Happy Netgear user now for several years, have no complains at all. Though 4K streaming to my 4K tv over WIFI AC using Kodi or VLC (Android TV) is just lagging as hell, tried new router, did not help, now new 7200rpm NAS discs hoping to give it some boost (syncing now). But my question is, should I be able to stream 4K to my TV from the Readynas 316 over WIFI, im talking direct stream, not transcoding (so far i know). Have about 80 megabyte second read speed from my PC with WIFI. Having latest triband AC5300 router, Readynas is connected with Link aggregation to my router, what else can I do here other than go full wire? Is there on the marked today a NAS server that can transcode 4K content, or is that out of the question (just a side question), the Readynas struggles with 1080p transcoding (not possible)? The Readynas 626X is just a little out of my budget, would be nice if Netgear sold us a upgrade kit :).

BaJohn wrote: By implication, you were implying that "Netflix quality" was inferior to Ultra HD 4k streaming. Not at all. I said Netflix UltraHD streaming is inferior to full BluRay UltraHD streaming. Which it (intentionally) is, since there aren't a lot of customers for 100 mbit streaming over the internet. And it would be challenging to deliver 100 mbit streaming to a large subscriber base - Netflix already consumes a staggering percentage of US internet bandwidth. Similarly, Netflix 1080p streaming quality is inferior to full BluRay 1080p streaming. Personally I'm fine with the lower bitrates, but some people do want the best quality possible for their home theater setups.

How far is your router from your TV? Are there things in between such as thick walls? The RN626X would be the model to go with if you want real time 4k transcoding. CPU performance does improve with new CPU generations but not at the rate it used to. You can create optimised versions of your 4k video using Plex and that doesn't need to be done in real time. It will take a lot longer on slower CPUs compared with faster ones.

mdgm wrote:How far is your router from your TV? Are there things in between such as thick walls? The RN626X would be the model to go with if you want real time 4k transcoding. CPU performance does improve with new CPU generations but not at the rate it used to. You can create optimised versions of your 4k video using Plex and that doesn't need to be done in real time. It will take a lot longer on slower CPUs compared with faster ones.Thank you for the fast reply. My router is about 3 meter away from the TV, the router and TV can see each other without any walls in the way, so there should not be a problem in that front, and the router should have enough bandwidth, though not sure about the TV how fast it is connected to the router. The RN626X seems to be a beautiful device, I cannot not justify the price, I mean it costs about half what I paid for my car in 2014 with hard drives here in Denmark, and i'm a personal user, only really myself is using the NAS server, so really only need the power for transcoding video files to my TV. Yes for PLEX i agree, the format could be improved to match the hardware better for transcoding. But so far I know, Kodi and VLC does not transcode, connected to the NAS with SMB (not DLNA or PLEX), and still just lagging as hell. Only short test 4K HDR videoes from Sony. Maybe it is the extra bandwith HDR needs to run smooth? Have not tried any "only" 4K contend, will try that once my NAS is finished installing the new drives.

The RN316 isn't the performance bottleneck - 4K content is in the 3-10 MB/sec range (24-80 mbits per second). You have ~8x more throughput then that. If you can connect the TV with ethernet, that might help - the TV Wifi client might be the bottleneck. You might also try different players - VLC might not be using hardware acceleration. Generally speaking, it is cheaper to upgrade the player than it is to upgrade the NAS.

The 316 is going to be to slow to do any transcoding. My 516 wasn't fast enough either until I upgraded the CPU and RAM and bascially turned it into a 716. You either need a real computer to handle the transcoding or have the video file in a format that it can be directly played on your TV. The NAS is fast enough for direct playback. If it's a 4K TV, it'll Upconvert 1080P content and so you don't need the NAS to transcode. If it's 4K content you're trying to play on a 1080P TV, then it needs to transcode, or you can to convert it over. If it's 4K content to be played on a 4K TV, it should be direct streaming and the NAS shouldn't have any problem with that. I don't know what you're using to watch the 4K content with? What are you streaming the 4K content to, a App built into a SmartTV? If your TV is in line of site of your Wifi router, why not plug in a ethernet cable between them and give that a try and see if the problem goes away. That's one way to rule out being a Wifi issue. Just because you're close doesn't mean there's no Wifi issues. It's one reason why I wired up my house with Gigabit Etherent. Anything with a Ethernet port on it, I plug in. I only use Wifi for things that move from place to place. Smartphones, tablets, etc. 2.4Ghz Wifi can be over staturated where you live. I fyou can switch to 5Ghz, that may be better, but not everything canuse that fequancy which is why if you can use it, you should use it.

4K streaming from Readynas 316 possible?

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mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired
Dec 09, 2016
How far is your router from your TV? Are there things in between such as thick walls?

The RN626X would be the model to go with if you want real time 4k transcoding.

CPU performance does improve with new CPU generations but not at the rate it used to.

You can create optimised versions of your 4k video using Plex and that doesn't need to be done in real time. It will take a lot longer on slower CPUs compared with faster ones.
- whc
  Aspirant
  Dec 10, 2016
  mdgm wrote:
  How far is your router from your TV? Are there things in between such as thick walls?
  
  The RN626X would be the model to go with if you want real time 4k transcoding.
  
  CPU performance does improve with new CPU generations but not at the rate it used to.
  
  You can create optimised versions of your 4k video using Plex and that doesn't need to be done in real time. It will take a lot longer on slower CPUs compared with faster ones.
  Thank you for the fast reply.
  
  My router is about 3 meter away from the TV, the router and TV can see each other without any walls in the way, so there should not be a problem in that front, and the router should have enough bandwidth, though not sure about the TV how fast it is connected to the router.
  
  The RN626X seems to be a beautiful device, I cannot not justify the price, I mean it costs about half what I paid for my car in 2014 with hard drives here in Denmark, and i'm a personal user, only really myself is using the NAS server, so really only need the power for transcoding video files to my TV.
  
  Yes for PLEX i agree, the format could be improved to match the hardware better for transcoding. But so far I know, Kodi and VLC does not transcode, connected to the NAS with SMB (not DLNA or PLEX), and still just lagging as hell. Only short test 4K HDR videoes from Sony. Maybe it is the extra bandwith HDR needs to run smooth? Have not tried any "only" 4K contend, will try that once my NAS is finished installing the new drives.
  - StephenB
    Guru - Experienced User
    Dec 10, 2016
    The RN316 isn't the performance bottleneck - 4K content is in the 3-10 MB/sec range (24-80 mbits per second). You have ~8x more throughput then that.
    
    If you can connect the TV with ethernet, that might help - the TV Wifi client might be the bottleneck. You might also try different players - VLC might not be using hardware acceleration.
    
    Generally speaking, it is cheaper to upgrade the player than it is to upgrade the NAS.