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I want to buy a NAS and install Plex on it and store my UHD backups on it. I want to use the NVidia Shield for access to it. Since the Shield support(almost) everything can i just buy a cheap NAS and use it as a fileserver. If i’m right then Plex doesn’t need to transcode to the Shield? Or do i still need a NAS with support of 4k(hdr) transcoding?
The Shield can play most things, but not all. You may still run into times when something might need to be transcoded. A cheap NAS won’t be able to handle those situations.
as a file server only, you can often go with very cheap nas, all they have to do is be able to saturate a gigabit ethernet link.
if you want to run the plex SERVER on the nas, then well you would need to take more into account as far as how much transcoding load you want to be able to handle.
the shield pro can act as both plex client (player) and server (using a nas for storage or an attached usb3 drive). it does have its own set of limitations though, and your library can quickly outgrow the shields limits. see also @
as mentioned, the shield can play most things, but not everything, so it will depend entirely on the content you expect to use.
for 4k uhd remuxes that direct play, a shield + cheap nas could be fine in most cases.
I would recommend NOT getting a tube though (and the tube does not have plex server either).
any case, you can use a nas as file server only, and use a separate plex server device/pc.
or you can buy/build a sufficiently powerful enough nas/server that can run plex server along with file storage.
Thanks a lot for your reply and advice!
I am running a plex server now on my pc. I am using about 3 big usb 3.0 drives and never having a problem when i’m playing something on my Nvidia Shield. The problem is that i don’t want the pc on for 24/7. My library is too big for the Nvidia Shield to use it as a server. I think you can use the shield as a server and using external storage for the data.
What i want to put on a nas are movies(UHD rips) and mkv’s. Also mp3 and flac files for music.
If i would buy a cheap NAS then i can use it as a file server but do i need a more powerful nas if i want to use it as a plex server?
I would try using the Shield as your server first. You might get better performance than a NAS. Get a powered hub and connect your drives to it.
Keep in mind that most NAS have low powered hardware. That’s great on power savings, but bad when you need cpu power. Some NAS are capable of using hardware acceleration. I would check out Plex’s compatibility chart to find what each device is capable of. NAS Compatibility
^^^ what moviefan said!
nas’s go from cheap/underpowered to expensive very quickly!
I used to be a big netgear nas fan, but they have seem to stop innovating, and they don’t have any new nas that I could recommend for plex server (although maybe great as file server and other things).
qnap and synology are 2 other big nas maker which support running plex server directly on the nas, and of course have a very wide range of price/performance.
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