I’ve been using Plexamp for a while, and my main gripe is the lack of flexible transcoding options. Right now, you can either stream in the original quality or transcode down using Opus. While Opus is great for most scenarios (especially on mobile with limited data), sometimes I’d like the option to transcode high-resolution files (e.g., 192/24) down to CD quality (48/16). This would provide great sound quality while reducing unnecessary data usage.
A good example of this is how the Qobuz mobile app handles streaming quality: while playing a song, you can choose between “Original,” “FLAC CD Quality,” and “MP3” (which, in Plexamp’s case, would be Opus).
This would also be useful for Plexamp on laptops. Sometimes I connect to my home network using Twingate or WireGuard, and since Plexamp forces max-quality playback on local connections, my audio starts stuttering. This happens because my phone’s hotspot doesn’t have enough bandwidth to stream full lossless audio. Being able to transcode to CD-quality FLAC in these cases would solve the issue.
Here is a picture of the mobile ui from Qobuz for reference:
Slightly related: I connect my phone to my car via bluetooth for audio. As I understand my current setting to remote stream at 256kbps is causing my FLACS to transcode to 256kbps OPUS. Since my car (and I’m not sure any) accept OPUS then a second transcode to AAC is required.
Wouldn’t being able to transcode directly to AAC on my Plex server result in one less lossy transcode? Or am I understanding incorrectly?
But when I’m remote streaming I have Plex transcoding my lossless files before streaming. So they are getting to the phone as an already lossy encoded 256k Opus file. Then the phone has to reencode to 256 AAC for my car Bluetooth, AirPods, etc.
If the transcode could be to AAC couldn’t it just pass that through? Avoiding a second transcode? Or am I fundamentally misunderstanding something?
Are apps even capable of outputting AAC directly to Bluetooth, or is every app having that second transcode, regardless if the file comes in a Bluetooth compatible format or not?
Edit: I think I answered my own question after thinking about it. Of course there is probably always a second encode. There has to be to allow for system sounds and anything else to get through. I guess you could avoid it if there was some kind of exclusive mode, but I don’t see that being likely.
I sometimes hear of a Bluetooth audio mode which is lossless. But I understand that it isn’t supported by all devices. And naturally, it requires more bandwidth on the wireless transmission, which can be difficult sometimes to keep up, with much interference in the bluetooth frequencies in the vicinity.
BT uses the same frequencies as the classic 2.4GHz WiFi, which is frequently the most crowded radio frequency range, particularly in urban areas.
Yeah, I’ve run into similar issues while trying to balance quality and data use when I stream FLACs remotely. I usually rip my CDs into FLAC and would prefer to downscale to CD quality rather than drop all the way to Opus. It’s not a huge loss, but I notice a difference especially with certain headphones. Would be awesome to have finer control over output formats and bitrates, just to tweak based on connection or device. For my local files, I’ve started converting some into more common formats so they’re easier to manage. I use this OMA converter when I need to switch between weird Sony file types and MP3 or WAV, https://www.movavi.com/audio-converter/oma-converter.html. It’s been handy for cleaning up my collection.
