Synology native vs Docker install

[westhill 5]

Been running (testing) the native Emby server on DSM 6.2.4 on a 920+ for a couple of months, so far it has been great. I am interested in thoughts on the native app vs docker in 2021. I found this old thread from 2019 where it mentions native offers better support.
https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/72039-synology-package-or-docker-considerations/

Thoughts or comments on this would be appreciated. My server is early/beta stage so if I needed to migrate from native to docker now would be the time to do it.

Thanks in advance, this is an awesome community!

[Luke 42078]

Hi, they both will work, but on Synology the native package is what gets the bulk of our testing time. 

[westhill 5]

1 minute ago, Luke said:

Hi, they both will work, but on Synology the native package is what gets the bulk of our testing time. 

Makes sense, thanks for the quick response. I will stick to native then. Lots of loose ends to tie up migrating my entire setup from a legacy windows htpc and old tv to a new setup with Google Tv and a NAS so I will leave it for the time being.

[Carlo 4561]

I personally would always try and use a native app on any OS over a docker install when possible as it's one step easier to use without an additional layer of configuration and abstraction which can make things like hardware transcoding easier to setup and use as well as setting permissions.

With that said if your environment already makes use of docker and you're comfortable with it then it could be a good fit.

As Luke mentioned the native server app will get the bulk of testing.  I for example do the bulk of my server testing on both Windows and now DSM 7 version of Emby Server for Synology.

[westhill 5]

40 minutes ago, cayars said:

I personally would always try and use a native app on any OS over a docker install when possible as it's one step easier to use without an additional layer of configuration and abstraction which can make things like hardware transcoding easier to setup and use as well as setting permissions.

With that said if your environment already makes use of docker and you're comfortable with it then it could be a good fit.

As Luke mentioned the native server app will get the bulk of testing.  I for example do the bulk of my server testing on both Windows and now DSM 7 version of Emby Server for Synology.

Thanks, for your efforts, liking Emby so far so.

I am comfortable with docker but not a guru. Looking to keep things simple and well supported in the community as I transition my setup to run from my NAS from my aging Win7 htpc.

BTW, I have experienced artifacting on the Win7 Home Theatre app when I scroll it ghosts and you can see the background desktop. Also, some random crashes. As a result we moved to the native Google TV Emby app and things are way more stable for us. I am sure there is a lot of focus on Win10 and beyond and not much time spent with Win7. I have several other client endpoints so I chose not to linger and spend any time troubleshooting a platform I am in the middle of trying to make obsolete.

I am not in a hurry to go DSM 7, I have seen a lot of posts related to heartburn for various other apps so I will let the dust settle before jumping on it. Will stick to DSM 6.2.4.x for the time being until there is a compelling reason to go to DSM 7.