How to Install Plex With Hardware Transcoding on Your Synology NAS

How to Install Plex With Hardware Transcoding on Your Synology NAS

Plex is a one stop destination to stream movies, tv shows, sports & music. Plex gives you one place to find and access all the media that matters to you. From personal media on your own server, to podcasts, web shows, and news, to streaming music, you can enjoy it all in one app, on any device. Hardware transcoding makes media streaming from your NAS faster and more efficient. In this step by step guide I will show you how to install Plex with Hardware Transcoding on your Synology NAS using Docker & Portainer.

💡Note: This guide works perfectly with the latest Plex HW 1.40.1 release.

💡Note: Check out all methods to Install Plex on Your Synology NAS.

  • STEP 1

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  • STEP 2

Install Portainer using my step by step guide. If you already have Portainer installed on your Synology NAS, skip this STEP. Attention: Make sure you have installed the latest Portainer version.

  • STEP 3

Use the link below to check if your Synology NAS model supports Hardware Transcoding. If you don’t find your model in the list below, then it means your NAS does not support Hardware Transcoding. In this case, you can Install Plex on your Synology NAS without Hardware Transcoding.

🚀 CHECK IF YOUR NAS SUPPORTS HARDWARE TRANSCODING

  • STEP 4

Create or Log in to your Plex account. Claim your PLEX code from the link below. You will need this Plex code later at STEP 7. Follow the instructions in the image below.

🚀 PLEX CLAIM CODE

Synology Plex Hardware Transcoding Set up 1

  • STEP 5

Go to File Station and open the docker folder. Inside the docker folder, create one new folder and name it plexhw. Follow the instructions in the image below.
Note: Be careful to enter only lowercase, not uppercase letters.

Synology Plex Hardware Transcoding Set up 2

  • STEP 6

Log into Portainer using your username and password. On the left sidebar in Portainer, click on Stacks then + Add stack. Follow the instructions in the image below.

1 Synology Portainer Add Stack

  • STEP 7

In the Name field type in plexhw. Follow the instructions in the image below.

Note: Copy Paste the code below in the Portainer Stacks Web editor.

version: "3.9"
services:
  plex:
    image: ghcr.io/linuxserver/plex:latest
    container_name: PlexHW
    hostname: plex
    network_mode: host
    mem_limit: 4g
    cpu_shares: 1024
    security_opt:
      - no-new-privileges:true
    healthcheck:
      test: wget --no-verbose --tries=1 --spider http://localhost:32400/web
    volumes:
      - /volume1/docker/plexhw:/config:rw
      - /volume1/movies/media:/movies:ro
    devices:
      - /dev/dri/renderD128:/dev/dri/renderD128
      - /dev/dri/card0:/dev/dri/card0
    environment:
      TZ: Europe/Bucharest
      PUID: 1026
      PGID: 100
      VERSION: public
      PLEX_CLAIM: YourPLEXClaimCode # STEP 4
    restart: on-failure:5

Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change /volume1/movies/media with your personal path to movies (where your movies are located). For example I have used my personal movies path folder /volume1/movies/media Change it according to your preferences.
Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for TZ. (Select your current Time Zone from this list.)
Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value numbers for PUID and PGID with your own values. (Follow my step by step guide on how to do this.1026 is my personal PUID value and 100 is my personal PGID value. You have to type in your own values.
Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for PLEX_CLAIM and type in your own Plex Claim code that you have previously generated at STEP 4.

Synology Plex Hardware Transcoding Set up 3 new 2024

  • STEP 8

Scroll down on the page until you see a button named Deploy the stack. Click on it. Follow the instructions in the image below. The installation process can take up to a few minutes. It will depend on your Internet speed connection.

Synology Plex Hardware Transcoding Set up 4 new 2024

  • STEP 9

If everything goes right, you will see the following message at the top right of your screen: “Success Stack successfully deployed“.

Synology Plex Hardware Transcoding Set up 5

  • STEP 10

Go back to STEP 1 or you will deal with karma 🙂.

  • STEP 11

The installation process can take up to a few seconds/minutes. It will depend on your Internet speed connection. Now open your browser and type in http://Synology-ip-address:32400/web. Click Sign in. Follow the instructions in the image below.

Synology Plex Hardware Transcoding Set up 6

  • STEP 12

⚠️Warning: If the page is stuck on loading, just refresh the page. Click Got it!. Follow the instructions in the image below.

Synology Plex Hardware Transcoding Set up 7

  • STEP 13

Add a Plex Pass or click close if you have one. ⚠️Warning: Plex Pass it’s mandatory for running Hardware Transcoding. Follow the instructions in the image below.

Synology Plex Hardware Transcoding Set up 8

  • STEP 14

Give your server a friendly name then click Next. Follow the instructions in the image below.

Synology Plex Hardware Transcoding Set up 9

  • STEP 15

Click Add Library. Follow the instructions in the image below.

Synology Plex Hardware Transcoding Set up 10

  • STEP 16

Click Movies then Next. Follow the instructions in the image below.

Synology Plex Hardware Transcoding Set up 11

  • STEP 17

Click Browse For Media Folder. Follow the instructions in the image below.

Synology Plex Hardware Transcoding Set up 12

  • STEP 18

From the folder choose movies then click Add. follow the instructions in the image below.

Synology Plex Hardware Transcoding Set up 13

  • STEP 19

Click Add. Follow the instructions in the image below.

Synology Plex Hardware Transcoding Set up 14

  • STEP 20

Click Add Library. Follow the instructions in the image below.

Synology Plex Hardware Transcoding Set up 15

  • STEP 21

Click Next. Follow the instructions in the image below.

Synology Plex Hardware Transcoding Set up 16

  • STEP 22

Click Done. Follow the instructions in the image below.

Synology Plex Hardware Transcoding Set up 17

  • STEP 23

Once you are logged in your Plex account, at the top right of the page click on your profile then Account Settings. On the left sidebar click Transcoder. Follow the instructions in the image below.

Synology Plex Hardware Transcoding Set up 18

  • STEP 24

From the Background transcoding dropdown menu, choose Super fast, then click Save Changes. Follow the instructions in the image below.

Synology Plex Hardware Transcoding Set up 19

Enjoy Plex with Hardware Transcoding!

Note: If you want to run the Plex container over an HTTPS connection, check my guide on How to Run Docker Containers Over HTTPS. In order to make Plex Hardware Transcoding work over https, it’s also mandatory to set up WebSocket.

Troubleshooting

If you experience some permissions issues like not being able to see your movies inside your movie folder, follow the STEPS below to fix it.

  • STEP 1A

Go to Control Panel / Shared Folder / Select the shared folder where your movies are located, then click the Edit tab. Follow the instructions in the image below.

Synology Plex Hardware Transcoding Set up 20

  • STEP 2B

After you click the Edit tab at STEP 1A, click on the Permissions tab. From the dropdown menu choose “Local groups“. Select users then check the Read/Write permission. Click Save. Follow the instructions in the image below.

Synology Plex Hardware Transcoding Set up 21

Note: Can I run Docker on my Synology NAS? See the supported models.
Note: Find out how to update the Plex Hardware Transcoding container with the latest image.
Note: How to Free Disk Space on Your NAS if You Run Docker.
Note: Instead of the synology.me DDNS you can also use your own domain name.
Note: How to Schedule Start & Stop For Docker Containers.
Note: How to Activate Email Notifications.
Note: How to Add Access Control Profile on Your NAS.
Note: How to Change Docker Containers Restart Policy.
Note: How to Use Docker Containers With VPN.
Note: Convert Docker Run Into Docker Compose.
Note: How to Clean Docker.
Note: How to Clean Docker Automatically.
Note: Best Practices When Using Docker and DDNS.
Note: Some Docker Containers Need WebSocket.
Note: Find out the Best NAS Models For Docker.
Note: Activate Gmail SMTP For Docker Containers.

This post was updated on Monday / March 4th, 2024 at 12:47 AM