We are in the same boat. We both have good upload bandwidth and can do FULL direct streams without regard to bandwidth. I'm 300/300. However we are both CPU bound. I can't do cloud sync or client sync because of this as there isn't enough CPU to go around for these features plus my normal streaming.
With most clients you don't have to manually pick the file as the client is smart enough to do it automatically. I had thought this was a server function but recently found out the client does this. The client device gets the list of available resolution/bitrates/meta for all files and it chooses which one to play. So if you have multiple resolutions of the same file and assume different bitrates for these files then when a client goes to play the movie it will choose the first one it can direct play at the highest res/bitrate.
I try and create 720p @ 3mbit as the secondary file. Using Handbrake you can create good looking files for that res/bitrate combination. It's small compared to the 1080p and will almost always direct stream if created as an MP4 with only AAC audio.
I'm typically in the 6 to 12 range in the evening streaming client wise and see my CPU get pegged once in a while but so far no complaints so I get by. I only keep about 200 of my most recent movies in 720p. Typically I've found most people play the recently added stuff the most so this takes a large part of the strain off transcoding. If someone goes for an older movie it can get transcoded as I still have enough CPU to handle it.
This has worked pretty well for me unless a few people go on a TV Show binge where they start at season 1 going through the whole list of seasons. I've got one person doing this with Law and Order SVU and another watching CSI Vegas and both are using the Now TV box which I believe only does 720p.
I'm getting low on storage space and due another upgrade. In this next update I'll probably allow for 5 to 10 TB just for 720/3mb files so I can have more of these files on hand and further reduce CPU usage.
One obvious thing you can do is try and communicate with those using your system to see if you can get them setup so they direct stream (assuming they have adequate bandwidth). This is obviously the best thing you can do as it instantly takes the load off of your CPU.
Let me know how you make out and progress doing this. There are only a couple of us doing this that I know of so it would be good to learn from each other.
Carlo
