The knowledge base does not yet have a direct answer on how to set up Plex hardware transcoding on a Synology NAS.
What it does show is:
- Synology NAS models in the manuals have a PCIe expansion slot where you can install a network interface card [5].
- A Synology forum post indicates that some users rely on Plex with hardware transcoding, but the fragment does not provide setup steps [10].
- Synology’s knowledge center notes that transcoding/conversion behavior depends on the NAS model and DSM version, and that starting from DSM 7.1.1, AAC audio codec transcoding is no longer supported [13].
So, from the provided fragments, the likely reasons Plex hardware transcoding might not be working are:
- the NAS model/DSM version does not support the needed transcoding behavior [13]
- AAC audio transcoding is no longer supported starting with DSM 7.1.1 [13]
I don’t have enough source material here to give a verified setup procedure for enabling Plex hardware transcoding on Synology.
Sources used: [13], [10]