Broadcom's crystalhd

[Gernash 19]

@@Luke

 

I see in the latest version of Emby server transcoding via cuda and Intel Quick sink is all happening.

Is it possible to add/use  Broadcom's crystalhd For Transcoding as well?

 

With a modded version of ffmpeg (--enable-crystalhd) and installing a CrystalHD pcie card into a Higher specked Synology NAS could be a solution for atom based systems that have issues with all the transcoding.

[Luke 37188]

potentially  yes

[RobsterUK 22]

@@Gernash

have you tried to install such a card yet? Does DSM recognise the card? Or are additional drivers required?

 

I'm running an xpenology nas, on an old Intel Core 2 Duo CPU.
It doesn't handle transcoding very well & struggles with a lot of high bit rate mkv's.
If Crystal HD will bridge the gap this could be an option I would use.

[Gernash 19]

@RobsterUK

 

I Have a ds1812+ and it has a 4x pcie port in it. Drivers have to be installed (same as if you use a HBA or 10GBe card that is not supported naively.) Currently I'm fiddle with it. FFMpeg has supported crystal hd for decoding for a while. libva has sketchy support (http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/vaapi/) so I've ordered a couple of cards and will see if it can be compiled in the build.

 

cuda and Intel Quick sink cant be use either unless the driver is installed as a .ko either (I have not played with it on xpenology but would be alot easier to enable.)

Also with The Play series of Synology you cannot access the encoding hardware nor the Quick Sink from user installed apps (Like Synology's version of Mono not working with Emby) I've asked around for a why but have just been getting blank stares.

 

It would be easier for you to just install an Nvidia card in it and install the cuda drivers for it and install a Vappi version of ffmpeg.(at this point you have to compile yourself)

Edited December 16, 2015 by Gernash

[RobsterUK 22]

Thanks for explaining all that.
 

I must admit I'm a bit of a Linuix noob, so where you mention compiling ffmpeg myself, that's a bit over my head (unless there is a how-to I can follow)

But I would still be interested to see how you get on using one of the cards, so please keep us up to date.

 

The advantage I do have in using Xpenology is that I can upgrade my hardware.
I've been looking at more powerful CPU's. Currently using a 2.5Ghz Core 2 Duo, but a 2.8Ghz Quad Core is only about £40 on ebay, with double the score on CPU benchmarks. So that is also an option.
Although that would increase the power usage in the box & I'm trying to keep this to a minimum, so there's always some kind of pay-off!!
 

[Gernash 19]

@RobsterUK

 

CPU transcoding is slow. Domestic nvidia transcoding is only 2 threads (has issues still I believe, but very fast{I use it on my Windows MCE Box}), crystalhd is single threaded (I believe), Intel quick sink is multi threaded but I do not what sort of load it can handle.

 

If you upgrading then replace Motherboard and CPU with a Intel Quick sink capable processor (even atom based cpu's can do this like the synology but not activated in DSM) so until support for vaapi in FFMpeg happens then it's pointless atm.

 

Cytec if the ffmpeg guy for synology.

 

Maybe get a thread going in the xpenology forums and see if somebody will help make one for PC hardware.(intel,Nvidia linux video drivers-someone who compiles the xpenology builds will have to incorporate them when they compile the DSM) and ffmpeg compiled with vaapi support as a Syno PKG.