Help Needed With Transcoding Settings

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
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I am running the latest PMS on a Windows 10 desktop with an i5 processor.

I am looking for help in optimizing my transcoding settings as I get reports from family members that during remote playback the HD quality is suffering. I have no issues with local playback.

In the Transcoder area I have:
Transcoder Quality set to Automatic
Throttle buffer to 60
Background transcoding x264 preset to medium
Use hardware acceleration when available IS CHECKED
Use hardware-accelerated video encoding IS CHECKED

Now I’ve watched Plex Sponsored YouTube videos on this and the Byte My Bits fellow says that if you change the Transcoder Quality setting to anything but Automatic that your hardware transcoding doesn’t work. I’m skeptical about this as when a remote user plays a movie it DOES shows hardware (hw) transcoding.

The problem is that with may files, I can’t understand WHY it is transcoding when it should be playing natively.

For example, using a Roku 3 and playing a 720p .mkv file I see it being transcoded with the following information:

Container MKV -> MPEGTS (okay, I’m good with that)
Video Transcode (H264(hw) 720p -> H264(hw) 720p (WHAT’S UP WITH THIS??? WHY is an h264 720p stream being transcoded to EXACTLY the same h264 720p stream???)

I can see the buffer in the Dashboard and it is buffering ahead by about 3 to 4% so it’s definitely transcoding otherwise there would be no buffer.

Any ideas why this is happening, and is there a proper tutorial or video to show to to maximize these settings?

2

remote users typically transcode because one or more of the following things.

  • your upload speed
  • their download speed
  • their plex client remote quality settings (by default is usually 4mbs 720)
  • their client isn’t compatible with the video or audio or subtitles (or any combination)

you are assuming that it is the same x264 720 stream, when it most likely isn’t.

plex can use a variety of different transcoding profiles and bitrates.

you can monitor your log file to determine why something is transcoding

Plex Web > settings > manage > console > filter > type “MDE:” without the quotes in the filter text box, look at the lines before and after.

3

I’m wondering about this as well:
Is the original a .ts container?
Is it an MPEG-2 Video Stream?
Is “Allow MPEG-2” enabled in the Plex Player app?

Typically, and because of Plex’s totally inadequate Remote Quality settings, I have my Remote Viewers set their Remote Quality to 1080 @ 8. My material rarely exceeds 1080 @ 5 and the result is usually Direct Play on their end.

An MPEG-2 Stream in a .ts container, to me, indicates a raw DVR recording and I doubt 1080 @ 8 would be enough to score a Direct Play. It’s more likely 1080 @ 12 would be needed and the Remote Client App would need to ‘Allow MPEG-2’ or no matter what you do it’s gonna transcode.

Another thing to consider is interlacing, and if that would cause a transcode - and I don’t know for sure, but it doesn’t seem to here on a Roku Ultra. My TV de-interlaces everything that comes in on any input perfectly, for some reason (that cheap piece of Chinese Crap just keeps amazing me), and that may not happen for others.

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