Reply To: Playing Mkv Files Local Network

[dave]

@sarah “Capable” might mean that it has the necessary software but not necessarily that it has the actual processing power to deal with transcoding a good quality video file on the fly. It depends an awful lot on the input and output codecs and the quality/bitrate. Often you’ll see a certain NAS being described as capable of transcoding, say, 720p but not full HD. Even then, given that it’s always a rough estimate depending on all kinds of factors beyond resolution, I think it’s safe to assume that the manufacturers are leaning towards optimistic assessments that make their boxes look more capable than they are in practice.

The help files for Plex suggest a Passmark score of at least 1000 for full HD transcoding. It’s a common CPU benchmark and you can look up your processor’s score online. Some hardware can be faster with certain codecs but that hardware acceleration tends to be very fussy about codec.