I’ve been using my Plex server on my desktop for a cpl of years, which is hosted off my Desktop, using Intel Core i7-4790K, 32 GB RAM, with Nvidia 1070 GPU.
I just got myself a Synology DS218+ with 4GB RAM (added 2GB) using 2x6TB drives.
WHICH is the better option for Plex server? Obviously my PC is more powerful, but do I need that? Plex would probably works better on Synology for remote access… but not sure which option is the best long run.
Most of my videos are 1080P, AC3… some 1080P, Atmos, and only a handful are 4K. I’d say 80% x264, 20% x265 codec.
Any ideas guys? I basically have to decide to either host all files on Synology, OR make it backup my media off PC.
I have a DS218+, and works perfectly.
I usually try to direct play everything, but sometimes I need to transcode, and it works.
I don’t have x265 to test here…
Some 4k to 1080p are not smooth, others are, I can’t explain the reason for it…
Sometimes just disabling subtitles transcode 4k to 1080 works…
HDR videos also only direct play, you won’t want to transcode these…
The thing here is the power that the DS218+ requires, which is very acceptable.
My desktop, uses a 430W PSU, so, it’s not ON all the time, but the DS218+ is.
Also, strongly suggest you do not install DSM 7. Plex on DSM 7 is still a work in progress (as is DSM 7 itself). If you are a glutton for punishment and run PMS on DSM 7, read these documents:
No matter where you run Plex Media Server, host the files on the Synology. You can mount the shares on the PC if needed.
With the files on the Synology you have protection from disk failure (assuming you’re using SHR1 or RAID 1).
The Synology must have a fixed IP address, either static or router assigned. It should be connected to the network with an Ethernet cable (no WiFi) at 1 Gbps. If you run Plex Media server on the PC, it must have the same.
For media that direct plays, either the PC or the NAS be fine. Direct playing media requires very little CPU.
For media that transcodes:
4K Media:
Without a Plex Pass, neither will transcode 4K HEVC video.
With a Plex Pass, the PC is definitely better, as transcoding will occur on the 1070. The Intel QSV graphics in the Celeron can also transcode 4K HEVC video, but not as reliably as the 1070.
H.264 / 1080p video (HD Blu-ray rips, etc):
Without a Plex Pass the PC is the clear winner. The Celeron CPU is not powerful enough.
With a Plex Pass, either is an option.
Subtitles:
If the video is transcoding and subtitles are enabled, Plex may have to burn the subtitles into the video stream. This varies by Plex client. Plex must burn subtitles for Samsung & LG SmartTV apps. Burning subtitles is not required for Android & Android TV clients.
This will be an issue using the Synology, even with a Plex Pass & hardware accelerated transcoding. On Linux based systems burning subtitles occurs with the CPU, not the GPU, and is a single threaded process. The Celeron CPUs in Synology NAS have low single-threaded performance. As a result, they struggle when burning in subtitles.
It depends on how much you need to transcode. The PC definitely wins if a lot of transcoding is required.
You can run Plex on both systems at the same time. Try Plex on the Synology and see how well it meets your requirements. You can always switch to the PC if needed.
Thanks guys… now, one question on “transcoding vs. direct play”. What does that mean? When would it direct play or transcode? Does it depend on the client? Like IF the client, CAN decode the exact file, direct play, if not, it has to be transcoded?!
If so, I guess it depends on my clients… which are currently mostly, Xbox One Plex client, AND Roku stick+ Plex client. I also sometimes use Apple TV Plex client at my parents house when trying to watch something there.
So, in which cases do I do direct play vs. transcode.
PS. I just installed Plex on Synology, added some movies to test. Plex cannot see the files somehow?! When I add the folder, and say “scan library file” it says no files can be found… any thoughts?!
Direct Play is when the client supports the video and audio formats. For example, playing a H.264 video with AAC audio using Plex Web.
Direct Stream is when Plex has to remux the file, but not change the video/audio formats. For example, Apple TVs support the MP4 container, but not the MKV container. If you play a movie in a MKV container with supported video and audio formats, Plex Media Server will remux the file to a MP4 container before streaming it to the Apple TV.
Transcoding happens when the video or audio format is not supported by the client. Plex then transcodes it to a supported format. For example, Chrome does not support HEVC video or Dolby Digital Plus audio. If you play a movie with those formats using Chrome, Plex Media Server will transcode them to supported formats.
Transcoding may also happen due to bandwidth limitations, usually when streaming remotely. For example, if the server has a 10 Mbps uplink and someone asks to stream a 20 Mbps movie, Plex will transcode both the audio and video to fit the available bandwidth.
Direct Play requires very little CPU, since Plex is streaming the file unaltered. Direct Stream is not very CPU intensive either, as Plex is just repackaging the media. Transcoding video is very compute intensive. One of the reasons people have a Plex Pass is to take advantage of hardware accelerated streaming, which offloads video transcoding from the CPU to the GPU.
The above are simple examples and there are always exceptions.
As you correctly guessed, the capabilities of each client come into play. The Nvidia Shield Pro is a popular device as it direct plays most media. Apple TVs and Rokus are also popular and support many codecs. Plex Web is probably the most limited client, as it is limited by the capabilities of the web browser.
Wow, thanks for the excellent and thorough explanation!
Now, based on that, what clients work best? As I said, I have XBOX One Plex client, and Roku… but could switch to Apple TV if it works better, or any other client. Nvidia shield pro seems a bit expensive.
Wow, thanks for this. I do NOT imagine to be ever streaming more than two videos at a time. Would that cause an issue, if transcoding 4K to 720K, plus subtitles?
Quick follow-up… I was told that I could use Plex Server, on my PC… BUT to host all files on Synology… that way they’re totally protected.
Would this work ok? Like how would Plex server on PC, play the file to Plex client? Does it go like:
Plex Server → Synology (plex file) → Client
or
Synology (plex file) → Plex Server → Client
Would this then complicate and slow things down, or it’s something quite reasonable to do. I have multi TB of files, so don’t wanna move them all and find out it’s not working great.
RAID (or Synology SHR) is not a backup. It does not protect you from accidental file deletion. It does not protect you from catastrophic failures (fire/flood/etc).
You should still have a backup plan. At least using external USB drives. That will help when you realize you accidentally deleted an important file 3 days ago. It will also help if/when you upgrade the NAS. It is not always possible to just move the disks from the old NAS to the new NAS.
That way.
The PC reads the file from the NAS via the SMB file sharing protocol (or NFS if the PC is running Linux). Plex Media Server on the PC performs transcoding/remuxing if necessary then sends the stream to the client on TCP port 32400.
No. It would take a lot of streaming to bog down a 1 Gbps Ethernet.
Many users take this approach. You get the processing power of the PC and the NAS provides protection from disk failures.
