# Media library size management through transcoding
**URL:** https://forums.plex.tv/t/media-library-size-management-through-transcoding/812934
**Category:** Feature Suggestions
**Created:** [September 29, 2022, 7:01pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/media-library-size-management-through-transcoding/812934 "2022-09-29T19:01:59Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@concertguy](https://forums.plex.tv/u/concertguy)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2022, 7:02pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/media-library-size-management-through-transcoding/812934/1 "2022-09-29T19:02:00Z")
Allow users to select, by title, season, television show, media library or global setting a transcoding setting to use to lower the quality of the media item to conserve space.
Once the setting is applied the server should do the following.
1. Transcode all selected currently available items. Ideally keeping a backup for a configurable number of days of the old item before it is purged.
2. Set a job to compare any newly imported media and perform transcoding automatically as a new item is added.
3. Allow the creation of a second transcoding setting for watched items, again at the title, season, television show, media library or global levels.
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### Author:  [@dane22](https://forums.plex.tv/u/dane22)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2022, 8:22pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/media-library-size-management-through-transcoding/812934/3 "2022-09-29T20:22:45Z")
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### Author:  [@elan](https://forums.plex.tv/u/elan)
#### Post date: [September 29, 2022, 10:13pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/media-library-size-management-through-transcoding/812934/4 "2022-09-29T22:13:45Z")
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### Author:  [@concertguy](https://forums.plex.tv/u/concertguy)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2022, 3:08am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/media-library-size-management-through-transcoding/812934/5 "2022-09-30T03:08:00Z")
Thanks for re-opening this. At the base of the idea is that this would allow users to manage the space their library consumes. Mostly like the optimize feature - but with the ability to replace the original with the transcoded version if desired. And similar to the “delete watched shows” reduce the disk space consumed by shows watched at high quality by - at a users choice at a granular level - transcoding and replacing the original.
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### Author:  [@tom80H](https://forums.plex.tv/u/tom80H)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2022, 11:24am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/media-library-size-management-through-transcoding/812934/6 "2022-10-03T11:24:42Z")
If your main focus is optimizing the library but only keeping the optimized version… there’s already a suggestion discussing such an option:
> [@\[Feature Request\] Keep the optimized movie version only](https://forums.plex.tv/t/feature-request-keep-the-optimized-movie-version-only/129150):
>
> I would be able to provide a way to delete the original movie and keep the optimized version automatically
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### Author:  [@concertguy](https://forums.plex.tv/u/concertguy)
#### Post date: [October 3, 2022, 12:40pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/media-library-size-management-through-transcoding/812934/7 "2022-10-03T12:40:31Z")
It’s not exactly the same, but on the same vein. I have voted for that topic.
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### Author:  [@tom80H](https://forums.plex.tv/u/tom80H)
#### Post date: [February 19, 2024, 12:58am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/media-library-size-management-through-transcoding/812934/8 "2024-02-19T00:58:01Z")
2024 clean-up: considered a duplicate (different use cases with same outcome)