@AmazingRando24 said:
Man, all of that should work. Even my cheesy old AMD could handle two 1080 streams. As long as you’re hard wired with a gigabit connection between the router and the Plex Media Server box, everything else should be gravy.
Waaah! I’ve been trying to trouble shoot probably a year. I am going to disable Norton and see if that does anything. I have been sitting all day watching movies buffer. I am sort of a basic end user… cryin’ and tryin’.
@AmazingRando24 said:
Man, all of that should work. Even my cheesy old AMD could handle two 1080 streams. As long as you’re hard wired with a gigabit connection between the router and the Plex Media Server box, everything else should be gravy.
I am hard wired from router to server. How do I tell if it is a gigabit?
Check your PC and your router. There should be a total of two lights blinking where the cord goes in to both the PC and the Router.
Right light only -10mbps
Left light only - 100mpbs
Both lights - 1000mbps - What you want
That might help you with a faulty connection in the chain.
@AmazingRando24 said:
Check your PC and your router. There should be a total of two lights blinking where the cord goes in to both the PC and the Router.Right light only -10mbps
Left light only - 100mpbs
Both lights - 1000mbps - What you wantThat might help you with a faulty connection in the chain.
Thanks Rando. I found lots of blinking lights. I have 7 blue lights and all are blinking but for the power light and that is a solid blue. 1) Solid blue power light. 2) blinking blue light with internet symbol 3) blinking blue light with globe symbol. The other 4 blinking lights are each dedicated to server, CC Ultra, CC 2nd gen, and Hue bridge.
@AmazingRando24 said:
Check your PC and your router. There should be a total of two lights blinking where the cord goes in to both the PC and the Router.Right light only -10mbps
Left light only - 100mpbs
Both lights - 1000mbps - What you wantThat might help you with a faulty connection in the chain.
And… I actually followed your signature as to cables… I updated all ethernet cables to cat7- even if overkill. No cable is longer than 10’ and they are all brand new and securely attached.
@AmazingRando24 said:
Also, check Settings > Server > Transcoder and ensure “Use hardware acceleration when available” is checked. That might help speed up the process a bit.
Yup. It is checked. I would actually buy an i7 if I thought it would help. I would buy a new router. I would sell my cat.
@AmazingRando24 said:
I run the i7-6700 which has handled 5 remote streams without breaking a sweat. And that was before Hardware Transcoding was introduced.
Amazing Rando,
As a “Plexbert”, would it matter if I am sucking up my CPU resources with other non-Plex related activities? I often use Playon to record videos from the Internet. Could that be the cause? I can trouble shoot that in about 1.5 hours as I am currently downloading.
Kelly
@UnicornWasher said:
@AmazingRando24 said:
I run the i7-6700 which has handled 5 remote streams without breaking a sweat. And that was before Hardware Transcoding was introduced.Amazing Rando,
As a “Plexbert”, would it matter if I am sucking up my CPU resources with other non-Plex related activities? I often use Playon to record videos from the Internet. Could that be the cause? I can trouble shoot that in about 1.5 hours as I am currently downloading.
Kelly
Playon uses “Intel hardware acceleration” for transcoding.
@UnicornWasher said:
@AmazingRando24 said:
I run the i7-6700 which has handled 5 remote streams without breaking a sweat. And that was before Hardware Transcoding was introduced.Amazing Rando,
As a “Plexbert”, would it matter if I am sucking up my CPU resources with other non-Plex related activities? I often use Playon to record videos from the Internet. Could that be the cause? I can trouble shoot that in about 1.5 hours as I am currently downloading.
Kelly
Playon uses “Intel hardware acceleration” for transcoding.
I doubt PlayOn would cause as much havoc as you describe regularly, unless you’re using it a LOT. To test that theory, you can run the Task Manager while you’re streaming and/or recording. One of the tabs will show the CPU usage. Check it when you’re having the worst issues. If it’s maxing out, you’ve found your problem.
Lights on the router… The ones I’m looking for should light up right where the cable plugs in. There should be two tiny ones right above the cable. Don’t panic if they’re not there. Not every router will have them. Your PC should though.
You could also try Handbraking your files down to a smaller bitrate.
@AmazingRando24 said:
I doubt PlayOn would cause as much havoc as you describe regularly, unless you’re using it a LOT. To test that theory, you can run the Task Manager while you’re streaming and/or recording. One of the tabs will show the CPU usage. Check it when you’re having the worst issues. If it’s maxing out, you’ve found your problem.
Lights on the router… The ones I’m looking for should light up right where the cable plugs in. There should be two tiny ones right above the cable. Don’t panic if they’re not there. Not every router will have them. Your PC should though.
You could also try Handbraking your files down to a smaller bitrate.
THANK YOU, Amazing Rando. I think you nailed it with my CPU usage. I use PlayOn like a maniac. However, I also use My Movie Moviemaker just as much and often with PlayOn.
Total CPU with only PlayOn is 61%, with PlayOn consuming 40%.
Total CPU with only MovieMaker is 100%, with Movie maker consuming 88%. :o
When I use both PlayOn and Moviemaker, my CPU is 100% (MM 50% and PlayOn 40%) 
So… lesson learned is that I cannot run these beasts if I hope to watch Plex at the same time. i am crying happy tears.
-Kelly <3
Dood… Have you verified by running Plex solo?
If you’re looking for a good place to put dollars, get another box to do the other tasks. Leave your Plex box running solo.
@AmazingRando24 said:
Dood… Have you verified by running Plex solo?
If you’re looking for a good place to put dollars, get another box to do the other tasks. Leave your Plex box running solo.
I had some tiny buffering when I started, but nothing that would have prompted any pleas for help. Currently, I have been running two videos, for about 2 hours, with no issues! 
My CPU is only about 6%. I haven’t yet tested a remote user.
When you say “get another box”… do mean you something like a NAS or another computer? I am looking to throw down some dollars as I am running out of storage, but I am low on ideas. (I’m also looking for a solution for my remote users so they dont have to text me to stop work on my computer just so they can watch a movie. :o )
My server is my notebook and my storage is 4 8TB of external drives. I was planning on buying two more $$. (I currently have 16TB of media and I use the other 16TB for backup. I need 24TB for media and 24TB for storage.) I was already going to spend about $400 for additional storage, but I can throw down some more cash to improve my current setup.
Any ideas, suggestions, recommendations will be greatly appreciated. B)
-Kelly
Hey @UnicornWasher (Kelly).
Sorry. I’m having a pretty hectic weekend and things haven’t gone to plan.
Anyway @AmazingRando24 has given you some great advice and helped you pinpoint some major issues 
Personally if you have some cash to spend I will seriously consider a PC to act as the server. A laptop is never gonna be ideal as your system expands.
What exactly do you mean when you say “I need 24TB for media and 24TB for storage.” ?
But either way I really would try to prioritise upgrading the system rather than the storage. A NAS is an option I guess but not a route I have ever gone down. It would need a careful choice or you could seriously end up with something under powered, unless you can be 100% sure that all your media will be direct playable to EVERY client (both yours and anyone who you share with.)
A PC similar spec to what you have in the laptop should be fine and yeah hardware transcoding just rocks, when the need to transcode arises.
Hey Hitsville,
Welcome back and thank you for such a thoughtful response. I will need to digest what you wrote so that I can figure out the logistics as I am confused as to how I can have two computers going at the same time. I need to think so that I can ask the right questions. 
I am not opposed to buying a PC and space is not an issue. I treat my notebook like a pc… it is always closed and I use a monitor across the room.
@UnicornWasher said:
Hey Hitsville,Welcome back and thank you for such a thoughtful response. I will need to digest what you wrote so that I can figure out the logistics as I am confused as to how I can have two computers going at the same time. I need to think so that I can ask the right questions.
I am not opposed to buying a PC and space is not an issue. I treat my notebook like a pc… it is always closed and I use a monitor across the room.
Depending on your usage, a Nvidia shield pro could be a very good solution for a Plex Media server under 300$. With its HW it can transcodes 3-4 file at once. Just look at the support documents for its limitations.
@KarlDag said:
Depending on your usage, a Nvidia shield pro could be a very good solution for a Plex Media server under 300$. With its HW it can transcodes 3-4 file at once. Just look at the support documents for its limitations.
D’oh. Hadn’t thought of that…Awesome idea
EDIT… But check up on USB ports. Just googled it and it seems to be 2 x USB3.0 and 1 x USB2.0.
I would have no idea if you would be able to get any port multiplying going on?
@HitsVille said:
@KarlDag said:
Depending on your usage, a Nvidia shield pro could be a very good solution for a Plex Media server under 300$. With its HW it can transcodes 3-4 file at once. Just look at the support documents for its limitations.D’oh. Hadn’t thought of that…Awesome idea
I’m just a bit unsure about his storage… can the shield support 4 HDD on a USB hub? Not sure about that.
EDIT I guess he could just share the storage from his PC. That’s actually how I tested my own Shield’s server.
Yeah sadly though the server is a laptop not a PC. So it would probably get messy.
Gotta say tho if that can be overcome it would be a stellar option.
I already have this: Anker 10 Port 60W Data Hub with 7 USB 3.0 Ports and 3 PowerIQ Charging Ports for Macbook, Mac Pro / mini, iMac, XPS, Surface Pro, iPhone 7, 6s Plus, iPad Air 2, Galaxy Series, Mobile HDD, and More
