@jeremyhaynes10 said:
I solved my own issue. It had to do with user read/write permissions for PLEX within Synology. I thought I already had this set, but apparently I still needed to give it access. Once set correctly, it all works perfectly now. I hope this may help someone else.
Just curious what did you have to do to change the read write permission? I finally figured out my issues and I am looking to install plex tonight after work. @jeremyhaynes10 thank you in advance 
Go to Control Panel - Shared Folders.
For each of your media shares, give user plex permission
As I have stated many times, the DS418play uses the Realtek RTD1296 CPU. This CPU is an ARMv8 variant without ARMv7 backward compatibility mode. PMS has never been ported to this type CPU before. As such, completely new tooling must be completed from scratch and that takes a lot of time and effort. First the compilers must be validated. Next the software must be ported. Lastly, the platform as hole must be qualified and evaluated. If it doesnât meet the performance requirement, it wonât be supported.
I do not know Engineeringâs current status regarding possible support. It has been discussed but I have not been assigned any tasks regarding the DS418play.
@ChuckPA Based on Synology website, the DS418 use a Realtek RTD1296 CPU. However, the DS418play use a Intel Celeron J3355 64bits. Does all limitations described in this thread apply also to this processor? Or plex can be use on this processor including hardware transcoding? Iâm asking because Iâm interested about this NAS. If I buy this NAS, I would like to use plex DVR on it. I would continue using my Shield as my primary server for the heavy lifting though.
Thank you
The DS418play, being Intel based, is supported. It also has Intel QSV (Quick Sync Video) capability. QSV allows for hardware assisted transcoding (Decode & Encode) of HEVC and H.264
The DS418, or any RealTek processor based NAS, is not supported because there are no toolchains to develop (compile, test, and deploy) with.
@ChuckPA said:
The DS418play, being Intel based, is supported. It also has Intel QSV (Quick Sync Video) capability. QSV allows for hardware assisted transcoding (Decode & Encode) of HEVC and H.264The DS418, or any RealTek processor based NAS, is not supported because there are no toolchains to develop (compile, test, and deploy) with.
Hi Chuck,
As we know 418play and 918+ are intel based processors and with intel hd 500 quick sync
They differ in Dual vs Quad core and clock speed
Do you have any experience for transcoding content when the comparison is between Dual vs quad core?
I read somewhere to always go for higher clock speed (which in this case would favor the 418play)
Would that mean the 418play would do better job because of higher clock rate ?
For the sake of understanding processors when it comes to Plex transcoding, letâs ignore the 2GB vs 4GB ram.
Thanks
If you look in the forum here (Synology), there are two or three threads where detailed reports of the differences between all the Intel x18+ series NAS models has been reported.
Regarding memory, I can definitively tell you 2GB will not be sufficient. 4GB is the bare minimum and 8GB appears to be the sweet spot.
Upgrading the memory on these Synology models with â8GB memory kitsâ (2x 4GB matched pair) is a simple task. If you speak German or donât mind listening to him while he demonstrates, itâs a great video. In the video, the DS918+ is shown.
It is worth mentioning the DS918+ seems to be bubbling to the top as the preferred choice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEAKfQS5qiE
@fahadsgalaxy said:
@ChuckPA said:
The DS418play, being Intel based, is supported. It also has Intel QSV (Quick Sync Video) capability. QSV allows for hardware assisted transcoding (Decode & Encode) of HEVC and H.264The DS418, or any RealTek processor based NAS, is not supported because there are no toolchains to develop (compile, test, and deploy) with.
Hi Chuck,
As we know 418play and 918+ are intel based processors and with intel hd 500 quick sync
They differ in Dual vs Quad core and clock speed
Do you have any experience for transcoding content when the comparison is between Dual vs quad core?
I read somewhere to always go for higher clock speed (which in this case would favor the 418play)
Would that mean the 418play would do better job because of higher clock rate ?For the sake of understanding processors when it comes to Plex transcoding, letâs ignore the 2GB vs 4GB ram.
Thanks
Why is the 418play not listed on the compatiblity list?
@gomester said:
@fahadsgalaxy said:
@ChuckPA said:
The DS418play, being Intel based, is supported. It also has Intel QSV (Quick Sync Video) capability. QSV allows for hardware assisted transcoding (Decode & Encode) of HEVC and H.264The DS418, or any RealTek processor based NAS, is not supported because there are no toolchains to develop (compile, test, and deploy) with.
Hi Chuck,
As we know 418play and 918+ are intel based processors and with intel hd 500 quick sync
They differ in Dual vs Quad core and clock speed
Do you have any experience for transcoding content when the comparison is between Dual vs quad core?
I read somewhere to always go for higher clock speed (which in this case would favor the 418play)
Would that mean the 418play would do better job because of higher clock rate ?For the sake of understanding processors when it comes to Plex transcoding, letâs ignore the 2GB vs 4GB ram.
Thanks
Why is the 418play not listed on the compatiblity list? Also, you say 8gb but the 418 play is only expandable to 6gb. Is 6gb still a âsweet spotâ or too low?
Per Intel: https://ark.intel.com/products/95597/Intel-Celeron-Processor-J3355-2M-Cache-up-to-2_5-GHz
Memory Specifications
Max Memory Size (dependent on memory type): 8 GB
This means you can put in two DIMMs at 4GB each.
If they are a matched pair (a âkitâ), where both are the same size and speed, you gain speed because the processorâs memory controller can enable âDual Channelâ mode. (read and write concurrently.
@ChuckPA said:
Per Intel: Intel Celeron Processor J3355 2M Cache up to 2.50 GHz Product SpecificationsMemory Specifications
Max Memory Size (dependent on memory type): 8 GBThis means you can put in two DIMMs at 4GB each.
If they are a matched pair (a âkitâ), where both are the same size and speed, you gain speed because the processorâs memory controller can enable âDual Channelâ mode. (read and write concurrently.
Thanks very much Chuck. Synologyâs description on the specs is misleading and did not make any sense stating 2+4; I have never heard of that; apparently they need a rewrite of the specs there 
So, just to be clear, the Synologyâs with the best performance for Plex and on-the-fly transcoding are going to be the 418play and the 918+, is that right? I know the 918+ allows SSD drives for caching. It that relevant here or just another one of those nice things that wonât see much improvement anyway?
Is the 418play going to be put on the compatibility list?
In your opinion, giving the 418play the full 8gb of ram, is there any type of significant performance gains by going to the 918+ instead of the 418play?
Finally (and sorry for all the questions), will there be a big difference in drive spindle speeds between 5600, 5900, and 7200 nas drives? Was planning on raid0 since I plan on having everything on Plex cloud anyway for backup/redundancy purposes via Google Drive.
FYI: I typically stream from Roku boxes via wireless but am actually thinking of dragging cat5e cable or using 1gb POE adaptors instead unless you think that is not necessary.
Cutting right down to the CPU, independent of how many bays; The J3355 CPU will get the job done (dual core). The J3455 (DS918+) will do it better. (Quad vs Dual at 10% speed diff per core)
J3355: https://ark.intel.com/products/95597/Intel-Celeron-Processor-J3355-2M-Cache-up-to-2_5-GHz
J3455: https://ark.intel.com/products/95594/Intel-Celeron-Processor-J3455-2M-Cache-up-to-2_3-GHz
Matched-pair memory (Dual channel mode enabled) allows the memory bus to run at full speed and overlapped/concurrent operations when the CPU/memory controller can take advantage of it which is about 10-15% of the time in my experience.
Drive speeds:
All my drives are WD Red Pro 6TB.
Apply my networking to however it best helps you. Iâm on a performance extreme because of my support role. The requirement here is that whatever Iâm doing, I cannot impact anything else happening in the house. This includes DVR recording / Live TV
This implementation shines best when performing backups because it can sustain ~350 MB/sec from QNAP -> Synology without impacting anything else on the entire LAN. The QNAP is the primary server. LACP is a one->many architecture so streaming and file operations from one IP to many players/clients/computers is ideal. The only concern needed was to make certain the WiFi didnât get overloaded.
Have I helped?
@ChuckPA said:
Cutting right down to the CPU, independent of how many bays; The J3355 CPU will get the job done (dual core). The J3455 (DS918+) will do it better. (Quad vs Dual at 10% speed diff per core)J3355: Intel Celeron Processor J3355 2M Cache up to 2.50 GHz Product Specifications
J3455: Intel Celeron Processor J3455 2M Cache up to 2.30 GHz Product SpecificationsMatched-pair memory (Dual channel mode enabled) allows the memory bus to run at full speed and overlapped/concurrent operations when the CPU/memory controller can take advantage of it which is about 10-15% of the time in my experience.
Drive speeds:
- The media we stream doesnât need 7200. 5400 RPM drives can read the data fast enough with ease.
- The latency of a 5400 is clearly visible when PMS retrieves (or is creating) metadata. 7200 is the clear winner here (track seeks and rotational latency waiting for the needed sector to pass under the heads)
- Multiple concurrent transcodes, which will make the heads thrash, benefit from the lower seek time of 7200 RPM drives. (lower latency again here too)
- SSD cache, even though SSDs donât last as long as HDs, help tremendously with the PMS database. They are zero-latency and blistering read/write speeds (typically 500 MB/sec)
All my drives are WD Red Pro 6TB.
Apply my networking to however it best helps you. Iâm on a performance extreme because of my support role. The requirement here is that whatever Iâm doing, I cannot impact anything else happening in the house. This includes DVR recording / Live TV
- HPE-1820-24G managed switch
- DS1815+ 8GB matched-pair memory w/ all four adapters (individual IPs) into the switch (400 MB/sec total bandwidth capable as 4x 1GbE)
- QNAP TVS-1282-i7-32GB matched-set w/ all four adapters bonded LAG, LACP, into the switch delivering 4GbE as one IP.
- A few ATV 4K (two wireless, two wired)
- A couple tablets and phones
- Two workstation / development systems
This implementation shines best when performing backups because it can sustain ~350 MB/sec from QNAP â Synology without impacting anything else on the entire LAN. The QNAP is the primary server. LACP is a one->many architecture so streaming and file operations from one IP to many players/clients/computers is ideal. The only concern needed was to make certain the WiFi didnât get overloaded.
Have I helped?
Yes, you have helped very much! Thanks so much! Incredible setup there too
In regards to the drive selection(s): Any experience with Seagate Ironwolf or Ironwolf Pro drives? Looks like the Ironwolf with 7200 rpm and 128mb cache (just like the wd red pro) is a little cheaper and the Ironwolf Pro seems to be around the same price but has 256mb cache instead of the 128. In your opinion do you think there is much difference between the 128 or 256 as well as is there a major advantage with wd red proâs as opposed to Ironwolf or Ironwolf Pro drives?
My experience with Seagate has not been good. Those drives are designed for NAS. They get good review but theyâre only on the market for a year so itâs way too soon. It takes a good 5 years to establish a drive (all the warranties have expired and the firmware stabilizes) Personally, I wouldnât risk it.
Iâve been using WD for years. The only âbobbleâ I was was a firmware bug which reported failed sectors (S.M.A.R.T) which didnât actually fail. They were replaced under warranty without question. I have some WD drives which are now 12 years old and still running fine⊠all 4GB each of them 
Cache of 128MB is fine.
Do the math. Simpified based on 5 platters in the drive, 4096 blocks / track, 4096 bytes/physical sector.
8 (data surfaces) tracks/cylinder * 4096 blocks/track = 32768 blocks / cylinder.
4096 bytes/block * 32768 blocks/cylinder = 128 MB/cylinder
The spindle goes around once and the entire cylinder is in cache if needed.
At 250 MB/sec transfer speed back up the bus, it takes 1/2 second to upload the data.
In that time, the head has moved to the next track and is ready to read.
It can read the entire cylinder in the next 8.3 milliseconds (at 7200 RPM)
Since requests arenât usually that big, data flows up and down concurrently.
It can write to cache and go on to the next command from the OS.
When the heads are over the desired spot, write the cache to the surface.
So using a solid state could or would improve the performance in. 418play or can the 918+ only take advantage of this?
Until such time as Synology allows whole volumes to be created on SSD (unless thatâs a change Iâm unaware of), it will be cache. It will benefit performance regardless of model.
@chuckpa would this and a combination of the additional ram eliminate my poor buffering? I run into the âyour server isnât fast enoughâ often. My home internet is 300mbps so Iâm a little lost as to what I can do.
@Gcooper said:
@chuckpa would this and a combination of the additional ram eliminate my poor buffering? I run into the âyour server isnât fast enoughâ often. My home internet is 300mbps so Iâm a little lost as to what I can do.
The SSD only benefits I/O. It is of no gain to the CPU or memory.
The root cause of your âserver isnât fast enoughâ should be determined before throwing money & hardware at it blindly
@ChuckPA would maxing out my ram on my nas help with speeds?
Or do I need to look at getting more powerful nas like the 918+?
The DSx18 series units, per the Intel spec, support up to 8GB of RAM. Some Synology units ship with 2GB while others ship with 4GB. 2GB is not really enough to run DSM and Plex. Yes it works but it works a lot better with 8. With 2GB it wastes time swapping. With 4GB itâs tight when transcoding but âokâ. 8 GB does seem to be the sweet spot. The typical step performed is to purchase a matched pair (e.g. an â8GB kitâ) so both DIMMs are the same spec. The CPU can squeeze a little more out of matched pair because of âDual Channel Memory modeâ and any little bit helps.
The CPU (J3355) is ok but, as I said above, a dual (2) core. The J3455 (in the DS918+) is better because itâs a quad (4) core. Twice the CPU power for converting audio.
The GPU is close in both and not really worth differentiating
That brings the decision point down to "How many concurrent transcodes will there be which will require audio conversion (e.g. multi channel -> 2 channel for a âplain tvâ, phone, or headphones, etc)
Ok some more ram. Can you recommend a place or would any matching sets be fine? I typically run plex on one tv or iPadâŠetc at a time. So I hope adding more ram will help. Thank you Sir.
