Apple TV + Synology NAS + Infuse Pro

[shifomu]

Hi all,

I'm about to bite the bullet and grab myself a Synology NAS. I have a setup in my mind that I believe will work but I need some confirmation as I have read conflicting answers whilst researching different forums.

From my understanding, the Synology NAS drives do not support DTS which is worrying because a lot of my MKV/h264 files have DTS audio. Currently I have movies locally stored on my iPhone in the Infuse Pro app and they stream to my TV fine via Airplay (including MKV/h264/DTS files)

If I were to stream via NAS > iPhone > Apple TV would everything still work the same?

Out of curiosity what would happen if I threw an .AVI file in the mix?

I'm currently looking at the DS215j as I believe it is a good entry level NAS but I understand it cannot transcode.

If transcoding is needed then I am willing to stretch for a DS214+/Play.

Any input would be really appreciated

 

[salohcin]

I don't have any experience with the Infuse Pro app, but I do have a Synology NAS (DS2413+). If you go for the DS214+/Play for the local transcoding aspect be warned that it might have trouble with high bitrate 1080p videos. I tried to get Plex to run locally on my NAS and although it worked fine for standard definition videos it had trouble transcoding and streaming my high quality 1080p files. I don't know if it was because the bitrate was too high or maybe because Plex is a 3rd party app and not the "built in" Synology Video Station app, but I had to install the Plex server on my 2012 Mac Mini to get it to work properly. It probably doesn't help that my Synology is a slightly older model, but I believe its processor is still more powerful than the one in the DS214+/Play.

I think what you're looking to do could possibly be done with the Video Station on the Synology and the DS Video app on the iPhone, but I would have to test it out to be sure. I'm not sure how well .AVI files would work in that system. It might be that the DS Video app on the phone would transcode the .AVI file and stream it to the Apple TV. Again, I'd have to run some tests (all my files are in the Apple TV friendly m4v format so I've never had to figure this out). I can run a few tests on my system when I get home tonight if you'd like.

Oh, and I also have some MKV/h.264/DTS files as rip backups so I can test that out as well.

 

[shifomu]

I don't have any experience with the Infuse Pro app, but I do have a Synology NAS (DS2413+). If you go for the DS214+/Play for the local transcoding aspect be warned that it might have trouble with high bitrate 1080p videos. I tried to get Plex to run locally on my NAS and although it worked fine for standard definition videos it had trouble transcoding and streaming my high quality 1080p files. I don't know if it was because the bitrate was too high or maybe because Plex is a 3rd party app and not the "built in" Synology Video Station app, but I had to install the Plex server on my 2012 Mac Mini to get it to work properly. It probably doesn't help that my Synology is a slightly older model, but I believe its processor is still more powerful than the one in the DS214+/Play.

I think what you're looking to do could possibly be done with the Video Station on the Synology and the DS Video app on the iPhone, but I would have to test it out to be sure. I'm not sure how well .AVI files would work in that system. It might be that the DS Video app on the phone would transcode the .AVI file and stream it to the Apple TV. Again, I'd have to run some tests (all my files are in the Apple TV friendly m4v format so I've never had to figure this out). I can run a few tests on my system when I get home tonight if you'd like.

Oh, and I also have some MKV/h.264/DTS files as rip backups so I can test that out as well.

Yes you're not the first person to mention the transcoding abilities of the DS214+ so thank you for confirming that. Having a desktop or a laptop as a Plex server isn't really an option for me as I'm trying to slim down the amount of devices I need haha. It would be super awesome and totally appreciated if you could find out how the .AVI files (or any other non apple tv compliant codecs for that matter) run via DS video. Please let me know how you get on with DTS files too. Thanks so much!!

 

[SpinalTap]

Unlike Synology, the QNAP TS-251 sports a dual-core 2.41Ghz Intel processor. A bit more buys you a faster quad-core TS-253 Pro. This means that the QNAP has ample horsepower to transcode PLEX.

Both QNAP units have HDMI output for direct connection to your television. Plus, a QNAP will easily stream content to an AppleTV without the intervention of a Mac/PC.

The specification also states that the unit offers 7.1 audio output.

Here in the UK, Amazon offers the best deal.

 

[shifomu]

Unlike Synology, the QNAP TS-251 sports a dual-core 2.41Ghz Intel processor. A bit more buys you a faster quad-core TS-253 Pro. This means that the QNAP has ample horsepower to transcode PLEX.

Both QNAP units have HDMI output for direct connection to your television. Plus, a QNAP will easily stream content to an AppleTV without the intervention of a Mac/PC.

The specification also states that the unit offers 7.1 audio output.

Here in the UK, Amazon offers the best deal.

It's funny you should mention the QNAP TS-251 because after posting this thread I came across it and whilst it is double the price of the 215j it does seem better value for money. My only concern is the software side as people rave about Synology' software. Do you know if it has the same ability as the 215j where I can remotely start a torrent from my phone? (Synology has DS download for example)

 

[salohcin]

So I ran some tests tonight and here's what I found:

AVIs work fine. Granted the quality of the AVI files that I was able to dig up wasn't that great, but they did work with Airplay from the DS Video app.

I then tried a lower quality MKV (about 900 MB file for a 2 hour movie) and that worked fine as well. It did not have DTS audio though.

Then I tried a straight Blu-ray rip MKV (24 GB file for a 2 hour movie) that did have DTS audio. That didn't fare so well. The file wouldn't play at all if I selected the DTS audio track. When I selected the AC3 audio track it played, but the whole screen would flash green every couple of seconds making it unwatchable. A file with a lower bitrate and using the AC3 audio track might have worked just fine though.

I then tried some my larger M4V iTunes files that had failed with Plex and they streamed perfectly. I suspect the reason for that was that Plex re-transcodes everything on the fly, but the DS Video app/Video Station on the NAS knew it didn't need to transcode the the M4V file before streaming it.

So, it looks like it will do a lot of what you want to do, but unfortunately not all of it. It looks like it's not going to be able to handle the DTS audio or larger files. However, it does appear to be a slightly better option than Plex, at least for your situation.

 

[AtomicGrog]

Personally I think the whole idea is bad. The concept of NAS > Phone > ATV > TV could simply be replaced with NAS > TV if you used a QNAP (Like a TSx69L etc.) which has the ability to run XBMC and has a HMDI Output. Or use a cheaper NAS with a Raspberry Pi 2 with XBMC on it...

Also, XBMC can also act as a Airplay receiver so u can still stream from iPhone...

The benefit of this approach is that it's (a) cheaper if you dont have to buy an ATV and can consolidate onto NAS (b) there isnt a continuing reliance on the iPhone over airplay which to me is a big + (from experience).

 

[shifomu]

So I ran some tests tonight and here's what I found:

AVIs work fine. Granted the quality of the AVI files that I was able to dig up wasn't that great, but they did work with Airplay from the DS Video app.

I then tried a lower quality MKV (about 900 MB file for a 2 hour movie) and that worked fine as well. It did not have DTS audio though.

Then I tried a straight Blu-ray rip MKV (24 GB file for a 2 hour movie) that did have DTS audio. That didn't fare so well. The file wouldn't play at all if I selected the DTS audio track. When I selected the AC3 audio track it played, but the whole screen would flash green every couple of seconds making it unwatchable. A file with a lower bitrate and using the AC3 audio track might have worked just fine though.

I then tried some my larger M4V iTunes files that had failed with Plex and they streamed perfectly. I suspect the reason for that was that Plex re-transcodes everything on the fly, but the DS Video app/Video Station on the NAS knew it didn't need to transcode the the M4V file before streaming it.

So, it looks like it will do a lot of what you want to do, but unfortunately not all of it. It looks like it's not going to be able to handle the DTS audio or larger files. However, it does appear to be a slightly better option than Plex, at least for your situation.

Thanks for your tests, I was surprised the .AVI worked so that's good but a shame about DTS stuff. However infuse pro has DTS support (this is how I've been able to play DTS files so far directly from my phone) so I'm hoping that if I use Infuse instead of DS video it should in theory play okay.