I notice that the highest quality PLEX can optimize to is 1080p 20mbps, is it possible to have PLEX optimize something to 4k?
I have some 4k x265 movies that I would like to turn into x264 for easier playback on some of my devices, but maintain 4k quality…
Your best bet is to do the conversion manually, external to Plex. Doing so will allow you to maintain the control you will need to properly encode the video optimally (every one is different)
@ChuckPa said:
Your best bet is to do the conversion manually, external to Plex. Doing so will allow you to maintain the control you will need to properly encode the video optimally (every one is different)
yeah but that would involve a lot of steps, downloading, transcoding and re-uploading…
I don’t need a lot of configurations, I’m fine with the built in profiles, like universal, for mobile, they are all very good.
just they only transcode to 1080p max. I mean if it were real-time on the fly transcoding for streaming, PLEX can and will transcode to 4k, why can’t it optimize to 4k? it’s just a matter of adding one more setting right?
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it’s adding and verifying 4K across every platform Plex supports. That takes a lot of time and resources. The optimizer itself took a great deal of time to create as it exists now.
If there is need, they will do it but 4K xxx bitrate -> 4K 20 Mbps max would need to be added to all the device profiles. At present, there are 76 profiles. That’s a lot of testing as it would need testing on every platform (windows , os x, linux distros, all the NAS platforms which support transcoding.
I completely see your point and think there is some merit in it. Why not create a thread in the Feature Requests forum. Describe what you think is good for everyone, not only yourself, and see where it goes. That forum is monitored by the employees. If something is ‘liked’ enough, they see about implementing it.
4K is like the cream of the crop. It’s the absolute highest bitrate and resolution most TV’s or devices can support. Optimizing media is more about converting the media to the most common denominator. If you select “Original” in all likelihood you are going to get something H264, instead of H265, and 8bit video instead of 10bit. Because this is the MOST COMMON video codec/bitdepth supported by the most client apps Plex supports.
There isn’t nearly as much media available for 4K as there is for 1080p, so this is still somewhat of a rare display format. There are still loads of TV’s, BR players and other devices out there that aren’t 4K ready, that this Is a fairly RARE combination, over-all. (Give it 5 years, I’m sure that will change…)
Keep in mind that a 4K TV is 2160p, which is actually 4x the resolution of a 1080p TV. That’s 4 times the data that needs to be converted or streamed! So a 20Mbps rip of a 1080p means it’s roughly 80Mbps in 4K? That’s a TON more data needing to be converted or streamed! It also means the CPU has to be able to support 4 times the bitrate in conversions or data transfers (or more due to 8-bit and 10-bit color spaces) as a 1080p stream would require. That’s a LOT of converting for a minimal impact over-all.
And @OttoKerner, let’s not fool anyone about the Feature Requests forum. From a recent thread in the General Forums (Pass) it’s fairly obvious to most that have read it, the user’s wants on the Feature Requests forum aren’t considered in the RoadMap ™ until they start to affect bottom line in some manner. Stop perpetuating the misinformation, please. State it as it is… Request something and HOPE it shows up before senility sets in… It’s not likely to show up until so many get upset it’s not there, they stop paying their monthly or yearly Pass subscription fees. 
(That’s how a lot of us older posters are starting to see things…) Pretty much means us Lifetimes are screwed!
Edit: I’m beginning to think if you really want a feature you’re almost better off not to say anything about it. It’s got as much chance of appearing in Plex as any of the other things we’ve been seeing lately.
@garyleecn said:
just they only transcode to 1080p max. I mean if it were real-time on the fly transcoding for streaming, PLEX can and will transcode to 4k, why can’t it optimize to 4k? it’s just a matter of adding one more setting right?
Plex cannot real-time transcode to 4K. In some cases it may be able to remux the video, but no video transcodes will produce 4K.
@MikeG6.5 said:
4K is like the cream of the crop. It’s the absolute highest bitrate and resolution most TV’s or devices can support. Optimizing media is more about converting the media to the most common denominator. If you select “Original” in all likelihood you are going to get something H264, instead of H265, and 8bit video instead of 10bit. Because this is the MOST COMMON video codec/bitdepth supported by the most client apps Plex supports.There isn’t nearly as much media available for 4K as there is for 1080p, so this is still somewhat of a rare display format. There are still loads of TV’s, BR players and other devices out there that aren’t 4K ready, that this Is a fairly RARE combination, over-all. (Give it 5 years, I’m sure that will change…)
Keep in mind that a 4K TV is 2160p, which is actually 4x the resolution of a 1080p TV. That’s 4 times the data that needs to be converted or streamed! So a 20Mbps rip of a 1080p means it’s roughly 80Mbps in 4K? That’s a TON more data needing to be converted or streamed! It also means the CPU has to be able to support 4 times the bitrate in conversions or data transfers (or more due to 8-bit and 10-bit color spaces) as a 1080p stream would require. That’s a LOT of converting for a minimal impact over-all.
I know 4k is very demanding, but isn’t that the reason for optimizing?
if I have a 4k movie in a format my 4k tv doesn’t natively support, and my server isn’t capable for realtime transcoding, then I’ll want to optimize it. and i won’t want it to be turn down to 1080p…
and I know that not everyone have a 4k tv, so I don’t mind plex make it a plex pass feature. just think, a person with nice big 4k tv, and a person with a 32inch 720p tv, who is more likely to pay?
