My Ecosystem is 1 dedicated Plex Server running 8GB RAM / i5 6th Gen CPU / Win2016 Server. 95% of my devices are Roku - I have 2 Roku 3s , 1 Roku 2, a TCL Roku 4k TV, and one Amazon Latest Gen firestick. I have the SiliconDust HDHR Tuner (2 port). All of my Roku’s are wired at Gigabit, and my Fire stick is 802.11 AC. I do not have any issues watching live TV. I watched every football game last Sunday with zero issues. I’ve left it streaming overnight and woke up to the stream still running just fine.
Not trying to brag on my setup, but I thought a config that is working might help.
Lots of different possibilities here. For example if you are a cable customer and they use H.264 for most channels then just about every device will play these back pretty well because the encoding is done on the head end. If you are using OTA or cable for your local channels these will almost always be in mpeg2 format which can cause lots of possibilities depending on your client. Is the mpeg2 in 720p or 1080i and need de-interlacing. What de-interlacing is used? Can the device play back mpeg2 natively like a Shield TV or will it need transcoding for a Roku stand alone device?
If it needs transcoding and de-interlacing your settings (and hidden transcoder ones) can play a huge role in the quality generated as well as amount of CPU/GPU used for this.
I can playback from OTA, Cable and PTV (IPTV) just fine to all of my devices including Rokus and the quality is fine even for NFL football. On my 75" Samsung with Shield TV attached it is crystal clear and the envy of friends and family.
All this has been covered above and it’s not all in the setup. The problem here is in the transcoding implementation that PLEX has provided. Trust me, the picture is not fine. It may be fine for your needs but it is inferior to other picture sources that go through the same process with better transcoding implementations.
Thanks for the input but the picture quality is substandard and it’s most definitely not envied by anyone I personally have shared this with. You’ll find a wealth of documentation about the low quality of the PLEX transcoding if you dig a little bit.
Can you share your transcode settings with us and your preference for the transcoder?
We should be able to help you adjust them to get much better picture quality.
It’s default settings are pretty bad but can be adjusted for those with a bit more powerful computers running Plex.
Those are client qualities and I’m asking for your transcode properties and settings.
ie what profile, what deinterlace method, what CBR. Those settings.
Again, all server and client settings at max quality such as “Make my CPU hurt”. All covered above. Please review. The problem is in the software not the setup.
