# How to disable transcoding? **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussions\ **Created:** [January 14, 2018, 1:38pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-disable-transcoding/221550 "2018-01-14T13:38:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![JasonNalley](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/jasonnalley/32/24210_2.png) [@JasonNalley](https://forums.plex.tv/u/JasonNalley)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2020, 6:02am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-disable-transcoding/221550/82 "2020-01-25T06:02:37Z")
So, I use the “Killstream” script in Tautulli for such things. It allows you to display a custom message when it kills the stream. A little information; my entire library is x265, Browsers, and PS3/PS4 do not support x265, everything else I have encountered does just fine. So, for Browser playback I’ve simply put “Browser not allowed, use Plex Client” For PS3/PS4 Playback I’ve put “PlayStation Doesn’t Support Playback, play on a different device” and for all other instances of transcoding I put “You’re transcoding, call me to fix it” Since the implementation of that practice, I setup the script temporarily (ran it in super strict mode ie no transcoding of any kind) for about 2 months. Everyone got with the program within 2 weeks, but I let it run a little longer to catch any other devices that they hadn’t setup correctly. Then I removed the “All other transcoding” message, because lets face it, someone streaming over cellular may need to lower the bitrate from time to time. And now, I am happily at 97% Direct play month over month. ---
**Author:** ![plextv247](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/35a633/32.png) [@plextv247](https://forums.plex.tv/u/plextv247)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2020, 12:55pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-disable-transcoding/221550/83 "2020-01-27T12:55:14Z")
Thanks for the heads up. That doesn’t work for me, now I get server isn’t powerful enough to trans-code. Where as previously it just used to chug. So I’ve had this problem for some time and to be honest it drives me away from Plex. I am a Plex life pass member. I originally started with an app called Playz an app on my LG TV but then moved to Plex. So I have: Synology NAS DS412+ Plex server LG TV Plex App on the TV (have it set to original video) Playz App on the TV If I use the Playz app the videos are NEVER trans-coded. Subtitles are fine if I use them. If I use the Plex app the videos are trans-coded due to what I think is because they have sub titles in then? I don’t understand why Plex does this. It’s clearly not a video or audio issue since Playz plays the video perfectly even if it has subtitles. Its very disappointing a $2.50 app performs better. Example media info: Video ID : 1 Format : AVC Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec Format profile : High@L4 Format settings, CABAC : Yes Format settings, ReFrames : 4 frames Codec ID : V\_MPEG4/ISO/AVC Duration : 1 h 2 min Bit rate mode : Variable Bit rate : 6 171 kb/s Maximum bit rate : 20.0 Mb/s Width : 1 920 pixels Height : 1 080 pixels Display aspect ratio : 16:9 Frame rate mode : Constant Frame rate : 24.000 FPS Color space : YUV Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0 Bit depth : 8 bits Scan type : Progressive Bits/(Pixel\*Frame) : 0.124 Stream size : 2.68 GiB (87%) Writing library : x264 core 148 r2715 7e75228 Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=4 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x111 / me=umh / subme=10 / psy=1 / psy\_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed\_ref=1 / me\_range=120 / chroma\_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast\_pskip=1 / chroma\_qp\_offset=-2 / threads=8 / lookahead\_threads=2 / sliced\_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray\_compat=0 / stitchable=1 / constrained\_intra=0 / bframes=16 / b\_pyramid=2 / b\_adapt=2 / b\_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open\_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=240 / keyint\_min=121 / scenecut=0 / intra\_refresh=0 / rc\_lookahead=240 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=16.0 / qcomp=0.50 / qpmin=6 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / vbv\_maxrate=20000 / vbv\_bufsize=25000 / crf\_max=0.0 / nal\_hrd=vbr / filler=0 / ip\_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:0.80 Language : English Default : Yes Forced : No Audio ID : 2 Format : E-AC-3 Format/Info : Audio Coding 3 Format settings, Endianness : Big Codec ID : A\_EAC3 Duration : 1 h 2 min Bit rate mode : Constant Bit rate : 768 kb/s Channel(s) : 6 channels Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz Frame rate : 187.500 FPS (256 spf) Compression mode : Lossy Stream size : 342 MiB (11%) Language : English Default : Yes Forced : No Text #1 ID : 3 Format : UTF-8 Codec ID : S\_TEXT/UTF8 Codec ID/Info : UTF-8 Plain Text Title : English Language : English Default : No Forced : No Text #2 ID : 4 Format : UTF-8 Codec ID : S\_TEXT/UTF8 Codec ID/Info : UTF-8 Plain Text Title : Forced Language : English Default : Yes Forced : Yes ---
**Author:** ![Javier-Huerta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/fbc32d/32.png) [@Javier-Huerta](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Javier-Huerta)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2020, 3:28am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-disable-transcoding/221550/84 "2020-01-28T03:28:27Z")
Apparently, by deselecting the Transcoding option, by selecting the maximum possible remote bandwidth and by adding something like 30 MBPS bandwidth (yes, I had to do those three things) Plex has stopped transcoding on my Pi 3. I hope it stays this way, otherwise, its useless. ---
**Author:** ![anon18523487](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@anon18523487](https://forums.plex.tv/u/anon18523487)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2020, 5:39am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-disable-transcoding/221550/85 "2020-01-28T05:39:20Z")
> [@plextv247](#): > > Thanks for the heads up. That doesn’t work for me, now I get server isn’t powerful enough to trans-code. Where as previously it just used to chug This is expected. As stated before. > [@anon18523487](#): > > Edit - to be clear, disabling the transcoder would not force direct play. If you have something that still requires transcoding, it will fail. ---
**Author:** ![plextv247](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/35a633/32.png) [@plextv247](https://forums.plex.tv/u/plextv247)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2020, 6:05am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-disable-transcoding/221550/86 "2020-01-28T06:05:21Z")
Understood. The underlying issue appears to be Plex trans-coding the subtitles in when it doesn’t need to. Obviously my TV can play them thru Playz but for some reason Plex seems to think it cant and trans-codes them in. This seems to be a widespread issue with no resolution over many years. ---
**Author:** ![anon18523487](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@anon18523487](https://forums.plex.tv/u/anon18523487)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2020, 6:08am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-disable-transcoding/221550/87 "2020-01-28T06:08:37Z")
The Playz player uses their own subtitle rendering engine for subtitles. The Plex app uses the devices native player which may not support subtitles or specific types of subtitles. ---
**Author:** ![sadowling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4bbf92/32.png) [@sadowling](https://forums.plex.tv/u/sadowling)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2020, 3:28am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-disable-transcoding/221550/88 "2020-02-04T03:28:06Z")
I’m curious why only video transcoding is being made optional? I was hoping ALL transcoding could be disabled so that PMS forces the file to the user as it is on my server. For my HD audio streams, the transcoding process messes with a Pre-Processor’s ability to recognize it as DTS-HD, TrueHD, etc… This is the number one reason why I use Kodi inside my house and not Plex. Kodi lets me configure audio for exclusive-mode pass-thru to pre-processor, and once configured…it just works. Maybe I’m doing something wrong (or it has since been fixed since I last tried), but I have yet to ever have my audio gear correctly identify the Plex audio streams, while they are always correctly identified in Kodi. Here’s hoping you extend the toggle switch to audio as well… ---
**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:** [February 4, 2020, 4:34am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-disable-transcoding/221550/89 "2020-02-04T04:34:20Z")
The only mainstream plex device that passes through truehd is shield, and it should direct play pretty much anything provided it and the required 4K receiver/tv are configured/setup correctly. Htpc can pass truehd with the right hardware and pmp. ---
**Author:** ![sadowling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4bbf92/32.png) [@sadowling](https://forums.plex.tv/u/sadowling)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2020, 4:58am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-disable-transcoding/221550/90 "2020-02-04T04:58:28Z")
My statements above were for my HTPC (but not server where content is hosted). On same device, I can get Kodi to pass-thru to Pre-Pro no issues, Plex does not. Would be interested in knowing what setting in my HTPC Plex App config is responsible for this. I have gone over the app settings many times with no luck. For some reason, it always wants to transcode audio (see below): ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/2/22396e660366ec983b3bc60faf66016e45a14552.jpeg) ---
**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:** [February 4, 2020, 5:04am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-disable-transcoding/221550/91 "2020-02-04T05:04:04Z")
you need PMP that has a home theatre type “TV” mode > [@Plex Media Player download info](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-media-player-download-info/445450): > > Current versions can be downloaded below. We will provide links for newer versions as they become available in the [Plex Media Player release announcements](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-media-player/120475/last). For Mac 10.10 Yosemite or later (64-bit only). 2.39.0.1005-1b0839a8 August 6, 2019 [Download](https://downloads.plex.tv/plexmediaplayer/2.39.0.1005-1b0839a8/PlexMediaPlayer-2.39.0.1005-1b0839a8-macosx-x86_64.zip) For Windows Windows 7 SP1 or later (64-bit only). 2.39.0.1005-1b0839a8 August 6, 2019 [Download](https://downloads.plex.tv/plexmediaplayer/2.39.0.1005-1b0839a8/PlexMediaPlayer-2.39.0.1005-1b0839a8-windows-x64.exe) Embedded (this will not receive any updates) Version 1.3.11.758-4be89b5c x86-64 [Download](https://downloads.plex.tv/plexmediaplayer-openelec/1.3.11.758-4be89b5c/PlexMediaPlayer-1.3.11.758-4be89b5c.Generic-x86_64.img.gz) Arm [Download](https://downloads.plex.tv/plexmediaplayer-openelec/1.3.11.758-4be89b5c/PlexMediaPlayer-1.3.11.758-4be89b5c.RPi2-arm.img.gz) > [@Plex Media Player - Open Source, Contributions and Building FAQ](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-media-player-open-source-contributions-and-building-faq/119290/): > > A big part of Plex Media Player is released under a Open Source license (GPLv2) and we are actively encouraging our community to contribute and help us improve the host part of the application. This post explains how to build Plex Media Player (PMP) from source and how to contribute patches and fixes to us. About Open Source What parts of PMP are Open? Plex Media Player is really two different layers. The Host layer is the layer that interacts with your OS, plays video and music, and also loa… PMP has 2 different modes, a windows desktop like mode, and a full screen HT type TV mode. (use arrow keys to navigate) I think you may have to be in HT mode in order to access some of the advanced pass through settings. Unfortunately I dont’ use it so I can’t tell you exactly how, but some searching around will probably help you. ---
**Author:** ![sadowling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4bbf92/32.png) [@sadowling](https://forums.plex.tv/u/sadowling)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2020, 5:24am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-disable-transcoding/221550/92 "2020-02-04T05:24:19Z")
My understanding of the content you posted is: 1. There is only 1 Windows build. The embedded versions also referenced are for SoC embedded architectures, not traditional desktop HW 2. The Plex source is available for me to build myself, but that this should otherwise produce the same binaries posted above. Is the HT mode you mentioned within the Windows binary and I need to set a flag to enable it? Is this true and if so, where is this flag? ---
**Author:** ![FordGuy61](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/22d042/32.png) [@FordGuy61](https://forums.plex.tv/u/FordGuy61)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2020, 6:57am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-disable-transcoding/221550/93 "2020-02-04T06:57:42Z")
Download the latest release of Plex Media Player, PMP, from the [announcement thread](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-media-player/120475/94). As mentioned, you’ll want to put PMP in “TV Mode” to set the desired audio options. See [this post](https://forums.plex.tv/t/no-dolby-atmos/534437/2) for additional information, including links to PMP documentation. ---
**Author:** ![anon18523487](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@anon18523487](https://forums.plex.tv/u/anon18523487)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2020, 8:12pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-disable-transcoding/221550/94 "2020-02-04T20:12:33Z")
> [@sadowling](#): > > I was hoping ALL transcoding could be disabled so that PMS forces the file to the user as it is on my server. This setting won’t do that. If the client can’t handle a spcific codec, it will just fail. We left audio transcoding since it doesn’t require a lot of cpu power. If you want to see what happens if you try forcing the file as-is, in the Plex for windows client itself, go to the settings \ enable show advanced \ debug \ direct stream. Disable that setting. ---
**Author:** ![sadowling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4bbf92/32.png) [@sadowling](https://forums.plex.tv/u/sadowling)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2020, 6:17am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-disable-transcoding/221550/95 "2020-02-05T06:17:11Z")
OK…that did the trick. Thanks! ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/f/4/f421b0d7ffa2e38470e111a175410d3a5e9b68a3.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![RockStar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/rockstar/32/613_2.png) [@RockStar](https://forums.plex.tv/u/RockStar)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2020, 4:59pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-disable-transcoding/221550/96 "2020-02-05T16:59:19Z")
I like how this is possible now, but I wish the setting either was userbased, or atleast with an option to allow transcoding for home users ---
**Author:** ![lchiu7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@lchiu7](https://forums.plex.tv/u/lchiu7)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2020, 10:57am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-disable-transcoding/221550/97 "2020-02-22T10:57:27Z")
I just discovered this thread since I have a Windows Plex server but I am running Plex on a Odroid C2 which has enough power to play HEVC streams natively. But when I tried to play them the server was doing transcoding and choking on it. I then download PMS version PlexMediaServer-1.18.7.2438-f342a5a43 which has a setting now to disable video stream decoding and then in the Plex client on Kodi there is a setting to playe HEVC streams. It plays them but the client now seems to have issues in that I can’t skip forward and when I press the OK button to bring up the play menu, it displays briefly and then disappears. Perhaps the new server has some bugs? ---
**Author:** ![santiagodraco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@santiagodraco](https://forums.plex.tv/u/santiagodraco)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 8:21pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-disable-transcoding/221550/98 "2020-02-23T20:21:27Z")
Elan I’m a bit confused you’d ask this question. Do you really think the solution is to watch who is playing what and “call them” to have them switch quality levels? This misses the use case on many levels. ---
**Author:** ![elan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/elan/32/5_2.png) [@elan](https://forums.plex.tv/u/elan)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2020, 8:42pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-disable-transcoding/221550/99 "2020-02-23T20:42:57Z")
No, I don’t think that’s optimal at all, but still better than random failures they will be confused by. ---
**Author:** ![Almott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5daacb/32.png) [@Almott](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Almott)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 10:22pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-disable-transcoding/221550/100 "2020-04-28T22:22:39Z")
I created a feature request to be able to Toggle transcoding at user level. Don’t hesitate to vote for it if you need it too ;). > [@disable transcoding (per user setting)](https://forums.plex.tv/t/disable-transcoding-per-user-setting/86588): > > Hi,   I would love to have a feature that would allow me to disable transcoding on a per-user base. I share my media amongst some users but I have to ask them to only directplay (using the plex theatre app on PC/MAC) because otherwise after 4 concurrent sessions my CPU starts to give up ...   thanks for considering !   edd--     **Mod-Edit:** replaced the link; this was a redundant feature suggestion… time for spring cleaning. Link is now pointing to a set of merged requests on the same issue. ---
**Author:** ![ScubaSteve93](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@ScubaSteve93](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ScubaSteve93)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2020, 6:50am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-disable-transcoding/221550/101 "2020-05-16T06:50:29Z")
I have non tech savvy users that transcode 4k files down to 1080p for no reason. I have duplicate files (4k & 1080p) specifically for people like them…but confusion ensues when I try to explain to them how to use the “Play Version” setting. I don’t understand why you won’t just give us a feature to turn off transcoding for certain clients. I also don’t understand why we can’t set the default resolution to the max on a server level. Do we run our servers…or do our clients run our servers? I can’t tell with this program. [Previous page](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-disable-transcoding/221550.md?page=4) [Next page](https://forums.plex.tv/t/how-to-disable-transcoding/221550.md?page=6)