Frequently Asked Question
Multimedia: How to transcode videos to formats suitable for other devices?
Last Updated 8 years ago
Applied Models:
Transcoding converts video for use with multiple devices or different resolutions. Conversion is needed when a target device does not support the format or has limited storage capacity. Different NAS devices have different media transcoding and playback capabilities. These are categorized into two groups below. Use File Station, Photo Station, Video Station, or a DLNA media server to stream your videos to networked media players from your NAS.
NAS Group:
* Supported hardware decoding formats:
Intel hardware accelerated series: H.264 CB, H.264 Main, H.264 High@L4.1 , MPEG2 Simple, MPEG2 Main@HL, VC1 Simple, VC1 Main, VC1 ASP@Level 3
AMD hardware accelerated series: H.264 High@L4.1, VC1 ASP@Level 3, MPEG4-P2 (Advanced Simple Profile), MPEG-2
** Installation of the Media Streaming Add-on is required. Enable the "embedded subtitles" function and stream the video with or without auto-transcoding. The subtitle file should be in .srt (UTF-8) format and the subtitle file name should be the same as the name of the video file.
*** Mobile Apps can be configure to play specific video formats. Playback of a video format is based upon on the device's capabilities.
**** Offline transcoding performance is based upon the hardware capabilities of the NAS. Specific file formats may not be available to convert due to hardware limitations.
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Transcoding converts video for use with multiple devices or different resolutions. Conversion is needed when a target device does not support the format or has limited storage capacity. Different NAS devices have different media transcoding and playback capabilities. These are categorized into two groups below. Use File Station, Photo Station, Video Station, or a DLNA media server to stream your videos to networked media players from your NAS.
| NAS Group 1 | NAS Group 2 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| On-the-fly transcoding (hardware-accelerated transcoding).* | Not capable of on-the-fly transcoding | ||
| Play in browser | The original video can be played if the browser on the target device supports the video format. | ||
| QTS Media Viewer (File Station, Video Station, Photo Station) | Stream the original MP4 (H.264) video. If the target device cannot play MP4 (H.264), on-the-fly transcoding will be enabled automatically. | Stream the original MP4 (H.264) video. | |
| Transcode video up to 1080p on-the-fly. | The original video requires VLC to be installed (only on Firefox). | ||
| The original video requires the VLC to be installed (only on Firefox). | |||
| Stream videos to DLNA, Apple TV, or Chromecast compatible devices using File Station, Music Station, Photo Station, or Video Station. | Stream videos to DLNA, Apple TV, or Chromecast compatible devices using File Station, Music Station, Photo Station, or Video Station. | ||
| Apple TV | Stream the original MP4 video without subtitles. | ||
| On-the-fly transcoding (hardware-accelerated transcoding).* | N/A | ||
| Video transcoding with up to 1080p resolution (displayed with subtitles).** | N/A | ||
| DLNA Renderer (DMR) | Video format support varies by device. | ||
| The NAS will automatically transcode the original video to a compatible format (with subtitles) for formats not supported.** If playback problems occur, convert videos in advance using offline transcoding. | N/A | ||
| Chromecast | Stream the original video using the following formats: MP4, M4V and MKV | ||
| When the audio codec is AC3, the system will use HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) to stream files with the following formats: MP4, M4V and MKV. | When the audio codec is AC3, the system will use HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) to stream files with the following formats: MP4, M4V and MKV. The bit rate limit is 7Mbps. | ||
| For all other formats, the system will automatically transcode the original video up to 1080p and stream it using HLS (displayed with subtitles).** | N/A | ||
| iOS | Support for streaming of the original video.*** | ||
| Support for on-the-fly transcoding for up to 1080p resolution | N/A | ||
| Android | Supports streaming of the original video.*** | ||
| Supports on-the-fly transcoding for up to 1080p resolution. | N/A | ||
| Windows Phone | The original video will be streamed for MP4 and WMV file formats. | ||
| For all other video formats, use offline transcoding before playing the video. | |||
| Roku Player | The video will be streamed for MP4 (MPEG-4 Pt 14), M4V and MOV (video codec：h264 / mpeg4；audio codec：aac / ac3 / mp3 / None or other than 5.1 aac). | ||
| All other video formats can be transcoded to up to 1080p. The availability of resolutions depends on the Roku model. | N/A | ||
| Offline Transcode | Yes | Yes**** | |
| Auto transcoding folder | Yes | Yes**** | |
| NAS Group 1 | TS-x51, TS-x53, HS-251, TS-453mini, TVS-x70 Pro (Core i series), TVS-x71 (Core i series) TVS-x63, TS-x79 (Core i series), TVS-x80 |
|---|---|
| NAS Group 2 | TS-x59, TS-x70 (Celeron series), TS-x69, TS-x63, IS-400, TVS-x71(Celeron series) TS-x10, HS-210, TS-x12, TS-x19, TS-x20, TS-x21, TS-x31, TS-x31+, TS-x68, TS-x39 |
* Supported hardware decoding formats:
Intel hardware accelerated series: H.264 CB, H.264 Main, H.264 High@L4.1 , MPEG2 Simple, MPEG2 Main@HL, VC1 Simple, VC1 Main, VC1 ASP@Level 3
AMD hardware accelerated series: H.264 High@L4.1, VC1 ASP@Level 3, MPEG4-P2 (Advanced Simple Profile), MPEG-2
** Installation of the Media Streaming Add-on is required. Enable the "embedded subtitles" function and stream the video with or without auto-transcoding. The subtitle file should be in .srt (UTF-8) format and the subtitle file name should be the same as the name of the video file.
*** Mobile Apps can be configure to play specific video formats. Playback of a video format is based upon on the device's capabilities.
**** Offline transcoding performance is based upon the hardware capabilities of the NAS. Specific file formats may not be available to convert due to hardware limitations.
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