How to get logs showing bitrate a plex client requested? (verbose? or debug?)

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
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Server Version#: 1.19.5.3035
(my plex server has all its logs being sent to splunk)

From what i gather in my own tests:
Verbose is the highest level of PMS logging. (ie MOST data logged)
Debug is the 2nd highest lvel of PMS logging. (ie less data logged than verbose mode)
Is this Correct?
(this is not made clear in the docs, except for “do not enable verbose unless specifically directed to”)

My main question: what level of logging to do we need to enable, to get logs on what bitrate/transcoding type the plex clients request from our plex servers? (assuming direct play has been ruled out)

This post/reply from @ChuckPa has the log data or entry im after:

My own logs seem to show that Verbose logging mode is required to get this data (so i want to confirm this):

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also chuckpa- how are you getting logs in JSON format? thats cool and im curious as to how to enable that.

(i need this log data/entry as im trying to debug, like many other on these forumes, various remote clients/users using or requesting unreasonably low bitrates when trans coding is used)

Thanks!

(i do wish the forums here would not lock topics so soon, hopefully the admins re reconsider this, its really harmful to the flow of information and tracking bugs or issues.)

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Those are the web player logs not server logs. https://app.plex.tv/desktop#!/logs

In debug logs filter I usually filter on MDE (media decision engine) and the first line that is the completed request will have the bit rate that is requested.

max vid bit rate is maxVideoBitrate=1500 which is what i set my client to

What it actually sends. is videoBitrate=1500 ( the file could be lower than the max)

Jul 29, 2020 14:21:50.333 [0x700008570000] DEBUG - Completed: [192.168.5.174:56614] 200 GET /video/:/transcode/universal/decision?audioBoost=100&autoAdjustQuality=0&directPlay=0&directStream=1&directStreamAudio=1&fastSeek=1&hasMDE=1&location=lan&maxVideoBitrate=1500&mediaBufferSize=74944&mediaIndex=0&partIndex=0&path=%2Flibrary%2Fmetadata%2F38802&protocol=*&session=f06cfa3b9eecb945-com-plexapp-android&subtitleSize=100&videoBitrate=1500&videoQuality=60&videoResolution=3840x2160 (32 live) TLS GZIP 149ms 2315 bytes```
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To add to BigWheel,

  1. Transcoder DEBUG and VERBOSE settings are independent of Server setttings.
  2. Server DEBUG is more than enough. VERBOSE is virtually unusable unless a packet/action sequence if being diagnosed.
  3. The Pref to set is: TranscoderLogLevel=debug or TranscoderLogLevel=verbose but these do not have general applicability. They exist but are intended for our use because the output can change at any time.
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Thank you to both of you! i wish i could select both as solution, as both are very helpful (and now i’m finding what i want in the plex server debug logs -> splunk).

This will now help me ID what i had been assuming is often the issue (in regards to several users streaming from me at much too low a bitrate / quality).

ie almost always the problem is that the end user clients needs to adjust their (plex client) settings from the app defaults. (namely remote stream max bitrate)

Is there any chance plex would publish (or disclose) what the default “day1” remote stream settings are for the various plex clients?
(ie for the plex atv app vs the plex atv4k app, vs the plex samsungTV app, vs the plex xbox one app, ect…)?

thanks again, this has been very helpful!

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it’s 2Mbps 720p for all Plex apps.

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