Question NAS queries, Synology 920+ PLEX and HEVC formats

Tomnook80

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Hi all,

I have a shiny new Synology 920+ arriving in the near future and having not had a dedicated NAS setup in a long while had a query for those in the know.

My current setup is LG OLED48CX and Shield TV Pro 2019, everything is wired via CAT6 through ports I put in when I networked my house. My plan was primarily to use the 920+ as a media server; a Plex server, and use my Shield as a client in order to stream 4K content, primarily remuxes. However, I'm aware that the new 20+ series don't support HEVC 10bit files (which quite a few of my 4K files are). I wanted to avoid transcoding as much as possible, so am I right in thinking I have these options:

1. Use Shield TV Pro as a Plex media server and point it to the Synology? If so would this cause playback issues as while the Shield supports a massive range of formats I'm assuming it won't be as efficient as the 920+ and I may get playback issues?
2. Convert the 10bit losslessly into 8bit format
3. Have I misunderstood completely, as even though the Synology doesn't support 10bit natively the Shield would take care of it without the need to transcode?

I'm aware there have been a few workarounds posted, but I wonder if these seem a bit hit and miss

Many thanks
 
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The Shield will do it all with the Synology just serving the files to it, no transcoding.
 
NAS's just store data, any data, just like a hard disc drive - they don't "care" what the format of the files are so you don't need to "worry" whether NAS X is "compatible" with file type Y.

But Plex might - if you've got file compatibility issues, it will be problem with Plex, not the NAS itself. If you don't use Plex it'll work fine assuming the device you use to play back the files and "render" them can read the applicable format.

I wouldn't over think this - wait until you have the device in hand, load it up and see if it works and if it doesn't, then look for a solution.
 
Thanks all. So to confirm at a really basic level, because I have the choice of running Plex Media Server on the Synology or the Shield I should run in on the 920+? And then just point the Shield to to.

I have overthought it you're right! :D Mainly because of the compatibility I've read with the 920+ and 10bit files.
 
To repeat - if there's an issue with "10 bit files" it'll either be a "problem" with the Plex application or the renderer, not the NAS.

You don't need to run Plex at all to stream media. I've had a NetGear streamer for about 15 years and never used Plex. The only reason to run Plex is because is "adds" something you need or desire. For basic storage and serving of files across a network, almost anything will do.

Computer files have been based on 8 bit bytes for decades and extremely rarely use anything else. The "10 bits" you've heard about is probably to do with the "colour depth" used in the way some media files are encoded (it allows a greater colour palette.) To play back files with 10 bit colour depth,, you need a compatible player (and panel and so on.) This has no bearing on whether the NAS can store/serve it.

If your renderer cannot play such media then you either will have to convert it (one time) to something your renderer can handle, or run something like Plex to convert it in real time when you play back - so called "real time transcoding."

Transcoding video is a really CPU intensive task and I argue best avoided unless you really have no option. Even then, I'd do it once, offline, then store the re-encoded media rather than have the server do so in real time every time I play back.

However, I'd be really surprised if your Shield cannot already support 10 bit colour depth, so I doubt you'll need to bother - 10 bit colour depth has been around for a long time now.
 
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Yes, it's purely the GUI of Plex I like. Yes the shield does indeed support 10bit colour depth. I'm aware of transcoding as I network currently from a PC with Plex and Emby. I was aware of people having issue with Plex and 10bit HEVCs especially related to the 920+, such as here:

And: Synology NAS PLEX DRIVER FIX for H.256 / HEVC – DS920+, DS220+, DS720+ and DS420+

At this stage I've read quite a lot and perhaps tied myself up in knots and misunderstood some of the basics of networking - hence the questions...and confusion. Thanks for the reply. The 920+ arrived later this week so will set it all up and see what occurs!
 
Thanks all. So to confirm at a really basic level, because I have the choice of running Plex Media Server on the Synology or the Shield I should run in on the 920+? And then just point the Shield to to.

I have overthought it you're right! :D Mainly because of the compatibility I've read with the 920+ and 10bit files.
I have Plex server on the nas and then playback the files with my ATV4K & Vero 4K both using plex just fine, although I mainly use Infuse on the ATV4K...You will do the same with your Shield which I believe is even more powerful than my setup, so you should have no problems and could also use Kodi which is also very good.

My nas is used for transcoding if I want to watch something on my iPad at my caravan or for my grandson on his at his home, it does it very well with a Plex pass.
 
They are likely talking about hardware transcoding on the NAS lacking support for HEVC 10-bit video.

If your not using the hardware transcoding of the NAS then its irrelevant.

You can also completely avoid any transcoding by the server if you use Kodi or MrMC as your Plex client. Those will decode all video locally on the Shield but this shouldn't be necessary the stock Plex client on Shield will play HEVC 10-bit.
 
You may even find that your LG tv will play everything natively anyway, my LG OLED plays everything I throw at it without any need for transcoding including 10-bit HEVC
 
You may even find that your LG tv will play everything natively anyway, my LG OLED plays everything I throw at it without any need for transcoding including 10-bit HEVC
Not 4K remuxes mate. It errors out everytime. Changing a couple of network cables and power cycling the router once fixed all my initial stuttering issues with the Shield and 4K remuxes at least. Will get the NAS setup and see how it stands
 
Yeah I have a NAS 920+ and LG C9 and the TV plays everything and just use the NAS a storage
 
Yeah I have a NAS 920+ and LG C9 and the TV plays everything and just use the NAS a storage
Surely you can't use Remuxes? Some of my larger 4K remux files have issues even over WiFi. They are unable at all through the crippled ethernet port of course.
 
Surely you can't use Remuxes? Some of my larger 4K remux files have issues even over WiFi. They are unable at all through the crippled ethernet port of course.


Yeah I purchased a USB ethernet 1G dongle and that's fixed that problem

This one here

Amazon product ASIN B083ZLPJMW
 
Hi mate
Bought this and plugged in. The light is on and it's connected but the TV won't recognise it. How did you get it working?

Just watching the TV so cant check the settings menu but if I remember correctly it doesn't show up in the network menu.

When you power on the TV it takes a few seconds later for the dongle to come alive and get a IP address
 
I use JellyFin as my media software - free alternative to Plex, and generally seems more stable than when i trialled plex a few years back.
 
Just watching the TV so cant check the settings menu but if I remember correctly it doesn't show up in the network menu.

When you power on the TV it takes a few seconds later for the dongle to come alive and get a IP address
So if i understand this correctly, you can just plug that adaptor into the USB socket on the TV and the network cable into the other end and you have a gigabit connection to your TV and the TV recognises it and it just works (aside from taking a few seconds to connect on startup)?
 
Hmmm....

Even my old 2016 LG television is able to pull/play 4K UHD (10-bit HEVC video) files perfectly from my 2012 Synology NAS using the Synology's UPnP/DLNA media file server...
 
Hmmm....

Even my old 2016 LG television is able to pull/play 4K UHD (10-bit HEVC video) files perfectly from my 2012 Synology NAS using the Synology's UPnP/DLNA media file server...
Mine did, and my c9 does, but there is the occasional blip or moment of buffering. Can’t help wondering if it’s the 100mbps Ethernet connection, so very interested if there’s a way to add gigabit Ethernet via that adaptor.
 
Mine did, and my c9 does, but there is the occasional blip or moment of buffering. Can’t help wondering if it’s the 100mbps Ethernet connection, so very interested if there’s a way to add gigabit Ethernet via that adaptor.

Hi mate

It can be either the chipset (check manual for hard bitrate cap) or the lan speed. Typically the bitrate within an mkv when checked via say mediainfo or Plex is the average bitrate. Depending on the title there will be instances where that bandwidth exceeds 100mbps.

Sometimes, even on a 100mbps connection, you may not see an issue if enough of the file is cached Prior to that point.
 
Mine did, and my c9 does, but there is the occasional blip or moment of buffering. Can’t help wondering if it’s the 100mbps Ethernet connection, so very interested if there’s a way to add gigabit Ethernet via that adaptor.
As a test... Have you tried playing the same media files using a different UPnP media file serving software (ie: not Plex).
 
Hi mate

It can be either the chipset (check manual for hard bitrate cap) or the lan speed. Typically the bitrate within an mkv when checked via say mediainfo or Plex is the average bitrate. Depending on the title there will be instances where that bandwidth exceeds 100mbps.

Sometimes, even on a 100mbps connection, you may not see an issue if enough of the file is cached Prior to that point.
It doesn’t happen very often. I think the LGs are known for only having 100mbps Ethernet ports.
 
@SeeMoreDigital No, I could try that. I could enable synology’s native DLNA server and do direct play via the LGs native app.

To be honest I’ve not had the synology long, I need to play a few more films to see whether I really have an issue. So far I’ve watched 3 films and the only blips were during the title song to Skyfall. Otherwise all good.
 

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