I’ve been a PLEX user for years and it’s finally come time to upgrade my trusty ReadyNAS Ultra 4 RNDU4000 which has done me well for nearly 8 years.
At the moment I am using the RNDU4000 with RAIDiator 4.2.26 and PLEX v0.9.16.6.1993-5089475 which has never let me down!
My streaming devices are 1 x Samsung 2013 55" Smart TV and a Samsung 2017 50" SmartTV (latest PLEX client app). I find that the Samsung 2017 PLEX app (PLEX for samsung 3.3.4) doesn’t seem to work too well with Subtitles on my media - media playback does not work at all with Subtitles enabled. Still works fine on my 2013 Samsung.
I have 2 NAS’ available to me at the moment as an upgrade and I’m wondering which of the 2 would be best suited replacement for my ReadyNAS Ultra 4?
QNAP TS-431
Synology DS416
If anyone can provide any advice on which NAS would suit my setup best as both TV’s stream direct from the ReadyNAS Ultra 4 at present that would be appreciated. I don’t stream anything 4K/1080p or anything high, usually I stream 480p x264 for TV and 720p x264 or BDRip’s for movies which both seem to stream perfect on each Samsung TV.
Neither of those NAS devices will help you with this issue. You need something more powerful, but preferably a NAS that has an Intel chip that supports QuickSync like the Synology DS918+
I have the QNAP TS-453Bmini and love it. I can play HEVC and it transcodes when necessary (although I have converted everything to .mp4 to direct play more often).
I’ve used both QNAP and Synology through my work in IT. For me, Synology wins hands down for a better OS, well supported apps and more reliable system.
While Synology has the very polished GUI, which manufacturer offers the strongest processors typically needed for video environments such as Plex ? I believe QNAP has that side of the coin hands down?
With regards to the processor, I’d have to say they are comparable imho. You can find like for like throughout their range. The two higher spec units mentioned above actually use exactly the same Intel Quad core processor, but the Synology unit comes in £100 cheaper.
I own a QNAP. But I would NOT recommend them AT ALL. They have NO firewall/real security built-in. And their flimsy block after x attempts is lame.
I would recommend an Intel version of Synology. (# of bays is personal)
For the record, Synology has true firewall protections. And you can even block at country level. I am tired of the HUNDRED of monthly attempts to break in to my NAS coming from mostly China, Russia. Had I known what I know now, I would have bought the Synology 918+.
No it wasn’t. After getting email notification for each attempt, I made sure to disable ALL unused services (FTP, SSH, etc.) just in case and use a very strong password. But I still get probes of disabled services.
But the Qnap method isn’t a firewall. You get a list method and the choice of:
allow all 2. whitelist 3. blacklist
There are no state secrets on my NAS. lol But the way Qnap essentially leaves users with the barest of protections (ban list after X number of attempts in X number of minutes) is simply NOT GOOD ENOUGH. There are times my NAS is probed relentlessly. Once I found out Synology allows you to block entire country IP addresses…you could block say ALL attempts EVER from say ALL OF RUSSIA. (In my case it is China, Russia, Venezuela, and Netherlands in that order). Instead Qnap makes users rely on a ban list that is created AFTER an attack. If I can stop/prevent the attack in the first place I rather that option.
A side note about the list method used by Qnap. It is slow and ripe for attack.
-You have to HOPE the Qnap OS doesn’t have some known exploit.
-You have to be attacked FIRST before IP addresses can be added.
Synology firewall allows the user to block at country IP address level. So if you never plan to visit say Russia or don’t have friends/family there you share access with, you can simply block the entire country IP address block and NEVER have logs fill with probe attempts. It really is scary to see the hundreds of them.
Why is the QNAP being ‘bombarded’ at all? What about your modem/router or did you bypass and plug the ISP directly into the NAS? (BAD decision)
Should one opt to do the direct-connect ISP method: One of the best firewalls (pfSense) is available for QNAP from QNAP. It is a full, proper, stateful, firewall with all the trimmings. Might I suggest use it ?
The better decision is to spend the few $$$ and get a proper Netgate box with pfSense in it or build your own from the FREE Community version
HI @ChuckPa - no, my QNAP was behind my router with only SSH and FTP enabled (if I remember correctly). I then got a bunch of emails about failed attempts to login which threw me a bit.
Setup a second layer proxy host (a DMZ) with NO hostnames defined in it; Obfuscated networking, all in complete “Tin Foil” wrapping methodology
This is why I have the pfSense. All those hostile machines (bots) do nothing but scan for vunerable hosts 24 hours a day. They have pre-programmed attack routines to look for all the known exploits. This is where the pfSense saves you. When it locks them out, I have it set to block the entire subnet. That shuts it down.
Most importantly though, my machine sits there, as a “black hole” . Most firewalls reply with “Denied / Refused”. This is BAD… VERY BAD. It confirms you exist.
The best firewall should IGNORE and DROP the packet as if you do not exist.
