Disable only 4k transcoding

[xorexordy]

Hello,

I have an i5-8600k paired with an GTX970. I have the latest PMS, ples pass and tautulli 2.6.5.

I want disable transcoding of 4k or HDR content, but allow transcoding of any other resolution.

A single 4k transcode uses around 80% of my CPU.
If I’m gaming this makes the games stutter.
And if I’m sleeping it makes the fans do enough noise to take me out of bed to shutdown the server or send a message to whoever is asking plex to transcode and take some minutes to educate him (again and again, because people don’t care or remember these things).

I don’t have space to isolate the server better or money to make it quieter or transcode better.

Disabling all transcoding is not an option because 1080 to any other resolution is done via GPU silently.

This should be a simple checkbox in the settings. Making it depend to my users to know and manage this is an issue.

I’ve tried this https://dailysysadmin.com/KB/Article/2894/stop-or-disable-plex-from-transcoding-4k-content-using-tautulli-scripts/ but it does nothing.

Can anyone help me? Thank you.

[FordGuy61]

The capability to disable transcoding based on resolution does not currently exist in Plex.

As a workaround, many users choose not to share 4K content to avoid the situation you currently face.

There is a feature request to disable 4K transcoding. Consider adding your vote at the top of the thread:

Disable 4K Transcoding

Transcoding Settings should have option to “disable” 4K files transcoding. One movie folder contains: 4K version 1080p Plex should take 1080p version for transcoding instead of 4K. 4K transcoding needs super power CPU. Without this option 4K movies must be in the seperate library or must adding 720p version.

[FordGuy61]

@xorexordy

I have an i5-8600k paired with an GTX970.

I’m not sure if this is possible given how you use your system. It might mess up your gaming. It would help with Plex transcoding.

If possible, set your PC to have the Intel Quick Sync Graphics in the 8600k as the primary GPU in the system. Plex can then use it to decode HEVC video, taking some of the load off of the CPU. It won’t completely solve the issues you are facing, but it might mitigate them somewhat.

• Plex uses the primary GPU in the system for hardware transcoding.
• If the primary GPU is not available or is not compatible, Plex falls back to using the CPU. Plex cannot take advantage of multiple GPUs in a system (Feature Request).
• HDR media is HEVC 10-bit or 12-bit video.
• The GTX970 cannot decode HEVC video, so Plex uses the CPU instead (which is why it hits 80% utilization).
• The i5-8600K has Intel UHD Graphics 630, which can decode HEVC 10-bit media.
• If the GPU in the 8600K is set as the primary GPU in the system, Plex will use it to decode the video, reducing the load on the CPU. Your fans will still ramp up, but at a slower rate.

[Alucard1]

There are a couple of options. You can tag the 4K movies and when you share the library do not allow sharing of that tag. The better solutions would be to create an optimized version of the movie so the optimized version plays direct or transcodes instead of the 4K version. You can optimize from the … menu of the movie poster.