to change it for an other one like DS451+ or DS416Play?
As well I will buy a NUC I7 and install Plex Server in it.
I will keep my files on the NAS or on the NUC.
That sounds correct?
Thank you again for your answer as an expert.
Mathieu
@McMathie said:
So I will keep my Nas and I am not going to change it for an other one like DS451+ or DS416Play?
As well I will buy a NUC I7 and install Plex Server in it.
I will keep my files on the NAS or on the NUC.
That sounds correct?
Yes. In my opinion this is the best way forward from a Plex perspective.
Some users don’t like to have 2 devices powered on all the time. That depends on you to decide.
The bigger Nas models won’t bring a significant raise in cpu power, unfortunately.
Maybe Plex will be able to use the embedded video coprocessor of the ‘Play’ models, but right now there is no information available if that will ever be the case and when.
Thank you, it 's clear now.
I ll go maybe for a mac mini dedicated to my home cinema room.
But with the price of this new device I could rent a BluRay per week!!
@McMathie said:
I ll go maybe for a mac mini dedicated to my home cinema room.
But with the price of this new device I could rent a BluRay per week!!
That is certainly possible, but then: A plex server is almost always something for family and friends too. If you count in their usage and the freedom to switch to other movies on a whim, the calculation is no longer that simple.
@McMathie said:
I ll go maybe for a mac mini dedicated to my home cinema room.
Something to keep in mind: The OS X doesn’t support bitstreaming of the better surround sound formats. DTS-HD MA or TrueHD are a no-go on a Mac.
You’re absolutey right, but it should be pointed out to @McMathie that it works on a Mac Mini if he runs Windows through bootcamp, which is pretty easy to do. I am not sure, though, that the new models support hdmi 2.0a and hdpc 2.2, so there might be some issues playing back 4k content down the line.
@KarlDag said:
You’re absolutey right, but it should be pointed out to @McMathie that it works on a Mac Mini if he runs Windows through bootcamp,
Provided, he gets the mini as-new, then I might ask, what is the point of buying this expensive hardware if you’re not running OS X on it? And it may still not be optimally suited to the task.
I think for the price of a new Mini, you can get an optimally adapted PC with the ability to play all surround formats.
I would say that running unofficial Plex clients (OpenPHT) plays way better on my Odroid C2 than my Intel NUC, better codec support, direct plays everything in 7.1 including DTS-HD MA and Atmos. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for the official Plex clients (PMP) which are really lacking in both functionality and playability.
@KarlDag said:
You’re absolutey right, but it should be pointed out to @McMathie that it works on a Mac Mini if he runs Windows through bootcamp,
Provided, he gets the mini as-new, then I might ask, what is the point of buying this expensive hardware if you’re not running OS X on it? And it may still not be optimally suited to the task.
I think for the price of a new Mini, you can get an optimally adapted PC with the ability to play all surround formats.
Just pointing it out it’s still a beautifully crafted piece of hardware that looks good in a TV cabinet, and there are advantages to running a htpc and having access to a full blown os…
That said, I personally use and recommend the Nvidia Shield.
