Newbie question about buffering and Synology DS220+

[bolebg]

Hi,

Newbie question here - just recently purchased NAS Synology DS220+ to stream to Smart TV using Plex.
First few movies were perfect for buffering in HD but then it starts buffering when i was streaming movie labeled

1080p BluRay x265 HEVC 10bit AAC 5.1 Tigole) / (1080p BluRay x265 10bit Tigole).mkv

I see that processor logging was red on NAS. Is there any limit which is important to know to avoid buffering and how to override it (optimize streaming in decreasing quality).

As note i really do not know nothing about compressions and streaming.

Thanks

bolebg

[bolebg]

I can not find that setting at all at NAS Synology ds220+.

But what i tested is very strange.

I stream from same NAS to Smart TV (where I have buffering) and to PC.

When Streaming to PC i do nto have any buffering and CPU load on NAS is minimal.

When Streaming to Smart TV i have buffering every 5 minutes and CPU load on NAS is red!

Screenshots are attached. (hmm…can not find here option to attach screenshot?)

What can be difference here? It looks as network is not problem.

[FordGuy61]

Synology DSM version 6 or 7?

Plex Media Server version? Listed in Authorized Devices: https://app.plex.tv/desktop#!/settings/devices/all

Make & Model of TV?

Plex client version? Also listed in Authorized Devices.

Play the video, without subtitles, on the TV and monitor playback using Plex Dashboard → Now Playing. Is the video and/or audio transcoding? Toggle the button on the right for an expanded view if necessary.

Attach a screenshot of the dashboard if possible. Drag the file into the compose window. It will attach at the cursor location. Alternately, use the Upload icon, the one with the arrow pointing up.

Your NAS may struggle with transcoding video, as you do not have a Plex Pass and therefore cannot use the GPU to assist with video transcoding.

FYI, HDR to SDR tonemapping is a Plex Pass feature, so you cannot enable it. If you are transcoding HDR video, the colors will most likely appear washed out due to the lack of tonemapping.

---

Additional Info:

Make sure you follow Plex recommendations for movie and TV show organization and naming. It will help when matching media to online databases and downloading cover art, show info, etc.
Plex is especially picky when it comes to TV shows. Stray from the recommendations at your own peril. You might get lucky, but at some point things will break.

Plex Documentation → Your Media

Recommend you read the following two support documents. They will help you sidestep common mistakes when running Plex on Synology NAS:

Installation & Setup of Plex Media Server on Synology

Synology FAQ (DSM 5 & 6) - Questions, Answers, and a few How-To’s

[bolebg]

Thank you for your support.

Here are attachments i prepared so far. Rest (dashboard will come later)

Performance for LG43

Performance LG49

Performance PC

[bolebg]

And here is dashboard

[FordGuy61]

Each Plex client has its own set of capabilities and limitations. You are running into the limitations of Plex’s LG app.

With the Plex WebOS app:

• Enabling image based (PGS/VOBSUB) subtitles forces a video transcode.
• If the audio is transcoding, enabling any subtitle forces a video transcode.

If the audio is not transcoding:

• SRT/VTT subtitles direct play.
• ASS subtitles force a video transcode if Subtitles = Automatic in app settings.
• ASS subtitles direct play if Subtitles = Only Image Formats in app settings.

Your TV does not support TrueHD or any dts format of audio (specifications). Playing either will force a transcode to a supported format and force a video transcode if subtitles are enabled.

As previously mentioned, without a Plex Pass, your NAS will struggle to transcode 1080p or higher resolution video (Reference: Plex NAS Compatibility List).

As @trumpy81 mentions, due to how the Plex WebOS app handles subtitles, the limitations of the Celeron processor, and the Intel video driver, your NAS will struggle with subtitles if the video is transcoding. This will occur whether or not you have a Plex Pass. FYI, this is applicable to any system using a low power Intel CPU running Linux.

It is unknown if your TV will direct play the video. You will have to play it without subtitles to find out. It is a 4K HDR TV, so it supports 10-bit HEVC video. I do not know if will play 1080p 10-bit HEVC video (I’ve none to try with my LG TV).

Your options using the Plex LG app:

Avoid video/audio/subtitle combinations that force a video transcode.

Convert your media to formats compatible with the TV. Subtitle Edit converts subtitles to the SRT format. Handbrake will convert video to a compatible format (use the nightly builds if you need 10-bit video). Use MKVToolNix to remultiplex MVK files as needed.

A third option is to use a different Plex client. The Plex Android TV client (Nvidia Shield Pro, Amazon FireStick 4k) direct plays subtitles even if the video and audio are transcoding. Other Plex clients such as the AppleTV 4K and Roku devices will most likely handle subtitles better than the Plex LG app.

Regarding the Plex for Windows application, as @trumpy81 mentions, it does not have the limitations of the Plex WebOS app. Plex for Windows (and Mac) direct play most media, including subtitles. It is definitely preferable to Plex Web when viewing content on a Windows or MacOS system.

[bolebg]

Thanks a lot for very insightful explanations.

I was able to make some tests based on it.

When i turned off VOBSUB processor was in red (99%) but there was no buffering, so it was ok to watch content.

When i paid sub everything works like charm including VONSUB turned on.

Even with VOBSUB Title processor is under 70% and there is no buffering.

[bolebg]

At the end it looks that since ancient Phoenicians invented money all problems are solvable

[ProjectVRD]

At the end it looks that since ancient Phoenicians invented money all problems are solvable

Just chiming in with a bit of advice, I have always treated Smart TV’s as just a display panel. Meaning that I always have something with a bit more power to do the hard work, I would leave others to explain the advantages of Roku and Sheild etc.

I can say I have no issues using an Fire TV Cube (2nd Gen) connected to a 4K-HDR Smart TV. I treat the TV as a dummy display, it isn’t used for any apps as TV’s normally just don’t have good support from manufacturers and weak hardware.

EDIT: Amazon Prime members can pay for the TV Cube in 5 interest free instalments. So not an issue for most people on handing over three figures, I think it’ll cost about £22 a month at full price for 5 months but these are often reduced in Amazon sales, and you could still pay interest free.

[bolebg]

True. As i was not aware at all about all this video encoding/transcoding… i had idea to use Smart TV Client which is not god idea.