I am not able to watch media encoded with .265 HEVC, but ONLY on Plex. If I download an episode of the media, I am able to consume it as per usual. If I decide to watch it on my friend’s Plex Media Server, what happens is I am forced to transcode 265x to 264x, which causes buffering because I am converting the media mid viewing which is rendering it useless. When transcoding is forcibly turned off, this error message appears:
My specs:
GTX1080
i7-7820x
32GB of ram
Enable debug, not verbose,.play something and post the logs here
logs.txt (340.8 KB)
Settings > Troubleshooting > Download Logs
Edit: Noticed you’re using Plex for Windows, which can direct play HEVC video. Check the bandwidth settings. If not transcoding due to bandwidth limits, will need a copy of the server logs, as mentioned by @CostaHT.
What Plex client are you using?
If you are viewing on a Mac or PC, try Plex for Windows/Mac. It direct plays most media, including HEVC video.
Plex Web cannot direct play HEVC video due to browser limitations(*). Therefore, the video will be transcoded by Plex Media Server. If transcoding is disabled on the server, users receive the “Not enough CPU…” message.
If your friend’s server is not strong enough to transcode the media in real time you will experience buffering. The specifications of your system do not matter, as the transcoding occurs on your friend’s server, not your system.
Viewing media from a remote server is also subject to bandwidth limitations. If the media cannot fit in the available bandwidth then it will be transcoded by Plex Media Server.
For streaming from remote servers, Plex clients default to 2 Mbps / 720p. Verify the remote bandwidth / quality settings for each Plex client you use. Change to Maximum / Original to avoid transcoding due to the default limit. The setting must be changed in each client (ex: changing it in Plex Web does not change it in Plex for Windows).
(*) Safari supports of HEVC video.
I am using the desktop client (not browser) on Windows 10. I use max/original quality when watching the media. I am fairly sure bandwidth limitations are not the issue, but obviously, I could be mistaken. Attached are the server logs: Plex_Media_Server_Logs_2021-04-10_21-24-36.zip (6.5 MB)
50+ Mbps video with a 32 Mbps bandwidth limit. Plex has to transcode the video to fit the bandwidth restriction.
If client is set to max/original, then check the server for a bandwidth limit.
Settings → Remote Access → Internet Upload Speed
Settings → Remote Access → Limit Remote Stream Bitrate
From Plex Media Server.log:
Apr 10, 2021 21:22:44.803 [6220] WARN - [Transcode] Streaming Resource: Bandwidth exceeded: 51260 kbps > 32000 kbps
Apr 10, 2021 21:22:44.803 [6220] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Selected protocol http; container: mkv
Apr 10, 2021 21:22:44.803 [6220] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: analyzing media item 26481
Apr 10, 2021 21:22:44.803 [6220] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: E3 - Fighting Puppet: no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/hevc
Apr 10, 2021 21:22:44.803 [6220] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: E3 - Fighting Puppet: no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/hevc/truehd
Apr 10, 2021 21:22:44.803 [6220] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: E3 - Fighting Puppet: no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/hevc/truehd
Apr 10, 2021 21:22:44.803 [6220] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: DARLING in the FRANXX - S1 E3 - Fighting Puppet: selected media 0 / 26481
Apr 10, 2021 21:22:44.804 [6220] DEBUG - [Transcode] Streaming Resource: Calculated bandwidth of 50136kbps exceeds bandwidth limit. Changing decision parameters provided by client to fit bandwidth limit of 32000kbps
.....
.....
Apr 10, 2021 21:22:46.525 [6220] DEBUG - [Transcode] Streaming Resource: Reached Decision id=19245 codes=(MDE=3001,Not enough bandwidth for direct play of this item. Required bandwidth is 51260kbps and only 32000kbps is available. General=1001,Direct play not available; Conversion OK. Direct Play=3000,App cannot direct play this item. No direct play video profile exists for protocol http, with container mkv, and video codec hevc. Transcode=1001,Direct play not available; Conversion OK.) media=(id=26481 part=(id=43377 decision=transcode container=mkv protocol=http streams=(Video=(id=210484 decision=transcode bitrate=20736 encoder=h264_nvenc width=1920 height=1080) Audio=(id=210485 decision=transcode bitrate=768 encoder=libopus channels=6 rate=48000))))
Interesting fact that the log says the player is limiting the bandwidth, but there’s no such thing as 32Mbps on any player
I read it as the server overriding the client limits due to tighter limits.
Client: My limits are X.
Server: My limits are less than X.
Server log: Changing decision parameters provided by client…
Dang it. Now I’m curious. 
I cannot test tonight without possibly disrupting a couple of remote users. Will try to do so tomorrow when there is no other traffic on my server.
Regarding what you guys posted about the server logs, we did some testing and found we could fix the issue by changing the server upload speed from 30-60. (the server’s network upload speed is actually only 30mbps.) The thing is, the media is only 10mbps bitrate, and shows up as such in tautalli, so it doesn’t make much sense.
re-analyse it just in case, but… the average bit rate is 10mbps, plex goes by the max bit rate (and then adds a generous amount just in case - sometimes too much, one of those better to be safe then sorry things i guess.)
The bandwidth you set there is not exactly what Plex will allocate. Plex will only use around 80% of it. As @BobSnot said you could be buffering during peaks like action scenes
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