NAS for plex render?

My Cloud OS 3 Personal & Network Attached Storage My Cloud
1

Hi All!

Anyone know which NAS could render (be powerfull enough) external subtitles on PLEASE?

Thank you!

2

I’m not sure of your question. The embedded media server (Twonky) in the lower end My Clouds will pass along SRT subtitle files (if they are present and contain the exact same name as the movie file) when the movie is streamed. Its up to the DLNA client to properly support SRT subtitle files.

If you are asking which My Cloud version is capable of running Plex, then see the following WD website link:
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/plex/Default.aspx

And see the Plex NAS Compatibility document: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1MfYoJkiwSqCXg8cm5-Ac4oOLPRtCkgUxU0jdj3tmMPc/edit#gid=314388488. That document lists the following My Cloud units as being supported:
My Cloud Mirror Gen1
My Cloud EX2
My Cloud EX4
My Cloud EX2100
My Cloud EX4100
My Cloud DL2100
My Cloud DL4100

That document also indicates that transcoding media may not work or be supported due to the processor within the My Cloud not being capable enough.

The single bay My Cloud units do not officially support Plex being embedded within the My Cloud Firmware at this time. However, unofficially there may be ways to get the Plex Media Server running on the single bay My Cloud units if one replaces the existing OS with another. See the following link for more information:

https://community.wd.com/t/using-plex-media-server-with-my-cloud/94429/13

3

I did manage to get Plex working, on the MyCloud Gen1, but as I expected it’s just not really worth the time and effort.

Few things to consider;

  • Plex updates are rapid and having a version mismatch is common.
  • You could Stream/Index but Transcode is a no go, that said most NAS cannot transcode Plex very well.

My advice would be to use Plex on your PC/Mac and Map your network drives / shares.

Hope this helps.

4

Or to use Kodi. It all depends on the needs.
For Kodi, the transcoding is on the client. No need to run any server software.

MBL has all my media files, photos, movies, music. My 3x PCs, 2x phones, 3x tablets. All using Kodi for client. All LAN though.

5

Thank you for your answers… Yes i need trascoding.

I will try kodi!

6

Just to make sure it is all clear. Any video playing will need transcoding.
Now whether this is done at the client vs the server, it all depends on your needs.

7

Media only needs transcoding (converting from one format to another) if the client does not support the media type and resolution of the stored file.

If the player client supports the media type of the stored file, it only needs to do decoding.

Media codecs are usually defined such that decoding is a fairly computationally simple task, but the encoding is often much more complex, since it requires a lot of analysis. That’s why transcoding is computationally intensive, because it has to decode the video (lightweight) and the re-encode it (heavyweight task).

8

@cpt_paranoia

:grinning:, yes I know about the transcoding vs decoding. Just was trying to keep it simple for the requester :slight_smile: but you are right, I should had said “Any video playing will need transcoding/decoding”.