Server Version#: latest for Windows 10 pro
Player Version#: latest everywhere
They’re is/was transcoding issue that is a problem in windows and intel, but it’s not a problem in Ubuntu. Is that still a thing? Any resolution in sight? I really really really don’t want to rebuild my server in Linux.
The easy solution is to get all your content in a form that does not need transcoding. That is what I do and I never ever have any transcoding issues.
But, I guess, not everyone can take the kind of time I have to manage my library… I have health problems and I needed the most reliable streaming I could get and I decided that a little time up front could and would save a lot of time later. I have over 4000 movies and over 35000 TV episodes and not even one of them needs transcoding.
If you get your media in a form that direct plays on all you devices then you have a lot less problems in the future.
The only issue I have is subtitles. But, on the few movies where I do not understand the language I use Handbrake to actually embed the subtitles into the video.
But there are a lot of folks that do not wish to spend any time making their library the best it can be and that is OK but then it is on them to make it work.
Plex does sometime have transcoding issues but so does Emby and so does Jellyfin and even Kodi. It is just easier to get the files in a form that direct plays than investing in hardware that can transcode everything and depending on some program to get the files in a playable form on the fly…
Just an idea that you are very free to disregard if you want…
No no, you took the time to write me a thoughtful post and I’m grateful. And yeah I probably don’t have the bandwidth to get only specific and pristine versions of file. This is a confirmed limitation with intel cpu and windows but not linux. But if I may ask, what are the perfect file specs you speak of?
My notifications say @ChuckPa answered but i can’t see it
You should not use me as a guide. I am 75 years old and both my eyesight and my hearing have deteriorated quite a bit. I keep all my files at low bitrates with no fancy audio (The best I use is Dolby 2.1) and most are in a simple mp4 or mkv format. My largest file is my copy of “Lawrence of Arabia” that is only about 3.4 g. I know people that have 50-60 g files.
If I were starting from scratch at this time I think I would use Handbrake’s “High” preset and change the audio to simple stereo. That is what I did for the previously mentioned “Lawrence of Arabia” and it is about as good as I can expect and I find no flaws at all when watching it.
I am mainly concerned with “Can I see any problems?” than I am with “Is it perfect?” But I also do not have to please anyone but me and, as I have aged, “good enough” has steadily moved downward. But I can give you exact settings as long as who you need to please is a 75 year old man with joint problems and digestion issues and failing eyesight and hearing. (all mainly resulting from combat and explosions) I am easy to please these days the high profile is just fine.
That last paragraph is wrong somehow but it says what I want it to, I think. I am just too tired to go back and rewrite it. Sorry.
I have seen that before on here. The last time it happened to me the post refereed to showed up later.
The post was tagged Linux.
This is a windows question. I removed the linux tag.
I don’t have Windows. I’m the Linux guy.
What specific limitation are you talking about?
Tone Mapping maybe?
https://support.plex.tv/articles/hdr-to-sdr-tone-mapping/
ah yeah, nothing has changed in that regard afaik
To each his own, but I have found Plex nirvana by getting an Intel CPU with Quick Sync and relying on hardware accelerated transcoding/tone mapping thanks to Plex Pass. The server works so I don’t have to.
https://support.plex.tv/articles/115002178853-using-hardware-accelerated-streaming/
As I understand it, to do this in windows, intel is not currently possible, only possible if you have NVidia gpu.
Although I recently found this thread. Reddit - Dive into anything
I’m just blindly feeling my way here, but I want my friends and family to have flawless playback, and now that we’re firmly in a 4K era, it is frustrating to feel the need to have lower quality files to ensure they can actually play videos.
This is great thank you. Confirms the Reddit post that I linked to in this thread. Definitely going to do this this weekend.
I should clarify that I am using Linux as the server OS. I don’t grok the tone mapping complications on Windows, but Linux + Quick Sync + Plex Pass means any file will play on any client with any kind of display. That’s my goal, other people hate that idea.
Almost everything you need tone mapping for is 4k. Even a beast of a video card isn’t going to give you that many transcoded 4k streams. The same card that can give you 10 or 15 1080 transcodes might give you 2 or 3 4k streams
How many 4k transcoded/tone mapped streams can you really get out of just an intel chip?
For me, it’s just not worth bothering with a different OS
4k files are large. If I can keep a 30gb copy of a 4k movie I can afford to keep a 1gb copy of it for people to watch on less capable hardware
I appreciate that but for me, it’s a lot of extra labor. I have a small circle of friends so 2 to 3 simultaneous users is just fine.
I’d even be willing to upgrade my system if that would help.
Wouldn’t it be cheaper if you just upgrade your os 
Linux server os like unraid are super easy to setup and manage.
And if you have the hardware its also super cheap.
Cheaper but laborious. That server does a lot more than plex. And besides I am comfortable enough using Ubuntu or whatever but I don’t enjoy it.
The only time I tested it was on an i3-7100 and I could do 3 simultaneously without problems. More than that and it started to skip.
Given these parameters I’m inclined to tell someone they should just get a cheap Nvidia card
Migrating a server from Windows to Linux isn’t easy unless you’re going to start from scratch
I can only speak for myself. I would have to get a significant increase in 4k transcodes to even consider doing this. I’m not sure that’s going to happen
This forum is full of people with transcoding and tone mapping failures. I have a bug with my NAS right now with (hw) tone mapping. Thankfully I don’t need it
Personally, I think a 1080p bluray looks a lot better than a tone mapped 4k version. I’d rather run my CPU at 3% than 100%
Everybody thinks their way is the best way and I’m not excluding myself lol
To each his own
