# Hardware accelerated encoding **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussions\ **Created:** [December 31, 2020, 11:46am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hardware-accelerated-encoding/672327 "2020-12-31T11:46:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![magasinet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@magasinet](https://forums.plex.tv/u/magasinet)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2020, 11:46am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hardware-accelerated-encoding/672327/1 "2020-12-31T11:46:33Z")
I´m having problem encoding with hardware accelereted encoding. I got a 4k stream that´s very laggy. My cpu is running at close to 100% and my gpu only about 10%. Can it be that audio takes so mutch cpu capacity? My speccs are: Intel i7-66700k@4GHz Nvidia geforce gtx 980 Running from a fast ssd and 32GB memory ![plex gpu](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/f/a/fad26e7cef31a174c4cfaf3678136cf9171f444b.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![rmoran99](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/rmoran99/32/220154_2.png) [@rmoran99](https://forums.plex.tv/u/rmoran99)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2020, 1:44pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hardware-accelerated-encoding/672327/2 "2020-12-31T13:44:19Z")
I’m running i6-6700 and same issue with my 4K transcoding. I don’t have an external GPU yet. I’m told my that it’s not good to transcode 4K. Keep a separate folder/file for 4K and only play on 4K devices. Try playing 1080p file and transcoding it. It will say (hw) on the dashboard if using the GPU successfully. If it’s using the CPU it is using the software. ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/8/d/8df331a412cd891cb47bef95a955961644e468f6.jpeg) ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/d/9/d9a67827fc52610e97fa0e0e844da8e7445d5f94.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![magasinet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@magasinet](https://forums.plex.tv/u/magasinet)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2020, 2:14pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hardware-accelerated-encoding/672327/3 "2020-12-31T14:14:59Z")
I have checked that it´s running on the gpu. ![4k](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/d/4/d4ecf2801df91b63fb2ae109b952b6d3c2f4a4f7.jpeg) I also tryed 1080P 20Mbps and it´s still buffering ![1080p 20Mbps](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/c/2/c26c0c6ff1ffec337417aecc933c582a4ddaf134.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![rmoran99](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/rmoran99/32/220154_2.png) [@rmoran99](https://forums.plex.tv/u/rmoran99)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2020, 2:55pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hardware-accelerated-encoding/672327/4 "2020-12-31T14:55:24Z")
That’s great that it’s running on the HW, but it’s not supposed to according everyone else. You NEVER transcode 4K. It’s a No-No. (I still try it too) > [@\[INFO\] Plex, 4k, transcoding, and you - aka the rules of 4k](https://forums.plex.tv/t/info-plex-4k-transcoding-and-you-aka-the-rules-of-4k/378203): > > NOTE: for 2022 – Plex has come a long way since this FAQ was originally written, HW transcoding has become more available and more stable, and tone mapping was recently added to address the hdr/sdr color conversion issues. The first 4 ‘rules’ generally are no longer as important as they once were, but may still be a good thing to bear in mind. Dolby Vision, is an entirely other mess. THIS thread/FAQ is NOT about DV. DV work is still in progress, and there are no perfect TV’s or external devic… ---
**Author:** ![TeknoJunky](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/teknojunky/32/165055_2.png) [@TeknoJunky](https://forums.plex.tv/u/TeknoJunky)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2020, 3:27pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hardware-accelerated-encoding/672327/5 "2020-12-31T15:27:52Z")
@magasinet and @rmoran99 Neither of your CPU, or GPU support hardware 4k/hdr hevc DEcoding, that is why your cpu gets overloaded and you get buffering/stuttering. You need a 7000 series intel cpu + 600 series integrated gpu, or an nvidia card new enough to support hevc decoding (generally 1050 or higher). on your current systems, you should avoid 4k transcoding, you can do this by keeping 4k content in a separate library, or by using plex’s labels feature to restrict them from remote/non-4k users. otherwise, you will have to buy newer hardware that supports the transcoding you want to do. before the recent tone mapping feature was added, even with supported hardware, transcoding 4k hdr would result in washed out colors on most clients. now plex server can provide better color for converted hdr, but you still need hardware that is powerful enough. with supported hardware, you will see (HW) on both lines, like this image ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/8/1/81e446796115d6e14896f4a24f33cda938f9e461.png) ---
**Author:** ![magasinet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@magasinet](https://forums.plex.tv/u/magasinet)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 12:40am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hardware-accelerated-encoding/672327/6 "2021-01-01T00:40:26Z")
thanks for the info! But how do I know what kind of 4k movies i don´t need to transcode? I want to wath it on my LG 50LA660V and I dont understand what I can play on it without encoding. Both video and audio needs to match? ---
**Author:** ![TeknoJunky](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/teknojunky/32/165055_2.png) [@TeknoJunky](https://forums.plex.tv/u/TeknoJunky)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 1:03am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hardware-accelerated-encoding/672327/7 "2021-01-01T01:03:53Z")
> [@magasinet](#): > > LG 50LA660V this isn’t a 4k tv, so you are better off not ripping or downloading 4k content, unless you have a 4k tv that you can watch it on. there is ZERO benefit in trying to use 4k on non-4k devices. ---
**Author:** ![magasinet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@magasinet](https://forums.plex.tv/u/magasinet)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 1:27pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hardware-accelerated-encoding/672327/8 "2021-01-01T13:27:46Z")
Soz, that was my old tv! My tv model is lg oled55b6v and it is a 4k tv ---
**Author:** ![TeknoJunky](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/teknojunky/32/165055_2.png) [@TeknoJunky](https://forums.plex.tv/u/TeknoJunky)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 3:44pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hardware-accelerated-encoding/672327/9 "2021-01-01T15:44:28Z")
playing 4k content on non-4k devices will always transcode the video. so, you either need newer hardware (cpu and/or gpu), or you need to avoid playing 4k on non-4k devices. ---
**Author:** ![magasinet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@magasinet](https://forums.plex.tv/u/magasinet)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 4:04pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hardware-accelerated-encoding/672327/10 "2021-01-01T16:04:16Z")
Yes I know that. But my tv is 4k and i want to watch movies in 4k only on the tv. But I don’t understand what kind of 4k movies i can play on my tv with the plex app without transcoding. ---
**Author:** ![TeknoJunky](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/teknojunky/32/165055_2.png) [@TeknoJunky](https://forums.plex.tv/u/TeknoJunky)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 4:17pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hardware-accelerated-encoding/672327/11 "2021-01-01T16:17:05Z")
well that depends entirely on the tv, did you read the FAQ thread linked above? it provides a whole ton of info and discussion on 4k usage. my guess is simply that you are trying to play truehd audio and/or subtitles, and its causing the server to transcode, and your hardware isn’t new/powerful enough. if reading the thread doesn’t help you figure out the problem, then we need some clean logs from during when the problem occurs. make sure DEBUG server logs are enabled make sure VERBOS server logs are DISABLED ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/c/8/c8af2b9e7fc64537023f56c368bb95aed6a15194.jpeg) - restart plex server (so startup logs are included) - wait ~2-3 minutes for server to settle - play a video that you are having problem with - if it plays, let it play about 60 seconds, then stop it - wait ~30 seconds after stopping - go to [Plex Web](https://app.plex.tv/desktop) \> settings \> troubleshooting \> download logs - drag/drop the whole zip into a reply that should get us started, but if that doesn’t help figure it out, then we may also need the client logs. client log info > **[Log Files | Plex Support](https://support.plex.tv/articles/201869908-log-files/)** > > Log files are an important tool that can be used to help investigate problems you may be having. It’s important... server log info > **[Plex Media Server Logs | Plex Support](https://support.plex.tv/articles/200250417-plex-media-server-log-files/)** > > Log files are an important tool that can be used to help investigate problems you may be having. It’s important... ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 4:17pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/hardware-accelerated-encoding/672327/12 "2021-04-01T16:17:08Z")
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