what is the best file format to use for Plex on a server that is shared by hundreds of people using a range of different devices?
The most compatible format across devices is a mp4 container, H.264 video (30fps or less, high@4.0 or lower, reference frames 5 or less), and AAC 2.0 audio (320kbps or lower). You can also add AC3 5.1 as a secondary, non-default, audio track for devices that support surround sound. Keep the AC3 bitrate to 640 kbps (Blu-ray disc standard) or lower.
The above will direct play on a Gen 1 Amazon Fire TV Stick from 2014. It should play on most devices introduced since that date.
You may still have some transcodes. For example, if somebody plays a 1080p video on a device with a 720p or 480p screen (low-end or older model mobile phone, tv, etc). The movie will still play, you’ll just see a higher CPU/GPU utilization on your server.
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i have all my movies in MKV 1080p with no issues…
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I was told MKV and avi are processor heavy so I’m converting everything to mp4
Mkv is just a container as is mp4.
Personally I have 80TB of films and shows and not an mp4 amongst them.
There are very few clients that cannot direct play an MKV.
But whatever works best for you.
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Just as a point of interest (OK two points) avi is a VERY old format and should be avoided at all costs and MKV is just a container and what is inside is what matters. It can contain exactly what @FordGuy61 suggested and it will be no more processor intensive than an MP4. The reason MP4 is often recommended over MKV is that there are a number of devices that cannot extract the contents directly from and an MKV but can from an MP4.
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@PDD17 To add a bit more to everybody’s comments.
There are two parts: The container and the contents.
Contents are the most important.
If the Plex client does not support the contents, the Plex server will transcode them to a supported format. Video transcoding is especially compute intensive and should be avoided. The audio/video formats I mention are generally accepted as the most compatible across devices.
The container is important, but less so than contents.
If the Plex client does not directly support the container, then the Plex Server will repackage the contents into a supported container. In Plex terms this is called Direct Streaming. It has a small, but not zero, impact on the server CPU. If you are streaming to a few clients, not a problem. If you are streaming to tens of clients simultaneously then it may become an issue, depending on the robustness of your server CPU.
In your original post you state, “hundreds of people using a range of different devices.” As @Elijah_Baley points out, there are still some devices that do not support MKV containers. Given the number of users, possibly large breadth of devices, and unspecified number of concurrent users, I recommended MP4 to maintain compatibility and reduce load on the server.
For additional information, see How are Direct Play, Direct Stream, and Transcoding different?
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True Apple devices obviously.
I can’t speak for most Apple devices, but TVOS simply muxes the container at about 1% CPU usage.
Even that will come to an end with the new improved player that Plex have in beta.
I have nothing against mp4 I just prefer not to use it.
What I do find strange is someone actually going to the trouble and time consumption of physically doing all that converting without doing real time tests first.
But like I said earlier… each to their own.
All of my videos are in the M4V format. Can you please explain the difference between MP4 and M4V?
For Plex, none. You can use either extension w/o issue. I have several hundred movies with the .m4v extension and Plex has no problem playing any of them.
For iTunes, it is something minor for non-DRM protected movies. If I remember correctly, movies with .m4v display chapters when playing in iTunes. Movies with .mp4 do not show chapters.
Movies purchased from the iTunes store contain DRM and will not play in Plex. If scanned by Plex, both the audio & video display as “DRM.” If you try to play one you receive an error message that the file contains DRM.
If you have Plex pointed at your iTunes movie library, you can use a .plexignore file to have Plex skip DRM protected movies.
Sample .plexignore file, located in .../iTunes Media/Movies folder
# Ignore iTunes movies with DRM
Big Hero 6/*
Ghostbusters/*
As @FordGuy61 said there is functionally no difference between mp4 and m4v in Plex. That is an advantage for me as I use mp4 for regular videos and m4v for audiobooks that have been renamed from mp3 to m4v. This works because Plex on Roku will play videos with no video part just fine on Roku. This gives me functionally full audiobook functionality.
Naming mp4 and m4v as I do makes identifying which are audiobooks easy when performing maintenance within the operating system.
I NEVER though I would be thankful for Apple insisting that they have to be different even when they are not.
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