Synology Photos quietly makes your videos worse.

When you upload a video to Synology Photos, it generates an intermediate file for adaptive streaming. The result: H.264 Baseline Profile at 15 fps. Files that stutter on Chromecast, look noticeably degraded compared to the originals, and take more space than a properly-encoded H.265 would.

This tool re-transcodes those intermediate files automatically — H.264 High Profile or H.265/HEVC, hardware-accelerated when available, running on a schedule so every new upload gets fixed without any manual intervention. The original video is never touched.

How it works

Deploy once and forget it. The container handles everything else automatically.

1

Deploy once

Copy docker-compose.yml, create .env with your dashboard password, run docker compose up -d. The container starts scanning immediately after the startup delay.

2

Automatic periodic scanning

Every N minutes (configurable, default 4 h) the scanner walks every subdirectory under /media, reads Synology's SYNOINDEX_MEDIA_INFO metadata, and builds a list of videos that need transcoding.

Dashboard showing transcoding stats with completed and failed counts

3

Hardware-accelerated transcoding

Videos are transcoded using the best available backend — QSV on Intel, VAAPI on AMD/Intel GPU, V4L2M2M on ARM. No GPU? It falls back to software. Each result is recorded in SQLite so it is never re-processed.

Settings page with codec, bitrate, and resolution controls

4

Dashboard shows the full picture

An authenticated web dashboard runs alongside the scheduler in the same container. It shows totals, success rate, codec and resolution distribution, the latest transcodings, and the top errors.

Everything you need, nothing you don't

No subscription. No cloud. No configuration beyond a single .env file. It runs on your NAS and stays there.

Hardware acceleration

QSV (Intel iGPU), VAAPI (AMD/Intel GPU), V4L2M2M (ARM). Auto-detected at startup. Falls back to software when unavailable.

Multi-architecture

Docker images built for amd64 and arm64. Runs on Synology DS220+ class NAS, Intel NUC, Raspberry Pi, or any Linux host.

Smart deduplication

Every transcoding is recorded in SQLite. Already-processed videos are skipped permanently — no re-work on each cycle.

Periodic execution

Runs at a configurable interval (default 4 h). Set startup delay and interval from the dashboard — no container restart needed.

Built-in dashboard

Authenticated web UI showing totals, success rate, codec and resolution distribution, latest transcodings, and top errors.

Settings at runtime

Codec, bitrate, resolution, threads, hardware acceleration — all configurable from the dashboard. Changes take effect on the next run.

Private by design

No telemetry, no SaaS, no public registration. Runs entirely in your Docker stack. Your videos never leave your NAS.

Low resource footprint

Scans only run periodically. Thread count is configurable. Designed to coexist with other containers on a low-power NAS.

A quick look

Login, dashboard stats, and settings — the whole interface in three screens.

Main dashboard with stats and transcoding list — Dashboard

Settings page with codec and bitrate controls — Settings

Self-host in 5 minutes

Four steps: download, configure .env, set your volume paths, start.

1 Download the files

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cibrandocampo/synology-photos-video-enhancer/master/docker-compose.yml
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cibrandocampo/synology-photos-video-enhancer/master/env.example
cp env.example .env

2 Edit `.env` — 3 required variables

Variable	What to set
DATABASE_HOST_PATH✱	Absolute path on your NAS where the SQLite database will be stored. Create the folder first. e.g. /volume1/docker/photo/video-enhancer/db
WEB_PASSWORD✱	Password for the dashboard login. The container refuses to start if this is empty.
WEB_SECRET_KEY✱	HMAC key for signing session cookies. Generate it once and keep it: python -c "import secrets; print(secrets.token_urlsafe(32))"
WEB_PORT	Port where the dashboard is accessible. Default: `9200`
WEB_USER	Dashboard login username. Default: `admin`
APP_DOCKER_VERSION	`stable` for production (default). `latest` tracks the master branch.

✱ Required — the container will not start without these.

3 Set your volume paths in `docker-compose.yml`

Open docker-compose.yml and edit the volumes: block. There are two sections to update — the media mounts and the database path:

volumes:
  # ── Shared photos library ────────────────────────────────────────
  # Adjust /volume1/photo to wherever your shared Photos folder lives.
  # Remove this line if you don't have a shared library.
  - /volume1/photo:/media/photos:rw

  # ── Per-user photos ──────────────────────────────────────────────
  # One line per Synology user. Replace user1/user2 with real usernames.
  # Add or remove lines to match your users.
  - /volume1/homes/user1/Photos:/media/user1:rw
  - /volume1/homes/user2/Photos:/media/user2:rw

  # ── Database ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
  # Must match DATABASE_HOST_PATH set in .env above.
  - /volume1/docker/photo/video-enhancer/db:/data/db

4 Start

docker compose up -d

# Dashboard → http://<NAS-ip>:9200/

Transcoding settings (codec, resolution, bitrate, schedule interval) are configured from the dashboard at runtime — no restart needed.

Codec reference

All output settings are configurable from the dashboard. Use this table to pick the right codec for your devices.

Video

Codec	Efficiency	CPU cost	Web	Android	iOS	TV	Notes
MPEG-4	↓	×1	✗	✗	✗	✓	Legacy (DivX/Xvid)
H.264 / AVC Recommended	=	×0.2 *	✓	✓	✓	✓	Maximum compatibility across all devices
H.265 / HEVC	↑	×0.4 *	✗	✓	✓	✓	Chrome/Firefox don't support it. Check your NAS CPU for HW encoding.
AV1	↑↑	×22	✓	✗	✗	✓	Requires NAS CPU with HW AV1 encoding support.

* CPU cost with hardware acceleration (QSV/VAAPI). Without HW: H.264 ×5, H.265 ×22.

Audio

Codec	Efficiency	Quality	Web	Android	iOS	TV	Notes
AC-3 / Dolby Digital	↓	82	✗	✗	✗	✓	Home theater only. Needs ≥192 kbps.
MP3	=	75	✓	✓	✓	✓	Legacy. Lower quality than AAC at the same bitrate.
E-AC-3 / Dolby Digital Plus	=	91	✗	✗	✗	✓	Home theater only. Possible royalty restrictions.
AAC LC Recommended	↑	88	✓	✓	✓	✓	Maximum compatibility. Best default.
AAC HE	↑↑	82	✓	✓	✓	✓	Ideal for low bitrates (≥48 kbps).
AAC HE v2	↑↑↑	70	✓	～	～	✓	Stereo only. Best quality at ≤48 kbps.

Quality score: MUSHRA perceptual test at 128 kbps (0–100). ～ = partial support depending on device.

Questions people ask

Does it modify my original videos?

Never. The tool writes only to @eaDir/[video_name]/SYNOPHOTO_FILM_H.mp4 — the same path Synology Photos itself uses for intermediate files. Original files are read-only.

What hardware do I need?

Any Synology NAS running DSM 7.1+ with Docker or Container Manager. Intel iGPU unlocks QSV (requires the SynoCli Video Drivers package from SynoCommunity). AMD or Intel GPU with a DRI device unlocks VAAPI. ARM SoCs (DS220+ class) get V4L2M2M for free.

What if I have no GPU or hardware acceleration?

Hardware acceleration is auto-detected at container startup. If the DRI device (/dev/dri/renderD128) is not present, the container falls back to software encoding automatically — no configuration needed. To force software encoding on a machine that does have a GPU, remove the devices: block from docker-compose.yml before starting the container.

Can I control the quality — codec, bitrate, resolution?

Yes. All transcoding parameters (codec, bitrate, resolution, thread count, audio settings) are configurable from the dashboard Settings page at runtime. Changes take effect on the next scheduled run.

Will it re-transcode the same videos every time it runs?

No. Every processed video is recorded in a local SQLite database with its status. On subsequent runs, already-completed videos are skipped. Only new or failed videos are re-attempted.

Is my data safe?

The container runs entirely within your Docker stack. No data is sent anywhere — no telemetry, no analytics, no external service calls. The database is a plain SQLite file on your host. MIT licence.

Fix the videosSynology Photos ruins.