expired Posted by iconian | Staff • Nov 22, 2022
Nov 22, 2022 5:13 PM
Item 1 of 4
Item 1 of 4
expired Posted by iconian | Staff • Nov 22, 2022
Nov 22, 2022 5:13 PM
Synology DiskStation NAS Enclosure: DS1621+ 6-Bay $720, DS220j 2-Bay
+ Free Shipping$150
$190
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Many people that have built a legitimate library of DVDs over the years have started digitizing legally due to the prevalence of streaming boxes - one of the primary Plex use cases. And when you have media on a Plex server, the media can only be encoded in one format, at one resolution (let's say 4K, Format 1).
So if you stream that 4K media file straight to a device (let's say an Apple TV with 4K) no transcoding is needed and the file is accessed as is.
But if you stream that file on your secondary 1080p Roku TV, it needs a different resolution and maybe a different format. Then the Plex server will transcode the file as it streams, converting the file from 4K Format 1, to 1080p Format 2. This requires computational resources from the CPU/RAM of the device, and the Intel/Plex combo is better suited, for deeper technical reasons.
This also applies to Synology's music and video integrated streaming services as well as other manufacturer offerings.
Now if your reference of "storing and accessing files" simply means "flat files" like documents and photos, no, transcoding is not a factor for you and yes the AMD solutions will be a general performance improvement. But many people use NAS for their significant media streaming features, as a legal digitization/streaming of their owned content, and thus the spirited conversation on this post.
Hope this helps!
Plex users aren't "made obsolete" By Synology because they've chosen to shift their "+" line to the SMB market. That has no bearing on Plex Users, Transcoding, or even the previous gen "+" models. They didn't lose QSV transcoding capability overnight. They still transcode exactly as well as they did the day they launched.
Synology has just chosen to end that product line's support for Intel iGPU assisted transcoding going forward. Weighing their customer base for these lines, and choosing SMB customer needs for CPU performance, over enthusiast Plex users.
And as for being "limited to 4 bays" there's always the DX517.
But if your storage needs are growing that much, you should either be replacing aging low capacity HDDs, or transitioning to a more robust storage solution.
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Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank smachine
I've had the QNAP 453-Be for quite some time as a Plex server (4x8, Raid whatever the heck it would be where I could lose one drive). I store movies/DVR'ed episodes/music on it. It has been stable and reliable for me. Some say that QNAP has security issues, but others counter it and say that as long as you keep your FW reasonably up to date, you'll be fine.
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Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank potatopirate
I was lucky to snag a DS220+ from Amazon warehouse for $225 so don't feel too bad lol
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank AMv8
It's a backup. By definition, you aren't actively accessing the data, or utilizing CPU resources. You don't need performance. You need a potato with SATA ports.
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Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank robertnyc
Way too many reports of cyber attacks to be comfortable with QNAP. But as long as you are diligent about resetting admin accounts and passwords, you should be fine.
This guy has a hundred videos on QNAPs and walks you through how to secure your system, lots of reviews and comparisons as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STydsyV
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