I know a file that I play on my home network direct streams to the device I use without any transcoding needed. However when I play that same file on an LTE or WIFI network outside my home on the same IOS device Plex then transcodes audio and video. Why does this happen???
Each client app has playback settings. Depending on the app, you may have something as simple as local quality settings and remote quality settings, or like on my app I have video quality for cellular data, internet streaming, and home streaming, along with music quality streaming settings. Check your clients and see what yours are set to, because that might be causing transcoding. You also need to look at your Plex server settings for remote access and see what your internet upload speed is set to, because that will also force transcoding.
Thanks but as I see those settings and made the changes it still is doing the transcoding from h.264 to h.264. I have checked the direct play info on some and one would say direct play but its still transcoding. I also have no limits on bandwidth or playback set in the server.
Have you enabled remote access properly? If not, this will trigger the Plex Relay function which limits the playback quality regardless of your in-app settings. In your iOS app, when choosing the server it should indicate if you are using an “indirect connection” which will indicate if relay is being used.
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/216766168-Accessing-a-Server-through-Relay
