Server Version#: 1:43:0
Player Version#:10.30.9.4262
I am having constant buffering issues running PMS on my Firestick 4K Max. The server is my 2015 Mac desktop/external 2TB HD. The server is about 30-40 feet from the client. It will successfully run smaller files (20GB or less) but I am looking to stream larger (75+GB) remux files. It is very hit or miss but mostly miss. Any advice as to how to fix this? I have checked a lot of forums and most say that the Firestick 4K Max works successfully without issue. I don’t really care about lossless audio or atmos (I have a 5.1 setup at home) but I’d like to be able to stream these larger files without the constant buffering. I’d also like to be able to stream in DolbyVision but it seems like the Firestick 4K Max only does HDR10 on Plex. I’ve tried running it on Plex on the built in TV app on my Hisense set but it’s about the same as running it on the Firestick. Our wifi is up to 400mb/sec so that shouldn’t be an issue but I do see that I get messages that say that the file is too big to play/not enough bandwith, which doesn’t make sense given we have excellent wifi.
I also have PMS running on a 4K Roku stick in our bedroom and it seems to work better there on the Roku, which isn’t the fancier version. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you in advance!
Hi, sorry I can’t help directly, but you might get more (any) help if you change the title and opening sentence of your post to be less confusing. I only clicked on your post because I was intrigued - ie can PMS be installed on a device like firestick?
I am practically 100% sure you don’t (and could not) have PMS running on your firestick (or roku). The “S” in PMS stands for server. As you said, PMS is running on your mac. The other devices have plex players(clients), not PMS.
Might be helpful to give more information about your home network as well. You say the distance the server is from the firestick, but that doesn’t really mean much of anything - for all anyone knows, there could be a dense, thick wall/ceiling between your router and one or more of the relevant devices, affecting the wifi signal. Or any number of other local networking issues.
Thanks for the response. Yes, you are correct, I misspoke. I am running Plex on a Firestick 4K Max, not PMS. And, yes, there is a wall between the router and the Firestick. It’s not particularly thick/dense.
Run a speed test on the Fire Stick. I think the built-in one would be fine but might also try an external site in a web browser (not fast.com, I tend to see results that are not possible with my plan with it). The speed test will be an Internet speed test ofc, which is not a measure of local network. But if you can get 150+ mbps them you’ll know the network connection is strong enough to your router. I assume you have the Mac PMS is on wired, so there won’t be a concern on that side.
Thank you. I ran the speed test on the firestick and it came in at 190.89. I checked it on my phone as well and it came in at 350something so I’m not sure why the firestick is dropping nearly half the speed.
I’m not sure what you mean by Mac PMS on wired. Can you clarify? The desktop is using wifi, not an ethernet wired connection.
As far as performance goes, I don’t know about a Fire Stick, even a 4K Max, being able to process video at the bitrates of a UHD BD remux smoothly. If you look at the device specifications, the limits are listed as:
H.265 (HEVC): Hardware accelerated up to 3840x2160p (4K) @ 60 fps, 35 Mbps, Main 10 Profile Level 5.1, Color space 8-bit and 10-bit input with HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG
H.264: Hardware accelerated up to 3840x2160p (4K) @ 60 fps, 20 Mbps, High 10 Profile Level 5.2
Now in practice is this true? I’ve played 1080p BD remuxes on mine, and that is up to more than double the listed limitations for H264, but 4K remuxes are a lot higher resolution and a more computationally complex codec. Unfortunately I only have one UHD remux on my server right now, and it’s not playing at all when I try, but I think that’s because it’s Dolby Vision and the monitor the Fire Stick 4K Max is connected to is not DV compatible. But when I tried playing it in the other room (on my 4K DV TV) even my Shield Pro was having issues. When I brought it up here people said I needed to “slim down” the Shield’s OS or roll is back to the version it had four years ago. Not things the average consumer is going to be doing. I used a third-party Plex client and was able to finish the movie that way, but I have generally given up on playing 4K BD remuxes on most streaming devices. They literally are not made to handle that kind of content.
Thanks for the quick response. Maybe this is a dumb question, but why does it matter if the server is on wifi or wired? Would that affect how the client (in this case the firestick) receives the video from the server? Because it ultimately sounds like you’re saying that maybe the firestick (or any other streaming device for that matter) isn’t capable of streaming 50+gb 4k remuxes…is that accurate? If that’s the case, does it even matter how the server is set up? Thanks again with any help. I wonder if Plex weighs in on these things at all?
If the server is wireless you now have to add any potential wireless networking issues on the server side into possible causes of streaming trouble. Wi-fi is a half-duplex networking method and will have higher latency and jitter than a wired connection. This is why a slower wired network connection will generally deliver a more trouble-free experience than a higher-speed wireless one. But for 4K BD remuxes using the wired connection on a Smart TV will likely not work, because Smart TVs are almost always limited to 100 Mbps and UHD remuxes can have bitrates that spike above that frequently.
Using a wired gigabit LAN connection on the server side means we wont have to really worry about networking on that side (unless it’s going over an additional switch or pluglink adapters – something else to potentially malfunction).
I can try my 4K Max Gen 2 on the living room TV later tonight, to see how it does (unfortunately the TV is monopolized 12+ hours a day by someone else), but I’ve tried streaming UHD remuxes twice on the more-powerful Shield Pro in the past and had a not-pleasant experience.
Thanks again for the response. I’ll see about wiring the desktop/server side. And let me know what results you get on the 4K max side re: a 4K remux. Thanks!
I ended up using my first-gen 4K Max for this. I’d forgotten that Fire Sticks do not support Dolby Vision profile 7 so it played in plain HDR instead. But it was direct playing. My locally-hosted network speed test measured the device at 261 Mbps down and 278 Mbps up.
Basic playback seemed to work fine. Besides a couple short rewinds to replay dialog a couple times, I’m just letting is run. Not trying to skip around or do anything crazy. The remux was listed as having an average bitrate of 81 Mbps total in Plex Dash. I stopped a little over halfway through the movie since I just watched it a week ago. The last time I tried this the Plex app hung up (spinning cursor) twice in the first 25 minutes, requiring relaunching the Plex app and resuming. This is also a sample size of one title, though.
I tried again on the Max Gen-2 in the other room and it’s playing now, but the screen is dim (from lack of HDR support) and there is some frame drops/stutter in playback. This is likely from the device needing to downscale such high-bitrate video for output to a non-4K display. Playing back a 4K encode of a more streaming-service standard bitrate aren’t having the same issue when played back on a 1080p display.
So I would say this is really a YMMV situation. Titles with higher spikes in bitrate for action scenes might have frame drops. An earlier remux I tried (erased now), played normally to start after a somewhat long buffer period, but then if I tried to jump forward or backward at all the playback developed a pronounced stutter that did not go away. And that was not a high-action scene as it was the first 10 minutes of that movie. So it became a “Oh, it looks smooth now. Don’t touch the remote!” situation.
Edit: Just saw this guy with a third-get Cube having issues with stuttering on high-action scenes with 4K Remuxes. I believe that model of Cube is supposed to be higher-performance than the 4K Max stick, so might be the titles he’s playing or something else.
Thanks for the response. I’ve had mixed results as well with similar issues such as pausing the film or trying to jump forward or rewind messing things up. Sometimes the 4K remuxes will play well if I don’t interrupt them but, as soon as I do, they will start stuttering.
If you enable installing apks from outside sources you can try sideloading Plezy onto the Fire Stick and see how it goes. You want the armeabi-v7a build. You could also install Kodi with PM4K at that point as an option.
