Andrew,
The DS218play is one of their lower end models HOWEVER, If you curate your media well, you can still do a lot with it. It’s not an Ox you can just throw everything
at. Just fineness it and all will be well.
What it can do:
- Shovel data like it’s nobody’s business - Full speed of both HDDs.
- It can transcode about a total of 20 Mbps of H.264 video (which isn’t much)
- It can convert 3-4 audio streams concurrently.
Things to consider:
-
Prepare the video –
a. If you want subtitles, burn them in as much as possible in advance.
b. The more you do in advance, the less it will need to do. -
If you have movies / tv episodes which your TV can accept “AS-IS” (key point) then it will serve you well. The trick is learning what to do with media.
a. Strip out what you don’t need (if you download). This is “Remuxing”.
b. Don’t use Image based subtitles (PGS - VOBSUB - DVDRIP). SRT type (text) is the most compatible. Do this when you strip out what you don’t need. -
Make your names Plex compliant , clean titles, and per TMDB & TheTVDB . It will find your media and identify it with ease.
If you want a primer on how to setup a Synology for Plex, I can offer you this. It’s “Full Service” in what it provides. Take your time and don’t hesitate to ask questions.
The full FAQ is here:
