If I have a 4K and 1080p version of a show, can I use “Limit remote stream bitrate” to force a remote user to use the 1080p version regardless of what they have set in their client?
D.
1 Like
no the limit remote stream bitrate doesn’t do that
however plex is supposed to be smart enough to choose the closer version to use.
alternatively you can keep your 4k content in a separate library and disable that library for remote users.
see also @ Plex, 4k, transcoding, and you - aka the rules of 4k - a FAQ
I have separate libraries for movies now but not for TV. My goal is to minimize the amount of separate libraries as it’s becoming a pain to deal with across two servers.
With the influx of 4K content and all the Nas servers, it would seem there needs to be some sort of more detailed handshake between the server and remote (shared) clients. Having the clients dictate what my servers does. (i.e. transcoding) doesn’t seem to make sense. In the case of remote access, server settings should take priority.
As it is, it seems I have to send configuration instructions to all my guests when accessing my server as I can’t support more than 1 1080p trans-code at a time and certainly not 4k. I do have gig internet and can direct stream all day long.
I guess I’m a rare case and will have to wait and see if anything changes in the future.
Cheers.
if you have gig internet, then your upload speed should be enough to let people direct play, possibly even 4k.
what is your upload? if it is over 100 meg, instead of trying to restrict bitrate you should have them set to maximum/original so you can avoid transcoding in the first place.
In theory and in testing, yes. With gig internet I should be able to serve several 4k streams to guests.
The problem is this.
You have a family member or friend that you would like to share you Plex server with.
they set up an account and you invite them.
they immediately hit play, and because all the clients default to 720p-4mbps, the server is forced to trans-code unless I have a version of that size video in the folder. This has happened with everyone I have invited. (all my content is 1080p or 4k)
Getting people to read directions is tough in this age of “plug it in and it should work”
Also, there’s the case of the user that is connected to different shares, depending on the servers, they could easily be in a situation where they have to change their settings every-time they try to watch something from different locations.
Again, this is all based on a servers ability (or in-ability) to transcode.
I suspect that as Plex continues to grow, 4k becomes more prevalent, More users experience the problem and it will be addressed.
In the mean time, I’m probably going to create a short doc for my users on how to configure their clients when using my shares.
Cheers.
1 Like
yeah its a pain point for all admins.
I would be great if plex would make their clients AUTO adjust quality by default.
or if the server admin could control or influence the remote client default.
but there is also the case where the user has specifically set a particular quality (perhaps to avoid huge bandwidth usage).
so yeah, it takes a lot of communicating with and educating your users but generally once they understand they get with the program.
one idea I have, is if you have particularly troublesome user(s), is to create a video explaining how to change their plex client and give them access ONLY to that video/library.
call it library > plex for dummies > video = how to adjust your player quality
That is actually, a really good idea. I like it
This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.
