Server type:
xeon E5-2670 @2.60Ghz (2 processors)
64g memory
10g Uplink to switch
1G ISP speed
connected to qnap nas ( raid 6)for storage 10g link
windows 2012 server
I am having a hard time transcoding more than 4 streams while i can stream local of 17 but they are all direct play. I have played with the settings and it is not changing the amount of streams i can do. I had a friend of my look at it and he matched his setting to my server but no change. He can do more than 10 streams with a slower processor.
I know this seems like a simple question, but have you confirmed if hardware acceleration is enabled, and working in the status page? This kind of sounds like your friend has acceleration working but yours is not, but that’s just a guess.
yea it is showing the HW on the trancoding. i tried it on 1080 movies also. I did make sure the device i am playing on can handle 4k or even the simple 1080…
In advance , i do appreciate you guys taking the time to give me ideas from your experiences.
I may have your answer.
That is a 4K transcode, and transcoding 4K is a HOG. I have a single E3 (no GPU) and it’s good for a single 4K transcode running the CPU hard pretty hard. I think I can get a 1080p going with the 4K but that would probably tap it out. I can do 4 or 5 1080p’s with no issue, and have never actually tapped the CPU on 1080p trranscodes. I’ve never tried more than that.
That said, there is no reason to use 4K if you are transcoding. You loose any and all benefit in the transcode. I keep both the 4K and a 2K version of my 4K movies on Plex. Plex will actually use the 4K file for direct play, and the 2K file for transcoding, solving the issue. It’s smart enough to manage this correctly.
Thank you for the reply, I have used a movie Rambo as a test and that is 1080. My friend also has a gig connection on his isp. So when he test it he can do 3 transcoding plus what i am watching at home. I used the 4k to see if the hardware GPU was being used. With that in mind on some of my 4K movies i converter to be watch on tv just in case that person does not have a 4k device. I have rebuild the plex server app by wiping the library and still the same issue. I tested the throughput on the server. I really dont know if i need to delete my movies and start over but everyone is telling me it a waste of time since that might not be the issue. I know i have the hardware but i am overlooking something.
Sorry if i sound frustrated , but i tring to figure this out on my own but not giving up so easy.
I see you are on 2012 server. I’m on unRAID so major difference there.
Is your friend on Windows Server as well? What other software is running in the background that could be causing your machine to get bogged down?
Can you start a transode of a single 1080 and then a single 4K and see what your CPU usage looks like?
When you say you “can’t transcode more than 4” what error are you getting? or is it not an actual error but the server grinding down?
The 4K is direct play in that instance, not transcoded. See how much of a difference it makes on CPU usage when you transcode the 4K file or both.
A thought, If you are using hardware acceleration, IE offloading the transcoding to your GPU, it shouldn’t be your CPU bogging you down. Does your friend have a similar GPU or is that where the difference may lie.
I’d progressively add 4K transcodes (since that seems to be what you are trying to accomplish) and see what it does to your CPU and verify you are doing HW transcoding what that occurs. I’d also give it a try with HW transconding turned off and see what the difference is?
Having said that I’m still not sure why you wouldn’t keep both the 4K and 2K movies on the server and let it use the 2K for transoding, 4K when you can get the benefit. There is no point to using a 4K file if you transcode.
I’m also not quite sure what you were hoping to accomplish by rebuilding your library. What were you thinking there?
At one point i though that it could be my files that been giving plex a hard time. i thought of doing it out of fustration. When I do a test from the outside of my network to see how much i can handle, i try to have multi device to play a movie as a load test until it starts to buffer.
