Help needed: New Synology DS415Play NAS

[georgekirc]

Hi there, first post on the forum so here goes. After having 10 years worth of external hard drives, time capsules etc. of data lying all around the study i decided the only sensible way was to go for NAS. I also decided to hardwire Cat 5E cable around the house while i was at it (in for a penny...in for a pound!). This is my setup:

Synology Nas hardwired into SKY router
Sky router (via switch) Hardwired to PS3
Sky router (via switch) Hardwired to PS4
Sky router (via switch) Hardwired to Apple TV
Old airport extreme (doesn't seem to be working)
Apple Time Capsule (not yet connected to anything)
Wireless Access Point hardwired upstairs connected to Sky Router

I have got so far in building my digital universe. I would like my whole family with iPads/iPhones/PS3/PS4/App TV to be able to stream content from the NAS. So far they can access everything (music, photos, files) but Video is the real problem. I am ripping my DVD's using Handbrake but the files won't even play on my MacBook never mind anything else. I want the best possible quality but the files are very jumpy and totally unwatchable. Apparently the NAS decodes 1080p (Not sure what that means), but what is the best settings to be ripping my DVDs at and i have also read something about makemkv??

Sorry but I'm totally baffled!!! Help appreciated....

 

[AFEPPL]

What are you using on the NAS drive - are you trying to encode direct?
Just use iTunes on a device linked to the NAS.

I tried handbrake, but I'm using Leawo now - its much quicker.
Have you put the AE into bridge mode now its connected by Ethernet? (although apple devices don't play well with other routers)...

 

[georgekirc]

Using DS apps on mobile devices and they are all working fine...except video. I think the issues are to do with my settings in Handbrake...bit rate etc. The article below seems to suggest that my internet speed is an issue....I'm getting 5.69 download and 0.9 upload...surely this doesn't matter if I am using this in my own house on the network???

https://www.synology.com/en-us/knowledgebase/faq/601

 

[Attonine]

Using DS apps on mobile devices and they are all working fine...except video. I think the issues are to do with my settings in Handbrake...bit rate etc. The article below seems to suggest that my internet speed is an issue....I'm getting 5.69 download and 0.9 upload...surely this doesn't matter if I am using this in my own house on the network???

https://www.synology.com/en-us/knowledgebase/faq/601

Your internet speed is irrelevant to your house network. You LAN, or house network will be much, much faster than you internet speed.

It sounds to me like your Handbrake settings are causing a problem. There is an issue that you have several different iOS devices, and depending on their generations, they may not all be able to read the same Handbrake rip, they certainly won't be able to read the "best possible quality" settings. Identify the lowest specced iOS device you wish to use to view the Handbrake rip. Use the preset for this device in Handbrake. For now, just use the presets, don't try to do anything fancy.

I would also suggest to check how you have things filed on the NAS. If you are using iTunes as your media manager, it's best to do what iTunes wants, so in relation to the NAS, direct the iTunes media library to the music folder and make sure ALL media, including video is copied there, do not separate things into the Video folder.

I don't think, with what you are doing, the NAS is going to be decoding, as you are using Handbrake to transcode the files into the correct format. Just for reference I use 413j and 414j Synology Nas's for exactly the purposes you are trying and have no video problems at all.

Try these two things and report back.

 

[AFEPPL]

Use one of the many free network tools to measure the available bandwidth to the devices in question. Then you can use something like VLC to get the bit rate requirements for the movie/rip you are trying to play. For anything on the internal hardwired network it would be unusual for this to be linked to throughput, but wireless can get issues with too many networks creating noise. If your bandwidth over the wireless is low, try changing channels or going hardwired (not easy for iOS devices).