Server Version#: Version 1.41.4.9399
Player Version#: Version 1.107.1.293-575aed08
Hello, I have tested the new expired HEVC encoding feature on my DS920+.
In general I can say that the new function works very well. 1080p material is played in all player settings without any problems. However, I have problems with 4K material depending on the player settings.
Here are my test results:
Source: 1080p H264 → Player 1080p 8Mbps → HEVC Looks good
Source: 1080p H264 → Player 1080p 12Mbps → HEVC Looks good
Source: 1080p H264 → Player 1080p 20Mbps → HEVC Looks good
Source: 2160p HEVC → Player 1080p 8Mbps → HEVC Looks good
Source: 2160p HEVC → Player 1080p 12Mbps → HEVC Looks good
Source: 2160p HEVC 8bit/10bit/DV-> Player 1080p 20Mbps → Converts to 2160p HEVC 8bit/10bit with 20 Mpbs and freezes every 1-2 seconds. Unfortunately unusable.
Have you had similar experiences with 4K source material? Regardless of whether it is SDR or HDR, the results are always the same. I have also tried it with various PLEX players.
Is the UHD600 Gemini Lake processor to weak for this? I thought it was designed to encode HEVC10.
In the HEVC Encoding thread by chris_decker08 I read that he is working on a rework of the transcoder. Maybe this will have a positive effect on the transcoding efficiency for 4K HEVC encoding.
It was quite a few times mentioned by @ChuckPa that Gemini Lake and especially J4125 are quite problematic with HW transcoding, due to problems Intel introduced in their drivers. Plex did some work to work around that, but I wouldn’t hold my breath they could do much about that.
I have been experimenting with the GeminiLake CPU (J4125).
The J4125 is a “GeminiLake Refresh” meaning it’s better GPU and faster CPU than regular “GeminiLake” (e.g. J5005) counterpart.
It will, depending on the encoding, struggle with certain HDR10/DV mixed
I do not have these problems with the GeminiLake Refresh.
All said and done, I also now have a N100 mini PC for testing.
The N100 is an AlderLake GPU which is ‘head and shoulders’ above the GeminiLake.
Given the DS920+ is Gemini Lake Refresh, you’ll be ok for most, but not all the DoVi content (remember, HW transcoding strips the DV and this is where the problem occurs).
If possible, be selective about the media you use with it. As long as I don’t try to slam it with high bit rate DoVi content, it does fine.
I didn’t know that the DS920+ has a Gemini Lake Refresh. Thanks for the explanation. Unfortunately, I have the problem with all variants of 4K material. 4K 8bit / 4K 10bit / 4K 10bit with DV. All variants stutter every few seconds with the player setting 1080p 20 Mpbs. Unfortunately, I can’t confirm your test results
