4k Library on Plex SUCCESS and how i did it

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I have a lot of 1080p movies on my plex server running dual CPU’s and 128GB if ram over 10G network. I could never figure out why the system would never serve 4k media over the network to my 4k tvs. The biggest area of confusion for me was TRANSCODING. I thought it was a standard process of sending a movie over the network. This is where I went wrong. For those that have not read the following thread from Tecknojunkie, it’s a MUST READ. Plex, 4k, transcoding, and you - aka the rules of 4k - a FAQ

When I read the above thread, I thought Teknojunkie was asking us not to even use 4k media on plex. What he was stating is not to TRANSCODE the media and instead serve the media in its native 4k format. Transcoding degrades the media from a high resolution movie to a lower version so your tv can play it. There are many reasons why transcoding happens. Your TV is not 4k, your cables are low quality, your network can’t support, etc.

My setup was further complicated due to a control4 video matrix switch tied to my home automation system. All my sources sit in two network racks and are served to all the tv’s over cat6a cable. I will not discuss the video matrix part as it does not apply to most people in this thread.

After doing research on all my playback devices, I came to know most don’t even have gigabyte ethernet designated as 10/100/1000 or 1000baset connections. Most only did 100 mb. Even my ROKU 4k Ultra player did not have a gigabyte ethernet connection. None of my tv’s did either. I could not use any of the TV’s or devices I had to play 4k. What I mean by this is you cannot install plex on a ROKU 4k Ultra or 4k TV and stream 4k media. The flaw is the network port on these devices.

I purchased an Apple TV 4k to test out this issue. Once a few settings on the apple TV were adjusted such as “match quality” the TV started to show 4k content from the plex server. The plexserver dashboard also showed the video was not being transcoded and was being “direct played” . I still had buffering issues but not quite as bad and the recovery was much faster.

I purchased an NVIDIA SHEILD PRO unit as teknojunky was using. This did the trick. The NVIDIA shield was able to effortlessly play back 4k content over my network through my video matrix switch without ANY buffering issues at all. Playback was at approx 80 megs/sec but can spike depending on content being served to over 120 megs/sec. (this is why a gig hardwired connection is a MUST) Wifi won’t cut it.

All of my 4k devices are now playing 4k content directly. This is not a huge difference on a 65" television but does wonders on a JVC 4k Projector. skip forward and reverse are quick also. The video appears right away and doesn’t take a while.

In rooms I do not have a dolby atmos receiver, the audio gets transcoded but this is not a huge problem for a decent server to handle.

I have tested this setup with atleast 12 movies so far. The only time I had an issue was on one movie when I had subtitles set to english. I believe adding subtitles eats away at the processing power of the server since it has to burn it into a live video stream. I removed the subtitles and the problem went away.

Final Setup:
Unraid Server running on a dual CPU supermicro board with 40TB of drive storage
Ubiquiti Networking gear all GIG with 10G wiring and infrastructure in whole home.
Nvidia Shield PRO playback device for all 4k content
High Quality 4k 18g HDMI cables
Cat6A wiring throughout properly terminated. NO QUICK JACKS
Various 4k Televisions from LG
JVC 4k Projector
Dolby ATMOS capable receivers in living and game room.
Control 4 Automation with 4k Video Matrix switch

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Hi appologies, if you have already stated this, but can Nvidia shield handle 4k HDR Hevc video direct stream at 90+ Mbps?

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Yes all day long.

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Thanks very much appreciated :+1:

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WiFi will cut it if you have your WiFi network setup properly. All of my TV’s and Devices stream 4K HDR Remuxes over Wifi effortlessly. I also use Native Sony Android TV and FireTV Stick 4K’s. Was totally unecessary to buy a Shield (though I agree the Shield is a good player, and will also play HDR, I just have other places I’d rather put that $200)

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Jason, you should be clear that you are not trying to use full bitrate 4k remuxes with truehd, though, right ?

And don’t you use staxrip to lower your bitrates as well ?

I agree wifi can work, with a good wifi setup and minimal interference from neighbors etc.

But it can also be a mess. Wifi is just very inconsistent and completely dependent on ones environment and hardware used.

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I don’t use them now, but they certainly do and have worked. The only reason I don’t use them now is remote streaming to people. But I do easily stream full Remuxes to all tv’s and devices.

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Sure, but spending $200 per to hardwire a bunch of NVIDIA Shields is also a bit on the expensive side. You could pick up 4 of these:
https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-AC1200-Wireless-Access-WAC104-100NAS/dp/B01LFSDZCU/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=wireless+ac+access+point&qid=1582844330&sr=8-3

Pop them into the rooms with TV’s/Devices that have Wireless connectivity, and save a ton of money.

Wifi Can and Will work for full on 4K remuxes without spending $200 per TV you want to get it to, was my point.

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my objection doesn’t stem from 4k working over wifi, but that tvs/firesticks/etc won’t be direct playing truehd/atmos.

a blanket statement that full unmodifed 4k bluray remuxes will play (over wifi or ethernet) to tv/firesticks/etc, without qualifying if direct play or not, is deceiving.

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Well, in the OPs original post he’s transcoding Atmos/TrueHD anyways, so I didn’t bring that up, but I did move (and continue to do so) the regular 5.1 tracks to the first position with default flag for all of them anyways, so they don’t transcode. As I said, the Shield is a good device, and for people who want/need it, it’s there, but I’d venture to say most people only 1-2 Atmos/TrueHD setups in their house, everything else is likely on a lower grade soundbar anyways… so…

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ok well see you are not quite using unmodified remuxes then.

I am simply trying to prevent any misinformation for someone to assume they can take their tv/fire stick and magically play a rip/dl without considering the audio compatibility and ways to mitigate the problem.

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I gotcha, and I understand. My point was a good Wifi setup will work under his same conditions without spending $200 per television for full 4K Remuxes. Bitrates wouldn’t be an issue. 100Mbit wired connections WILL pose an issue for the bitrates in Remuxes, but a Wifi connection will sustain them without transcoding. If your Audio is transcoding, switch to the AC3 or DTS track and your audio won’t transcode anymore :wink: I just move mine so I don’t have to switch whenever I watch a movie. I only watch with Atmos/DTS:X/HD-Audio in my theater room and that’s typically via Disc. Plex is setup in there, but with no Shield (I DO plan to get one for in there) it’s moot at the moment.

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I notice your using a shield pro, do you have any playback knowledge on the normal ‘tube’ shield? It has the same processor but 1gb less ram. I’m thinking the extra RAM in the pro would be helpful with 4K?

You prob could get 4K direct play working over wifi but would need router /WAP and clients to have 802.11ac wifi

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