4k files not working plex client for mac

[unlucio]

(note: I was going to add my post to Problem playing 4K media - #10 by flaviosantini as it seemed the right thread, but it’s closed)

Server Version#: 1.24.5.5173 (mac) on macbookpro:
MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)
processor: 2,5 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
memory: 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
GPU: AMD Radeon R9 M370X (2G vram)

Player Version#: 1.38.0.2734-ec4489fe (mac)
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016)
processor: 2.7 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
memory: 16 GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3
GPU: AMD Radeon Pro 455 (2G vram)

Every time I try to play a 4k video (2160p, ~20Mbps), no matters if in h264 or HEVC, the video studders making the video unwatchable (It’s basically a slow slideshow), and the whole plex client struggle to the point it’s basically impossible to even pause or stop the video playback.
They work fine (but not great) if I just drop the quality to 1080p but still ~20Mbps.

The same exact files works well when played on the same client machine (MacBook Pro 15-inch, 2016) from the same server, via SMB on INNA, VLC, and even on plex if I access the server directly via browser (so basically via the webclient in a browser)
Playing is fine as well on my Samsung TV both via the Samsung plex client app and the plex app on AppleTV.
Everything is connected via wifi.

What gives?

Considering I can play those files fine pretty much everywhere I would say my computer/network don’t seem to be the problem.
(I’m aware 4k content can spike up to 100+Mbps so wifi could be a bottleneck, but while I’m fine with the occasional dropped frames as said Plex client is dropping pretty much every frame except a few)

[Insomnic_1]

When you playback via Plex for Mac, what is the info you get from your Plex dashboard?
Mine for example:

[unlucio]

[Insomnic_1]

When I play this on my iMac 2015 (3.3Ghz Quad-Core i7/16GB RAM) I get some very mild stuttering - more like frame drops … my iMac is struggling with it just a bit.

Webclient via Safari is not having any problem with it. So a similar experience to you.

I don’t see an obvious way to grab logs for the client app… but am happy to do so if someone points me in the right direction? I’ve attached my server logs shortly after testing playback using Batman Begins; same as screenshot and played Plex for Mac and then played web client.
Plex Media Server Logs_2021-11-28_13-15-41.zip (5.4 MB)

[unlucio]

Well, after 11 days and only 1 person cared about this issue I guess it’s either not considered an issue, or not cared about.

[Menekis]

Hard to tell, i’ve been using it on my 2019 macbook pro without issue

[Insomnic_1]

Might be “older device” issue with the Plex client… don’t really have a good sample set here but might be.

@unlucio

Well, after 11 days and only 1 person cared about this issue I guess it’s either not considered an issue, or not cared about.

Sometimes it’s just timing and needing bumps… posts that drop without a response after a couple days almost never get notice - particularly software related bugs since the Plex Ninjas (helpers) can’t typically help with those as much.

Edit: Tried the new desktop player with the 1.39 web client update - still get a bit choppy of playback.

[forlife]

Maybe the issue is your browser. Can you play 4k HEVC videos from other web players, such as the native player if you go open the file directly?

Does your browser have hardware accelerated decoding enabled? Chrome has this setting in chrome://flags

[Insomnic_1]

Plays fine for me in Safari and Firefox on same Mac via web client there (see notes above - self hosted or at app.plex). I find it hard to believe the browser would have better HEVC support than the native app but it’s possible?

[ohnggni]

Try to use your discrete GPU. I have the same problem with my macbook pro 16inch, 2019. After I force its dedicated GPU to be active, the stuttering issue completely disappeared.

[Insomnic_1]

Isn’t dedicated and discrete the same thing? Do you mean discrete\dedicated vs integrated? I’m not as involved in the hardware stuff as I used to be so I might be confusing these myself as well.

I only have an integrated GPU on my standard iMac so perhaps that’s the issue and why it seems to impact older hardware over newer hardware. Newer hardware got the discrete GPU option to help when integrated wasn’t enough.

Still, the browsers can playback just fine while the dedicated Plex for Mac struggles with the same playback and typically I’d expect a dedicated app to handle playback better than a web app in a browser on the same device.

I did try flipping hardware decoding on/off in Plex for Mac but saw no difference.