Hi at all,
whenever I try to watch a small 3 Mbit/s HEVC outside of my home using direct play, it does buffer on my Fire TV Stick 2 (which can play HEVC natively).
My connection is fast enough (50 mbit/s upload). And even when I speedtest my connection at the same time (thanks, teamviewer) it maxes out the 50 mbit. so the connection should not be the problem.
can someone tell me how to fix this? does direct play NOT buffer a bit ahead?
best wishes!
Enter the Plex App Settings on the stick.
Enable ‘Display Information’.
Then attempt to play the item in question.
Hit OK and some On Screen info about the file will be displayed - particularly - if transcoding, the reason why.
Your stick ‘may’ be able to play ‘some’ HEVC 4K material natively, but the Plex App is only able to play that material if it’s in a certain state of construction. Also, the ‘Default’ Remote Quality Settings may not be high enough to pass said material without a transcode so it fits into the Default Remote Quality ‘keyhole’ Plex has decided is best for you - and no matter what your stick can do - if you want to test your Server’s CPU have it Transcode an HEVC 4K item down to 1080p and you’ll find out what it’s made of.
HEVC 4K material for Remote Locations is NOT recommended. An alternate ‘Version’ in a more standard, easy to transfer and/or transcode configuration may be required (very likely). At the very least, you’re probably going to have to fiddle with the remote quality settings until you figure out what that ‘third-world’ wording means in the auto-quality settings - nobody knows what those mean, what they do, or why they do it. Not even Plex. It’s just a mish/mash of words - like those you read on those assembly instructions on that furniture you buy from Ikea.
thanks for your response. I have got NO auto-quality activated and the HEVC goes into direct play.
at home it fills a buffer and then streams consequently. I was assuming this behaviour to be the same when on the go. since the HEVC is really small (3 mbit/s) it should fit through every connection without a problem.
why is HEVC not recommended when on a remote location?
@naddel81 said:
thanks for your response. I have got NO auto-quality activated and the HEVC goes into direct play.
What is the Plex App Remote Quality Setting?
(Note: Server Settings have nothing to do with Plex App Settings - Plex App Settings are made in the Plex App Settings menu)
Are you in your ‘Remote Location’ Now?
If so - What does the Onscreen Information Say?
at home it fills a buffer and then streams consequently. I was assuming this behaviour to be the same when on the go.
Ass-U-Me…
'Nuff Said…
since the HEVC is really small (3 mbit/s) it should fit through every connection without a problem.
Should and Does - Two Different Things.
why is HEVC not recommended when on a remote location?
The problems you are now experiencing… come immediately to mind.
I am at the remote location and it does say (direct play). quality settings are on maximum (original) and auto-quality is set to OFF.
One thing to consider is that any stick type device is in close proximity to the TV and most to the back of the TV. That location is often the nosiest location (electronic noise) in the local environment. Noise is the enemy of wireless signals and is undetectable by most network testing tools. Noise causes dropped packets and other problems that can, in many cases, cause buffering problems.
One fix for that is a short HDMI extension to get the stick away from a lot of the noise.
Another fix that might help is to set your router to a more interference immune channel like 11 or 1 (if you are using 2.4 mhz) or moving to the 5.0 frequency if your device supports that but note that the range is reduced for the 5.0 frequency.
None of that may help but it cannot hurt to test.
This kind of thing is the main reason I always try to buy streaming devices that can be connected wired. Wired is not perfect but, in general, wired is always better and more stable than wireless. Some types of devices are wireless only and there is nothing that can be done about that but my choice is always wired when there is a choice.
If it’s buffering that only leaves available bandwidth (not enough) as the reason for the problem. Let’s Ass-U-Me your Server Upload speed is good - that leaves the WiFi at the Remote Location… what’s that like?
Drop the Remote Quality (low 720p would be my guess) and see if your Server can transcode a suitable stream that’s able to fit in the available network bandwidth (Remote WiFi Connection)… When you do that the Onscreen Information should now say ‘Transcoding’ and give you a reason for it.
@naddel81 said:
since the HEVC is really small (3 mbit/s) it should fit through every connection without a problem.
Not necessarily true. I share with some people who max out at 1.5mbits download. No matter how fast the connection is for upload on my server, they just can’t direct play a 3mbit video. If the speed test you showed is from your server’s connection, maybe you can check the download speed at the remote location to help you determine the quality to use.
There’s a SpeedTest app for my Roku, but I have no idea if there is one for a Fire TV Device.
That would certainly ‘splain’ a lot of things, ‘Loosey’…
B)
ok, will have to install a speedtest on the fire tv stick and try that.
