Synology or QNAP?

Plex Media Server NAS & Devices
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Hey all, looking for some advice… I built my 1st server a couple years ago, and it really lacks some of the power needed to really do what I want. I have encountered many people who have QNAP or Synology NAS devices, and was wondering what would be better for my needs? I was looking at the Synology DS918+, but then QNAP has a similar one for a few bucks cheaper. They look close to the same in hardware, except the Synology has a bit more memory options… Can I utilize harware transcoding with either of these?

I really want to be able to do 3 to 4 1080p streams at once, and the ability to stream 1 4k… Am I asking too much out of one of these NAS devices?

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I have a synology ds918+ Able to run 7 1080p and 3 4k no problem. Direct stream . I added 4gb ram for transcoding with subtitles for a speed boost.

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For comparison:

TS-453Be == DS-918+

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I’m not sure what direct stream is. Is that just on a local network?

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On my nvidia shield In the settings, video quality it’s set to original or maximum. Family and friends set the same settings, on their devices. Video set to maximum is direct play no transcoding.

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DirectPlay = Send the file, AS-IS, with no changes

DirectStream =

  1. Change the extension (container) to match what the player can handle
  2. Change the audio.

Full Transcode

  1. Any of the above
  2. Change the video.
  3. Embed (burn) subtitles into the video
1 Like
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Hi @GavinBrooks - what did you decide in the end? I’ve been running a Terramaster F5-420 for the last year or so with Plex and have decided to change as it’s more trouble than its worth. I’m thinking the 918+ will be a better option as a plug in and forget device. The Synology seems to have less features, some of which would be nice, than the QNAP but stability does seem to be the main advantage.

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I purchased the 918+, just got it yesterday. Still waiting on my new hard drives. With all the craziness going on in the world right now, deliveries are slow… I’ll reply again once I get it running

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I ordered a 918+ about 2 hours ago so should have it tomorrow and will be re-using my existing drives. Just reading up on Synology Hybrid Raid :grinning: and backing up the TerraMaster now. Let’s compare notes!

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Fair warning to you both…

Synology is slow setting up the RAID volume. Be patient with it. 48 hours is fairly typical for a 3 drive. I did all 8 and it needed 5 days.

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Thanks for the heads up! Got my drives today, will try to start setting up tonight

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started to create the volume using raid5 at 11:13pm. 4 6TB drives, we shall see how long this takes

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Hmm not too late to restart the process… I have 4 6TB drives, upgrading from my previous 2TB drive nas… so I guess I wasnt too concerned about a little loss… I want the best performance possible… also, I got 1 WD red 500GB ssd for read cache… but it is saying it’s not there… does the volume need to be built before it is recognized? Or do I have a bad ssd or bad nas?

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I did that, but unfortunately, it did not see any ssd’s… :frowning:

Some people were saying they got a faster response from the nas while loading thumbnails or browsing through plex because of the cache… I guess that was all I was really going for if it were true

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So is raid 5 a better performance raid vs SHR? Or do I have that backwards?

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Where is a good place to buy a synology or QNAP device and speak with someone who has some knowledge about streaming movies on Plex? There are so many choices and requirements.

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