I just recently got a plex pass and an HD HomeRun Extend. I am able to stream directly from the HDHomeRun to all of my devices and it works fine. If I try to watch live TV through plex it plays for about 10 seconds and then pauses for 5-10 seconds, and that cycle continues. Those devices are iPhone 6s and Fire Stick. When I log into the plex server I see its transcoding. I just can’t figure out why. Can I configure it to just send the stream from the HD HomeRun Extend straight to the device without transcoding, like my device is able to retrieve the stream directly from the HD HomeRun?
I just tried playing plex live TV from a web browser to see if it has the same issue, but it says not enough CPU available. So I guess if it played, it would have the same issue.
I didn’t think the PC running my plex server was that bad, but I would prefer for it not to be doing all this transcoding and have the HD HomeRun Extend do it and then leave it like that.
What is the Extend transcode setting set to in your Plex DVR Settings?
What are the settings in the Player on each device set to? Specifically Video and Audio. The Plex client on the device will let The server know what type of content it can handle, if the incoming stream coming from the Extend is not in a format compatible with what the client device is telling Plex it can play then Plex must transcode before sending the stream to the client.
I have everything at the default settings. So in the plex server my HD HomeRun Extend is set for “Highest quality”.
I have not yet found all the settings on my iPhone and Fire Stick. I confirmed my iPhone had directplay enabled by default and the internet streaming quality setting is set to 720p HD.
So you’re saying I need to get the Plex setting for the HD Homerun extend and all devices set on a setting that they can all agree, so the plex server will not have to transcode between them. Do you know what the common setting would be?
In the plex settings for the HD HomeRun Extend the options are: Original Format, Highest Quality, High Quality (30fps limit), Medium Quality (540p), Medium Quality (480p), Low Quality (360p), and Low Quality (240p)
If you want no transcoding on your server then yes they should all agree with the capabilities of the client device. However, that might not be best for your recordings if you are using DVR. I leave my Extend set on Highest Quality which transcodes to h264 before sending to Plex. My client devices (Fire TV 4K, Fire TV Stick 2nd gen, and 2 Nvidia Shield 16GB) all handle the stream coming from the Extend perfectly fine when viewing Live TV. My iPhone 8 Plus ifbwet to maximum or 1080p HD 20mbps seems to play Live TV when at home. Remote streaming I really haven’t tried much with Live TV. I would suggest testing with different settings until you get to one that is satisfactory for you. One other suggestion would be that when you are away from home and have access to a computer that you can use to access your Plex Server in a web browser you can try lowering the Extend Transcode setting until you find one that works best for your remote streaming needs. Still wish Plex would allow two different Transcode settings, one for DVR and the other for Live TV.
Thanks. Do you know which set of settings would prevent the server from needing to transcode? I’m not worried about recording resolution, as long as it performs well.
Also, any idea why my iPhone says it cannot directplay because directplay is disabled, when’s it’s enabled in the settings?
If your iPhone setting is set to 720p I would try the Extend set to High Quality in Plex. One of the best write ups I have come across is from another Plex user on his blog site: Making The HD Homerun Work My Way. At Highest Quality the Extend transcodes the video stream to h264 and keeps the video at the resolution coming from the broadcast station including any interlaced fields. At High Quality the Extend will reduce the image to 720p while removing any interlacing from the video. If your iPhone can’t handle the interlacing and your Extend is set to Highest Quality that could be one reason Plex is having to transcode is it is trying to convert the interlaced video to a progressive stream that the iPhone can handle. To get my iPhone to play remotely I have often had to reduce the Extend trancode setting down to medium Quality (540p).
