Which QNAP would meet my needs?? Help me spend my money.

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itpromike@gmail.com
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Which QNAP would meet my needs?? Help me spend my money.

Post by itpromike@gmail.com »

Ok so I currently have an old Synology I’m switching from. My current setup consists of a 12TB volume connected to a Mac Mini which is my Plex Server and Homebridge server. I’ve been pricing out an unRAID setup based on some good recommendations I received however that had its own challenges… namely, buying the right components, building it, optimizing it over time for the right balance of power/performance. That got me to thinking about QNAP which has a wider variety of NAS to choose from. What I need is simple:

1.) A rock solid Plex machine that can transcode at least 4 1080P streams at once
2.) At least 6 drive bays but preferably 8
3.) Can run Homebridge docker container
4.) Can download and seed torrents
5.) Can run several other containers I’d need be

Is there a unit like this? I checked out TVS-627x and TVS-827x but they sure are expensive and I’m not convinced about how they would do with Plex performance. I can stomach up to $1300’ish (+/-) if it truly meet all my needs.

Will these units do what I need them to?
Are there cheaper units that would do what I needed? Maybe with GPU upgrade using the pics slots?

I’ve never owned QNAP so I don’t know their capabilities or even how mature or polished their software stack is compared to Synology.

Any guidance would be helpful. Thanks!
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Moogle Stiltzkin
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Re: Which QNAP would meet my needs?? Help me spend my money.

Post by Moogle Stiltzkin »

4 simultaneous streams? live transcoding?

not too sure about that but you can check here

https://support.plex.tv/articles/200375 ... uirements/

https://support.plex.tv/articles/201373 ... lity-list/


more specifically here
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... 0jdj3tmMPc


if you get an intel celeron model there is the ts-x53d series.

or other options like ryzen or intel i3 etc such as

TS-h973AX

TS-673A

TVS-672X


you can browse here
https://www.qnap.com/en/product/


i just listed the models that i think are good. especially the ts-673a series which has

- ryzen cpu
- quts hero os (this is zfs linux)
- ecc ram support
- other modern connectivity options were added in this series

if you have the budget, i highly recommend you go for the quts hero labelled models (not the very highest one. but something like x73a is good)

a cheaper option than that would be something like the x53d series, but these are on qts os if you don't mind being stuck with ext 4 linux filesystem compared to the newer zfs linux option. also with this series it's an intel cpu so if you have a plex pass you can do the intel quick sync :' will that be enuff for your 4 streams requirements? i don't know that. i usually just do 1 streams at a time for live transcodes :)


you can check rob's channel he did some plex transcode tests

QNAP TS-873A NAS Plex Tests - 4K & 1080p
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA3wGOA4Ss4



if you're not familiar with qnap maybe this will help

How to Configure Plex on your QNAP NAS running QuTS Hero
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbjQbkDsAAU

to install plex on your qnap, you do it from appcenter. You go to the official plex site, download the qpkg file, then install on your qnap. easy.

other option is to setup qnap container station, then install the plex docker app.


there is also an alternative to plex which is kodi. kodi can be downloaded from here and is actively maintained. or also via container station (docker)
https://qnapclub.eu/en

1.) A rock solid Plex machine that can transcode at least 4 1080P streams at once
refer to plex requirements, the google sheet and also robs plex testing videos. or maybe someone else will come along to tell you

2.) At least 6 drive bays but preferably 8
the series mentioned has that many bays. cept the x53d series which is up to 6bays if not mistaken?
3.) Can run Homebridge docker container
4.) Can download and seed torrents
5.) Can run several other containers I’d need be
yes no problem. as for the torrent you can either use a torrent qpkg or go install a torrent client docker app of your choice.
NAS
[Main Server] QNAP TS-877 (QTS) w. 4tb [ 3x HGST Deskstar NAS & 1x WD RED NAS ] EXT4 Raid5 & 2 x m.2 SATA Samsung 850 Evo raid1 +16gb ddr4 Crucial+ QWA-AC2600 wireless+QXP PCIE
[Backup] QNAP TS-653A (Truenas Core) w. 4x 2TB Samsung F3 (HD203WI) RaidZ1 ZFS + 8gb ddr3 Crucial
[^] QNAP TL-D400S 2x 4TB WD Red Nas (WD40EFRX) 2x 4TB Seagate Ironwolf, Raid5
[^] QNAP TS-509 Pro w. 4x 1TB WD RE3 (WD1002FBYS) EXT4 Raid5
[^] QNAP TS-253D (Truenas Scale)
[Mobile NAS] TBS-453DX w. 2x Crucial MX500 500gb EXT4 raid1

Network
Qotom Pfsense|100mbps FTTH | Win11, Ryzen 5600X Desktop (1x2tb Crucial P50 Plus M.2 SSD, 1x 8tb seagate Ironwolf,1x 4tb HGST Ultrastar 7K4000)


Resources
[Review] Moogle's QNAP experience
[Review] Moogle's TS-877 review
https://www.patreon.com/mooglestiltzkin
itpromike@gmail.com
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Posts: 24
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Re: Which QNAP would meet my needs?? Help me spend my money.

Post by itpromike@gmail.com »

Moogle Stiltzkin wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 9:11 am
more specifically here
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... 0jdj3tmMPc
Thanks so much for the detailed response! Any idea where else I can see this list? The link is giving me an access denied. I think they had too many views on the document for a single account or something.

I'm really torn between an AMD mode or intel one... With intel, I can use QS for hardware accelerated transcoding... with the AMD I'd have to get a separate GPU which I'm ok with however how do I know which GPU's work with a QNAP and how stable a QNAP is with a GPU?
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Moogle Stiltzkin
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Re: Which QNAP would meet my needs?? Help me spend my money.

Post by Moogle Stiltzkin »

itpromike@gmail.com wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 11:06 am
Thanks so much for the detailed response! Any idea where else I can see this list? The link is giving me an access denied. I think they had too many views on the document for a single account or something.
tbh i don't know either. it was working not too long ago, not sure what changed. you might be able to find more about it on the plex forum since i believe they are maintaining that list.
itpromike@gmail.com wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 11:06 am I'm really torn between an AMD mode or intel one... With intel, I can use QS for hardware accelerated transcoding... with the AMD I'd have to get a separate GPU which I'm ok with however how do I know which GPU's work with a QNAP and how stable a QNAP is with a GPU?
with an intel cpu, you can use quicksync for plex. but that requires a plex pass in order to use.

for an amd cpu, if the cpu is good enuff, you can do software x264 transcoding and it will be fine.

or if not, the other option is to install the nvidia graphics card (in a nas model that supports it), then use plex video card transcoding (requires a plex pass as well)
NAS
[Main Server] QNAP TS-877 (QTS) w. 4tb [ 3x HGST Deskstar NAS & 1x WD RED NAS ] EXT4 Raid5 & 2 x m.2 SATA Samsung 850 Evo raid1 +16gb ddr4 Crucial+ QWA-AC2600 wireless+QXP PCIE
[Backup] QNAP TS-653A (Truenas Core) w. 4x 2TB Samsung F3 (HD203WI) RaidZ1 ZFS + 8gb ddr3 Crucial
[^] QNAP TL-D400S 2x 4TB WD Red Nas (WD40EFRX) 2x 4TB Seagate Ironwolf, Raid5
[^] QNAP TS-509 Pro w. 4x 1TB WD RE3 (WD1002FBYS) EXT4 Raid5
[^] QNAP TS-253D (Truenas Scale)
[Mobile NAS] TBS-453DX w. 2x Crucial MX500 500gb EXT4 raid1

Network
Qotom Pfsense|100mbps FTTH | Win11, Ryzen 5600X Desktop (1x2tb Crucial P50 Plus M.2 SSD, 1x 8tb seagate Ironwolf,1x 4tb HGST Ultrastar 7K4000)


Resources
[Review] Moogle's QNAP experience
[Review] Moogle's TS-877 review
https://www.patreon.com/mooglestiltzkin
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jaysona
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Re: Which QNAP would meet my needs?? Help me spend my money.

Post by jaysona »

itpromike@gmail.com wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 8:37 am ...
1.) A rock solid Plex machine that can transcode at least 4 1080P streams at once
1080p is meaningless, what is improtant is the codec and bit depth. Are you transcoding AVC or HEVC, 8-bit or 10-bit? Is it 1080p -> 1080p or 1080p -> 720p transcodig, etc, etc, etc?
2.) At least 6 drive bays but preferably 8
3.) Can run Homebridge docker container
4.) Can download and seed torrents
5.) Can run several other containers I’d need be
How many running at the same time? How much memory and CPU resources will be consumed with the docker and containers?
Is there a unit like this? I checked out TVS-627x and TVS-827x but they sure are expensive and I’m not convinced about how they would do with Plex performance. I can stomach up to $1300’ish (+/-) if it truly meet all my needs.
There are plenty of units that meet the technical requirements, but not at the price point you are willing to pay.

The only unit I can think of that will meet your price point is the TS-653d with 8Giug RAM. It has a Gemini Lake based CPU which means hardware transcoding for all the commonly used codecs for the torrents you'll be downloading. 8Gig of RAM is a bit on the low side for the all the dockers and containers, but it will be usable, performance won't be stellar, but it will work.

Forget about any AMD CPU for use with plex where transcoding is involved.
RAID is not a Back-up!

H/W: QNAP TVS-871 (i7-4790. 16GB) (Plex server) / TVS-EC1080 (32Gig ECC) - VM host & seedbox
H/W: Asustor AS6604T (8GB) / Asustor AS7010T (16GB) (media storage)
H/W: TS-219 Pro / TS-509 Pro
O/S: Slackware 14.2 / MS Windows 7-64 (x5)
Router1: Asus RT-AC86U - Asuswrt-Merlin - 386.7_2
Router2: Asus RT-AC68U - Asuswrt-Merlin - 386.7_2
Router3: Linksys WRT1900AC - DD-WRT v3.0-r46816 std
Router4: Asus RT-AC66U - FreshTomato v2021.10.15

Misc: Popcorn Hour A-110/WN-100, Pinnacle Show Center 250HD, Roku SoundBridge Radio (all retired)
Ditched QNAP units: TS-269 Pro / TS-253 Pro (8GB) / TS-509 Pro / TS-569 Pro / TS-853 Pro (8GB)
TS-670 Pro x2 (i7-3770s 16GB) / TS-870 Pro (i7-3770 16GB) / TVS-871 (i7-4790s 16GB)
itpromike@gmail.com
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Posts: 24
Joined: Tue May 18, 2021 8:32 am

Re: Which QNAP would meet my needs?? Help me spend my money.

Post by itpromike@gmail.com »

jaysona wrote: Wed May 19, 2021 12:47 am
itpromike@gmail.com wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 8:37 am ...
1.) A rock solid Plex machine that can transcode at least 4 1080P streams at once
1080p is meaningless, what is improtant is the codec and bit depth. Are you transcoding AVC or HEVC, 8-bit or 10-bit? Is it 1080p -> 1080p or 1080p -> 720p transcodig, etc, etc, etc?
2.) At least 6 drive bays but preferably 8
3.) Can run Homebridge docker container
4.) Can download and seed torrents
5.) Can run several other containers I’d need be
How many running at the same time? How much memory and CPU resources will be consumed with the docker and containers?
Is there a unit like this? I checked out TVS-627x and TVS-827x but they sure are expensive and I’m not convinced about how they would do with Plex performance. I can stomach up to $1300’ish (+/-) if it truly meet all my needs.
There are plenty of units that meet the technical requirements, but not at the price point you are willing to pay.

The only unit I can think of that will meet your price point is the TS-653d with 8Giug RAM. It has a Gemini Lake based CPU which means hardware transcoding for all the commonly used codecs for the torrents you'll be downloading. 8Gig of RAM is a bit on the low side for the all the dockers and containers, but it will be usable, performance won't be stellar, but it will work.

Forget about any AMD CPU for use with plex where transcoding is involved.
Thanks for the reply here is the additional context that might be helpful...

1.) 1080P mkv files that are MOSTLY 8bit. There could be a 10bit file here or there. It would transcode to 720 at the lowest. Also all the streaming device that would be connected are Apple devices
2.) The most important things are simultaneous Plex streaming and the Homebridge container... anything else is extra for fun
3.) The price point is $1300 not including drives - just the unit itself. I'm willing to do only 6 drives to have more money for RAM upgrades or even just schedule out RAM upgrades over the next months.
4.) I'm also open to a model which doesn't do hardware transcoding but I can add a discrete GPU in a couple months.

Thanks!!!!
User avatar
jaysona
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Posts: 846
Joined: Tue Dec 02, 2008 11:26 am
Location: Somewhere in the Great White North

Re: Which QNAP would meet my needs?? Help me spend my money.

Post by jaysona »

The TS-653D is the only unit I can think of that is within your price range and ticks off the boxes. You'll have a few dollars left over for RAM upgrades or bigger hard drives.

Stick with the Intel CPU and Quicksync, forget AMD and GPUs for plex and your price range, plus with the GPU, h/w transcoding capability is at the convenience of NVIDIA and their fickle support of Linux, one day NVIDIA may decide to once again limit the number of h/w transocde streams or remove Linux support all together.
RAID is not a Back-up!

H/W: QNAP TVS-871 (i7-4790. 16GB) (Plex server) / TVS-EC1080 (32Gig ECC) - VM host & seedbox
H/W: Asustor AS6604T (8GB) / Asustor AS7010T (16GB) (media storage)
H/W: TS-219 Pro / TS-509 Pro
O/S: Slackware 14.2 / MS Windows 7-64 (x5)
Router1: Asus RT-AC86U - Asuswrt-Merlin - 386.7_2
Router2: Asus RT-AC68U - Asuswrt-Merlin - 386.7_2
Router3: Linksys WRT1900AC - DD-WRT v3.0-r46816 std
Router4: Asus RT-AC66U - FreshTomato v2021.10.15

Misc: Popcorn Hour A-110/WN-100, Pinnacle Show Center 250HD, Roku SoundBridge Radio (all retired)
Ditched QNAP units: TS-269 Pro / TS-253 Pro (8GB) / TS-509 Pro / TS-569 Pro / TS-853 Pro (8GB)
TS-670 Pro x2 (i7-3770s 16GB) / TS-870 Pro (i7-3770 16GB) / TVS-871 (i7-4790s 16GB)
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