synology and transcoding

I've been thinking about getting a NAS unit. Synology appears to make the best in term of performance and operating system characteristics. I've heard that Serviio is also available as an installed application with Synology. I also heard from Synology that the 213 units and 213+ units do not transcode.

I currently use a Sony blu ray dvd player as a dlna server. Serviio on my old 2 GHz dual core PC works great. Serviio transcodes, otherwise the streams would not play. I would like to take the PC out of the mix. Does anyone know if the Serviio powered 213 or 213+ could support what I need to watch hulu and other channels and transcode as needed to a Sony or other brand DLNA player?

[slyguy42o]

I don't know alot about the device models but there has been some work on getting transcoding working on the non x86 based devices. Run a search for "fixed point transcoding"

I found the download page that refers to Serviio for Synology. It sort of answered my question. Apparently, the Synology processors are not powerful enough to transcode everything, but might be powerful enough to do what I want.

The 213 and 213+ have relatively powerful processors for a NAS. Also, I only want to stream hulu and cbs at average quality into a DLNA player so it can be sent into my TV over HDMI. My current renderer is a Sony Blu-Ray player. It has limited playback qualities without PC Serviio transcoding the signal first. It works great after Serviio does it's job. Can Synology / Serviio do the job with the Sony Blu Ray in this instance? If not, does anyone know for sure what player(s) will work?

Thanks much.

[patters]

It would be very unlikely for an online stream not to be H.264, and if you use a Sony Bluray player then it would only need remuxing - which even an ARM Synology NAS can do fine in realtime. If you need to transcode video (say to burn subtitles into a video stream), then perhaps the DS213 or DS213+ with their dual core PowerPC CPUs may be a lot better. Although I have managed to compile FFmpeg and get the Serviio Synology package working on those models without having one myself to test, I have had no feedback on whether they can manage realtime mpeg2video encoding. Want to be the guinea pig?

I am the owner of the previous version of synology server that is DS212. It is based on the single core procesor 1,6 GHz with 256 DDR3 RAM. Unfortunately it lacks power during transcoding process (subtitles) on Serviio 1.2, so I'm thinking on switching to DS713+ or DS413 (both are Dual Core D2700 Intel Atom 2,13GHz) . It is tricky whether the DS213 or DS213+ will do a thing. I would'n be so sure, so check before buying. Intel core processors from Atom family are significantly stronger.

Hi All,

I am interested in purchasing a Synology 212j NAS, but I'm not sure if it will be adequate to transcode vob inside mkv files to my 2 dlna devices (Samsung BD-D5500 and Panasonic VT20 TV). I am only new to Serviio and I'm not sure if the profiles are remuxing or transcoding to a new codec. I have tweaked the profiles with help from this forum and the files play perfectly when running from my PC. Could someone please advise if the Synology would be a suitable option, or if more RAM and processing power would be required.

Regards,

Scott

[patters]

Someone posted a comment on my pcloadletter page that the QorIQ CPUs aren't powerful enough for real time video transcoding unfortunately. Can anyone confirm the Atom CPUs are ok?

One guy from polish forum said that DS712+ manages to transcode movies on the fly without any lags or flickering... he has monocore Intel 1,8 GHz with 4 GB ram (changed from 1GB). But please someone confirm this on the basic configuration with ATOM. Marvell seems not to be strong enough to make movies run smoothly - it's a pity and a loss of money for me...

I am interested in purchasing a Synology 212j NAS, but I'm not sure if it will be adequate to transcode vob inside mkv files to my 2 dlna devices (Samsung BD-D5500 and Panasonic VT20 TV).

The DS 212j specs are: Marvell Kirkwood mv6281 1.2Ghz ARM (Marvell ARMADA 300) with 16-bit@DDR2, 256MB of RAM

I have stronger DS212 which is: Marvell Kirkwood mv6282 1.6Ghz ARM (Marvell ARMADA 300) with 16-bit@DDR3, 256MB of RAM

And it doesn't manage to transcode video on the basis of Serviio 1.2.

Thanks for the replies guys. I may have to build a server to make sure there is enough grunt to transcode. Is anyone able to advise what work serviio is doing to vob inside mkv file when using the Samsung C/D and Panasonic 2011 Profiles. I am new to Serviio and dont fully understand the code. I thought I read that remuxing requires a lot less cpu power but I am not sure if this is what Serviio is doing.

Thanks, Scott

[patters]

Assuming by VOB you mean the streams are mpeg2video then remuxing those from mkv containers is trivial - even the Marvell@1.2GHz could do that in realtime.

[NX3]

Atom D525 self built ubuntu box / glorified NAS. I can transcode on the fly 720p to mpeg2 max, 720p depending on the source file will only just about be real time so no ff / rw.

Simple remux of say mkv as I've got a Sony 2011 tv, it dumps the movie out in about 2 mins usually so remuxing doesn't need much grunt at all. I've even got a Raspberry Pi re-muxing no problem...

Per vob in mkv, you sure about that ? It seems a weird combination. Run Mediainfo on your mkv and report back what it really is?

Hello All,

I'm an very happy owner of a Synology NAS 1511+ (Intel Atom D525 Dualcore (2C/4T) 1.8GHz x86 Processor) and, honestly, I don't use Serviio.
So why do I post here ?

I use to have it installed on my NAS but since I don't really need to stream any video I removed it BUT I'm still using the ffmpeg to transcode my flac (and others) with Subsonic.
I copied ffmpeg from an older version and it work perfectly except for video ;o(

I tried to download couple of ffmpeg version over Internet to try solving my issue and I found yome version who does the job but take a long time to start stream (for video AND music).
My previous version was working instantly for music...

In order to be more precise, you will find the ffmpeg -version below of my original and perfectly working version (for music only) :

  Code:

Size of ffmpeg : 9775656

ffmpeg version 0.9-Serviio, Copyright (c) 2000-2011 the FFmpeg developers
  built on Dec 19 2011 01:25:07 with gcc 4.2.0
  configuration: --arch=x86_64 --enable-ssse3 --cross-prefix=x86_64-linux-gnu- --target-os=linux --prefix=/usr/local/x86_64-linux-gnu --extra-cflags=-I/usr/local/x86_64-linux-gnu/include --extra-ldflags=-L/tmp/lib --enable-static --disable-shared --disable-ffplay --disable-ffserver --enable-pthreads --enable-libmp3lame --enable-librtmp --pkg-config=pkg-config --extra-version=Serviio
  libavutil    51. 32. 0 / 51. 32. 0
  libavcodec   53. 42. 0 / 53. 42. 0
  libavformat  53. 24. 0 / 53. 24. 0
  libavdevice  53.  4. 0 / 53.  4. 0
  libavfilter   2. 53. 0 /  2. 53. 0
  libswscale    2.  1. 0 /  2.  1. 0
ffmpeg 0.9-Serviio
libavutil    51. 32. 0 / 51. 32. 0
libavcodec   53. 42. 0 / 53. 42. 0
libavformat  53. 24. 0 / 53. 24. 0
libavdevice  53.  4. 0 / 53.  4. 0
libavfilter   2. 53. 0 /  2. 53. 0
libswscale    2.  1. 0 /  2.  1. 0


Now, the same of a working one but who takes too much time to start and not really usable :

  Code:

Size of ffmpeg : 20537544

ffmpeg version N-37838-gea9a670
built on Mar 27 2013 22:04:43 with gcc 4.7 (Debian 4.7.2-5)
configuration: --extra-cflags=-I../static/include --extra-ldflags='-L../static/lib -static' --enable-gpl --enable-version3 --enable-static --disable-shared --disable-debug --enable-runtime-cpudetect --disable-x11grab --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libx264 --enable-libspeex --enable-libvorbis --enable-libvpx --enable-libfreetype --enable-libxvid --enable-libopencore-amrnb --enable-libopencore-amrwb --enable-libtheora --enable-libvo-aacenc --enable-libvo-amrwbenc --enable-gray --enable-libopenjpeg --disable-ffserver
libavutil      52. 22.101 / 52. 22.101
libavcodec     55.  2.100 / 55.  2.100
libavformat    55.  0.100 / 55.  0.100
libavdevice    55.  0.100 / 55.  0.100
libavfilter     3. 48.105 /  3. 48.105
libswscale      2.  2.100 /  2.  2.100
libswresample   0. 17.102 /  0. 17.102
libpostproc    52.  2.100 / 52.  2.100


The actual ffmpeg provided on the last Serviio package for Synology is not usable for me.
I guess something is missing but since I'm not a good Linux user, I might missed something.

Here is the actual Serviio located on my NAS :

  Code:

Size of fmmpeg : 168952

ffmpeg version 1.1.1-compiled_by_patters_for_Serviio Copyright (c) 2000-2013 the FFmpeg developers
  built on Mar 29 2013 15:36:32 with gcc 4.2.1 (GCC)
  configuration: --arch=x86 --enable-ssse3 --enable-cross-compile --cross-prefix=/usr/local/i686-linux-gnu/bin/i686-linux-gnu- --target-os=linux --prefix=/usr/local/i686-linux-gnu --enable-shared --disable-static --enable-pic --disable-ffplay --disable-ffserver --disable-debug --enable-pthreads --enable-libmp3lame --enable-librtmp --enable-libass --pkg-config=pkg-config --extra-version=compiled_by_patters_for_Serviio
  libavutil      52. 13.100 / 52. 13.100
  libavcodec     54. 86.100 / 54. 86.100
  libavformat    54. 59.106 / 54. 59.106
  libavdevice    54.  3.102 / 54.  3.102
  libavfilter     3. 32.100 /  3. 32.100
  libswscale      2.  1.103 /  2.  1.103
  libswresample   0. 17.102 /  0. 17.102
Hyper fast Audio and Video encoder
usage: ffmpeg [options] [[infile options] -i infile]... {[outfile options] outfile}...


This one does not work (music or video) for Subsonic.

I tried to cross-compile a version for the NAS from this site http://pcloadletter.co.uk/2012/10/12/ffmpeg-shared-libs-for-synology/ but it's not working.
My attempts were not successful and looks like the scripts are not working for Intel but I cannot confirm that since my knowledge of compilation is poor.
I tired posting for some help but without any answer.

I anyone can provide me an hint or maybe a compiled version ?

Last note: Why do I use Subsonic ?

I'm an owner of an iPhone and the is a great application available to access my music library : iSub ([url]isubapp.com/[/url]).
This tool is able to display videos too (since Subsonic server version 4.7) and I would like to add my concerts too (and others movies) ;o)

Thanks in advance for you understanding and support.

MoBO

[zip]

If you are asking for a support for other product, I'd suggest you go to their support.

Dear zip,

I do understand your note but my actual question is more related on the ffmpeg, not really the product himself.
Since the original ffmpeg came fro Serviio, I thought more useful to post here.

I should try to use Serviio to transcode my library (music and video) to fully test the functionality and then post comment *only* related to Serviio then, try to apply on Subsonic.
Anyway, I will follow your suggestion and I will post on the Subsonic forum.

Sorry for this. I will post my question if any soon and... do you like me to remove the previous one ?

Regards,

MoBO

[patters]

My more recent compile of FFmpeg (v1.1.1) for the various Synology CPU architectures has all its dependent libraries in the Serviio/lib folder (notice how the file is small compared to the old one which had the libraries integrated, or 'statically linked'). If you're using my ffmpeg executable for Subsonic, you will need to copy those shared libraries too. So it doesn't interfere with DSM's own shared libraries in /lib, I compiled the ffmpeg to search for its libs in the same folder as the ffmpeg binary, or in a subfolder called lib. So copy all those '.so' library files too and it should work.

@patters

Thanks for your reply, very helpful to finally have an hint to solve my issue.

I followed your advice and copied the *.so* within the ffmpeg folder.
Since this was not working, I tried to create a subfolber /lib within the ffmpeg folder without success too.
Finally, I tried to do the same creating a /lib within the root folder of Subsonic without success too.

Below, all the place I copied the *.so*

/volume1/@appstore/Subsonic/transcode (original ffmpeg folder)
/volume1/@appstore/Subsonic/transcode/lib
/volume1/@appstore/Subsonic/lib

Here is the content:

-rwxr-xr-x 1 subsonic users 127091 Apr 4 10:51 libass.so.4
-rwxr-xr-x 1 subsonic users 7695684 Apr 4 10:51 libavcodec.so.54
-rwxr-xr-x 1 subsonic users 37400 Apr 4 10:51 libavdevice.so.54
-rwxr-xr-x 1 subsonic users 356552 Apr 4 10:51 libavfilter.so.3
-rwxr-xr-x 1 subsonic users 1346728 Apr 4 10:51 libavformat.so.54
-rwxr-xr-x 1 subsonic users 164832 Apr 4 10:51 libavutil.so.52
-rwxr-xr-x 1 subsonic users 285578 Apr 4 10:51 libfontconfig.so.1
-rwxr-xr-x 1 subsonic users 100143 Apr 4 10:51 libfribidi.so.0
-rwxr-xr-x 1 subsonic users 119729 Apr 4 10:51 librtmp.so.0
-rwxr-xr-x 1 subsonic users 83380 Apr 4 10:51 libswresample.so.0
-rwxr-xr-x 1 subsonic users 352848 Apr 4 10:51 libswscale.so.2

ffmpeg for the "transcode" folder:
-rwxr-xr-x 1 subsonic users 168952 Apr 4 10:27 ffmpeg

Do they need to be root:root ?

Looks like something is missing or not working

I can provide you access on my NAS if this help (Subsonic account and SSH if needed).
The idea would be to publish this on a Subsonic wiki to help every users.

In order to avoid an issue, I suggest to continue this thread on the Subsonic forum.

Please note that I'm using a Synology NAS 1511+ (Intel Atom D525 Dualcore (2C/4T) 1.8GHz x86 Processor)

Here is the link to the Subsonic forum : http://forum.subsonic.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11865

MoBO

And in the end I just bought my DS713+ with Intel Atom yesterday. Will let you know soon if it can transcode video on the fly as the DS212 couldn't. As for now I have some problems with installing Serviio under DSM cause after migrating from 4.1 to 4.2 the install packages (java and serviio) are not visible in the install manager ;D

But no one said it would be easy

Ok, I have installed Serviio 1.2.1 with Java 6 on my new, fresh DS713+ (Intel ATOM D2700 Dual Core 2,13 GHz) and.... IT WORKS SMOOTLY!!! )) I'm very happy. I don't need to buy any shitty Samsung Blu-ray to be able to use subtitles with my Sony Bravia HX850. I can now buy Sony Blu-ray instead

CPU usage goes to 50-60% during transcoding say average material and on 720P x264 it is about 80% load. Fast forward works only a bit ahead but it was expected as the file is being transcoded all the time.

Hope my lost money and experience will help others to avoid my mistake and not to spend money on weaker NAS as they would disapoint you.

One more thing that I observed: I played a movie on my Sony Bravia what started about 10 instances of ffmpeg on my DS713+ and started movie transcoding by serviio (80% cpu load). Everything went smooth. After that I started the same movie on my borrowed sony blu-ray player from my nas... and it started another few instances of ffmpeg as it did not stop previous instances from transcoding old, first version of the same movie... and then cpu load goes to 100% and it lags.

Any ideas how to stop old transcoding or limit number of ffmpeg instances to solid 10?

As for now I found only one of my movies (8,5 GB, 1080/60p mkv) that shutters. CPU goes to 80-90% but not 100% so problem may be somewhere else.