QNAP TVS-473e vs Synology DS918+ for Plex

Looking for best Plex media server that can do 4K transcoding. I currently have an older Synology DS412+ that I am happy with but need more horsepower and storage. I have no need to directly attach NAS to the TV. Looking for advice in qnap vs the synology option above (QNAP TVS-473e vs Synology DS918+ for Plex).

TVS-473 is twice as powerful as DS918+ if you genuinely need it for transcoding not streaming then you need to choose Qnap. DS918+ will transcode only very few 4K files, but it does a very great job at transcoding using DS video app (better than Qnap).

Intel Celeron J3455 Quad Core 1.5 GHz (up to 2.3 GHz) CPU Mark 2153

AMD R-Series RX-421BD quad-core 2.1 GHz, burst up to 3.4 GHz  CPU Mark 4740

Qnap has HDMI ports for some really heavy 4K files which are too big for the network to push through.

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What can I connect to a NAS?

Wireless Speaker Sonos

The great thing about Sonos is that you don't need to pay for music subscription service. With the cheapest NAS at home like DS115j or any other, you can have your backups done for all of your devices and still use your network drive as a Sonos music library. Sonos will connect to your NAS via your network and let access your provided music library. If you have little more of IT knowledge, you can even set up your Alexa or Sonos with Alexa built in to play music on your voice commands ("Alexa! Ask DS Audio to Play Music!").

Casting devices

Nowadays it is so cheap to upgrade your old TV and make it smart. All you need is Google Chrome or EZcast alternative plugged into your HDMI port at the back of your TV. Now you have great functionality added to your TV to send a video file directly from your NAS to a TV. No need for wires and chargers and other mess. You can use your phone as a remote to go to your movies or family videos and cast that content on your TV during family or friend gatherings.

 

Apple TV

Amazon Fire TV

You may not have a smartphone, or you just simply prefer to control your content with a remote in that case Amazon Fire TV will be a great addon to get to your TV. It also plugs into your HDMI port and will play content from your NAS to a TV. No wires no mess.

nVidia Shield TV

It gets even better! If you want some more entertainment and all previously mentioned functions - nVidia TV is a great thing to get. You can use it for playing games and watching movies from your NAS. The greatest thing is - shield TV does video transcoding. So even if you have a cheap NAS with a weak CPU, in a combination of shield TV you can now automatically on the fly change video file size and format for a destination device. It is a great way to reduce network load and let older devices to play video content which normally was not supported on the device.