Hardware encoding works, so I think my setup is configured correctly.
When I’m optimizing a file the load on my video card is 24% or less.
My HTPC is geared toward Kodi and has a simple GT 1030 card. I’m willing to upgrade it, but is there any use when the card isn’t fully used?
While the optimizing of the file certainly is faster than without hardware support the CPU (Pentium G4400( load is still high.
Am I overlooking something, or is it just the way things are?
The GTX 1030 only has a decoder chip, hence the CPU is doing the encoding. This is all you need for playback but for Server transcoding trading up to the 1660 will give you gpu decode/encode.
Hardware accelerated transcoding in Plex requires a Plex Pass. See Using Hardware-Accelerated Streaming.
Your userid does not indicate you have a Plex Pass. If you are using the same userid for your PMS, then you are not getting any hardware accelerated transcoding with PMS.
If desired, you can try the $4.99 USD /month Plex Pass, then sign up for longer term if it works for you.
Were you to have a Plex Pass:
As @pl_5309 states, the 1030 cannot encode video, so it is of limited use with Plex.
You would need a 1050 or better to get both decode (H.264/H.265) and encode (H.264) support. Be aware that Nvidia consumer cards are limited to two concurrent transcodes. The third concurrent transcode will hit the CPU. The Nvidia Video Encode & Decode Matrix shows what each video card supports.
Note that the Pentium G4400 supports Intel HD Graphics 510. This means the on-board GPU will support hardware transcoding for H.264 (Not sure about H.265). To take advantage of this capability, you need to make the on-board graphics the primary graphics on your system (typically a BIOS setting) or just remove any video cards (so the system must use on-board graphics).
Suggestion: Sign up for the monthly Plex Pass, pull the 1030 from your system, enable hardware acceleration. Total cost: $4.99 USD. See how you like it. You can then decide whether to keep the Plex Pass, add a different GPU, etc.
@FordGuy61
While it doesn’t show up here I DO have a Plex pass. I took the 30 day trial membership to see if hardware encoding works. (it does) I cancelled it, but expires in 29 days. Then I’ll get a lifetime pass.
I’ll try your video card suggestion if my motherboard has HDMI out. How many transcodes does the G4400 do simultaneously?
Before the GT 1030 I had a GT 710. That worked fine up to 1080. Can the G4400 handle 4k?
I also have an ATI Radeon RX 570. That one decodes and encodes. But just one file at the time.
Is there also a Radeon matrix like the one you linked too?
And what speed can I expect from various cards? Does it get higher with more expensive cards or is the main difference related to gaming?
I don’t know. Basically until it runs out of resources - GPU memory & cycles. PMS should then fall over to the CPU. But I’ve never seen any numbers.
Not sure. You can look it up.
Look up the G4400 at ark.intel.com. There will be a link to a datasheet. The datasheet should have info on what codecs are supported and at what resolution (the datasheet for the Celeron in my NAS has such info).
I’ve never seen any info for AMD video cards. It might exist, I’ve just never seen it.
All Nvidia GTX cards are locked by Nvidia to two simultaneous transcodes. Doesn’t matter if you have a 1050 or a 2080.
In theory, Nvidia’s transcoding algorithms improve with each generation, so quality should be better with the newer cards. However, I’ve never seen any definitive information on that.
There are hacked drivers available to unlock the two transcode limit. You can search the forum for info (I don’t have a link or would include it).
Nvidia Quadro P2000 or better have no set transcode limits. They’ll be limited by their memory & GPU cycles. Search the forum for more info on using these cards. Maybe others with direct experience can chime in as well.
Found the info on Intel web site.
Pentium G4400 at ark.intel.com.
It is Skylake architecture, 6th gen.
Datasheet is at Intel® Core™ Processors Technical Resources. Scroll down to 6th Gen. You want Datasheet, Volume 1. It is a PDF file.
On page 11, it says “This document is for the following…” and lists the G4400.
The interesting section is 2.4 Processor Graphics.
Hardware decoding for H.264/H.265 to 4K, but only 8-bit video. You need 7th gen processor to get 10-bit HEVC decoding. MPEG2 to 1080p. VC1 to 3840x3840 (there are some HD blu-ray discs that use VC1 video).
H.264 hardware encoding to 4K. PMS encodes everything to H.264, so the other codecs don’t matter.
Datasheet says 16 decodes at 1080p, but lists nothing for encodes. I’d take that with a grain of salt and do my own testing. Expect all 4K HDR transcoding to fail horribly. The GPU won’t handle it (8 bit only) and the CPU has nowhere near the cycles to transcode 4K.
Thanks for all the info, I’m going to read it all because knowledge is always a good thing.
That said I wonder if it’s of any use in my situation…
I only have 30Mbps upstream, so it’s not that’s I’m will stream a lot over internet. Considering I want to save some bandwidth for other stuff, I think I cap at 20Mbps, which is just one stream at 720p @ 2000kbps.
Locally I watch using Kodi so no encoding needed.
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