NAS Media Player: SMB Stream Help & FAQ

Connect your Synology, QNAP, or generic SMB share to Apple TV in a couple of taps. Browse folders, stream 4K video, view photos, and play music with no transcoding server required.

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Frequently asked questions

Which NAS brands and protocols are supported?

Any device that exposes an SMB share works - Synology, QNAP, TrueNAS, Asustor, Western Digital, Buffalo, plus Windows and macOS file sharing. The app speaks SMB 2 and SMB 3.

Which video codecs and containers play back?

The app uses Apple's built-in player, so anything Apple TV can decode plays natively: H.264, HEVC (H.265), Dolby Vision, HDR10. MKV, MP4, and MOV containers all work. AV1 and some legacy codecs are not supported by tvOS.

Do subtitles work? External SRT files?

Yes. Embedded subtitle tracks and sidecar SRT files in the same folder are picked up automatically. PGS/VOB image-based subtitles are limited because tvOS does not render them at all bitrates.

Why does playback stutter on 4K HEVC?

The most common reason is Wi-Fi headroom. 4K HEVC at 60-80 Mbps needs strong Wi-Fi 5 or Wi-Fi 6 between Apple TV and the NAS. Wired Ethernet on both ends is the fix if Wi-Fi is borderline.

How are credentials stored?

Credentials are saved in the secure tvOS keychain on your Apple TV. They never leave the device and are not shared with iCloud or other apps.

NAS Media Player: SMB Stream

Get NAS Media Player: SMB Stream

Stream movies, shows, and photos from any SMB share to your Apple TV. No transcoder needed.

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How-to guides

How to connect a Synology or QNAP NAS to Apple TV

Get streaming from a typical home NAS in five minutes.

  1. On your NAS, make sure SMB sharing is enabled (Control Panel > File Services on Synology, Network & File Services on QNAP).
  2. Note the NAS IP address (look at the router admin page or the NAS dashboard).
  3. On Apple TV, open NAS Media Player and tap Add Server.
  4. Enter the IP, your share username, and password. Pick the share to mount.
  5. Browse to a video file and press Play. Subtitles, audio tracks, and chapters appear in the on-screen menu.
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How to stream 4K HDR movies smoothly

Avoid stutters and judder on high-bitrate files.

  1. Connect Apple TV by Ethernet whenever possible, or place it within line-of-sight of your Wi-Fi 6 router.
  2. In tvOS Settings > Video and Audio, set Match Range and Match Frame Rate to On so HDR and 24p content displays correctly.
  3. On the NAS, enable SMB 3 and Multichannel if available - it helps on Wi-Fi 6.
  4. Avoid running heavy NAS background tasks (large rsync jobs, RAID scrubs) while you watch.
  5. If a specific file still stutters, check its bitrate in the file info screen; the same source on a wired connection will tell you whether it is the file or the network.
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