First of all, i just want to apologize if i should’ve put this in a existing thread instead, But since my question is directed towards my specific setup, i thought this would be the best way.
So, as the title says, I am looking to start watching more content in 4K since it’s actually a huge f*cking difference!
However, I am running into the issue where it’s buffering every ~5 - 10 seconds. What is causing this? Is my computer too weak? Is my router simply too slow to send the data? I really want help to figure out what the issue is so that i can fix it and start watching in 4K!
My setup:
Computer running the server:
CPU i5-7600K @ 3.9ghz
RAM 8GB Corsair @ 1.5ghz x2 (Total 16GB)
Plex server client is installed on NVMe SSD drive and the movie file is stored on a HDD.
GPU MSI GTX 1080.
According to what i’ve found, GPU doesn’t play any role for the server-side of things, but ill include what i have anyway.
The “client” where i’m running the media on is a Xbox One X. I don’t know the exact TV model, But it is a 4k TV and i am streaming 4k media through Netflix without issues.
All the network connection is through high-speed cables. Router is a Asus RT-N56U with latest firmware.
I really appreciate the help and look forward to your answers!
Not all 4K is equal so I can only guess what you are trying to play. 2 posibilities.
1 - Netflix streams their 4K content around 15 Mbps. A ripped 4K movie can be 50-100 Mbps, or even higher. Most TVs only have a 100 Mbps ethernet port. If your video is at the higher end of the bitrate scale, you can run into network limitations.
2 - If PMS has to transcode the video, your CPU may not be up to the task. The only benchmark we have is for 1080p videos and you need a CPU with a passmark score of 2000 to handle a 10 Mbps H264 video. As a quick estimate, your CPU has a score of ~9000 so you should be able to transcode a 45 Mbps video. Anything above that might be too much for your CPU.
The only way to know for sure is if you can provide the XML for a specific video causing this problem and the logs while you are playing this video.
Alright, i had no idea about the different speeds. I have checked and my Xbox One X (that is running the content) and my PC is capable of speeds at 100 Mbps. Same goes for the router.
From my understanding, Transcoding is only necessary when the target client can’t run the “max” quality of the video file, correct? That’s nothing i’m really interested in. If it is indeed the Mbps that is the issue, i will just target films and series in a setting that can be streamed without transcodig.
I’ve attached the zip file of logs as well as the XML, And i do hope there’s logs regarding the Xbox One as well. I started the logging on the Xbox, let the film run for ~ 10 min with buffering issues and then downloaded the logs.
Transcode means that your server has to convert the file is some way because the client couldn’t play the file as-is. In your case, you have chosen to play PGS subtitles. The XBox app cannot directly play PGS subtitles, so your server is burning them into the video. Your CPU is not able to keep up with this task so you get the buffering that you see. Your video is 4K ~18 Mbps HEVC. Transcoding HEVC is very CPU intensive. Turn off the subtitles and things should improve. If you need subtitles, I see that your file has a SRT subtitle as well, try using that one instead.
I tried your suggestions, but it is still buffering. Not as frequently, But maybe every 1 - 2 minute so it is still unwatchable. I also tried completely without subtitles to see if it made any difference. It did not.
Is there any codec in 4k that doesn’t need to be transcoded? I noticed that the computer is working SUPER hard on transcoding the HEVC, even at 18Mbps.
Is this simply an issue of the Xbox one not supporting the HEVC codec by “default” and therefore needs to transcode the video?
I tried your suggestions, but it is still buffering. Not as frequently, But maybe every 1 - 2 minute so it is still unwatchable. I also tried completely without subtitles to see if it made any difference. It did not.
The subtitles was what I thought was causing the transcoding. I don’t see why your video should transcode otherwise. Can you try again without the subtitle and get me a new PMS log showing this playback?
