Server Version#: 1.42.2.10156
Hi all,
I’m fairly new to Plex and recently added several media libraries to my server. Locally, everything works fine — full-quality playback on PC, phone, Apple TV 4K, and Roku at home.
The issue:
When I try to stream remotely at another residence on a Roku (2020ish model), playback is very low quality (~1 Mbps), and the Roku shows: “A direct connection to the server is not available.”
Plex settings (on the remote location’s Roku):
-
Direct Play: Auto
-
Maximum quality: Unlimited
-
Secure Connections: Preferred
-
Allow Direct Stream: On
-
H.264 level: 4.1 (recommended)
-
Quality suggestion: Checked
Server observations:
-
Remote Access shows fully accessible (green) via manually specified port (TCP 32400)
-
Streaming to my phone remotely works at full quality (~22 Mbps)
-
Local playback on all devices at home is fine at original quality
Roku playback notes:
-
Shows “Server has decided this cannot Direct Play. Transcoding: Video bitrate is greater than allowed quality setting. Format: H.264”
-
Limited quality highlighted in yellow, despite server allowing original quality
-
Transcoder speed indicates it could transcode fast enough
From what I’ve researched, this usually happens when the Plex server doesn’t have a fixed IP / port forwarding set up, so remote devices fall back to Relay streaming (which caps quality at ~1–2 Mbps). My Plex server currently has a dynamic IP
Questions for experienced users:
-
Has anyone seen this “limited quality / no direct connection” issue on Roku or Google TV?
-
Did reserving a static IP and port forwarding TCP 32400 fix it reliably?
-
Are there any pitfalls or things a new Plex user should be aware of before making these changes?
-
Any idea why my phone can stream full quality remotely, but Roku still defaults to limited quality?
I want to make sure I understand the issue before making router changes. Any guidance, tips, or experiences would be really helpful!
Thanks in advance!