Opinions on Synology DS918+

[Mick_K 6]

Just looking for some opinions whether or not the Synology DS918+ will cut it as an Emby Server. 

 

I currently run Emby Premier Server on a 256GB SSD using an old i5-3570 computer with a WD MyCloud Ex4 NAS as the storage medium (my DVD's are ripped as MP4 AVC AAC Stereo so there is very little transcoding required). Most concurrent users would be 6, streaming to various devices but mostly to LAN connected AppleTV's. The only transcoding required is occasionally when the odd WiFi device doesn't get sufficient bandwidth due to other devices hogging it. Works well and I don't have any issues other than the computer chews up power and is noisier than I would like.

 

I would prefer to have the Emby Server on a NAS to avoid the noise and my media server is all contained within one device and not spread out like it is now.

My questions are;

1. Can I expect the DS918+ to operate as fast as my old computer and NAS  (assuming Emby has a server version that can run on the DS918+)?

2. Are there better (faster) Synology/QNAP options I should be looking into?  Not fussed which brand, just need a good one that isn't slow (I don't want to feel like I have gone backwards if I put in a NAS Emby Server and it turns out slower than the old computer setup).

 

  

[Mick_K 6]

No one?

[Luke 36992]

Hi, I don't have experience with that specific model, but in general Synology and QNAP are great choices. Asustor as well.

[FrostByte 5041]

There are others here with that model.  If you check some of the threads maybe you can reach out to them.

 

I have the slower DS418play and it does fine for us with Emby server running on it.  I mostly watch 4K UHD movies and they all direct play on my Samsung TV, but occasionally my son will stream something wireless to his laptop which requires transcoding and he says it does fine with va-api enabled.

 

I personally would stick to something with an Intel processor if you do any transcoding at all.  I would think the DS918+ would do just fine for what you described.

 

https://www.synology.com/en-us/knowledgebase/DSM/tutorial/General/What_kind_of_CPU_does_my_NAS_have

 

A good site for comparing CPUs

 

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Celeron+J3455+%40+1.50GHz&id=2875

 

Intel site for that processor

 

https://ark.intel.com/products/95594/Intel-Celeron-Processor-J3455-2M-Cache-up-to-2_3-GHz

Edited August 27, 2018 by FrostByte

[Mick_K 6]

Thanks guys.  I've been reading through the other threads as well as looking at the Plex boards to see their issues with the 918+.  I have several options I am currently looking into so I'm not sure yet as to which way I'll end up going.

[Gohlas 12]

Hi Mick_K

 

I think I can help a bit with your questions.

I bought a DS918+ two months ago and so far my experience with the NAS is ok, not very good neither very bad. It is working fine but sometimes you need more times to figure out some problems, as the synology forum there is no much support as windows version from the communite.

 

So far  had a problem with the emby server communication wich took a while to solve it but someone in the forum managed to fix it, but the support from emby was not that helpful.

 

Now regarding the first question.

For me the speed is not the same, it is slower but nothing that would affect my use. I found some topics in the forum saying that if you use SSD you can improve the speed. In 918+ you have two separate slots to use M.2 SSD. This is an advantage of this model.

 

About noise, the NAS is incredibly low noisy, so it is not a problem for me but my hard drive is the problem, I have one Seagate Ironwolf 8TB and it is very noisy. I read in some place that if you have one of the WD Red is much better in this matter, but I cannot confirm it.

 

About transcoding, I don't use it, normally I get the files with h264 and ac3 to avoid transcoding. I tried to transcode for a short moment and the results was not good using the VA API hardware transcoding, but I still need to do more test to see if worth the transcoding or not.

 

Hope I can help a bit with the comments. Still need time to analyze more functions, but so far I am enjoying.

[FrostByte 5041]

I've never had the Ironwolfs to compare, but I have four of the 8TB WD Reds in mine and the NAS is sitting in my TV stand with no doors.  Other than when I first start Emby I don't recall ever hearing them when we sit down to watch.  Nothing ever transcodes though, so sure that helps

[Everbrave 62]

I have Emby server running on the DS918+ and intel NUC5i7. Obviously, NUC is faster and works fine with QuickSync Hardware transcoding; DS918+ is fast enough and works well with VAAPI Hardware transcoding; both can handle HEVC Hardware transcoding.

[Gohlas 12]

I've never had the Ironwolfs to compare, but I have four of the 8TB WD Reds in mine and the NAS is sitting in my TV stand with no doors.  Other than when I first start Emby I don't recall ever hearing them when we sit down to watch.  Nothing ever transcodes though, so sure that helps

Thanks for the information, maybe I should replace my Ironwolf for a WD Red.

[Mick_K 6]

Thanks everyone for the replies and information.