I’m trying to watch 2160p uhd remux movies and they are freezing constantly. Please help
Can you provide more information?
What is your client?
What version of the server are you using?
Do you know if the video is being transcoded?
The client i’m using to watch movies is Plex Chrome app.
Maybe i should download a media server client on my laptop instead of just using the app?
My Plex Media Server where all my 4K movies are located is version 1.11.3.4803.
Not sure if video is being transcoded.
I see transcoder under setting on my media server.
Transcoder quality is set to automatic by default.
Should i switch it to higher speed, high quality or make my CPU hurt?
Those are the other options.
Unless you have the right hardware (hardware transcode (coffeelake/kabylake CPU), or other high end cpu), you will not be able to transcode 4k remuxes successfully. Which means you need to have a Player (ShieldTV) that can natively support the playback…
My server hardware where my media is stored and i have Plex Media Server installed is Intel Xeon CPU E5-2620 v3 @ 2.40GHz 2.40GHz w 12.0 GM RAM. Will that work, is that the hardware your referring to or are you speaking of the hardware i’m actually trying to view 4K content on, ie PS4 or Dell Precision Laptop? Which one actually does all the transcoding work server or PC? Sorry for being such a novice. Thanks
The server does all the transcoding, so if your running into the problem now, then No, your hardware is not powerful enough. I have a Ryzen 1700x (8 Core, 16 Threads) and it can struggle with transcoding 4K remuxes… Transcoding 4k is also not great because there is no support for HDR -> SDR color conversion, which means the colors will look washed out.
If you get a ShieldTV for your end playback device, you won’t need to transcode anything and it’ll play without issues. This is the player that I use. I try to keep 2 copies of movies that are in 4k, one in 1080p and the other in 4k as a workaround. It’s not ideal because it consumes more space. But until HDR -> SDR conversion can happen during transcoding, its my only option. When that is resolved, I’ll upgrade my hardware to get Hardware transcoding and can then only keep 1 copy of each movie…
The ShieldTV is the only Plex Player that I can recommend for the full 4k experience.
@petty247 said:
The client i’m using to watch movies is Plex Chrome app.
The chrome app does not support x265 4k
Maybe i should download a media server client on my laptop instead of just using the app?
yes you need to use the native app.
My Plex Media Server where all my 4K movies are located is version 1.11.3.4803.
That version should work just fine.
Not sure if video is being transcoded.
You can check in the status of your server.. top right of the web app.. it looks like a pulse.
I see transcoder under setting on my media server.
I would make sure you are direct playing or direct streaming like in the screenshot above.
Transcoder quality is set to automatic by default.
Should i switch it to higher speed, high quality or make my CPU hurt?
No I would not recommend you transcode 4k as that defeats the purpose of 4k. Especially if its 10bit. transcoding down to SDR desatureates the image and it looks like garbage.
also make sure your player is set to maximum.
Do i change the web video quality settings to Max on server with 4k media on it or laptop trying to view 4k media on?
Or both?
Much appreciated!
Thanks
@petty247 said:
Do i change the web video quality settings to Max on server with 4k media on it or laptop trying to view 4k media on?
Or both?
Much appreciated!
Thanks
That is always a client setting. There is no server side config.
Think of it like this… when you load the webpage app.plex.tv or plex.yourserver.com those are just players/clients just like a Roku or another device running the plex app. That client then connects to your server or any other servers that maybe shared with you. It is not the server web interface.
Does that make sense?
Yes, it’s all starting to make sense now. After downloading plex media server on ethernet connected laptop I checked (now playing) status while playing 4K video and it says Plex Web (Chrome) converting: video transcoding HEVC to H264 and audio transcoding DCA to AAC . Still buffering somtimes though. Are there any more settings i should check/change? Also tried playing 4k video on ethernet connected PS4 with Plex for playstation 4 installed, and checked (now playing) status says converting: video transcoding HEVC to H264 and audio transcoding TRUEHD to AAC. Still buffering a little though. Can i make any of those setting better in setting for Plex for playstation 4? I’m using a Yamaha RX-V477 5.1 receiver and a BENQ HT2050 1080p projector. Thanks for all the insight!
@petty247 said:
Yes, it’s all starting to make sense now. After downloading plex media server on ethernet connected laptop I checked (now playing) status while playing 4K video and it says Plex Web (Chrome) converting: video transcoding HEVC to H264 and audio transcoding DCA to AAC . Still buffering somtimes though. Are there any more settings i should check/change?
As stated before… you should not use chrome to play 4k. try downloading the natvive app… https://www.plex.tv/downloads/#getdownload
Also tried playing 4k video on ethernet connected PS4 with Plex for playstation 4 installed, and checked (now playing) status says converting: video transcoding HEVC to H264 and audio transcoding TRUEHD to AAC. Still buffering a little though. Can i make any of those setting better in setting for Plex for playstation 4?
Is your PS4 connected to a 4k TV/display?
I’m using a Yamaha RX-V477 5.1 receiver and a BENQ HT2050 1080p projector.
Based off this information that is the reason you are always transcoding. The projector is the limiting factor. Running 4k on a device that can only do 1080p provides no benefit. The plex apps are smart enough to know what the max video output is so it will transcode to the max capable of the end client.
Bottom line is you need a 4k capable display with a 4k capable player.
I downloaded Plex media player native app from the link you provided, but all my clients are still using web app to play video. Even tested playback on my server and it’s defaulting to web app as well. Feel like i must have settings setup incorrectly somewhere. Is there a way to force my clients to use native app instead. Are there some settings server or client side that i can change to use native app rather than chrome app? Will native app help with constant buffering? My playback clients are Macbook Air and PS4. I understand 4K will always transcode down on a players that are only 1080p capable. Is there a way to play the 4k content without it buffering constantly or would you recommend only playing 1080p content, until i get a 4K playback device? I have a bunch of 4K content now and feel like it is being wasted at this point:( Thanks.
@petty247 said:
I downloaded Plex media player native app from the link you provided, but all my clients are still using web app to play video. Even tested playback on my server and it’s defaulting to web app as well. Feel like i must have settings setup incorrectly somewhere. Is there a way to force my clients to use native app instead. Are there some settings server or client side that i can change to use native app rather than chrome app? Will native app help with constant buffering? My playback clients are Macbook Air and PS4. I understand 4K will always transcode down on a players that are only 1080p capable. Is there a way to play the 4k content without it buffering constantly or would you recommend only playing 1080p content, until i get a 4K playback device? I have a bunch of 4K content now and feel like it is being wasted at this point:( Thanks.
If you launch the native app it looks like the web app but has more capabilities. I should have been more specific. I am not sure that the MBA will playback 4k. The LCD panel you are viewing it on is not retina so really there is no point.
My rule of thumb is I don’t transcode 4k so if i am playing on a non 4k capable device I use another version. Transcoding 4k is “expensive” when it comes to CPU so i avoid it at all costs.
What kind of added capabilities should i look for to be sure? Also what does MBA stand for?
@petty247 said:
What kind of added capabilities should i look for to be sure? Also what does MBA stand for?
What I mean by capabilities is that the native app will allow you to play x265 as the browser does not. not really a good way to check other than playing a video and seeing what it plays at. Also here is what it supports. https://www.plex.tv/apps/computer/plex-media-player/
MBA stands for macbook air
