Plex QNAP NAS Performance List 2018

What is the Best QNAP NAS for a Plex Media Server?

Plex has fast become the most popular media server software for home users in 2018. With a slick user interface, smart organization, relevant media images and descriptions sourced from many online sources applied automatically and clever show recommendations and watched records, it is easy to see why Plex challenges many of the online streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Instant and Hulu. Another attractive feature of Plex is that the software is available free (or a more feature-rich paid version), whereas online streaming sources have monthly subscriptions, do not let you play your own content and change/rotate available media content on a monthly basis. With Plex, you play the media that you own and it is organized in an attractive and easy way. However in order to take advantage of Plex, you need a device for your media and the Plex media server to live, and this is where the money part comes. The best means with which to host a plex media server is a Network Attached Storage device (or NAS server). One of the biggest NAS server providers in the world right now is QNAP and they have a large range of NAS devices that support Plex in many, many ways (transcoding, smooth running, 4K, etc). However which QNAP NAS should you buy for your Plex media server, what is transcoding on an QNAP Plex media server like and what is the best QNAP NAS for a Plex Media Server (PMS)?

What is Software Transcoding on a QNAP Plex Media Server?

When media lives on your QNAP NAS, often the device a that you are playing back your plex media (Smart TV, iPhone, Laptop, iPod) onto cannot support the media file type, the resolution or audio codec. In this case, the Plex Media Server on your QNAP NAS will try to change the file to a more suitable version, on the fly, to ensure you can enjoy your media in the best way. This is known as transcoding and though the Plex application is actioning this with the software, the actual work is being done by the QNAP NAS CPU. Software transcoding takes a heavy toll on the CPU and you will need a relatively powerful processor in order to support this feature. Typically the CPU will need to be:

• In Intel or AMD Based Based CPU that is 64bit (x86) in Architecture
• Higher than 1.6Ghz in Frequency
• More than 2 Cores

It is important to highlight that transcoding for Plex on a QNAP NAS only really needs more power in the case of converting/changing video files. Audio and Image files will not require much support from the NAS.

Choosing the Right QNAP NAS for a Plex Media Server

When it comes to choosing the right QNAP 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 QNAP NAS Device

CPU – This is the central processor of the QNAP 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 2018 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 QNAP 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 QNAP. 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 current QNAP NASrange and how well they perform in the Plex Media Server Application with a single Stream.

1st Place  TVS-1282 i7	2nd Place TVS-671 i5	3rd Place TS-453B

 

Brand	Model ID	CPU	Software Transcoding
			SD 480p / 576p	HD 720p	HD 1080p	4K SDR 2160p	4K UHD HDR 2160p
QNAP	HS-251+	x86 (Celeron) 2.0GHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	SS-439 Pro	x86 (Atom N270) 1.6GHz	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	SS-453 Pro	x86 (Celeron) 2.0GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	SS-839 Pro	x86 (Atom N270) 1.6GHz	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	SS-853 Pro	x86 (Celeron ) 2.0GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-131	ARMv7 (Cortex A9) 1.2GHz	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-231	ARMv7 (Cortex A9) 1.2GHz	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-231+	ARMv7 (Alpine AL-212) 1.4GHz	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-231P2	ARMv7 (Alpine AL-314) 1.7 Ghz	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-251	x86 (Celeron) 2.0GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-251+	x86 (Celeron) 2.0GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-251A	x64 (Celeron N3060) 1.6GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-253 Pro	x86 (Celeron) 2.0GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-253A	x64 (Celeron N3150) 1.6GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-253B	x64 (Celeron) J3455 1.5 GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-259 Pro+	x86 (Atom D525) 1.8GHz	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-269 Pro	x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz	Yes	Some	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-269L	x86 (Atom D525) 1.8GHz	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-431	ARMv7 (Cortex-A9) 1.2GHz	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-431+	ARMv7 (Alpine AL-212) 1.4GHz	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-431U	ARMv7 (Cortex-A9) 1.2GHz	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-451	x86 (Celeron) 2.41GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-451+	x86 (Celeron) 2.0GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-451A	x64 (Celeron N3060) 1.6GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-451U	x86 (Celeron) 2.41GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-453 Pro	x86 (Celeron) 2.0GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-453A	x64 (Celeron N3150) 1.6GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-453mini	x86 (Celeron) 2.0GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-453B	x64 (Celeron) J3455 1.5 GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-453U	x86 (Celeron) 2.0GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-459 Pro +	x86 (Atom D525) 1.8GHz	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-459 Pro II	x86 (Atom D525) 1.8GHz	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-469 Pro	x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz	Yes	Some	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-469L	x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz	Yes	Some	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-469U-RP	x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz	Yes	Some	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-531P	ARMv7 (Alpine AL-314) 1.4GHz	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-563	x86 (AMD GX-420MC) 2.0GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-569 Pro	x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz	Yes	Some	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-569L	x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz	Yes	Some	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-651	x86 (Celeron) 2.41GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-653 Pro	x86 (Celeron) 2.0GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-653A	x64 (Celeron N3150) 1.6GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-669 Pro	x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz	Yes	Some	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-669L	x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz	Yes	Some	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-831X	ARMv7 (Alpine AL-314) 1.4GHz	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-851	x86 (Celeron) 2.41GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-853 Pro	x86 (Celeron) 2.0GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-853A	x64 (Celeron N3150) 1.6GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-853U	x86 (Celeron) 2.0GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-859 Pro +	x86 (Atom D525) 1.8GHz	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-869 Pro	x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz	Yes	Some	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-869L	x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz	Yes	Some	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-869U-RP	x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz	Yes	Some	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-877	x64 (AMD Ryzen5 1600)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Some	No
QNAP	TS-879 Pro	x64 (Core i3-2120) 3.3GHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TS-879U-RP	x64 (Core i3-2120) 3.3GHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TS-1079 Pro	x64 (Core i3-2120) 3.3GHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TS-1253U	x86 (Celeron) 2.0GHz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-1269U-RP	x64 (Atom D2700) 2.13GHz	Yes	Some	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-1279U-RP	x64 (Core i3-2120) 3.3GHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TS-1635	ARMv7 (Alpine AL-514) 1.7GHz	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-1679U-RP	x64 (Core i3-2120) 3.3GHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TS-EC1080 Pro	x64 (Xeon E3-1245v3 3.4GHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	Some	No
QNAP	TS-EC1279U-RP	x64 (Xeon E3-1225 3.1GHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	Some	No
QNAP	TS-EC1280U-RP	x64 (Xeon E3-1245v3 3.4GHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	Some	No
QNAP	TS-EC1679U-RP	x64 (Xeon E3-1225 3.1GHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	Some	No
QNAP	TS-EC1680U-RP	x64 (Xeon E3-1245v3 3.4GHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	Some	No
QNAP	TS-EC2480U-RP	x64 (Xeon E3-1245v3 3.4GHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	Some	No
QNAP	TS-EC879U-RP	x64 (Xeon E3-1225 3.1GHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	Some	No
QNAP	TS-EC880 Pro	x64 (Xeon E3-1245 v3) 3.4GHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	Some	No
QNAP	TS-EC880U-RP	x64 (Xeon E3-1245 v3) 3.4GHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	Some	No
QNAP	TVS-463	x86 (AMD GX-424CC) 2.4 Ghz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TVS-471-i3	x64 (Core i3-4150) 3.5GHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TVS-471-PT	x64 (Pentium G3250) 3.1GHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TVS-473	x64 AMD RX-421BD 2.1 GHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TVS-663	x86 (AMD GX-424CC) 2.4 Ghz	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TVS-671-i3	x64 (Core i3-4150) 3.5GHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TVS-671-i5	x64 (Core i5-4590S) 3.0GHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TVS-671-PT	x64 (Pentium G3250) 3.1GHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TVS-682-i3-8G	x64 (Core i3-6100) 3.7 GHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	Some	No
QNAP	TVS-682-PT-8G	x64 (Pentium G4400) 3.3GHz	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No

 

What is Accelerated Transcoding with Plex on my NAS?

Some QNAP NAS arrive with a CPU that has improved rendering or graphical embedding enabled. This means that is Plex can utilize this hardware for transcoding, it will require much, much less of the CPU processing power to transcode a video file. In order to take advantage of Plex hardware transcoding on your QNAP NAS, you will need to first check which NAS supports the transcoding to the extent you need by checking below. Next, you will need to upgrade your Plex Membership from the free version to the paid ‘Plex Pass’ subscription, as the option of Accelerated Transcoding with QNAP NAS hardware is not included in the plex free subscription.

Below are all the current available QNAP NAS and to what extent they support Hardware transcoding with a Plex Pass:

Brand	Model ID	Hardware Transcoding (Plex Pass Required)
		SD 480p / 576p	HD 720p	HD 1080p	4K SDR 2160p	4K UHD HDR 2160p
QNAP	HS-251+	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	SS-439 Pro	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	SS-453 Pro	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	SS-839 Pro	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	SS-853 Pro	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-131	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-231	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-231+	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-231P2	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-251	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-251+	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-251A	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TS-253 Pro	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-253A	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TS-253B	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TS-259 Pro+	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-269 Pro	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-269L	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-431	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-431+	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-431U	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-451	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-451+	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-451A	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TS-451U	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-453 Pro	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-453A	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TS-453mini	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-453B	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TS-453U	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-459 Pro +	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-459 Pro II	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-469 Pro	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-469L	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-469U-RP	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-531P	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-563	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-569 Pro	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-569L	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-651	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-653 Pro	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-653A	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TS-669 Pro	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-669L	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-831X	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-851	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-853 Pro	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-853A	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TS-853U	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-859 Pro +	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-869 Pro	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-869L	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-869U-RP	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-877	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-879 Pro	Some	Some	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-879U-RP	Some	Some	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-1079 Pro	Some	Some	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-1253U	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-1269U-RP	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-1279U-RP	Some	Some	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-1635	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TS-1679U-RP	Some	Some	Some	No	No
QNAP	TS-EC1080 Pro	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TS-EC1279U-RP	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TS-EC1280U-RP	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TS-EC1679U-RP	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TS-EC1680U-RP	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TS-EC2480U-RP	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TS-EC879U-RP	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TS-EC880 Pro	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TS-EC880U-RP	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TVS-463	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TVS-471-i3	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TVS-471-PT	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TVS-473	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TVS-663	No	No	No	No	No
QNAP	TVS-671-i3	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TVS-671-i5	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
QNAP	TVS-671-PT	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No
QNAP	TVS-682-i3-8G	Yes	Yes	Yes	Decode Only	No
QNAP	TVS-682-PT-8G	Yes	Yes	Some	No	No

How to Enable Hardware Acceleration with Plex Media Server on a QNAP NAS

To use Hardware Transcoding on your QNAP NAS in a Plex Media Server, you need to enable it using the Plex Web access (head over to your Plex User interface on your browser.

1. Open the Plex Web app.
2. Navigate to Settings > Server > Transcoder to access the server settings.
3. Turn on Show Advanced in the upper-right corner to expose advanced settings.
4. Turn on Use hardware acceleration when available.
   
5. Click Save Changes at the bottom.

The changes should take place straight away and there is no need to reboot your QNAP NAS. Be sure to have updated to the latest version of the Plex Media Server application on your NAS and that Hardware Transcoding is listed as supported in the list above.

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