• QNAP
  
• Synology
• Netgear ReadyNAS
• Drobo
• Seagate NAS
• Western Digital MyCloud 

So, you’ve decided to buy a NAS for your Plex Media Server. But how do you know which one is the most suitable? The prices for Network-Attached Storage have really tumbled down in recent years and for as little as £100, you can really pick up a bargain. However before you get your wallet out, it’s worth remembering that those these lower end, home NAS devices will support Plex, they will not have sufficient hardware power to display a 1080p (HD) video file to your other Plex enabled devices. This is all down to something called ‘Transcoding’. Transcoding is the ability to take a large/small file and then change/convert it to a more suitable/optimised version for your destination device. For example. Your 4GB 1080p MKV file may look incredible on your Smart TV… but once you start streaming it your iPad, you will have a file that is too big, too laggy and less suitable for your device. This also works the other way around for larger devices and inevitably is the main reason many will spend the extra £100 and get a superior NAS. When you access a file via plex, the following will occur:

• Once clicked, Plex will request information on the media from the Server (your NAS)

• When it has media information, alongside with the available settings settings (such as Direct Play, Stream Quality, Direct Stream settings), Plex will determine whether it can play the media directly from the NAS as it is (Direct Play) or whether it will need help from the Server to adapt the file.

• If Plex requires hardware assistance, the NAS will automatically attempt to transcode the media file to a format that the Plex software on the destination device can use.

• The Plex software on the destination device will continue to play the file in the new format and will continue to do so as long as the NAS can continue to trancode the media quicker than the file is played. Otherwise the NAS will automatically downscale the file more to ease transit (lowing it to 480p for example).

So now you know about Plex Media Server and Transcoding. Now the most important bit… the Hardware. Just because a NAS is expensive, doesn’t mean it is suitable for your perfect, 1080p Plex NAS server. A number of factors effect a Network Attached Storage unit’s ability to comfortably run a Plex Server, from Memory and Manufacturer to software and Plugins. However the most important factory of all is the CPU. The processor of the NAS device is important because within its coding, it will have its own strength and weaknesses in the field of transcoding.


Typically NAS units use one of three kinds of CPU. 

An x86 Processor – A high end chip that (if more than 2.0Ghz in frequency and dual/quad cores) will be able to handle transcoding with relative ease across all your Plex enabled devices all the way upto 1080p High Definition and is even popping up in 4K UHD Devices. These are typically found in the majority of QNAP and higher end Synology devices.

An ARM Processor – These are less proficient than the x86 chip and will struggle transcoding at 1080p and may even have difficulty at 720p High Definition. These are typically found in home and small business units (Synology 2 BAY units, as well as WD My Cloud and Seagate NAS). However they are still a very prominent CPU and an excellent NAS processor in general.

A PPC (Power PC) Processor – Very much the lower end of the spectrum. These Processors are not particularly capable of any kind of real-time transcoding and will struggle to give you the optimal output via your Plex Media Server to your Network Enabled Device. We generally do not recommend them for in a Plex Media Server environment and are found in low end, budget NAS devices.

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