A Guide to How Each Synology NAS Perform in Plex Media Server
If you have been wondering about buying a NAS in 2021 for use as a Plex Media Server, then chances are that you have heard good thing about Synology. The brand has been in the network-attached storage market for over 20 years and during that time they have produced some genuinely innovative hardware for home and business users. Although they supply a number of multimedia applications (Video Station, Photo Station, DLNA apps and more), it has to be said that in terms of enjoying your OWN multimedia, whilst still enjoying the attractive graphical user interface (GUI), background information and graphics of Netflix and Prime, few applications can rival Plex in popularity. The application, free (with a paid subscription service option for more features) allows users to access their collections of Boxsets, Movies, Music, Photos and more – but does it with links to reviews, information from IMDB, actor portfolios, descriptions and all the cover art scraped from online sources. Hosting this great movie application on your Synology NAS is actually VERY easy, but the real hurdle for many is choosing the RIGHT Synology NAS to buy, in order to have the very best plex media server set up in their home in 2021. So, below I am going to outline the important buying factors in choosing your Synology NAS, what is transcoding, do you need it and (most important of all) go through every mainstream Synology NAS available right now and how it performs in Plex Media Server.
Choosing the Best Synology NAS for a Plex Media Server
When it comes to choosing the right Synology NAS for your Plex Media Server, below I have broken down the entire currently available NAS you can buy. I have broken them down into the following areas:
Model ID – This is the Name of the Synology NAS Device
CPU – This is the central processor of the Synology NAS server and this will be what decides the performance of your Plex Media Server
SD 480p / 576p –Most likely the lowest point at which you will need transcoding of a video media file, 480p was used for many early Plasma televisions, whereas 576p is considered Standard Definition in many countries worldwide
HD 720p – Otherwise known as ‘HD Ready’ or ‘Standard HD’, it is generally considered the lowest starting point for watching HD media and starts at 1280×720
HD 1080p – Widely regarded at ‘Full-HD’, it arrives at 1920×1080. Most media listed at high definition in 2020 will be 1080P
4K SDR 2160p – 4K SDR is the entry point into 4K Media. An SDR 2160p supported TV has around 4,000 lines of resolution (the lines across the screen that form the rows of pixels) but is not capable of completely showing the depth and richness of colours spectrum and contrast of 4K HDR. It is by no means a compromise and still an excellent picture, but rather this is due to the physical differences in the construction of the screen and not just how the images are processed, just like the differences between and SD and HDTV.
4K UHD HDR 2160p – The current top end of 4K Media file formats in popular commercial media. A 4K HDR TV has the same 4000 lines of resolution as those that support 4K SDR 2160p, but is physically capable of rendering an image with increased contrast and richer colours\separation thanks to the physical build superiority.
Be sure to check the kind of media you own (or plan on streaming from your Synology NAS), as well as the devices you will be playing back on for a better idea of what kind of plex media transcoding support you will need from your NAS server from Synology. Be sure to check the supported file types (most common modern files types you find for 1080p and 4K are .MKV .MP4 .MOV and .AVI).Below is the entire urrent Synology NASrange and how well they perform in the Plex Media Server Application with a single Stream.
Continue reading...
- - -
Check out FREE NAS advice section on nascompares.com
