I am wondering how I can optimise Plex - so it runs faster? I am not sure what is slowing it down. Feel free to shill me articles, or what I can check in my settings. I read this.
Setup:
I have a NAS - Truenas Core that is running a Plex Plugin. Connected directly to router via ethernet cable. The NAS is an old PC.
I have a Windows PC, and Android phone. LG C2 TV (wifi 5G).
Semi-related point, I have Sonos as well and when I previously added a local folders etc. it was very very quick. They butchered this with a new app; and now its real sluggish - e.g. feels like it has to go through Sonos although all my files are on the local network.
I feel the same is with Plex? It’s all locally available, when I am here - but it’s going to Plex and coming back down? Is that right? What can I do to speed it up?
Basically a Bluey episode was getting caught buffering, I reset the internet and it wasn’t the issue. Others loaded fine. Was Plex specifically. Wondering how to optimise/rectify.
Additionally, I am prospecting a new cutting edge/overkill NAS at some point in the future. What would be ideal to make it as fast an experience as possible? Happy to get sent articles to read etc.
When you log into your Plex account in a client, Plex (the company) keeps track of the IP address of your server from when the server last phoned “home” (about once an hour, just so it can keep the IP updated). It sends this IP address to the client to have it attempt to connect directly to your server without using the internet or any relays. So, if it all works well, you should never involve the router beyond the first few packets when you start up a client.
Buffering can be caused by multiple things, but the most likely cause might be an unexpected transcode. When you see Bluey buffering, log into a Plex client on a browser, and go to the “Dashboard” by clicking the heartbeat icon in the upper right. Look at this first panel for info (expand details, if you haven’t already, with the Hamburger button to the right). If it doesn’t say “Direct Play” for both video and audio, then it might be transcoding the video. If so, check the CPU usage of the server, to determine if it is CPU capped. NOTE: Transcoding can be triggered by multiple things, but most likely it is your client is not capable of playing the file. This is likely because of the video codec, as x.265 isn’t supported by a lot of browsers and/or TV Apps. Additionally, certain subtitles in the file can also cause a transcode, which in some cases will make the transcode perform WORSE than normal due to… reasons I’ll get into if it’s relevant.
Another possible reason for buffering would be a network issue. If you have a complex network, and your client is on a different subnet from the server, you might not be able to reach the server locally. If this happens, Plex (the company) will serve as a plex relay to allow a connection between the two (you worried about the data going up to the internet and back). This is throttled, because the company wants to encourage direct-connections and cannot be a pipe for all their customers.
