# Plex cloud unlimited concurrent streams

**URL:** <https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-cloud-unlimited-concurrent-streams/207638>\
**Category:** General Discussions\
**Created:** [September 25, 2017, 10:50pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-cloud-unlimited-concurrent-streams/207638 "2017-09-25T22:50:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![reeliobill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@reeliobill](https://forums.plex.tv/u/reeliobill)\
**Post date:** [September 25, 2017, 10:50pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-cloud-unlimited-concurrent-streams/207638/1 "2017-09-25T22:50:32Z")

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I’m looking for the cheapest way to stream to many providers simultaneously. In the plex cloud FAQ it states:

> How many simultaneous streams can I have?  
> Each Plex Cloud server is limited to 3 concurrent transcode streams. If a stream is fully “Direct Play” it will not count against that limit, however “Direct Stream” will.

Does this mean that if all my media is able to direct play I can have unlimited concurrent streams?

If so, what media encodings would i need to support direct play on all of these [devices](https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/206225077#whichsecure)?

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**Author:** ![Leonardo1364](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d9b06d/32.png) [@Leonardo1364](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Leonardo1364)\
**Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 12:20pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-cloud-unlimited-concurrent-streams/207638/2 "2017-12-20T12:20:57Z")

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Best bet for allowing direct stream on ALL devices is to have h.264 video codec in an mp4 file format, with AAC 2.0 audio.

I personally prefer h.264 in an mkv file format, with original audio (DTS, TrueHD, FLAC, whichever a video comes with), but direct streaming with those formats is not supported on a ton. Only if you have higher end gear.

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**Author:** ![Kraevin](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/kraevin/32/96968_2.png) [@Kraevin](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Kraevin)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 7:37am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-cloud-unlimited-concurrent-streams/207638/3 "2017-12-22T07:37:19Z")

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> @reeliobill said:  
> I’m looking for the cheapest way to stream to many providers simultaneously. In the plex cloud FAQ it states:
> 
> > How many simultaneous streams can I have?  
> > Each Plex Cloud server is limited to 3 concurrent transcode streams. If a stream is fully “Direct Play” it will not count against that limit, however “Direct Stream” will.
> 
> Does this mean that if all my media is able to direct play I can have unlimited concurrent streams?
> 
> If so, what media encodings would i need to support direct play on all of these [devices](https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/206225077#whichsecure)?

Yes, the limit only applies to media being transcoded. You can have unlimited Direct Plays. Direct Streams though are counted towards the 3 limit.

You can read here about the differences of Direct Play and Direct Stream.  
[https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200250387-Streaming-Media-Direct-Play-and-Direct-Stream](https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200250387-Streaming-Media-Direct-Play-and-Direct-Stream)

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\
**Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 11:53pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-cloud-unlimited-concurrent-streams/207638/4 "2020-01-07T23:53:05Z")

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