How well does the DS412+ work with Plex Media Server and transcoding?
1943847
Plex runs well on the DS412+. Like Cloom, I've been running Plex on it now for about 6 months. The only time I've experienced any encoding issues is when my wifi connection is bad or the WAN is slow. Besides that I very rarely have encoding problems and Plex is extraordinarily stable. I've had one problem with Plex recognizing content that a reboot fixed. The other issue I have is that the Synology version of Plex is an older version that isn't fully compatible with the Plex pass. The HTML 5 streaming doesn't work. However they give you a link to the old Plex pass site that will let you stream via Flash (Well I think its Flash).Another resource is Syno Community. Check it out. Plex runs well on the DS412+. Like Cloom, I've been running Plex on it now for about 6 months. The only time I've experienced any encoding issues is when my wifi connection is bad or the WAN is slow. Besides that I very rarely have encoding problems and Plex is extraordinarily stable. I've had one problem with Plex recognizing content that a reboot fixed. The other issue I have is that the Synology version of Plex is an older version that isn't fully compatible with the Plex pass. The HTML 5 streaming doesn't work. However they give you a link to the old Plex pass site that will let... » Read More Plex runs well on the DS412+. Like Cloom, I've been running Plex on it now for about 6 months. The only time I've experienced any encoding issues is when my wifi connection is bad or the WAN is slow. Besides that I very rarely have encoding problems and Plex is extraordinarily stable. I've had one problem with Plex recognizing content that a reboot fixed. The other issue I have is that the Synology version of Plex is an older version that isn't fully compatible with the Plex pass. The HTML 5 streaming doesn't work. However they give you a link to the old Plex pass site that will let you stream via Flash (Well I think its Flash).Another resource is Syno Community. Check it out. « Show Less
1943848
I am using Plex on it for 2 months now. Transcoding is not super fast, my old HTPC with AMD Hudson M1 is 3 times faster to transcode! When there is no transcoding it is very nice, I used to have my XBMC library shared on mysql on it and it was the same no lag on 100Mbps network. I switched to 1Gbps and I am only watching 1080p movies, some in 3D and from my HTPC running XBMC with the plex addon I have no issues at all. From my new Nexus 7 it is the same, it just takes time when I cast to my chromecast but I am not sure what is the issue, it takes 30s to load and then it is ok! Now the question is to know if you hesitate between a NAS or building your own NAS with a powerful CPU for transcoding! I believe in the NAS world this one is one of the fastest in its category for transcoding (but I might be wrong). Anyway it is a very good product I do not regret the money I spent on it! I also use Plex on my Samsung smart TV and it runs very well. FYI on my NAS I have sickbeard installed that download my series using Transmission and then move them to the proper folder, rename the file and Plex sees it and update its database! everything works fine!
1943849
I've had no problems streaming various media formats including h.264, avi, mpg2, and wmv to my LG TV and PS3. So I think the transcoding works fairly well. I don't subscribe to Plex Pass, so I can't report on how well it works there transcoding for other devices.
1943850
I purchased the DS412+ primarily to serve my media via Plex Media Server. I have not encountered any issues with multiple formats although I do tend to use mpeg2 for most of my movies. I stream across 1GB LAN to Rokus and games consoles but have not experienced any significant lag streaming wirelessly to tablets either. I have not had to alter any of the transcoding environment variables in the Plex Server. Install is a breeze too as Plex is listed in the application portfolio on the management console.
1198540
Privet, tovarisch. I couldn't wait and ended up buying what I knew to be an M1001 unit direct from Roku, and I am very happy with it.For a music server I use Firefly (http://www.fireflymediaserver.org/), which is open source, running on a tiny Linksys NSLU2 device with a large USB hard disk attached.My dacha now rings with the sound of the Internationale and other patriotic tunes.
1128376
None yet. I ended up getting a DS1513+ just b/c of that and use there CloudStation Sync. It works just like google drive, drop box, and Sky Drive. I believe this syncs faster out side of the network.
638153
I have found that my two drobos work very well for my needs. The one thing I would like to see work better, but I think it is a limitation of Windows not Drobo, is to report the current size of the mass of drives not some specific value like 16TB when you only have 5TB total space. I've installed Plex Server on my Drobo5n and it's been working great even without a mSSD that can improve performance. I don't know or really care about the processor or other specs as long as it works well and performs well.
1784266
As long as you don't expect this unit to do heavy transcoding on the fly, it's great. You can stream a 25GB blu-ray with DTS-MA as far as network and transfer speeds go. You just need something to transcode that for a display, like a mediacenter PC. I've seen mine crush low bitrate HD video down for cell phone viewing, and Standard Def it can handle on the fly, but anything serious will kill the CPU in it. The quality of the Syno based plex server app itself is top notch. I almost never have to restart the service to uncrash it.
124370
WD has ARM processor single core 2ghz vs atom dual core 2ghz in the ds 412. The ds 412 also has an intel chip that will benefit from AES instruction sets if you use encryption. I also am a huge fan of PLEX which streams and transcodes (changes to file format on the fly to one supported by your device). Actually the ds 412 apps (not plex, just the stock synology apps) will actually transcode for you as well. See www.synology.com/en-global/support/FAQ/577. Finally, I googled a few reviews of the WD NAS and it looks like it has crappy write performance, so copying filed up to your device could be slow. Synology also includes free dyndns subscription so you can find your device out on the internets.
1757664
Works great on both versions, I have 3 of those throughout my house all using as media servers
124369
WD has ARM processor single core 2ghz vs atom dual core 2ghz in the ds 412. The ds 412 also has an intel chip that will benefit from AES instruction sets if you use encryption. I also am a huge fan of PLEX which streams and transcodes (changes to file format on the fly to one supported by your device). Actually the ds 412 apps (not plex, just the stock synology apps) will actually transcode for you as well. See www.synology.com/en-global/support/FAQ/577. Finally, I googled a few reviews of the WD NAS and it looks like it has crappy write performance, so copying filed up to your device could be slow. Synology also includes free dyndns subscription so you can find your device out on the internets. WD has ARM processor single core 2ghz vs atom dual core 2ghz in the ds 412. The ds 412 also has an intel chip that will benefit from AES instruction sets if you use encryption. I also am a huge fan of PLEX which streams and transcodes (changes to file format on the fly to one supported by your device). Actually the ds 412 apps (not plex, just the stock synology apps) will actually transcode for you as well. See www.synology.com/en-global/support/FAQ/577. Finally, I googled a few reviews of the WD NAS and it looks like it has crappy write performance, so copying filed up to your device... » Read More WD has ARM processor single core 2ghz vs atom dual core 2ghz in the ds 412. The ds 412 also has an intel chip that will benefit from AES instruction sets if you use encryption. I also am a huge fan of PLEX which streams and transcodes (changes to file format on the fly to one supported by your device). Actually the ds 412 apps (not plex, just the stock synology apps) will actually transcode for you as well. See www.synology.com/en-global/support/FAQ/577. Finally, I googled a few reviews of the WD NAS and it looks like it has crappy write performance, so copying filed up to your device could be slow. Synology also includes free dyndns subscription so you can find your device out on the internets. « Show Less
1436661
Both boxes are overkill for a home network with just two users - unless you have a burning desire to blown money unnecessarily there better options (DS412+, DS214+)
2225389
Yes it does run latest codecs and container formats but I have seen my (completely stock) freeze and had to be power cycled after and oddly encoded avi which I never found out what The actual video format was. Anyways I use it daily to play videos from all over and it runs great. Works exceptionally well with a plex server and Vimu or just the plex app. Vimu is better for local content in my opinion while plex app is great for ice films and 1 channel like xbmc which I don't believe runs on this box yet.
1835856
I use Plex media server on my PC to stream video to my roku (also add the Plex channel on your roku)
1827676
I've actually had the exact setup you're looking at (TiVo Premiere XL + 1TB Western Digital Expander, via eSata connection). While its nice as we do a lot of recording and almost always have something new to watch (we're at 97% capacity, opting to keep entire seasons of shows), we have been having an issue the last 3 months where playback of recorded shows has begun to "stutter" (symptom: video and audio playback freezes intermittently for 1-5 seconds at a time). This could be the the capacity we have it filled to, the DVR, or the expander; however, Tivo's troubleshooting steps have been to disable the HD User Interface as they say it can cause buffering issues, and now to completely disconnect the Expander and attempt recording for a week to further isolate the issue, answering: is it the DVR or external expander. Today I'm going to delete the majority of our recordings to make 25% of the drive available (750GB used) and see if that resolves the issue. Thought being: Is it worth buying a 1TB if you can only effectively use 750 of it. Next I will free the box to 500GB used (same as buying the 500GB option and filling it), and finally I'll free it to 250GB used (same as only using half the 500GB buying option). If all else fails, I will disconnect the box and see of its the drive itself or the TiVo, but honestly, since I've become fed up with the playback issues, I've been exploring whether it's worth buying iTunes Season Passes for the shows we watch and downgrading our monthly cable package (we also have an AppleTV). At least that way we keep the shows forever and don't have commercials.
364194
Yes, they are. I have two of them connected to my DS412+ going through a TP-LINK TL-SF1008P for POE. It took me a while to figure out how to configure the cameras, though, because they ship with a fixed IP that used a different subnet than the rest of my network.
2239293
The echo is compatible with all media center applications. Its not necessarily hardware dependent (that's not entirely accurate). Check out Cetons website for hardware suggestions and number if echos supported.
573068
I have not tried that but I stream from a home server with no problems.I hope this helps.
1729562
This link describes how Plex performs on various NAS platforms. Given this is still an ARM-based unit, it seems like it might struggle with higher resolution transcoding: https://docs.google.com/a/plexapp.com/spreadsheets/d/1MfYoJkiwSqCXg8cm5-Ac4oOLPRtCkgUxU0jdj3tmMPc/
638152
Be advised, the processor is not adequate to use this device as a media server if you need to do any heavy transcoding. For backup and media downloading/organizing it works great. I'd really like to see an upgrade version with a powerful processor.