Add Plex Hardware Transcoding to Any Synology using $120 ZimaBoard

[@djplong]

I think the title is a tad misleading. You’re not adding a board to a Synology. You’re adding a micro-server to your network. Don’t get me wrong - I run a huge Plex library for my family. But I was expecting this to be describing an add-on to my fairly new Synology. My plan is to replace my existing Plex server (old Intel) with a Mac Mini and the idea of putting it on the Synology (if the transcoding issue could be overcome) sounded great. But this is, in reality, a video for adding a low cost Linux server for running Plex with hardware transcoding pretty cheaply - and that’s a different audience.

[@stevem437]

The transcoding issue cannot be overcome with just your Synology. Either direct play where no transcoding is needed or use something like an Nvidia shield to help. If you bought a Synology expecting it to handle transcoding, you should have done literally 2 minutes of research before investing.

[@djplong]

@@stevem437 - If you had spent 2 minutes actually reading my reply, you'd know that I already had plans and knew perfectly well that the Synology doesn't do transcoding. My objection was to the misleading title. You're not adding transcoding to the Synology with this solution. You are adding a small computer that does the transcoding and going back to using the Synology as strictly a NAS to hold a Plex library. Read what I wrote - I was going to replace an Intel box with a Mac mini (still am) BUT IF you COULD add a board to a Synology to get transcoding, THEN I would have CHANGED those plans.

[@JackupTraining]

I agree. Title should be something like "new synology sucks for transcoding, so if you're looking for that, get a zima boars instead (or anything else)" Well, that's a long title...

[@djplong]

@@JackupTraining - Heh, transcoding was NOT why I bought my Synology :). I believe in the right tool for the right job. My Plex server will be getting an upgrade soon enough.

[@JackupTraining]

@@djplong well, I was counting on it when I upgraded from old DS115. It was recently, and I wanted 2-bay NAS. I waited for them to release an update to DS220+... And when they did, I bought an old model - DS220+ 😂 I was so disappointed, because I don't need all that CPU power to run the services I use, but I do use it as a jellyfin server. So I wanted transcoding ability. Yes, I know the new one can do it using all that raw power from AMD CPU, but that's not the right way in my opinion. Anyways, I'm happy with mine, and don't need to spend 120$ on zima board 😁

[@NarwhalBaconTime]

Incredible, I was deeply disappointed with the Synology DS923+ trans coding abilities but loved its performance for overall speed, this device is doable and it removes any possible overhead on the NAS, leaving it open for more operations and service life, I can't thank you enough for this solution!

[@PeterHonig.]

This is precisely why I prefer the older 720+ and 920+ units over the new ones.

[@KaceyGreen]

A note from the Amazon listing on the Zimaboard is to disable sleep and hibernation modes or you'll need to remove the RTC battery to get it back once it goes to sleep, even with the stock out of the box install.

[@07GoldWinger]

I have 2 Zimaboards 432’s, one from January 2023 and one from June 2023 and never had this happen. Do you have same?

[@KaceyGreen]

@@07GoldWingerno, it was something I saw when looking at the hardware on amazon, but if yours isn't allowed to sleep because of the applications you might not see it. If you have the ability, time, and care to check for the community by forcing it to sleep and then asking it to wake up and letting us know if that is an old issue that would certainly be appreciated. The review mentioned having to take the clock battery out for a moment to get it to stay running after they tried waking it back up.

[@aayush_dutt]

I just got a separate mini PC (you can get one of the Optiplex ones really cheap) with a good intel CPU with quicksync. It keeps my synology NAS separate for storage and serves for all the compute related tasks like transcoding etc.

[@_WuTang_]

Can I just say that I am a huge fan of Network Chuck, but his videos are filled with bloatware which is his entertainment, jokes, and self advertising. You by far are my favorite IT youtuber. Keep up the awesome work!

[@chrisaston-roebuck2676]

This was exactly what I was looking for, and you explained it really well. However, if you make a mistake on a video, please put a text overlay giving us the heads up. I was tearing my hair out until I let it play on and saw the resolution. Great work though!

[@lleatherwood]

Plex fanatic - serious nerd most days of the week, appreciate the conversation on this topic

[@Moodangbulae]

Thank you! This is the video I’ve been looking for to make my future Synology NAS a better media server. Your content has been very helpful in my research.

[@staticsong]

Thanks @SpaceRex! This was just the tutorial I was looking for. I got a ZimaBoard recently and I was trying to do just this. Unfortunately my ZimaBoard died after a few days so I am working with Ice Whale to get a replacement. I am sure it was just a fluke bad board.

[@starfoxBR77]

Thank you for this! Look forward to watch it all after work!

[@joshuaashley7874]

It’s a neat idea, but it should probably be noted that this would still be a significant *downgrade* for any of the Synology units with the Celeron J4125, like the DS920+. And it’s a lot of complication which shows that the latest Synology NAS’ were poorly designed as media servers, and users would be better served with something else entirely.

[@baza3a]

Tell me about it!! I have a 1522+ and half of my usage is for Media Server and its annoying me, planning to do my own NAS build with NAS OS... though lets give it to synology, their DSM is nice and the most straightforward i have seen

[@silvahawk]

Nice, was gonna ask if I need this for my ds920+ but you answered my question

[@jmalmsten]

You mention 920+. I got one of those. I've tried to enable hardware accelerated transcode on my jellyfin server on it. I have had no such luck. Also. I am wondering. If you set up Jellyfin server on another machine and only use the NAS for storage. I should be able to build something that does the hard work of transcoding, right?

[@jmespoii]

Based on research and sadly after the purchase of a NAS, I've come to find that the large majority​ of NAS drives are not designed with the horse power for moderate to heavy duty transcoding. My lack of understanding of codec and file types lead to simple questions of: will it play, does it do, etc. All simple high level questions. the lessons came after the purchase, and that lesson is with research as a back-up, that NAS drives in general, though they serve a great purpose, in general they are not good media servers. @@jmalmsten

[@CapsLock33]

@SpaceRex thank you for covering this topic. I will send this to my friend that needs transcoding on his Synology NAS unit.

[@rickatgoogle]

GREAT VIDEO! Can you do a video where you cover migrating you existing Plex setup from a Synology to the linux server? It be great not to lose all my settings, plays lists etc..

[@jeremyadair5780]

Darn, I'm a little disappointed. I expected the nas to handle a plex server with my 723+. I thought I was getting something energy efficient that would do the job. I recently dropped a few grand, on a nas, drives, business class cisco L3 switch, and a nice router. I want to thank you SpaceRex. Your videos motivated me to work up a home lab hobby, so I understand IT a bit more. I'm OT, machine controls. So far I've set up my first ever docker container with pihole, I kicked comcast off their router lock downs, and I picked up a command line and played around quite a bit, which I don't normally get to do. I have a nice little 8 core mini PC, I'll just run plex on that and figure out how to config the nas in the miniPC's plex server. Anywho, Thanks for the mentoring videos over the past week man. It was a hell of a fun little bootcamp I made for myself by using your videos and playing around. Keep doing what ya do!

[@endotherm]

I did a double-take when you said "sudo echo" 5:00. I thought I was in Funky Town (you had to be around in the '80s).

[@muzza152]

Thanks so much for this helpful video Will..I’m looking at getting one of these for my Plex media (located on my ds218 NAS)…one simple question? (I’m a bit of a newbie here)…if it is mounting the media from my nas, then will it also load all the collections, playlists, etc? Ie I won’t have to make those playlists/collections again…spent a lot of time doing that and wouldn’t want to repeat it if I didn’t have to..thanks for all your helpful videos..

[@Alazzam]

Great video, thanks. Question: I am using synology and I have all my portforwarding settings on synology, if I follow the same setup you have, will I have to apply the same portforwarding settings on the zimaboard or will it inherit the settings from the main Plex server on synology?

[@miguelgomes7615]

Hi there, Could you continue this topic by showing how to move/copy the plex server that is on the synology NAS to the zimaboard? Reggards

[@andychrest8876]

This worked great! I'll be using it more for handbrake than anything, but will help with plex.

[@shadowarez1337]

Now this is what i love i can add this to my Synology

[@DjLundbladh]

just download direct play material..

[@shadowarez1337]

@@DjLundbladh could do that but then we'd not get to have a NAS within a NAS lol and offloading Plex to this could be good.

[@DjLundbladh]

what do you mean with get to have a NAS within a NAS? :P i had some drives for movies and other for private files and direct play is like no work at all for the nas@@shadowarez1337

[@donmamaril3880]

Hi! Thanks for the guide. I'm curious how we can go about updating plex when there are updates available?

[@frederichardy8844]

Nice start but the problem for me is that the Plex database is on the Zimaboard, so no data redundancy. The next step is to create a share on the Synology for the Plex database and mount it like the media folder.

[@szaboistvan007]

Maybe it's a better idea to mount the NAS via NFS and get rid of username/password. Limit the NFS for only the Zimaboard IP, and that should secure it to you

[@korzynski]

NFS would be much more efficient than CIFS for transfer as well

[@Geoffbell01]

It's a good video (as usual) but have you really "added" hardware transcoding to the Synology NAS?

[@tesleigh]

Nice video! At first I thought this was an adapter to the Synology. Being a standalone device is ok too. Keep up the good work sir.

[@salto1994]

great tutorial :) can i follow the same type of instructions to install jellyfin and use the zimaboard to transcode there?

[@tmrossello]

Hi Will, thanks for the amazing content as always. I have a DS220+ with hardware transcoding enabled but it sucks and still pins my cpu to a 100%. Will the Zimaboard be a solution for me? Also, I have put a great effort into building my library and its metadata, is it possible to move the metadata to the Zimaboard to avoid losing all this work? Ideally I’d also like to keep the metadata on the Synology and map its contents to the Zimaboard like you did with the media folder so I can stay protected in the event the Zimaboard fails. Thanks a lot.

[@feahnorl]

Instead of a underpowered Zimaboard you can get a n100 mini pc for around 110-130 and get four times more performance with 12th quicksync support (much faster and MUCH better quality transcoding than the zimaboard). Stop it with that obsolete piece of hardware please, it’s a extremely bad option.

[@Jays1ndone]

Was thinking this or any other intel NUC

[@feahnorl]

@@Jays1ndone get an n100. Much faster, same price, better for Plex.

[@RickLewellyn]

Are you currently using a n100 with your Syonogly ?

[@feahnorl]

@@RickLewellyn yes.

[@Jays1ndone]

@@feahnorl I was debating on the n100 or one of the intel NUC barebones with an i7 or i5. For the most part I haven’t found a device that’s slowing my 1523 down as I just have them play source and whatever device I use does any transcoding if need be

[@MakayMurray]

The title is misleading. I would have assumed it meant take an existing Synology without hardware transcoding and “add” that functionality to the NAS. You are demoting the NAS to file storage and adding a totally independent machine to host PLeX and transcode. While I like the concept, (and in fact it’s exactly what I do at home) I feel the title should better reflect what’s being presented

[@mywhitenoise_]

Yes, I was hoping I could add this card and not have to create a new server to point to my NAS storage.

[@snakedude61]

I think this is going to have to be my. next upgrade. I have the 1522+. Plex is rough, to say the least, if it's not 1 to 1 quality playback. It is pretty intimidating. I'm not even sure how you're getting to the screens you're typing on. I'm very new to this stuff.

[@rdbjr52]

Will, does this improve Qnap transcending, or is it simply redundant?

[@masscomnet]

I can't imagine that this Zimaboard is better at hardware accelerated transcoding than an NVIDIA T400/T600 video card with several hundred GPU cores. It's a much simpler install and config as well with the NVIDIA route.

[@abinsyr]

Great video as always. The two better Zimaboards have the Intel Celeron N3450 CPU, which has the Intel HD Graphics 500 iGPU onboard. This is the same iGPU that my first DS1019+ has, and is simply adequate. The 2020+ models like my DS1520+ have the Intel HD Graphics 600 iGPU, which I think should be considered the minimum level for plex hardware accelerated transcoding. I'm going to recommend this video as a primer whenever someone wants to move Plex server to a Debian based Linux install, so thank you tons for making this. PS, I've recently moved my container install of Plex Server on my DS1520+ to an 11th gen Intel i5 NUC running unraid with two shared cache pool drives without an array being set up. It's a killer $500 plus Plex transcoding beast for my media on the DS1520+. Again... GREAT video!!!

[@scottsolomon7579]

I also have my Plex server running on a DS1520+ natively (not containerized) and use Hyperbackup to backup my Plex config and CloudSync to replicate my media to a DS920. I do have a Proxmox 3-node cluster running on (3) 10th Gen Intel i7 NUCs though and only have (2) VMs being used. If I wanted to keep the cluster (also using CEPH on NVME drives for VM storage) I'd likely have to install a Linux VM and run PLex Server in Docker. Given each NUC has 64GB of RAM that should be fine but will that be able to still take advantage of the HW transcoding given the Linux VM between Docker and the Physical host?

[@daylightSWW]

This was perfect timing. I just bought an 1152+ and about 1/2 hour ago figured out transcoding would be a problem. My question is would I be better off sending it back for the 423+ or would the 6GB Ram be a limiting factor? I will be using it mostly for hi res music and backups.

[@electronicgoldmine7745]

Humm. I think I would keep the 1522+ because it has the ability for the 10GBe Network Card where the 423 only has the 1GBe (and maybe thats enough to get by). I have the 1522+ with 3 drives and playback is fine on the network, on the web I can not view any video with any stability (please show me how that would be possible even with DS Studio Manager)

[@Mstgkillr]

I currently have a Synology RS1221+ with Plex Media Server sharing up to 4k videos both locally and remotely to my personal devices (e.g., Apple TVs, iPhones, iPads, etc.). The 4k videos initially created some issues when using subtitles locally and transcoding remotely. However, I believe I have that mostly sorted out. I adjusted settings for the subtitles and created 1080p copies for remote viewing. I was hoping to further improve performance of my Plex Media Server, NAS, etc. I thought about upgrading the Synology's RAM, but it's never really maxed out (the CPU is). My home is all Apple. Would adding a M2 Mac Mini as a stand alone server improve my Plex experience? If so, I would use the Mini as a stand alone server for now, but once my home office is finished, it would share double duty as the office computer for basic tasks. If the Mini is a worthwhile investment, is the base model sufficient or should I upgrade the RAM, processor, or 10 GbE?

[@dmangTV]

was hoping this would be a way to offload transcoding to the zima board (send from main plex server to zima board, transcode, then either send back to plex to deliver to client or send directly to client) and not install yet another plex server

[@KookyME]

Great video. Is it possible to set up a plex server on Zima and add a large external HD for media? Eventually, adding a Syn NAS in the future.

[@SpaceRexWill]

Yes! You do basically the same thing. Just mount a hdd

[@PaulEddie]

Newbie here. I would like to use a network cable (RJ45). Can the ZimaBoard be directly connected to the Synology server, or must it be connected to a network switch/hub?

[@darkangelo]

My plexmedia server is already on my DS1621xs+ How can i move it to this board?

[@KayakSoccerDancer]

I got excited when I first saw this because of the whole AMD compatibility thing and the challenge of finding the down level Synology ie 920+ So looking at the Plex provided "Compatibility List" they have these categories for list of Mfg & models: Software Transcoding "SD(480p / 576p)" "HD(720p)" "HD(1080p)" H264 / HEVC SDR (2160p) HEVC UHD (2160p) Hardware - Accelerated Transcoding "SD(480p / 576p)" "HD(720p)" "HD(1080p)" "H264(2160p)" "HEVC SDR(2160p)" "HEVC HDR (2160p)" What do each of them mean? In particular, the 2 HW columns (HEVC) and if Synology has them or not. I'm looking at the list from Plex and trying understand what it's telling me from a practical limitations aspect. How much this impacts exactly which models, but can't do that without knowing what those categories mean. Thx

[@Hzqkk]

i was so tired of the performance of my 918+ when it comes to plex transcoding that i built a "gaming" setup to run it. im using a i5 6600, 64gb ram and a rtx 2060, with the synology as storage. i can now transcode the largest videos. i do only have the 6gb version of that rtx2060 tho. i wish i had that linux board 2 years ago...

[@DarwinWeyh]

I just got DS423+ with Intel Inside. I did put tdarr on it but it crushed it. I'm thinking one of these would be nice to trans my data files. Thoughts?

[@CalvinHenderson]

Typo alert at the 4:45 note section. More than likely you typed it right but spell check changed it for you.

[@scottsolomon7579]

What about backing up the Plex database/config? Would it make sense to use Docker on the Zimaboard?

[@pbrigham]

Why I should use the ZimaBoard if I have MiniPCs with the Intel N100 at same price or cheaper with better performance ?

[@SpaceRexWill]

Did not realize that you could get a PC for that cheap. Send me a link! But yeah any CPU with quick sync will do

[@austenwalsworth1583]

yeah share the wealth!@@SpaceRexWill

[@pbrigham]

@@SpaceRexWill , you have the GMKtec NucBox G3, Intel 12th Alder Lake- N100, 8GB memory and 512GB NVMe in promotion right now for 99 USD,. Is on KZbin Chanel Team Pandory but I saw already others Youubers with the same promotion.

[@BrianPlatt44444]

I'm looking to upgrade my nas to 923+ from 218+. I have hundreds of hours of home video that I share to my family. Will I need a zimaboard to play through ds video? Or only if I use Plex?

[@pbrigham]

@@SpaceRexWill sorry, I didn't know if you got my correction, 99 USD is ONLY bare bone, still pretty cheap.

[@glenncol]

Wouldnt you be better off with a earlier i5 NUC price wise and performance wise?

[@ms7165]

I am struggling doing this exact same thing using a NUC and Jellyfin. The NUC has Ubuntu server with Portainer and Docker currently. This may help me get over the hump.

[@snakedude61]

Any chance you could show how to install Linux and do this on a Mini PC like a beelink, for example? People say they work great as Plex servers if you install Linux. To be honest, I'm not sure what I'm doing. no one says anything about using a synology nas with it.

[@MrJoshRains]

Would you recommend running Virtual Machine on the Zima to handle more processing power?

[@SpaceRexWill]

I would not as then you have to pass through the GPU

[@brucewilfong538]

Can you show how this zimaboard can be setup as a node in Tdarr in Docker for Synology ?

[@scotttild]

Can someone answer when you really need transcoding or not ? I have decided on Synology to replace my external hard drive, but just not sure what model. I am just streaming on Plex at home though hard wired to network. So not really sure if transcoding is needed or not. I am not even doing real high end. All my old TV shows and movies are either DVDs or bluRays. I am looking at the 923+

[@onpointfocusfilms9729]

I'm stuck at the sudo apt install cif-utils. I get Unable to locate package cif. Great video by the way!

[@RickLewellyn]

I am running a Synology 916+ with 8G Ram Intel N3710 adding the Zimaboard 832 would this help my intermitent lag?

[@TiGGer1098]

So essentially with this and some programming sorcery, the Synology NAS is simply an 8TB media file storage and the Plex media server and all the heavy lifting is done by the Zima? I've got the DS420J and great Plex server until Transcoding is needed then it falls over hard. Let alone simply playing 4K movies, which I gave up on long ago ..... is this the solution? Thanks again, great video.

[@SpaceRexWill]

So yes this would be the solution for your exact issue!

[@TiGGer1098]

Appreciate your time

[@TiGGer1098]

Thank you, thank you!!@@SpaceRexWill Arrived yesterday and after 4hrs of mind numbing messing about due to zero knowledge of linux or following instructions to the letter, Plex is going 100% updating all my libraries. And 4K now works perfectly! Legend for posting this video, thanks again

[@TiGGer1098]

@@SpaceRexWill Follow up… just been reminded of this post and since then my SpaceRex configured Zima 832/DS420j has been running 24/7 since release in ‘23, solely as my Plex server. Running without a single issue, even on holiday with the hotel wifi. Thank you so much 😊

[@alagazam]

I have a 423+ NAS with Plex Media Server on it. It works perfect. Is the ZimaBoard still for me, and (if so) what kind of benefits would it give?

[@SpaceRexWill]

423 has an intel quick sync GPU. So not much other than CPU offloading

[@alagazam]

@@SpaceRexWill That was a quick answer. Thanks. 🙂

[@abdullahX001]

You definitely do not need to chmod to 777...

[@running4fun74]

Something I've wondered for a while is... Why is Plex or Jellyfin necessary when I can just access audio/video files on my NAS with the built-in media player on my smart TV? I guess I just don't understand how it all works.

[@darudesandstorm7002]

main functions are transcoding (when necessary) and grabbing metadata so you have a netflix-style ui.

[@DrMcCoy]

This absolute nonsense is why I bought a DS1520+ earlier this year instead of a DS1523+.

[@kearneyIT]

Good review and setup

[@chrisd.5625]

It's probably still not going to work with dolby vision, right?

[@jmalmsten]

If I have a 920+ already. Would I gain anything with this thingamajigg? Also. How the f do one enable hardware transcode on jellyfin on ds920+? All the guides I have tried to follow just instantly bricks video playback until I disable it.

[@SpaceRexWill]

920+ already has a powerful iGPU so it will not do much

[@jmalmsten]

@@SpaceRexWill Ok. But how does one get access to that gpu transcode? All the guides I try to follow just bricks video playback immediately on Jellyfin.

[@thespencerowen]

Just got my zimaboard today.

[@pauldavidthomasfrodo]

my inner geek says yes. my sensible self say just run Plex on my mac mini m1 with a direct ethernet link to my NAS server.

[@datos5748]

It is a great video, but unfortunately, prices have already significantly raised by ZimaBoard. :(

[@robertmatthews7055]

Awesome video, thanks

[@carlos_mann]

So which one of those would be better the zimma board or the soon to be zimma blade?

[@isoperimetrix]

4K transcode? I think 1080p transcode is pretty lightweight.

[@TheFreestyleStorm]

the title is very misleading.

[@shocktwong]

I am having trouble mounting a folder on my synology that has a space in it. Can anyone help?

[@blakrj]

Plex runs more than fine with 2GB of RAM on Linux. No need for 777 permissions (gives all users RWX access), password better stored in credentials file. Not very secure setup and you can do the same with a used 1L micro PC for less.

[@juliovilchez9545]

Hoy es el primer dia que me arrepiento de tener un nas desde que empece teniendo un Synology 214 play y dx213 hasta llegar aun synology1821+ por la transcodificacion super arrepentido de haberme desecho del 920+

[@zyghom]

5:55 and this is exactly when one could rather promote free software ;)

[@fmlazar]

Is transcoding really that neccessary any more?

[@rdbjr52]

I rely on closed caption, so from what I've gleaned from the internet, maybe so

[@Dextermorga]

Why do we need hardware/software transcoding?

[@DrMcCoy]

Because you might want to watch things from your NAS media server on devices the do not support the media, either too high resolution, or the codec or codec parameters, leading to either choppy playback or even no playback at all. I have that with my tablet when I watch stuff before sleeping in bed, for example. Or you might want to watch things over the internet, when you're out and about, and the internet connection is not enough to stream the full resolution file., Transcoding the media to a smaller version before sending out helps there.

[@JessieS]

can the same be done with JellyFin?

[@SpaceRexWill]

Yes

[@JessieS]

@@SpaceRexWill sweet! Thanks

[@Byrd21590]

Would this help with a 720+ playing at 4K.

[@SpaceRexWill]

Yes!

[@Byrd21590]

@@SpaceRexWill what model do you recommend?

[@Byrd21590]

Is the setup the same for jellyfin?

[@berntespelien734]

Why would you even? If your Syno has a PCIe, you can just add a nvidia card for a much cleaner install

[@fastattack1]

Syno doesn’t let you install a GPU

[@berntespelien734]

@@fastattack1 You can use modified drivers and it will work. I am running a T1000 in my Ds1621xs+ and it will hardware transcode up to 6 x 4K HDR strams concurrently

[@HomelifePractical]

I don't understand why you made installing Plex a long slow and difficult installation process? Inside of CasaOS there is an app store if you are not aware of it? It already has a install process of Plex using docker or you can just install docker at the Debian level. Debian can achieve much easier results then what you have provided with less effort! I really hope other people will not follow this process for the fact that it is unnecessary and way to difficult for the average user. You did a great job explaining your ability to install Plex on Debian but you did more then what was necessary to simply explain the built in apps of the Zima board. One love always just asking that you please stop over complicating something that is so simple in it's true nature thanks!

[@SpaceRexWill]

So the reason that I went this route was two reasons: 1) Docker and GPU transcoding are pretty hit and miss and a nightmare to setup 2) We already had to SSH in to create the Plex media mount to the synology

[@rdbjr52]

Yeah, I'm by no means an IT specialist, but as I watched Will's excellent presentation, I couldn't help thinking, oh...I'll just buy a Qnap and forget it

[@xJI00]

Just get an old computer. I use an old i7 micro computer and it runs Plex plus a whole bunch of other services for my network

[@tangodown2721]

Sucks that synology can't understand what home users use home nas for... we aren't businesses....

[@fretbuzzly]

They are focused on business users because that is where the money is.

[@amullins433]

Or just buy a mini computer for much much less with a cpu that can handle quicksync.. windows etc accessing a SMB share

[@coreygibson7852]

Be warned you will max out the CPU with anything more than two streams with this set up.

[@AlexandrLinux]

What's the point of this thing if you still need to buy a Plex Pass? Oil, it looks like nonsense, complete nonsense

[@RobHoffman83]

I’m pretty sure you need Plex pass for any hardware decoding.

[@SpaceRexWill]

@rob is right you do. You can use plex without the pass, just no hw transcoding

[@AlexandrLinux]

@@RobHoffman83 I don't need hardware transcoding and I don't need transcoding at all to watch movies in 4k or 1080. if this device from the video did transcoding without the purchased plex pass, it's cool, and so this device is useless.

[@fretbuzzly]

@@AlexandrLinux Good for you. Some people need transcoding.

[@AlexandrLinux]

@@fretbuzzly That's what I'm talking about. If a person installs this upgrade, he will not have hardware transcoding. If there would be hardware transcoding, you need a Plex Pass, and if it is bought, Synology will be able to do it just as easily. Then why this upgrade? Who needs it? What kind of idiot will do it?

[@copyleft4260]

Disappointing misleading title

[@pommy117]

Laughs in unraid😂

[@OMGWTFLOLSMH]

I find it annoying that Synology isn't capable of proper hardware transcoding for the price you pay. If you can purchase an aftermarket solution for $120, there's no reason they couldn't have included a proper chip in their boxes. Most of my current stuff is x265 and none of my "smart" TVs or my Fire tablet will play them on PLEX without massive buffering, if at all.

[@TiGGer1098]

May I politely suggest you may a different issue than it being the synology “unless” you’re talking about 4K? I’ve a pretty underpowered DS420j and it handles x265 full HD across multiple devices/tvs with zero buffering issues, unless attempting 4K then I’m doomed and why I’ve already ordered this zima lol

[@DjLundbladh]

I dont even understand why ppl still need transcoding.. all i play and the users on my Emby server is direct playing everything. 1080p/2160p mkv files on android & smart tvs. And plex sucks! Try Emby and fall in love

[@ThomasOatman]

I thought the same thing . . . . . UNTIL... As an example, my older Apple TV device in the bedroom doesn't support 4K or h.265 so I can't watch a lot of my movies there.

[@mywhitenoise_]

@@ThomasOatmancheaper to buy new or used Apple TV 4K instead of buying this board and setting it up.

[@DjLundbladh]

Apple 👀

[@TheOdog1970]

Having options is never a bad thing. Plus some people like to tinker.

[@fretbuzzly]

My NVidia Shield Pro won't play certain movies on my 12 year old plasma TV because it isn't connected to a receiver and 7.1 audio has to get transcoded to 2 channel. I have to change audio to 5.1 for it to play. And I'm transcoding from an unlocked 1080Ti. Funny that your use case isn't everyone else's.