Before proceeding, make sure you have a sufficient backup of the data on your NAS off-site or at least on another storage system before proceeding. So let’s get started.īefore you proceed, it is worth highlighting that although this is a very low-risk operation, you should always be careful when editing background files on your NAS, even ones that are used by third-party programs. The whole process takes little more than 5-minutes and requires almost no technical knowledge, as well as being completely conducted over the web browser in DSM, the Synology software environment.
#Synology drive how to
This guide will show you how to to change your Plex media server application on your NAS to use the better-suited ‘ i965 Driver‘ on your Synology NAS.
#Synology drive driver
However, the current version of plex pushes the Synology system to use the iHDdriver and this causes the Synology NAS to have difficulty, as it is not the default driver that the Synology NAS uses for transcoding in its own first-party application. It does this by requesting that the embedded graphics component of the CPU (in the case of the DS920+, DS220+, DS420+ and DS720+ it is UHD Graphic 600 250-750MHz at 8GB – more generally known as the transcoding engine in NAS) to change the file type to something more suitable. In practice, when the Plex media server has difficulty playing a file type, it will try to transcode the file to a format that is better suited to either the hardware environment of the client (phone, TV, etc) or host (the NAS server itself). The reason for this difficulty in playing back specific media formats such as H265 (HEVC), of 8-bit and 10-bit HDR, is due to the Plex media server application utilising a less suitable driver on the Synology NAS.
The Issue of H.265 / HEVC PLEX Playback Explained
#Synology drive 1080p
TRYING (AND FAILING) TO PLAYBACK A SIMPLE 3Mbps H.265 (HEVC) 1080p File So, what gives? I am pleased to confirm though that it CAN BE SOLVED! Just follow the guide below, spare 5 minutes to go through the steps and you will be able to play those pesky H.265 / HEVC files, even at 8bit and 10bit. This is a playback issue that is not apparent in the Synology Video Station app (happily playing and converting these files without issue).
#Synology drive 480p
Namely, the fact that they seem to be having difficulty playing H.265 (also known as HEVC) in even rather simple files even as low as 480p and 720p, despite the fact that the CPU and memory are not what being hit very hard. The new generation of Synology diskstation NAS’ that arrived in summer 2020 ( DS920+, DS220+, DS420+ and DS720+) are all solid solutions for use as a Plex media server NAS, however lately many users have identified a recurring playback problem on these recent Intel Celeron powered NAS’. The appeal of Plex as an alternative to paid subscription streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime video is fairly evident, giving you the ability to watch all of your lovely movies and box sets, but still enjoy the slick graphical user interface and background polish (such as trailers, reviews descriptions, thumbnails, watchlists, recommendations and artwork) afforded to those online streaming platforms. One of the most popular reasons that many users invest in a compact desktop Synology NAS solution is for use as a private Plex media server.
A Guide to Improving Playback on your Synology NAS Drive