Hah yes see that 19% load on the p2000 ?
Try going to Options → Internal Filters , click Video decoder , set “Hardware decoder to use:” to “None”
then tell us what the cpu load is ?
No I didn’t see that load on the picture I posted where the load is shown on the picture I posted 
Might just be semantics but that’s not tone-mapping. Tone-mapping by definition means to convert the data.
Keep in mind that decoding is just 1 step. When transcoding, there are a few other steps involved, so just saying that a system is powerful enough to decode 4k content, does not mean it can transcode 4k content.
If you are trying to say that in a PC with a GPU, the CPU works harder to decode video if you don’t use the GPU I will be very surprised. (I’m being sarcastic.) Thankfully Plex allows users with servers with GPUs to use GPUs so, really, GPU-less discussion are moot. Of course, there is an exception to this: if you have a PC without a GPU, you can not use a GPU. And just because someone has a PC with a GPU doesn’t mean everyone has a PC with a GPU. I get it.
I know, but tecnojunky said “decode” 
…
I am still waiting for the picture of your super high end computer decoding 4k on CPU only.
yeah ok, turned off HW decoding in MPC and played the 4K HEVC. (Right now I’m streaming/transcoding out to two other users; that’s why the Quadro is still in use.) Looks like processor went from 8% to about 14%, and a few more cores got more active. But what did this prove? I’m interested to hear… I am not sure PCs with ~$500 processors are “super high end” but whatever.
thanks.
it proves everyone should have a i9-9900 @ 4.66ghz and p2k for a plex server
that aside I just wanted to see how much power the i9-9900 really had.
fwiw here are 2 transcodes going on a gtx 1650 + 1 transcode on dual cpu 24 cores (on linux with nvdec patch).
you can see how much difference an i9 is compared to 2x Intel Xeon E5-2630L v2 2.4GHz 6 Core 15MB Cache Processors
This is all pretty good but I need to say this:
The seventh rule of 4k is, You must use hdmi 2.0 or higher cables.
THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS AN HDMI 2.0 CABLE. HDMI PORTS HAVE VERSION NUMBERS. HDMI CABLES DO NOT. Any cable that says “HDMI 2.0” on the package is throwing random terms on the label to seem better.
STANDARD. HIGH-SPEED. PREMIUM. Those are the 3 types of HDMI cable.
99% of cables sold in the last 15 years are high-speed. You would have a hard time finding a standard cable. A high-speed cable covers every possible application of 4K with one caveat: Premium is identical to high-speed except it’s super-certified to definitely work with 4k@60 (versus those $5 HDMI cables at Five Below which are hit or miss for that).
Version 2.0 (like 1.4 before it) is entirely a hardware change. It is not a cable change. You can expect cable manufacturers to proclaim that you need expensive new “Version 2.0 cables” but this is untrue. Your current High Speed cables should work just fine.
https://turbofuture.com/computers/do-i-need-hdmi-cable-4k-hdmi-20-guide
HDMI High Speed was introduced with 4k in mind. All HDMI cables that carry the HDMI High Speed Logo do support the HDMI 2.0 Standard and can transmit ultra high resolutions with 2160p @ 24 Hz (=4k).
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Ultra High Speed
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Hi. Thanks for bringing this up. Yes, you are correct cables don’t use version numbers. I will correct the phrase, and add the wiki link provided by Dane.
Also, per the wiki link I see EIGHT different kinds of hdmi cables.
Not 3.
Anyway, my original point was, that cables DO matter and can affect plex due to a cable not being able to support the content, or video mode/resolution/frame rate trying to be carried.
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My Synology 918+ is more than capable of transcoding 4k to 1080p or 720p on the fly. The little celeron with quick sync is quite impressive. I’m not sure how much more stress tone mapping will cause, but I have a feeling that it will still work once PLEX figures out how to implement this properly. But for now I rip the 4k and the 1080p version of all movies. I’ve used about 52% of my 12TB so far. I hope by the time my drives get to 80% they figure this out. Just wasted space atm.
With all respect to the Plex Team, this isn’t something they’re likely to be working on themselves. They’ll be waiting on upstream changes to ffmpeg before they build it into PMS, I would imagine.
This article is worth a read, particularly the final paragraph. Basically, ffmpeg needs some major retooling to go multithreaded before real-time conversion can take place.
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Hey guys, what a post, i am unsure if my answer is in all the comments, i have looked but cant seem to find it.
So for me i have quite a “grunty” media server with plex pass, i have downloaded 4k movies to stream directly to my tv’s that are on gigabit ethernet. i am also using gpu processing on an nvidia graphics card on the server
so i have added the files to plex and am playing them onto the tv but i notice in the playback details it is transcoding down to 1080p, my question is why would this be as it should not be on this particular tv ( its 4 k)
Thanks
When you say directly to the TV do you mean the Plex app built into your TV?
yes so i have plex media server on my “media” pc and the native plex app on my panasonic tv, when i play a movie i can see on the server side ( under dashboard ) it is transcoding to 1080p
See rule 5 and 6 in the first post.
hey mate sorry but im probably a bit novice, so are you essentially saying that to stream 4K the file needs to be completely compatible with what the tv would play is direct through say a usb cable to it ? otherwise plex will just transcode it down ?
this really is not a troubleshooting thread, there are already a ton of them on this forum, please search
try 4k + brand of tv + direct play
here is an example @ https://forums.plex.tv/search?q=4k%20sony%20direct%20play
most smart tvs and their apps cannot handle the HD audio that is typically the default audio stream on 4k rips.
use a different audio stream, such as ac3 5.1 or stereo.
see also the section about subtitles, subtitles plus incompatible audio often cause transcoding problems. disable subtitles.
also, if none of the threads in the search results identify your problem (guaranteed they will if you read through them sufficiently), then open a new thread, with all the specific details of your tv, server, audio system, and a screenshot of the plex server dashboard when a problem video is playing.
The Plex app on the Panasonic TV does not support 4k content.
