I am using old computer J1900+4gb ddr3 ram windows 10 as home server. And playing the movie on htpc G4400 4gb ddr4 ram onboard graphic card. It can play the movie smooth in 1080p file under 10gb. But some file (mkv ) in 2160p will lag 15gb+ , some file 50gb + will become super lag . I know I got to upgrade the computer. But I want to know which one I should upgrade the server or the HTPC? And what is the cheapest way to watch large file smooth??
What r you watching these movies on ??
And 50gb ! Really?
Think about making your files smaller.
Or buy a very expensive server
I suggest re-code a few to smaller sizes and see if YOU see any difference.
I have a few 4k but all my 1080p are under 3gb and look fine on a 65" 4K TV
many 4k 2160p file is over 50gb some i saw are 80gb+ (la la land)
so your suggestion is upgrade the server? I just try to watch on my working computer i5 4690k gtx 770 . And it looks ok but my monitor screen is 1080p only.
If you upgrade your server, so as it is capable of transcoding the video for your client, you will kill the benefit of the high bitrate and resolution. All ‘live’ transcoding as such is done by the server with speed as intent, not quality. The point of having that file will essentially be lost (imho) in a HTPC setup.
If you download said large file from your server to your client, through the download button in Plex Web or other means, does the speed stay above the bitrate of the movie (do not forget audio)? If not, make sure that you keep them wired together - not wireless and try again.
When you can maintain the speed of download between the two - make sure that the client has the capability to Direct Play said high bitrate and resolution file. A Direct Play is essentially a download of the file from your server to your client, hence the previous test. Direct Play can be achieved by the client through various means, start with using Plex Media Player and see if that aids you.
Thanks Peter ! I test the network is doing fine, the speed on large file is 50-60mb/s. Because it’s not buffering at all. It just pure lag. I guess I should update my HTPC. So CPU or GPU i should upgrade?
what size screen?
If you have concluded that the network isn’t at fault, you need to further establish what is causing the transcode so as to ascertain what the next step should be (how you can improve your client so as it Direct Plays). This can be achieved in several ways, easiest being to look at the Now Playing tab in the Plex Web client. For more details one can turn Debug logging on and, after starting a playback, look for the rows starting with “MDE” (Media Decision Enginge) in the server log file. It should state why your client demands a transcode from your server.
