Is it possible to tell if Plex is “direct playing” a 4K movie on Xbox One S?

Plex Players Gaming Consoles
1

I have a few 4k videos encoded with h.265 that I’m trying to stream from my Mac to Xbox One S. From my understanding, to play 4k videos, AC3 5.1 audio must be selected so Plex doesn’t transcode.

I’ve made sure to select the specific audio type, and disabled subtitles. The video does play, but it also buffers intermittently. Does this mean Plex is transcoding the video and downscaling to 1080p? If so, what can I do to make sure it’s direct playing or streaming? And how can I verify this?

Thanks in advance!

2

in the web app look at the now playing screen.

look at what quality it says when bring up qual settings in xbox app.

1 Like
3

hit the menu button on the xbox controller, viola!

4

@jeradc said:
hit the menu button on the xbox controller, viola!

Thanks!

So it reads “isDirectPlayFailedCheck: undefined”

But also that the video resolution is 4K, and width is 3840.

What can I do stop the buffering?

5

Also, on the right side of the menu it says “setting - directPlay: true” and “setting - DirectStream: true.”

It’s still buffering, even though I have download speeds of up to 340 mbps.

6

Lots of variables, but I assume this is all on the same network? Any part of it running wireless? If direct play is working, but you’re having buffering issues then it is likely an issue in the signal or cabling somewhere.

7

Correct, same network - and both my server and Xbox are hardwired via ethernet. Not sure if it makes a difference, but ethernet cables are rated Cat 5E.

Would pausing the video to let the stream load help, or is that a non-issue?

8

@GesM said:
Would pausing the video to let the stream load help, or is that a non-issue?

I think it only buffers a certain degree in advance, so it would only help temporarily.

Check the bitrate of the file. Highly unlikely, but an oddball file could be more than a 1gbps system can handle. Offhand, what is the bitrate of the file?

Also check the lights on the ports where you’ve plugged in your cables to switches and routers if they’re there. You should have two little blinky lights. If you only have one where there should be two, you might be throttled down to 100mbps or less on that line and should start replacing cables.

Check your download speeds on your Xbox to make sure it’s got an open tunnel too. It should match or come close to what you believe your internet speeds to be.

Lastly… have Plex optimize the file and see if that version plays alright. I’m not sure if it will optimize 4k… but it’s worth a shot.

9

All cables seem to be good.

Bitrate is 16381, and Xbox internet speeds match speeds on my Mac (320 - 340 mbps).

How would I optimize the file?

If this doesn’t work, I may just end up grabbing a Roku Ultra, since this supposedly supports native 4k and HDR. Is this correct?

10

I’m fairly decent in diagnosing general Plex issues. Specific client specifications starts to get out of my area of knowledge. I would hate to recommend or endorse that you buy something which may not solve the issue. I’d have to let a heavy hitter weigh in further.

11

Thanks for your assistance!