I have been using Plex for quite some time now and I’m very happy with it. I do however have a common reoccuring scenario that is quite annoying. This involves new, not so tech-savvy users (which they all are).
I often get complain after a few weeks that the quality is quite bad/not the best. This is because the default remote quality settings in most (if not all) apps are quite low. My 1080p 20Mbit/s bitrate content gets transcoded to 2Mbit/s 720p or something similar, while my CPU load increases because of the transcodes. So my users experience degraded quality while my CPU load/bill increases. Not an optimal situation.
I then have to guide my users how to increase the quality, which usually works until they try on a new device and all of a sudden we are back on square one and I have to chase them down time and time again to ask them to raise the quality settings due to my CPU load.
Is there any way at all to go around this? Optimal for me would be that when I invite users, I select that as long as they use my server the quality should be original as default. I dont want to disable transcodes all together, there are still rare cases where its needed due to device incompatibility - not due to bandwith issues.
I hope I made my issue clear. I love Plex but the current situation where bad quality + transcodes occur for no good reason except for the default settings in the users Plex app is quite annoying.
Unfortunately the Plex app sets the remote quality. The default setting in the Plex app is 4Mbps/720p. The only way to change that is to have your friends bump up the app’s remote quality setting.
Unless you have some of the best internet on Planet Earth a 20Mbps upload stream is going to be an unrealistic goal (I say as I sit here trying to figure out how to get a 20Mbps stream through my 6Mbps Upload Pipe - LOL). If it is possible you should have your friends set the remote quality to ‘Original’. The files should at that point Direct Play, but the chances of pulling that off are fairly slim.
You can create optimized versions - if you were a Plex Pass user (I think) and are willing to let Plex’s Transcoder create a lower quality version for you. Alternately you can create adequate copies for remote streaming purposes with Handbrake (for instance) that have lower bit rates. 3.5 to 4.5Mbps is generally considered ‘good enough’. It’s pretty much what Netflix and Amazon Prime consider ‘good enough’. Those bit rates will deliver acceptable quality and stand a better chance of being delivered. If you create 1080p versions at 3.5 to 4.5Mbps and name them appropriately Plex will ‘Merge’ them into one item and your friends will be able to select that version at playback time. They should change their remote quality to 8Mbps/1080p and then those versions will Direct Play. Your server will just deliver them as they are.
There’s a bulletproof Handbrake Guide in my signature - if you want to tackle creating ‘Remote Versions’. Alternately you could purchase a Magnum, State of the Art Super Computer and let Plex try to transcode everything that’s going remote, but what’s really going to happen is Plex’s transcoder will churn out some of the most premium trash you ever saw and your friends will still be complaining.
In the end - you’re going to have to teach your friends how to deal with Plex or they’re going to have to live with what Plex delivers to them. Your options are fairly limited and their options are really limited.
I’m bumping this post because I have the exact same issue and concern as the OP.
The lack of a universal remote quality setting for my server is beyond frustrating. Without this feature, I’m forced to walk most of my users through the process for setting their remote streaming quality for each and every client they use. My users span the full spectrum of technical competence and virtually none of them remember that they should check their remote quality settings. So I am left to decide between nagging my users to stop playing their show/movie while simultaneously trying to remember the odd settings/config options for each potential client (because few of the client menus are intuitive to casual users) OR having my server needlessly transcode due to the global default.
I just had a user stream a H264 MP4 file transcoded down to the inane default of 4mbps 720p (from 20Mbit 1080p) via Chrome on a 2016 Macbook Pro over Wireless AC tied to his 500Mb fiber line from my server with tons of overhead on a gigabit uplink. Yes, I can absolutely understand that many users don’t have enough power or bandwidth to deliver content in a consistent manner but I can’t fathom why server owners aren’t offered the option of telling clients which default to use. I am capable of offering my users a pretty great Plex experience, but most of them don’t realize it because the defaults cause unneeded reductions in quality (and power usage on my end).
With the rollout of Automatic Quality settings, I expect this issue to be slightly alleviated but a server-side setting is still the best foundational fix for improving user engagement and experience quality. How can this get added to the dev pipeline?
This has always been a pet peave of mine as well. I too have to walk all my users through changing the settings to original on every client so they can direct play my stuff without having to transcode. I take great pride and time in making sure all my media is direct playable before it’s added to Plex.
I also have 350Mb upload (usually closer to 400Mb) so I’d rather use bandwidth then CPU. This will give my clients the best picture quality possible. Unfortunately “out of the box” every client will still want to transcode my media.
Thanks for sharing guys. I find it hard to believe that we are the only users who interpret this “limitation” as an issue. Hopefully this thread will catch on because this is the only and biggest issue I currently see with Plex. I appreciate the fact that some users doesnt share the content the same way I do, but everyone that shares with 5+ concurrent users (1080p 10Mb+) who doesnt sit on a very powerful CPU and are generally clueless must suffer at some point.
@JuiceWSA said:
Unfortunately the Plex app sets the remote quality. The default setting in the Plex app is 4Mbps/720p. The only way to change that is to have your friends bump up the app’s remote quality setting.
#J: Fair enough, but this default setting is exactly what I want to be able to configure.
Unless you have some of the best internet on Planet Earth a 20Mbps upload stream is going to be an unrealistic goal (I say as I sit here trying to figure out how to get a 20Mbps stream through my 6Mbps Upload Pipe - LOL). If it is possible you should have your friends set the remote quality to ‘Original’. The files should at that point Direct Play, but the chances of pulling that off are fairly slim.
#J: Where I live, 100Mbit/s upload is very common, “best internet on the Planet Earth” is hardly the case. My greatest limitation is the CPU, I rather direct play/direct stream with 60-70Mbit/s upload than transcode 3-4 streams with 99% CPU load. CPU load cost energy (money) and heat. Upload cost nothing.
You can create optimized versions - if you were a Plex Pass user (I think) and are willing to let Plex’s Transcoder create a lower quality version for you. Alternately you can create adequate copies for remote streaming purposes with Handbrake (for instance) that have lower bit rates. 3.5 to 4.5Mbps is generally considered ‘good enough’. It’s pretty much what Netflix and Amazon Prime consider ‘good enough’. Those bit rates will deliver acceptable quality and stand a better chance of being delivered. If you create 1080p versions at 3.5 to 4.5Mbps and name them appropriately Plex will ‘Merge’ them into one item and your friends will be able to select that version at playback time. They should change their remote quality to 8Mbps/1080p and then those versions will Direct Play. Your server will just deliver them as they are.
#J: Again, fair enough but this requires A LOT more disk space.
There’s a bulletproof Handbrake Guide in my signature - if you want to tackle creating ‘Remote Versions’. Alternately you could purchase a Magnum, State of the Art Super Computer and let Plex try to transcode everything that’s going remote, but what’s really going to happen is Plex’s transcoder will churn out some of the most premium trash you ever saw and your friends will still be complaining.
In the end - you’re going to have to teach your friends how to deal with Plex or they’re going to have to live with what Plex delivers to them. Your options are fairly limited and their options are really limited.
#J: I can teach them all day long but they all want a fluent experience without the need to change settings all the time. To be honest, I would be quite happy with a simple configurable warning if they do not choose “original” as remote quality. That way they get a chance to change the settings without me having to contact them again and again and again…
I am certain as soon as you make that Feature Request in the Plex Pass Forum Plex will leap into action providing exactly what you need.
Should only take a few minutes for them to see the request and create the change, that you as a Plex Passer will have almost instant access to.
There will be no need for cumbersome work-arounds.
Good Luck - The Life Time Membership is the best deal (in the long run).
PS:
Don’t be discouraged when you see those other Feature Requests that are old enough to have formed stalagmites, with hundreds of ‘Like Votes’. I’m sure there’s a good explanation for that.
Well, this is retarded… Now my server runs super hot, having 99% cpu load, 12-16 hours a day. Looks like it is time to ditch Plex and go back to Kodi. Tired of burning kilowatts because someone decided to change defaults which is impossible to change for us, users (server admins).
I recently moved my Plex Server out of home due to noise complaints by the wife and immediately all my content became “remote” to me. I can no longer access the plex app via it’s local address (eg. 192.168.1.100:32400), but I have to either tunnel to my server, or use the https://app.plex.tv << web app.
Every time I go to app.plex.tv -> settings -> web -> quality and I see this
I’ve changed it to all possible values, saved a gazillion of times… and still in a matter of a few hours it would reset back to 2mbps. Accessing my personal web app, even remotely, always shows “Original” as my preferred choice - which is how I want it to be.
Very interested in this. If we know we have enough bandwidth and CPU resources, we should force Original quality to our users since (as others have stated) they don’t have the technical prowess to change the quality settings themselves.
@tnikolov said:
I recently moved my Plex Server out of home due to noise complaints by the wife and immediately all my content became “remote” to me. I can no longer access the plex app via it’s local address (eg. 192.168.1.100:32400), but I have to either tunnel to my server, or use the https://app.plex.tv << web app.
Every time I go to app.plex.tv → settings → web → quality and I see this
I’ve changed it to all possible values, saved a gazillion of times… and still in a matter of a few hours it would reset back to 2mbps. Accessing my personal web app, even remotely, always shows “Original” as my preferred choice - which is how I want it to be.
Are you guys having the same issue?
That is not set to 2 Mb since the check box is not clicked. The value below is only valid if you have the checkbox selected.
What you ALSO need to do is check every client you use and change the REMOTE speeds. I think by default they are set to 4 Mb/720 for remote and ORIGINAL for LAN.
I got enough bandwith (1000/1000mbit fiber) and computing power but client side always defaults to 4mbit 720p which looks awful compared to 1080p 20mbit+. (Specialy on 65inc+ TVs).
My friends and co-workers which I have given access to the PLEX gets less of a experince and even if I tell them how to change quality they fail to understand how.
I wish that the Automatic-quality function on the client side would DEFAULT on ENABLED instead of disabled.
Also the issue of not being able to change that on the server side of things is just awful.
Comon PLEX, at least turn on the automatic quality setting in PLEX client!!
I absolutely agree that the automatic functionality needs to be set to automatic at the very least as standard.
I would also say that the remote quality needs to be set per server, by the admin, but that’s a pipe dream currently, the first option should be standard.
Yeah this is a little annoying, I wish you could push the server settings to the users, you should be able to specify what the users can get or, like active directory, push out settings from your server to all users apps
Yeah, I’m tired of explaining how to adjust the quality to people. Can’t I just have a setting on the server that says “Force full quality on clients”?
I don’t even bother explaining how to make the change. If they figure it out by themselves that’s great - if not I don’t care. There’s temporary quality while you watch a video and there’s default quality on every Plex client which is extremely confusing to a new Plex user. I just let my users do whatever they want.
If the auto quality option ever comes it would be nice, but it’s still going to be a transcode of the original file.
Yeah, maybe not force full quality. But force the maximum quality available for the device would be nice. I just want every device to try its best to not transcode when it doesn’t have to.
