This might be a 2 part question but here goes… I have never used the optimized versions but I have a bunch of 4k content that always get’s transcoded.
So question 1. Can I create a custom 4k optimized profile?
If not can anyone guide me with handbrake. I am using a Tivo Bolt as my player. I have used handbrake to encode but it always transcodes. I am using… H.265, forcing 30Fps, M4a container, Main profile and have tried level, 4.1, 5, 5.1. no dice.
Any ideas? Thanks
it should be in an mp4 not an m4a . can you provide the complete media info xml? does it have subtitles maybe that are being transcoded?
this is what should work https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/203810286-What-media-formats-are-supported-
MP4 must be Web optimized
Container: MP4
Resolution: 3840x2160 or smaller
Video Encoding: HEVC (H.265)
Video Frame Rate: 30fps
Video Bit Depth: 8
Depending on, the H265 itself might be causing the transcode. Yeah, your TV might support it natively, but does the Plex client you are using?
If not, that’s why it’s transcoding…
He said he is using the Tivo Bolt ( which is a series 6 ) which has the Smart TV app. it should be able to direct play 4K if the file meets the requirements and is Web optimized as it says in the link I posted earlier.
If really in a M4A format it will cause the video to also get transcoded to Full HD (aka 1080p) rather than just direct stream ( remux ) as h265 4k can only be directplayed
The original source is MKV container, so right off the bat I expect a transcode to happen. I definitely saw the link you referenced however it does not mention “web optomized”. Honestly I’m not sure what web optimized means but it sure would be nice if the Plex Faq stated web optimized is required. I’ve run HB again selecting web optimized. no luck. Attached is the mediainfo XML with “web optimized” ticked.
About the first question, is it possible to create custom “optimized” profiles in Plex? If not let’s add a 4k one!
@MikeG6.5 said:
Depending on, the H265 itself might be causing the transcode. Yeah, your TV might support it natively, but does the Plex client you are using?If not, that’s why it’s transcoding…
For sure Mike. Been doing a lot or research on next gen clients. My main client is a N2820 NUC and that has been awesome for almost 2 years. The Bolt is my only 4k client. My personal research has said to wait for the Kaby Lake NUC’s due late 2016 but most likely early 2017. Kaby Lake processors will decode H.265 10bit in hardware. That’s the gold mine for me.
About the Bolt 4k Plex support, agree I don’t know exactly what it supports or what’s required but hopefully together we can find out and document HB setting and help others but I should be able to direct play 4K to the Plex client on the Bolt.
@BigWheel said:
it should be in an mp4 not an m4a . can you provide the complete media info xml? does it have subtitles maybe that are being transcoded?this is what should work https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/203810286-What-media-formats-are-supported-
MP4 must be Web optimized
Container: MP4
Resolution: 3840x2160 or smaller
Video Encoding: HEVC (H.265)
Video Frame Rate: 30fps
Video Bit Depth: 8
@BigWheel - Have you had a change to look at the Mediainfo XML I uploaded? Thanks
According to the last release notes for the Tivo app, the Bolt cannot play UHD if you are running the 20.5.9 firmware. So I would check that first. https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/comment/1178432/#Comment_1178432
your files is an m4v and while basically the same thing, it is not an MP4. server logs covering the startof playback may also say why being transcoded
I wasn’t aware of the Tivo firmware issue that moviefan posted so you may have to check that.
@jtroberts said:
I definitely saw the link you referenced however it does not mention “web optomized”.
Plex’s Optimized Version feature will not generate UHD formats. Right now, you can only produce 1080p.
As BigWheels mentioned, m4v and mp4 are similar but not identical. The Bolt may be looking specifically for the mp4 extension. You can try renaming the extension from m4v to mp4 and trick the device, but there are possible header information in the m4v that may confuse the device. Worth a shot.
@BigWheel My apologies I didn’t scroll down to see the specific notes for Tivo. @MovieFan.Plex I also used FFmpeg directly (not HB) to encode a sample using MP4 container and h.265, however it still transcodes. I followed this guide. https://www.maketecheasier.com/encode-h265-video-using-ffmpeg/
I can confirm my Tivo is running 20.5.9 so at this point it looks like the issue is the Tivo software.
Thanks for the help!
Did you make a 4K H265 sample or 1080p H265. I’m not positive on the Tivo but some devices can only handle 4K H265, 1080p H265 still gets transcoded to 1080p H264.
@MovieFan.Plex said:
Did you make a 4K H265 sample or 1080p H265. I’m not positive on the Tivo but some devices can only handle 4K H265, 1080p H265 still gets transcoded to 1080p H264.
I took a 4k video encoded with H.265 in an MKV container and re-encoded with h.265 in an m4v and mp4 containers while always retaining the 4k resolution. This really is one of my biggest questions, will the Tivo direct play a 4k video from Plex.
I’m not one of these guys who wants everything to direct play, hell if I wanted that I would use Kodi for free but the transcoding and external access on a any platform anywhere, anytime is what I love most about Plex.
With that said 4k transcoding is extremely CPU intensive and we all know we’re a bit bleeding edge here but it helps to have our 4k videos encoded to a format that will be most widely accepted by future devices. This makes me think about another question… Dedicated encoding hardware?
Nvidia seems to be leading the market with 4k encoders and decoders, do we think Plex might add support for Nvidia hardware to offload transcoding to dedicated hardware. IE: GTX-950+ series.
Thanks for the help MovieFan.Plex
It would be easiest if you provided the server log showing the start of playback. That’s the best way to identify why PMS is transcoding.
Plex is investigating the use of GPU and other hardware decoding support (QuickSync), but I have no news to share. You can follow along on the current discussion here. https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/112471/any-news-on-gpu-transcoding-especially-intel-quick-sync
