Best Plex Compatible NAS Hard Drives: Create a Media Center

Today’s smart TVs have so many features that the customization options are incredible. You can turn the TV into a console or a photo frame when not in use. You can even turn it into a stunning media center and have your own Netflix locally. This is all thanks to the range of applications available that can make full use of smart TVs. Of course, if you want to enjoy the best multimedia center, your television must be compatible with Plex . Therefore, we have prepared a top where you can find the best television you can buy to use this service.

What is Plex?

Plex is a multimedia content manager that is in charge of organizing our movies, series, photos, songs and other multimedia files, fully automatically, adding all kinds of information about each movie or series.

Plex Compatible NAS Hard Drives

Plex creates a server so that your Smart TV can access all the content on your external hard drive NAS (connected to the network), making the whole process more comfortable. Also, it supports all major video and audio formats, so for example, you will not have any problem when playing movies with MKV extension. It doesn’t seem like enough, separate videos from photos and music so you can organize everything neatly.

It only takes a few minutes to set up Plex Media Server on the NAS. Plex allows you to store all your media (including movies, photos, and music) on the NAS. You can enjoy stored media on a variety of devices (including smartphones, tablets, HDTVs) through popular playback devices (such as Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, and Fire TV).

How does Plex work when accessing a file?

After clicking, Plex will ask you to enter the media information of the NAS server. When Plex has media information and parameters available (streaming quality, playback, etc.), it will determine if you can play the media directly from the NAS or if you need to adjust the file. If Plex needs to adjust the file, the NAS will automatically try to transcode the media file to a format that the target device can easily read.

Disco durois externos para plex

Plex will play the file on the target device and the NAS server will continue to transcode the file to continue playback. Usually this is the new encoding in the lower version of the file. Hence the interest in having a NAS powerful enough to support this step. Different types of media use different file extensions (for example, MP3 for music files). For HD files, there are a multitude of formats. It also works for subtitles: SRT, VOBSUB, PGS, etc.

How to choose the best NAS external hard drive for Plex?

Several factors affect the ability of a network attached storage (NAS) to comfortably run a Plex server like RAM, for example. However, the most important point in your choice of hardware is the processor (CPU). The processor of the device is the most important because it does the work of transcoding. It will be the efficiency vector for this coding step.

Main CPU types

  • x86 a high-end chip that will be able to handle transcoding with relative ease for all devices linked to your Plex server.
  • ARM , they are less efficient than x86 chips. These processors will likely have a hard time transcoding in 1080p and sometimes 720p. You generally find this type of processor in NAS for individuals like 2-bay NAS, but also Seagate NAS or WD My Cloud. For all other uses of a NAS, this is still very good stuff.
  • PPC . This type of NAS is not very effective in real-time transcoding operations and runs the risk of reducing the performance of your Plex server, or even delaying its transmission.

Plex Compatible NAS Hard Drives We Recommend

WD Diskless My Cloud EX2

Keep your multimedia content safe in one place with this high-performance NAS solution and access it safely from anywhere. With the My Cloud EX2 Ultra, you can automatically sync content from all computers, share files and folders easily, and enjoy multiple backup options so you can easily create your own custom system. It is fully compatible with Plex.

Discos duros NAS compatibles con Plex

Zyxel NAS326

NAS326 is a valuable personal cloud for home users or small businesses. Get large storage capacity and easy access to all your data from anywhere using the Zyxel Drive apps. It is fully compatible with Plex.

Discos duros NAS compatibles con Plex

TerraMaster F2-421

It offers an Intel Apollo J3455 Quad Core CPU at 1.5 GHz and 4 GB of RAM (expandable to 8 GB). Incredibly fast 405MB / s write speed, Incredibly fast 396MB / s read speed. AES hardware Encryption, encrypted shared folders and data transmission over the network to prevent unauthorized access. It is compatible with Plex.

Discos duros NAS compatibles con Plex

Synology DS218

This Synology DS218 compatible with Plex. includes a new 64-bit quad-core processor, which offers excellent data transfer speed, high-volume storage management, and on-the-fly 10-bit H.265 4K video transcoding.

Discos duros NAS compatibles con Plex

WD My Cloud Home 2TB

The brand new WD My Cloud Home storage device connects directly to your home Wi-Fi router so you can easily store, organize, and control all your digital content in one centralized place, as well as access files from anywhere wirelessly. Its storage has 2TB. It is fully compatible with Plex.

Discos duros NAS compatibles con Plex

Synology Diskstation DS420

DS420j is a Plex platform compatible, 4-bay home desktop NAS designed for data backup and file syncing and sharing. You can easily centralize all your media collections thanks to its raw capacity of up to 64TB.

Discos duros NAS compatibles con Plex

Qnap TS-230 NAS

The TS-230 is your entry-level NAS: lightweight, quiet, and versatile. Coated in a sleek sky blue, this NAS can easily adapt to its surroundings to encourage a fun and smart lifestyle. Store and backup all your digital files on the TS-230 and easily access, sync and share them centrally. Plus, you can create snapshots to protect important files and create a single home entertainment portal to stream photos, music, and videos to multiple devices within your home – or beyond. Besides mobile phone and laptop, TS-230 is the electronic device you should have. It is fully compatible with Plex.
Discos duros NAS compatibles con Plex

Qnap TS-128A

Equipped with a quad-core Realtek RTD1295 processor, the TS-128A provides home users with powerful functions, including snapshot-based backup, file synchronization, and private cloud services. The TS-128A is also a comprehensive home entertainment portal for streaming photos, music and videos to multiple devices in your home away. With quiet, energy-saving operation, the TS-128A is especially suitable for home users and provides convenient and easy functionality for multimedia content and file storage needs.

Discos duros NAS compatibles con Plex

WD My Cloud Home 4TB

We return again with the WD My Cloud Home, but this time with 4TB storage . S and connects directly to the WiFi router your home so that you can store, organize and control all your digital content in one centralized location and access files from anywhere wirelessly.

Discos duros NAS compatibles con Plex