To avoid compatibility issue and direct play on LAN I would have to separate my 4K library from 1080. Once I have all 4K media in a separate library how to enable (FORCE) for only this 4K library to Direct Play with compatible devices and throw error if device is incompatible?
Thereās no way within PLEX to do that, what you would do is only use 4K Media on 4K Compatible devices, and donāt share it with anyone who doesnāt have a 4K Compatible deviceā¦
The other way you could accomplish it is with Tautulli and Scripts. Thereās a Kill Stream script for Tautulli that will kill on any transcode, and you could limit it to just that library if you wanted to.
Since 4K TVs with 1 gig Ethernet do not exist, how can Plex Direct Play on 4K TV?
The only way is to choose compatible audio stream (ie dolbydigital/dts 5.1 or stereo) and (generally) keep subtitles off.
Even then you are at the mercy of the connection to the tv, 100mb connection may be enough for some/many movies, but some may buffer or stutter because they can exceed 100+mb.
Wifi can sometimes be better than 100, or worse, that all depends on your wifi equipment and how much other wifi in the area conflicts.
please re-read the 4k FAQ linked above as many times as it takes to understand.
please explain. choose where?
What about Nvidia Shield?
every 4k bluray has multiple audio streams.
the default is typically the lossless high bit rate HD audio (ie truehd+atmos or dts-hd-ma).
when you rip a 4k bluray, you will want to include the other audio streams such as dolby digital 5.1 or stereo.
You can choose the audio stream from the pre-play screen, or while playing by bringing up the play menu > settings > audio.
above you would choose the ac3 5.1 audio.
Nvidia shield can direct play nearly all content, however to direct play HD audio, you must also have a receiver or soundbar that the shield can pass the HD audio through to.
SO, shield > hdmi > 4k/atmos receiver > hdmi > tv
Please read the 4k faq linked previously, it has all the answers.
disabling transcoding will not magically make your tv or other player NOT transcode, the only thing disabling transcoding will do is NOT PLAY AT ALL
Nevertheless I would like to move all 4K content to one exclusive 4k library and disable trascoding for such library. Is it possible? How?
this beta version @ Plex Media Server will let you disable transcoding (still a work in progress) for the whole server.
It is NOT possible to disable transcoding for one library.
Again, disabling transcoding will not make the videos play. It will make them NOT play.
The only way to avoid transcoding is to play content on devices that are compatible with the video codec (ie hevc), the audio codec (ie truehd/ac3/dts), and subtitles if enabled (srt/pgs/etc).
My recommendation is to have a 720p/1080p version of the same item alongside the 4K version. Then use Tautulli to disable 4k Transcoding. So only the 720p/1080p version will transcode and if someone tries to transcode the 4K version the stream will get killed with a message of your choosing. This is what I do.
Below is my killstream script parameters. Kills and streams where the video is transcoding (still allows container and/or audio transcoding) by anyone other than my admin and test user account.
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What is the Nvidia Shield model you recommend?
Please provide actual model number. Ignore prices.
The one everyone recommends is the NVIDIA Shield TV Pro 2019 Model, itās the new one that Supports Dolby Vision
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How is this Nvidia Shield being set up?
Is it getting set up as a Plex client or server or both?
Keep in mind my 4K and 1080 content is on the server with 14TB space.
Does this mean that the storage will keep 2 copies of the same media?
This will increase HD space?
Correct itās the best option at present, I do not recommend sharing and trans code 4K titles.
At $0.02/GB, storage is the easiest and most cost effective way to handle the issue currently. Maintaining 1 full 50-80GB Remux in 4K HDR and 1 4-8GB 1080p compressed copy is relatively cheap to accomplish. It means for every 1080p movie you need additionally, it will cost you 16 extra cents, instead of the ridiculous processor or video card and the amount of power it/they will consume; that you would need in order to be able to transcode and save yourself that 16 cents.
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In addition to spending $$$k on the server, I have spent another $200+ for Nvidia Shield Pro 2019 so i can view 4K content. Set up as Plex client (server disabled)
If shield indeed is a solution bypassing direct Ethernet wired connection to TV which can only handle 100mbps vs. shield 1gig, we will soon find out as I will play some heavy 4K content to test this as the shield is attached to 1080p TV.
So technically this is not true 4K. If it does work it would mean that I would have to purchase shield for each TV in my home and family. This is not a good solution by any means.
I would like to know, people who responding to this support post, are they PLEX team expert members or Plex Pass holders?
If you look to the right of everyoneās name, it lets you know their status. Plex Pass = Plex Pass member, Team Member = Plex Employee, Plex Ninja = Moderator
Wifi can exceed 100Mbps, my Sony 4K TV only has 100Mbit ethernet, but over Wifi on a 5Ghz connection I can get up to gigabit speeds. I donāt own a shield and stream 4K to that TV all the time, both via itās own AndroidTV interface, and a Firestick TV 4K.
How is $200 per TV more economical than 1-2 Additional Hard drives for 1080 content? This blows my mind. More Hard drives, and splitting libraries is the EASIEST AND CHEAPEST way to work around this problem. Doing it any other way (Video card for HW Transcoding, Shields for every tv, etc) will just cost you more money than itās worthā¦ I donāt get itā¦ I really donātā¦
Not a single Plex Team member contributed here. How to ask for support from Plex employee?
Also on my Nvidia Shield I have to manually select Audio stream:
True HD 7.1
ACS 5.1
DTS HD MA 5.1
Unless I select manually correct codec, 4K Media would not play correctly on shield. There will be distortion on screen. Is there a way to automatically having shield determine the correct stream?
What kind of Distortion? And which audio track types cause the distortion youāre seeing?
