Hello,
I came over around 50 of articles and forum posts ,but i cannot seem to find a way to completely disable Encoding/Transcoding on Plex Server Completely.
Please Suggest me Something.that will Force Direct Play and won’t Transcode anyway.
thanks
Can’t be done or forced through the server but on your mobile client you can set your remote and local quality to original, that is direct play. On your htpc client you can set your remote and local quality to 20Mbps or maximum and this will direct play it as well. This is all assuming that the video rate of the recorded file is below 20Mbps.
If you must… you can move the 2 transcoder files in different folder and it will stop transcoding.
Transcoder lives here:
/usr/lib/plexmediaserver/Resources/Plex\ Transcoder
/usr/lib/plexmediaserver/Resources/Plex\ New\ Transcoder
No server restart required even if you move it back but make sure you have a playable format for your devices.
Most accepted format i found is mp4, h264, aac, 2 channels, burned in subtitles.
GL
Yea I already renamed them .
This Does not Helped,if i Rename then Plex Cannot Play online ,Says,There is error playing FIle.
If you are seeing that error, it could possibly mean that the file required transcoding to make it playable on the device you are using. Why do you want it disabled so badly?
It could also be that there was a change made since people started doing this that has caused it to not work as it once did, since it’s obviously not supported to do this, getting help from Plex itself on this issue is unlikely.
If you are seeing that error, it could possibly mean that the file required transcoding to make it playable on the device you are using. Why do you want it disabled so badly?
Answer - No, This Error only happens if i rename/move The Transcoder file as mentioned above.and get fixed if i put transcoders back.
Because The CPU of my Server is not Very Good,Its already Loaded with Other Works,Can Not Let it encode.It will be to slow if i encode and stream.
If you want to use Plex without the ability to transcode your media, why not just use Kodi?
@Giga-Rapid said:
Answer - No, This Error only happens if i rename/move The Transcoder file as mentioned above.and get fixed if i put transcoders back.
Because The CPU of my Server is not Very Good,Its already Loaded with Other Works,Can Not Let it encode.It will be to slow if i encode and stream.
Is it working because its being transcoded, or is it a file that direct plays when you have the transcoder files there. That being said, the transcoder is a part of Plex and renaming the files or removing them wouldn’t surprise me if it didn’t work right.
My server has a passmark score of about 1600 and I don’t have much for problems, but most of my stuff has been transcoded before hand so the server doesn’t have to do the work. This might be a better option for you if your server can’t handle it. I do have stuff that needs to be remuxed or audio transcoding, but those are both pretty minimal cpu wise.
@drinehart said:
If you want to use Plex without the ability to transcode your media, why not just use Kodi?
I’m in a similar situation. Except I have other devices that are sharing libs with me. So using Plex makes sense, except my local NAS is not capable of transcoding more than 1 thing and will not handle transcoding high bit rate or 1080p media.
Also, Plex UI is nice in comparison to KODI and there are built in Apps by Samsung TV, FireTV etc. Running Kodi on on the FireTV did work for me, but not well and was still slow and couldn’t direct play everything without it stuttering.
Disabling the transcoder means that it will not transcode for anyone you are sharing libs with, but locally if your Plex client can handle the content then it will direct play…and if it doesn’t…then you know to replace the media with something that can be direct played.
Yes… you could just replace all this hassle with Kodi on a small HTPC but it gets annoying swapping between Apps for media when you want a hassle free all in one centralised media system. I don’t want to go through all these extra kodi plugins for Plex or come out of Kodi to watch someone’s shared lib on Plex or come out of my side loaded Kodi App on my Fire Tv stick to then switch to Plex App.
I’m hoping the brand new announced Fire TV will hopefully not require any transcoding. It appears to support DD+/DTS 7.1 Passthrough and handle various containers like mkv.
I also would LOVE to have an option to limit transcoding. If that means the video can’t play, that’s fine. I just can’t have 3 people trying to transcode all at once. Actually, what would work perfectly is an option in the user settings where I could select which users were allowed to transcode. I could set my account to transcode, but other users that have access to not be allowed to transcode (but maybe direct stream). If they really want to watch something that doesn’t play, I can transcode it in the background and they can play it later. What I can’t have is multiple people all trying to transcode a 1080p movie at the same time, server is just not powerful enough to do that.
Sure, I could setup each user (on their end) to try and prioritize things so they would mostly not transcode. But, they could just change these settings without my control and the client would still try to transcode if the video or audio format wasn’t compatible. Again, in those situations it would be better to just not allow them to play the video instead of taking EVERYONE down as a result of the server overloading.
Maybe a 3 way switch per user:
Normal (allow transcoding)
Direct Stream Only
Direct Play Only
This way I could control the CPU resources of guests so one person doesn’t take everyone down. This seems like a reasonable way to manage multiple users so it doesn’t effect the viewing for one or two other people.
Tim
Does anyone know how to fully disable Transcoding on Windows 10 PLEX Server?
I use Kodi for my home devices but want to take advantage of PLEX’s awesome secure sharing feature to share content with family. Transcoding maxes out the CPU of my HP Microserver but direct play works fantastic. I see the Force “Direct Play” feature on Android TV and Android but reading the info on the PLEX website it stills says that it will revert back to transcoding if it needs to. I would much rather it just not play the file as my family won’t know when they are killing my server performance.
Cheers,
If I may,
First, you’re posting in the Linux thread where Windows users won’t see it
Next, if you remove the transcoder executables, ANY attempt to convert video OR audio will render the file unplayable.
Lastly, you must be careful what type of ‘transcoding’ is going on.
Video transcoding usually only occurs when the requested maximum video bitrate is below the bit rate Plex has determined the source to be. This happens when you only have, say, a 3 Mbps upload speed to the internet and a 5 Mbps video stream so you’ve capped it remotely at 3 Mbps. Video also will ‘transcode’ (typically rewrap the container) for things like VC-1,etc which cannot be played directly on the client as it is entirely incompatible. Remember the Plex client knows what it can render directly
The most common type of transcoding to occur happens with DirectStream with audio conversion (DTS or AC3 -> AAC). When this happens, Plex copies the video, converts the audio on the fly and then remuxes (remultiplexes) it to send to the client. This is the load you are probably seeing. Because of how Plex builds up a buffer full (settable in the Web UI under Settings -> Server -> Transcoder default throttle buffer) you can change how much it buffers ahead. Working with the duration will ‘smooth out’ those peaks when the client’s buffer is being filled.
I hope this is of help
Oh opps, I had no idea this was Linux section. No wonder it was talking Linux files :\
My internet upload is 60Mbps. Sharing with family is just a bonus, hence I would rather the file not play if transcoding is needed.
Thank you so much for this tip. i was ready to give up on PLEX Media Server entirely because my awesome FLAC music library sounded terrible through the PLEX DLNAMedia Server as compared to simply playing the same music files with any other decent player like Foobar, Media Player Classic, VLC, etc… When I saw your tip for removing the Linux transcoder executable I found the equivalent file in the Windows version and suddenly it was sending raw streams to my Denon AVR’s I have around the house. The sound is a thousand times better. Instead of coming across as ALAC the Denons now show the streams as FLAC. It is also not knocking everything down to 44khz, instead sending the files as is in up to 192khz sampled. It may not make much difference on some systems, but I have a Klipsch Reference Premiere 7.2 setup that’s to die for. PLEX just got a reprieve.
BTW PLEX, your documentation sucks. Actually, your software sucks because you make it impossible to configure for someone that has a clue about audio.
Plex without transcoding is the dream for many users, but it will never be offered. It’s the no1 reason why I never bought a Plex pass, (no 2 is the regular re-enter pin nag screens, making it unusable for children) and why I use Kodi.
It’s weird to force features on a user that don’t work (save the planet => low powered server => transcoding unusable => files won’t play. Yet ALL files are perfectly playable mp4 files though, some choose not to play)
I’m left wondering if the official plex addon for Kodi allows you to disable transcoding on a FireTV4k by setting client to never transcode. MrMc Plex client achieves it, so it’s definitely possible. It would be nice to be able to disable it at a server or at least per-user level.
@convertapple said:
Plex without transcoding is the dream for many users, but it will never be offered. It’s the no1 reason why I never bought a Plex pass, (no 2 is the regular re-enter pin nag screens, making it unusable for children) and why I use Kodi.It’s weird to force features on a user that don’t work (save the planet => low powered server => transcoding unusable => files won’t play. Yet ALL files are perfectly playable mp4 files though, some choose not to play)
I’m left wondering if the official plex addon for Kodi allows you to disable transcoding on a FireTV4k by setting client to never transcode. MrMc Plex client achieves it, so it’s definitely possible. It would be nice to be able to disable it at a server or at least per-user level.
The real question (if you want to save the planet and all) is not whether wondering if you can disable the transcoder but why waste the power and resources to transcode it over and over and over again.
Plex without transcoding means you have to prepare your media (make DirectPlay ready for all) for all your devices (DirectPlayable in → DirectPlayable out) whereas
Plex with transcoding takes what you give it and makes it play on your devices. Unknown/Junk in → transcoded but playable out.
Somebody/something has to do the work. Do it upfront before giving it to Plex to stream or let Plex convert and stream each time o the fly?
If a little Synology DS1813+ NAS can stream 4K UHD at 58 Mbps and be capable of 2 more 4K streams like that, all as a result of a little preparation work, this says something when the same NAS is fairly well pressed to transcode three songs at the same time.
I’m willing to share what I know and how to do these things if desired but teaching and learning is a dialog, not a monologue . It really isn’t as ‘rocket science’ or ‘black magic’ as some people think.
@ChuckPA said:
@convertapple said:
Plex without transcoding is the dream for many users, but it will never be offered. It’s the no1 reason why I never bought a Plex pass, (no 2 is the regular re-enter pin nag screens, making it unusable for children) and why I use Kodi.It’s weird to force features on a user that don’t work (save the planet => low powered server => transcoding unusable => files won’t play. Yet ALL files are perfectly playable mp4 files though, some choose not to play)
I’m left wondering if the official plex addon for Kodi allows you to disable transcoding on a FireTV4k by setting client to never transcode. MrMc Plex client achieves it, so it’s definitely possible. It would be nice to be able to disable it at a server or at least per-user level.
The real question (if you want to save the planet and all) is not whether wondering if you can disable the transcoder but why waste the power and resources to transcode it over and over and over again.
**_Plex without transcoding means you have to prepare your media (make DirectPlay ready for all) for all your devices (DirectPlayable in → DirectPlayable out) whereas
Plex with transcoding takes what you give it and makes it play on your devices. Unknown/Junk in → transcoded but playable out.Somebody/something has to do the work. Do it upfront before giving it to Plex to stream or let Plex convert and stream each time o the fly?
_**>
If a little Synology DS1813+ NAS can stream 4K UHD at 58 Mbps and be capable of 2 more 4K streams like that, all as a result of a little preparation work, this says something when the same NAS is fairly well pressed to transcode three songs at the same time._I’m willing to share what I know and how to do these things if desired but teaching and learning is a dialog, not a monologue . It really isn’t as ‘rocket science’ or ‘black magic’ as some people think.
_>
I struggle so much with my old laptop as my server trying to transcode while it is currently acting as my main pc while I complete repairs and upgrades on my other computer so reading the articles here about preparing my media for Direct Play or Direct Stream sounds like a great idea. I just have no idea how to go about doing this and would appreciate a nudge in the right direction.
I am running Windows 10 on a Dell Studio 1745 laptop which will have a 120gb ssd and 8 gb or RAM. It has an Intel DuoCore 6600 processors. All of my media has been housed on an external Seagate Free Agent USB drive but will be finished moving all videos to my OneDrive soon and will make another attempt at setting up Plex Cloud.
Thank you!
Danny R
I think you meant to type some things but the forum (markdown syntax ‘ate your homework’ haha) ?
Let me know if that happened?
Also, it might just be time to pick up one of those nice ‘lesser expensive’ but pretty quick ASUS models? Nice amount of kick for a really low price.
I have an i7- 3770 CPU… (lower middle end) and I can preprocess the video for PMS as fast as the network 2 Gbps (aggregated) can keep up (read from NAS, write back to NAS)
@ChuckPA said:
Plex without transcoding means you have to prepare your media (make DirectPlay ready for all) for all your devices (DirectPlayable in → DirectPlayable out) whereas
Plex with transcoding takes what you give it and makes it play on your devices. Unknown/Junk in → transcoded but playable out.
But all my videos are already in mp4 format with embedded metadata + nfo files. I wrote a program to automatically do all that. All my devices are perfectly able to play all my media without transcoding. My server HP N40L however is unable to transcode anything much on the fly, it shouldn’t need to. But because Plex sometime forces files to transcode, it makes perfectly playable files unplayable. That’s why I don’t use Plex. An option to disable transcoding for low powered servers even in a config file would be a god send. I saw a similar debate in the Emby forum, that guy debated it far better than I.
https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/29478-feature-to-force-directplay-only-without-any-detection-and-disable-all-transcoding/page-3
I tried the Kodi Plex addon earlier today on a FireTV which seems to play without suffering transcoding (played back a 4k hevc ok) . However the very first file I tried I see it suffers from the exact same bug that plagued the Apple TV for yonks as I reported here:-
At least the code for that addon is available so theoretically I could fix it myself if I really wanted.
There is a Setting in Kodi
settings:player:language: PrefDefStreams=off
which makes Kodi use 5.1 in pref to 2.0 but the plex addon ignores it.
Update: I just discovered this was reported four months back on here, but as yet is not fixed:-
https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/246797/default-audio-to-ac3-5-1
Update2: I did fix the code that day, only took an hour so all good. Kodi Plex is only usable version as all other versions transcode making them unusable, totally daft state of affairs!
