Synology DS1522+ Plex Media Server NAS 4K & 1080p Test

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Many who have been following the release strategy of the popular network-attached storage brand, Synology, have been noticing something of a shift towards premium business products this last few years. The brand still features numerous solutions that are targeted toward home, value and prosumer users, but it is undeniable that Synology has been giving a great deal of attention to top-tier business and enterprise above all else in 2022. So far, the new Synology DS1522+ NAS is a solution that on the face of it is something a little bit more SMB and Prosumer, arriving in a 5 Bay desktop chassis and mid-range server CPU form. This new system has striking differences in a few key areas though compared with the DS1520+ predecessor and with little mention of a new DS922+ or DS923+ from the brand in any form, many are wondering if the new DS1522+ is what the shape of the smaller end of the Synology portfolio is going to look like moving forward. Today I want to review the Synology DS1522+ to find out whether this new iteration of the popular Diskstation series is a move for good or for bad, discuss its hardware and what this newer configuration of hardware is able to do. Let’s find out if the Synology DS1522+ NAS deserves your data.
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[@jonathanlesperance3426]

Do we really need transcoding ? No. I have watched all the videos about Plex transcoding while looking to upgrade my old DS412+ that's 10y old. I have even purchased the DS1520+ in order to get access to the old Intel CPU with GPU it order to be able to transcode. Looking more into things I realized that transcoding is not anymore important because nowadays the clients available are able to play pretty much everything. I returned my DS1520+ for a much faster DS1522+ and added to my living room a very nice Nvidia Shield TV Pro linked to my NAS. I am easily able to play Jellyfish 4K 400Mbps H.265 10bit with buffer increasing every second. The old DS412+ and Shield could even play the 4K files but not the 10bits ones because of a lack for throughput from the NAS. In conclusion, I am not sure about the pertinence of those transcoding test when you can simply upgrade your clients.

[@Raw.Shots.by.Duduria]

Finally somone said it 💯

[@jonathanlesperance3426]

@@Raw.Shots.by.Duduria thanks !

[@CorazonDeCristoCano]

Thank you for these benchmark videos. You're really helping to prevent unhappy customers. If I get this one from your company, at least I know what the capabilities are and won't be surprised or disappointed down the line. It also gives me more confidence in stepping up to a higher model without worrying that I'm wasting money.

[@NHILLproductions]

Finally, thanks for the testing. You've helped me make up my mind. I'm definitely sticking with a 1520+. I made a call to Synology, and had a long "talk" about the lack of an integrated GPU on the 1522+. No sensible response. Synology REALLY dropped the ball with this "upgrade".

[@Zedris]

Rofl the talk made me laugh. I bet the customer service rep really cared about our opinion

[@bsem68]

Picked up a 1520+ last month for home use to replace my decade old ReadyNAS and no regrets. I was able to get rid of my dedicated plex server with quadro and loving all the features of synology like backup which I in fact use old ReadyNAS as a backup repository.

[@Jays1ndone]

Thanks for the review, disappointing Synology put in a cpu that can’t handle 4K

[@robertcoleman7071]

looking forward to the comparison. I feel that the 920 is the perfect NAS for Home User

[@ajv_2089]

When you do the Emby test remember to use the diagnostics plug in so you get the user sessions tab, this gives you a lot more detail on how the CPU is doing while playing back a video.

[@repje2010]

I did some tests as well at mine DS920+ and all are working good. the transcode from the HEVC works great.. and then im also running a lot VM and Dockers haha.. only the 4K will be get trouble yes.. that will be hard. further im very happy with my DS920+ still a very good machine and im really use a lot of applications on the NAS..

[@captiveimage]

Following what I thought was a system failure on my Synology (very old DS412+), I was in a real bind for a couple of weeks. I was torn between replacing it with a DS920+ or waiting on the pending release of the much vaunted DS1522+. The agony! In the end I needed my NAS, so I bought a DS920+. I was originally sad, but having seen this review, and several others, I'm so glad I didn't go down this rout. Bad Synology! Hope they learn the lesson for the next gen. The box fulfills two principle requirements: Fast, reliable storage for my photographic work, and media services. Of course the DS1522+ would likely have been the go-to box if storage was my only concern, but for now I'm very happy with the DS920+ box that provides me with storage and media provision very well indeed. On a side note, having recovered all my data off the DS412+, I dropped the machine back to factory setting. I formatted all the disks, factory reset and re-installed the O/S. That perceived issue was subsequently fixed. Now I've got my new DS920+ as the backbone NAS and a DS420+ for archival file storage and a nominal backup resource.😁

[@williecash701]

What was the failure? I am experiencing something on my 412+ and wonder if it could be same.

[@TheGeeMan]

In regards to the Synology DS920+ and others, how long do we think Plex will support it? There's nothing worse than buying one of these NAS's and finding out they've dropped it like they did ReadyNAS leaving that old thing to be nothing more than a file storage server. I'm looking to retire my ReadyNAS and my ancient old Mac Mini being used as a Plex server so I can go back to an All-In-One Plex/NAS environment rather than running two machines at the moment.

[@captiveimage]

@@williecash701 I made the stupid mistake of hot-swapping a drive that had glitched and the O/S wouldn't rebuild the array properly. The indication was that the new drive and/or the motherboard itself was the problem. Sorry, I can't remember what the error messages in the log were now. Lesson learned... Hot swapping drives is definitely a no-no! As advised though, simply factory reseting & reapplying the O/S fixed the issue. Had a good backup regime in play (local mirror and offsite IDrive, which is available as a Synology app), so no data lost.

[@captiveimage]

@@TheGeeMan My DS412+ is still supported (currently) and it's litteraly a decade old. I'm guessing that will drop out to End of Life at some point, but Plex still supports it at the moment. The DS920+ was released in 2020, so I would expect that the Plex support for that box will be good for a long, long time to come too, but if they don't there's plenty of other media modules I can bolt on to the box, so I'm really not fussed if Plex continue to support the platform or not. You don't say which ReadyNAS unit you have, but Plex still supports ReadyNAS 100 boxes, and they were released in 2013.

[@TheGeeMan]

@@captiveimage My ReadyNAS is unfortunately one they ditched support on, so I'll be using it mainly the host the files to my old Mac Mini which has done alright as a server, but I definitely would prefer something with a tad more grunt and is a singular unit rather than a little PC on top of my NAS.

[@RiotNrrrdUTube]

@NASCompares Could you please do a video comparing the new 5-bay DS1522+ with the older 6-bay DS1621+/DS1621xs+ models? I am a home user trying to decide whether to move to a NAS and if so, whether to use a 5-bay or a 6-bay NAS. (I presently have a SANS Digital 5-bay USB RAID in a RAID5 and a Promise Pegasus R6 6-bay Thunderbolt RAID in a RAID6.)

[@TympoleFace]

Good video! btw thumbnail typing error? “DS1552+”

[@nascompares]

Bugger! What I fool I am! Cheers for the heads up mate, appreciated. Have a great week.

[@Bbbbbbbbbb550]

Do you know when we can expect 922+?

[@sflanders74]

How is the performance if you are not doing any transcoding?

[@PsychoPod]

What if you use a NUC that has a GPU or a beefier CPU with iGPU to run Plex server on it and just mount a volume from the DS1522+ that houses all the media?

[@elfwyn8707]

As far as I know the Plex Web Application will buffer only a certain percentage for video playback while the Plex Application (for Windows) will buffer more or all of the footage when paused. At least that is what I was able to see when comparing the Web App and the Native App.

[@cipritom]

One thing I don't understand is why the Server is struggling to serve a native format (e.g. Jellyfish 4k uhd, but h264). Isn't it supposed to pass it directly through the network, and then the client tries to decode it?

[@PatrickDKing]

oh gawd...it's like the early days of Netflix online streaming...here goes my PTSD. lol.

[@iankester-haney3315]

I'm interested in DVR functionality as well. I have 4KUHD, BluRay 1080P, and most importantly DVR files from a HDHomeRun network tuner. Especially the Mpeg2 and Transcode while recording performance.

[@RJ_Cormac]

So disappointing, how does it handle Surveillance Station with H265 4K security cameras?

[@nascompares]

I should have an answer for this in a week or so on the channel.

[@RJ_Cormac]

@@nascompares I'm nervous, it should run Surveillance Station, but what CPU demand is it going to draw? Do you have more camera license to really push a harder test than the complementary 2 included? I have 16x 4k cameras, 8x are being recorded 24hours with 30day retention.

[@jajajtec]

I am still a bit confused tho. I have watched many of your vids now, and every time (and you even show it) how the ds1520+ (same nas as i have) has integrated graphics. But still, when i try to use video station, it always absolutely EATS my cpu even with hardware decoding on. I sometimes cant even watch a video without some hiccups. Do i need to activate hardware decoding somewhere else to?

[@jackelofnar]

Enabling stats for nerds would be great for frames dropped

[@nascompares]

I should be enabling this on the Emby video soon. But yeah, I should have. Will amend this for future. Cheers for watching.

[@AYust22]

Thank you for this review, I was waiting for it, sad that this nas isn't playing 4K that's a big blocker for me... Real shame as I wanted to buy it 🤷🏻‍♂️ going to check out 920+ or the 1520+ instead... Who knows I might go nutz and get 1621+/xs 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@PrestonPalmer]

1621xs+ also doesn’t do hardware transcode.

[@AYust22]

@@PrestonPalmer thanks, didn't watch the review on this one yet 👍🏻

[@20DDan]

People... Transcoding is completely unnecessary these days!!! I have it on my server and on my phone but with WiFi and 4g and 5g data these days... Not necessary!!! If you worry about quality or cut outs??? Download a copy of it to your device!

[@ThinKkBIGG]

So in this price range, with minimum 5 disc, it is the best Plex media server product that is comfortable in 4k. What are the options?

[@voodoovinny7125]

The sad thing is that the NAS world is still lagging behind when it comes to "transcoding". With the UHD 6xx integrated GPUs on the CPUs, the Intel CPUs do not get hit as hard as the Ryzen 1600 when you try to play a HVEC/H.265 media file. And for $1,000 USD, the Synology DS1522+ is way over priced since it using an old Ryzen 1600.

[@TheGeeMan]

This is why I sometimes wonder if it's better off pouring those funds into building a small PC with a Mini-ITX board and a decent video and some drives. At least we know that it won't suddenly lose Plex support like some NAS's have done in the past.

[@Turburki]

I have my 1019+ for backup and Plex server ~ seems like I should stick with this than to get this model when I’m Plex focus ?

[@fredbigapple]

Hi all. I’m new here and I’m planning on buying this device and part of the use would be to stream my video to my Apple TV 4K. So here is my question. Can the Apple TV transcodes for me through the plex app if installed on it if needed?

[@rpsantos]

What Synology NAS would you recommend for Plex that can easily play 4k (w/ and without HDR) content? Much appreciated!

[@GregoryCunningham]

If you are looking for a 4 bay NAS, the 920+ is a great choice.

[@rpsantos]

@@GregoryCunningham thank you so much for the feedback Greg. I didn’t saw any review that mentioned the capability of the 920+ to play 4K

[@anonymous134y]

synology is so disappointing for plex servers... 1-2GBe, slow ram, slow CPU, rarely have M.2 is not meant for Plex. They should realize we need a 4k 265x option that could transcode to 1080p. These are the most used res and formats.

[@kitano47]

what would you recommend for a dedicated plex box?

[@ewitte12]

Most of my devices can handle it without transcoding if not I'll do dual plex server to a desktop.

[@talktodaveuk]

It’s a shame the 1520+ is now end of life without another that is an equal / newer version to upgrade to

[@blcjck8121]

21:56 Ehm... UHD is ≈ 4K. Don't you mean bitrate?

[@christians6843]

Is this a downgrade from previous generations like the 1520+? I was thinking about switching from QNAP to Synology. This seems like another drawback in addition to their outdated 1 Gbit\s LAN connections. Probably I need to wait another couple of years.

[@shadow.banned]

Isn't this the 2nd cycle Synology has downgraded things?

[@fmax30000]

First! Great video mate 👍

[@nascompares]

Cheers bud

[@hakannorlings2439]

You talked a lot of rubbish about the ssd's for 10 minutes. It didn't give anything! You should speak about the handling, as looking at movies with Plex and so on. Have someone of them integrated graphics, etc. Rhstd relevant information!

[@mrkeeny]

You should do that video as sounds like there is a gap in the market

[@mredizon00]

Guess I'm still sticking with my DS920+ for a while. Still works great for me

[@nascompares]

You keen eyed devil! Thanks for the heads up buddy, changed. Owe you one. Have a great week.

[@RJ_Cormac]

TerraMaster with XPEnology loaded might be my future when I look for my 920+ replacement in 2024. I usually replace my NAS every 4 years with an upgraded model, while the old system still has 75% its value to help fund the upgrade.

[@nascompares]

Tbh I am almost certainly going to make a video on upgrading a terramaster via the internal USB port to UNRAID. Plenty of people covering NASA have done this and I think it's proven stable enough not to give it a shot for KZbin (appropriate disclaimers). Never even considered Xpenology till you mentioned it.. but now.. that's 100% made the list buddy!

[@fredbigapple]

I’m very interested in this option. That’s why I’m holding in buying a synology

[@shadow.banned]

I mean... it honestly looks like a Mac Mini + Thunderbolt drive would be easier to play 4k media.

[@Discofox24]

Wich Plex Version must install for Ds1522+

[@PhillipHilton]

That's very annoying. I was about a week away from buying one of these.

[@jtreedy116]

Was waiting for this one sir! TY kindly!