Just got a RasPi 3 model B. running current version on RasPlex
PMS v1.0.3.2461 is setup on a dedicated server on a separate network with a 1GB connection.
At home I normally use My XboxOne for plex and over the last 90 days according to plexpy have not Transcoded a single time. My internet at home is 100MBps.
I Plugged Set up RasPlex at home have absolutely no problems at all.
Brought it over to my friends house who has 10-12MBps internet, he has been having buffering issues on his Xbox360. Set up RasPlex for him and Had immediate issues… Files started Direct Playing, worked great…
Apparently after I left he kept getting a “Playback Failed” message and if/when he was getting the files to play, it would randomly pause/freeze every few minutes for a couple of seconds…
He didn’t tell me until later that night, so I assumed I had too many other users transcoding at the time which was causing too much strain on my servers CPU which was causing his playback issues…
The next day I Took the RasPlex over to different friends house who was getting 15-17MBps. After setting up, the first file we played every couple minutes it would pause/freeze for a few seconds. I went to check my servers CPU to see if that was the issue, it was running at 2%… he was the only one online. Started trying other files and started getting “Playback Failed” messages…
So… with that all said to me it appears to be a download speed problem on the device end… As i had 0 problems at home and they did, But it doesn’t make since to me because it played fine at 10-12MBps while I was at my first friends house, had issues at the second friends house who had a bit faster connection and have other users that only get 5-15MBps using a other devices Roku 3 and don’t ever have issues like these…
Any Ideas?
Sounds like network problems. Turn the cache up and the quality down.
wouldn’t turning quality down just cause it to transcode? thus causing more strain on my Servers CPU?
How high do you think I can turn the Cache up?
@FighterPlex said:
wouldn’t turning quality down just cause it to transcode? thus causing more strain on my Servers CPU?
How high do you think I can turn the Cache up?
Yes it would cause it to transcode if the stream was over the quality limit. I keep my remote clients cache on the maximum which is 30 (5 is default for Rasplex/OpenPHT) for the most part. It just keeps them from having to tinker with the setting when clients have inconsistent network quality. If your clients have different providers or the server is hosted remotely (physically further away say in a co-location/datacenter/seedbox/etc), the routing could change drastically and cause network quality inconsistency.
The only effect will be TV and Movies will take a little longer to cache before starting and skipping through will be delayed a little bit because it will need to re-cache.
Perfect, will first try turning up cache…
What kind of download speeds are required on the client end?
What is causing the “playback failed”
Sent from my Windows 10 phone
From: benjaminwolf
@FighterPlex said:
What kind of download speeds are required on the client end?
Depends on the bitrate of the media. If the movie is 10Mbps video stream and 1.4Mbps Audio stream, then they need at least 11.4Mbps guaranteed download speed for that movie. Not just what’s on their contract with their internet provider.
What is causing the “playback failed”
A failure to playback the media. In this case, I think it’s reaching the end of the streamed cache and failing. This can happen at the beginning of the file if it takes a moment before the stream reaches the client. You can hook up a keyboard, play some media and press ‘i’ to see more information about the current streams bitrates and caches for troubleshooting. VQ and AQ stats, higher is better. They represent stream data that is available to play.
95% of my media has been ran through plex’s transcoder and been optimized using universal TV settings at 8mbps 1080p, the optimized file then transfer to the live folder… looking at the actual bitrates on most of these files its really not that high… not more than 5mbps overall on a good chuck of them…
so when trying to play a certain file that has a 3.4mbps total bitrate from a remote server that has 500+ Mbps upload onto a rasplex using default from the flash settings that has a speedtested 15mbps download. I should not have a problem that would cause playback to fail or cause freezing every few mins while watching it… I would assume…?
Still have not had a chance to change cache and test that out, but will follow up with what I find…
From what you’ve described, there is something wrong with their local client network. I don’t think it’s your server or you would see issues everywhere because the network bottleneck would be at the server and apply to all clients.
This is a localized issue on the client network, whether that is their internet connection, their local LAN, or local WiFi (if applicable). It could be also be a routing issue between the remote server and the clients as well. Their internet provider maybe throttling plex traffic with their network shaping… There are tons of possible causes, but if it works at one house but not at someone elses, it’s their network that is the problem.
The best way is to try the cache maxed out. If issues continue, start lowering the quality. I find that 2mbs is the most reliable quality for the internet connections you describe.
thanks for all your help!
You’re most welcome. Pay it forward when you can. 
