I read on this forum (after asking) that Plex does not do live transcoding, which confuses me as I read tech blogs comparisons:
If Plex cannot transcode, how would it support so many clients and formats?
What is the diff between transcoding and live transcoding?
Should txcoding mean conversion for stored folders “on the fly” (during transmission), and live txcoding imply conversion for incoming live (IPTV or satellite tuner) streams? But why should it be different?
What does and does not Plex support? From this blog comment thread below, PMS transcodes on x86 CPUs, but not on others owing to processing restrictions. But the blog article itself talks about transcoding on the fly. (See T_Beermonster 12/6/15 comments thread):
How does Emby and Plex compare on the (live) transcoding front?
Emby claims to have live transcoding as a big feature, which should be understandable. Why rip DVDs to lower res and then re-rip, when txcoding can do the job for you, so you can just rip at the highest res for storage?
Plex can transcode “on the fly” and that’s one of its core features. You can have a single version of the video and Plex server will transcode (if necessary) to match the capabilities and network bandwidth of the client.
Plex does not have “live TV” features however, transcoded or otherwise.
Besides what @sremick correctly mentioned I’ll add, perhaps slightly off topic since the OP mainly focuses on Live TV features but, transcoding on the fly (or “live”) isn’t always the (best) route to take. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a very nice feature to have and one of Plex strongest selling points - but it shouldn’t, imho, be the foundation for a Plex installation that aims to cater for as many clients as possible.
Raw CPU power costs money. A lot of money. Storage, not that much nowadays. Transcoding takes quite the amount of CPU resources when using very high bitrate material to clients that doesn’t support Direct Play (or Stream). Add to that that transcoding “live” also is aimed to and caters for speed - not quality. You will most likely get a much better picture quality if you pre-transcode files offline under slower settings. Thus it will in many cases be relevant to keep perhaps two or more files of the same source material - one high bitrate for local clients that can direct play them, and one reencoded copy that is low bitrate for remote or weaker clients that can’t handle as much codecs and such natively.
You can read more about Direct Play, Stream and Transcoding on Plex help site -
Yes really confusing, more now with Live TV vs live trsnscoding.
From what I gather from you folks and done Wikipedia and Google searches, the terms live transcoding vs transcoding are:
In the end the encoder has to look at the source video format, regardless of whether it is stored or coming in real time ( IPTV.)
Thus what usually happens is that the stored content has already been transcoded; at streaming time it is easier for the system to stream the correct format ( depending on client type and network conditions) without much CPU stress in real time. However those CPU cycles have already been processed in the past, with some ( lower) cost because transcoding got done at slower rates with possibly higher quality.
On the other hand, incoming IPTV live streams have to be encoded in real time with some buffering delay and cost CPU cycles. Costs are higher since higher rates need be utilized in comparison with stored content.
Thus transcoding generally should mean that for stored content; live transcoding should mean for Live TV or IPTV implying higher CPU costs. If the transcoding is done “on the fly”, that means it is being done in real time for either stored content or live TV, and thus costs same in either case.
By above definition if Plex can transcode live or on the fly, why can’t it do LiveTV??
Below is a good example of what I am attempting to understand. The author is talking about converting streaming URLs into .strm format for stored video files. Also he is talking about making playlists.
So it is not clear to me if the code he wrote was meant for creating playlists, or for URL conversion to .strm format. He too talks about this Live TV vs live transcoding issue.
So what problem did he solve, because his IPTV unofficial plugin is quite popular on Plex for IPTV streaming. I myself use it to stream to a remote browser in which case his warnings about incompatibility with non- live transcoding formats don’t make sense to me
Kodi also faces this (live) streaming problem with IPTV streaming to remote Chrome browser not possible owing to Kodi inability to transcode. However you can stream video libraries, but then don’t they also need transcoding?
So all quite confusing. To me the answer for the Kodi live streaming to browser issue should have been some combo of Cigaras IPTV plugin for Kodi and the open-source code from Emby server that does do live transcoding.
Very long post but comments on above paragraph I would appreciate …
Plex works great transcoding live streams… If you use the right equipment and channel. I use HDHRViewer channel to watch my cable tv both locally and remotely. Transcodes the stream to h264 aac for my sammy s3. Any questions please ask and I will point you in the right direction.
As you can see there is a lot of uncertainty about what Plex does and does not do, because Plex does not clarify these points upfront in their Guides that most people read ( nobody gets into details once confused about actual capabilities.) Maybe a marketing problem here.
I used Cigaras IPTV Plex channel plugin successfully streaming to my remote browser, after looking at a YouTube by OneTechGenuius about Plex set-up from Jan 2016 update. So clearly Plex is doing the transcoding I need: what it can actually be labeled I still can’t say !
Now I want an EPG / TV Guide a la Kodi IPTV Simple Client or Lunatixz Pseudo TVLive!
I would appreciate any insights you might have on the above links from Cigaras and from jez500 re: Kodi problem.
The above addon from Cigaras I used upon its inception… too much maintenance for my liking. Is fine for those hunting down urls to plug in because they cut the cord or something I suppose.
I do see HDHR Viewer 2…where/ how to download? Is this only for hardware TV tuners, or also IPTV ?
I see the channel logo and description, how about time schedules?
And of course, where to get those reliable TV/movie channels or m3u playlists I don’t mind paid subs if stable.
Your use of “live transcoding” is confusing. I think what you really mean is “transcoding of a live stream”. A live stream being a media source that is generated and broadcast in real-time versus a non-live stream such as a movie file on your computer. Yes, PMS can transcode live streams, but it depends on how the live stream is generated and broadcast and how that information is passed along to PMS.
But you are basically asking if Plex works with these unsupported channels. These are called unsupported for a reason. As I mentioned in one of your other posts, PMS was not designed for Live Streaming, it just sort of works. It’s hard to communicate information on something that isn’t supported.
It’s like asking why your car’s owner’s manual doesn’t describe the safest way to drive at 120 mph.
Ah but that’s the whole point. Plex built market share because of these “unsupported” channels, and the very active Channels Forum with all kinds of " unsupported/illegal" info is testament.
So Plex, like Kodi ( at least it is open source) plays both ways. Like knowing most sports car owners will drive at 120mph, and providing no seat belts, air bags or warnings
All Plex need do is say we don’t support all live streams because nobody can ( except maybe with a VLC plug-in.) But making a confusing official remark saying we don’t support live transcoding doesn’t help. Especially if the correct term is transcoding for live streams, like you pointed out ( and what our own half clarifications above were.)
@siliconhippy said:
All Plex need do is say we don’t support all live streams because nobody can ( except maybe with a VLC plug-in.) But making a confusing official remark saying we don’t support live transcoding doesn’t help. Especially if the correct term is transcoding for live streams, like you pointed out ( and what our own half clarifications above were.)
I’m not sure where that official remark is from. Can you point that out to me? If you are referring to my other statement in your other thread, I wasn’t clear that you wanted an official statement. I was just answering a question. Here is Plex’s official sattement if you are interested. https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/201161467-Why-Can-I-Not-Get-a-Live-Stream-to-Play-on-Plex-
And that is the whole point: instead of nitpicking, it would be a whole lot better to just clarify the confusion, and not hide behind, "no support but…well we don’t want to shut down unofficial channel forums, because that is what makes us really tick ! "
This double talk doesn’t help. No one seriously believes Plex ( or others) really are running a " clean" act: it is just avoiding liability.
Nothing wrong with it per se, but think of the time and effort wasted asking and answering questions.
@siliconhippy said:
And that is the whole point: instead of nitpicking, it would be a whole lot better to just clarify the confusion, and not hide behind, "no support but…well we don’t want to shut down unofficial channel forums, because that is what makes us really tick ! "
Now I’m lost. What confusion are you referring to? Are you still talking about transcoding live streams or are you now asking about unsupported channels?
I don’t mind paid subs if stable.