Issue with preferred video quality on different Plex clients

Plex Players
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1

Hello,

I have an issue and haven’t found a solution yet. My current setup is as follows:

  • Synology NAS (too slow for real-time transcoding)

  • Plex Server version 1.42.2.10156

  • Plex clients (Android)

Since the NAS cannot transcode UHD x265 videos in real-time, I converted all UHD videos on the Plex server into optimized 1080p versions. So the videos exist in two quality levels: UHD x265 and optimized 1080p.

Here’s my problem:

  • On one client (TV), I want to prefer the UHD x265 version. This works correctly.

  • On another client (children’s tablet), I want to use the 1080p version. Unfortunately, the UHD x265 version is always selected, even though the tablet cannot decode UHD.
    → Result: When starting a video, the screen stays black until I manually select the 1080p version under “Available Versions.”

This is impossible for children to use.

Settings like “Local Quality” or “Remote Quality” limited to 1080p cause the server to transcode each time, even though an optimized 1080p version already exists. This results in extremely slow playback (around 1 frame per second), as the NAS is too weak for real-time transcoding.

My question: Is there a way to configure Plex so that each client automatically uses the appropriate version (UHD or 1080p) without manually selecting it?

Thank you for your help!

2

The easiest way to handle your issue is to place your optimised versions into a separate library.

UHD Movies is restricted so your children cannot access it and only UHD Movies are stored here.
1080p Movies is allowed for your children and only the optimised versions are stored here.

That way your children can only access the 1080p Movies library, no other actions are required.