Is Synology DS218+ a good NAS for Plex 4K playback?

Best answer: Synology DS218+ can stream 4K media to compatible devices, so long as you don't need to transcode.

Amazon: Synology DS218+ ($250)

Capable of decoding 4K media

It's important to get the differences between decoding and transcoding out the way first. The former is the decoding of media for playback. The latter is far more intensive since it requires the host device (in this case the Synology DS218+) to not only decode the media file, but also convert it to another format and then stream it if the destination doesn't support the original file format.

So say you have a 4K TV and the DS218+ hooked up on the same network. Both support the same 4K file format (.mkv in this example), you're good to go. The DS218+ will stream the 4K content to the TV and you'll be able to enjoy your favorite movies stored on the NAS. If your TV doesn't support the same file format (say it's an older TV model), you're going to have to downgrade it to 1080p.

Not powerful enough to transcode in 4K

The Intel Celeron J3355 2.0Ghz processor found within the DS218+ simply isn't capable of handling 4K transcoding. Not many NAS models from the majority of major vendors include processors with the right features to facilitate 4K transcoding — it's just something we're going to have to put up with.

The DS218+ can transcode up to 1080p, so not all is lost. Just make sure your output devices can handle the same file formats you plan on streaming and the DS218+ will be a perfect Plex server.

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