Part Two of my QTS 4.0 upgrade article shows the installation of Plex media server on the NAS and gives my overall impressions of QTS 4.0. Read on for details!
Part Two of my QTS 4.0 upgrade article shows the installation of Plex media server on the NAS and gives my overall impressions of QTS 4.0. Plex is a great media streaming service that includes a great interface, easy streaming and really nice meta data. The ARM-based TS-419P+ is not officially supported, but Plex works just fine as long as you can live without transcoding. Here is a brief summary of Plex:
Overview
The Plex Media Server is smart software that makes playing Movies, TV Shows and other media on your computer simple. It’s been designed from the ground up to work automatically in your home network with a variety of devices – like an LG 2011 Netcast TV, Plex Client for Mac OS X, or numerous Mobile Devices like your iPhone, iPad or Android device.
What Does the Plex Media Server do?
It’s easy to watch movie files on a computer monitor. But, what happens when your collection starts to get large? How do you find the show you want to watch easily? How do you know you’ve watched an episode, or where you stopped it last night? How do you share the media files over several screens? What about content from the Internet?
The Plex Media Server solves these problems by gathering information about your media and storing it on a single Mac or Windows PC Server. Connect one or more of the many Plex clients available and your media is instantly available on any of them. The Plex Media Server learns what each movie file actually is and then visits Movie and TV Show websites. It gathers information like plot summaries, posters – even TV Show theme music. This metadata is displayed in the Plex Client so choosing the show to watch a rich and exciting experience. The Plex Media Server also supports plug-ins that let you watch content from the Internet as easily as other media.
Streaming Support
Central to the Plex Media Server is a powerful and cleverly designed transcoding engine. This supports a rich variety of mobile devices, low cost platforms and other possibilities.
What is Transcoding?
Transcoding is the process of converting a media file from one resolution or compression format to another. For example, you might transcode a full 1080p to 720p, or from VC-1 encoding to H.264. The original file is read, then re-saved in the new resolution and codec, possibly in a different file container.
Why is transcoding useful in Plex?
Plex Media Server can ‘stream’ media files to various Plex clients. Some run on powerful computers like Plex for Mac OS X whilst others run on low powered mobile handsets. Some support full 1080p resolutions while others have smaller low resolution screens. Most of the mobile platforms connect over Wifi or 3G networks where streaming full resolution media would choke the network. All in all, it’s extremely difficult to play full resolution media on mobile platforms.
The solution is to transcode the media to a version optimized specifically for the device playing it. Plex Media Server transcodes media on-the-fly and streams the optimized version to the device. This way, a low resolution device is able to play high resolution media smoothly and over it’s wireless network constraints.
Even better, transcoding means that a mobile device can handle a huge range of media file formats, codecs and resolutions. The transcoding process means that the client only ever receives a single format or codec. This is important as many mobile devices have hardware decoders that only handle a single codec. For you, it means that as long as the Plex Media Server supports the codec, so will your mobile device, thanks to transcoding.
Direct Stream and Direct Play
Transcoding media is important for smaller devices like a mobile phone or tablet. There is another class of device that are low-cost but extremely capable players – like the AppleTV. These devices can generally play higher resolution files, but work best with particular codecs. So, if you have a high resolution media fie encoded with the wrong codec, the file will need to be transcoded with the correct codec. The Plex Media Server handles these situations with smart transcoding, Direct Play and Direct Stream.
Direct Play
During the media analysis phase, the Plex Media Server looks at certain attributes of your media (resolution, bitrate, etc.). When a client requests a piece of media, the server looks at the client’s capabilities, compares them to the media parameters, and makes a determination as to whether or not the file can be directly played on the device. For example, if you have a properly prepared MP4 file, it’ll play without any transcoding on an iOS device. Tiny CPU usage, and no loss in quality. If you had a movie in MKV format and also encoded it for mobile devices (and both versions scanned into your library), the media server is smart enough to mark the specific version of the file as playable by the device.
Direct Streaming
Most of these devices support hardware decoding of the H.264 codec, but may not support a particular file format. When a client connects to the Plex Media Server, it describes its capabilities, and if the file falls within the acceptable range, the video is simply copied over to a compatible format (a process known as re-muxing). This again means that there is very little CPU used on the server side, and no loss in quality in the video. Streams start up nearly instantly, and seek quickly.
Smart Transcoding
Transcoding is handled smartly. If you have a media file that is partly compatible with the Client – maybe the video portion is correct but the audio is not – the process is smart enough to only transcode what’s necessary and stream that to the client.
