Simple problem.
- I recorded a 4k video with my cell phone.
- I put that video on the Plex NAS.
- I play that video back over the LAN from Plex to the same phone that recorded.
- Plex tries transcode the video from H.264 to H.264. Literally.
**Why? ** Clearly the phone can play back the video when I access it directly from the phone’s memory, or even using ES File Explorer to pull it off the same server over the same network via SMB/CIFS.
Clearly this is a Plex issue. It’s frustrating and a huge turn off for me because the server is loaded up and can cause buffering for no reason because Plex wants to transcode everything.
This excessive (IMO) transcoding of video which otherwise is supported by the hardware it’s being played back on is what has kept me away from Plex. Every time I try this software it does this. I want to like it, but can’t find a way to force Direct Play. I’d rather the hardware crash from a failure to direct play than the deal with transcoding…
It sounds like to me the Plex player itself (Android TV and Mobile devices, for instance) is the weak link here. Could you please explain why this software behaves this way.
