I have the following setup:
Madison, WI
Spectrum - 250 Mbps (DownStream) 10 Mbps (UpStream)
Plex Server - Intel NUC7PJYH Mini PC NUC Kit / WD 1TB Blue 3D NAND SATA III 2.5" Internal SSD / G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 260-Pin DDR4 SO-DIMM DDR4 2400 (PC4 19200)
HD HomeRun - SiliconDust HDHomeRun CONNECT QUATRO
Phoenix, AZ
Cox Communications - 500 Mbps (DownStream) 35 Mbps (UpStream)
Roku Ultra - Plex App
I have the Plex Server in WI Remote Access - Internet Upload Speed - 10 Mbps
I have the Plex Server in WI Remote Access - Limit Remote Stream Bitrate - 4 Mbps 720p
I have the Plex Server in WI Transcoder - Transcoder Quality - Automatic
I have the Plex Server in WI Transcoder - Background Transcoding x264 preset - Very Fast
I have the Plex Server in WI Transcoder - Use Hardware Accelerate When Available - CHECKED
I have the Plex Server in WI Transcoder - Use Hardware Accelerate Video Encoding - CHECKED
I have the Plex Server in WI Transcoder - Max Simultaneous Video Transcode - 3
I have the Plex App in AZ Settings - Video - 4 Mbps 720p
Everything starts off clear but, shortly after buffering the picture turns blurry and blocks start to appear. I need help in determining acceptable settings if possible.
It sounds likely that it is choosing to transcode to a lower resolution for your Plex Roku client vs Plex for Windows. To check take a look in Plex Web for your Plex Server, and go to the Dashboard. Make sure “Show Details” ( ) is selected. What does it show when the Plex Roku client is playing vs the Plex for Windows client? If you can post a screen snip of both.
Are you using hardware transcoding? (Edit: I see with your update that you are.) If so, just as a test, would you turn off hardware transcoding and try each of your clients individually? I think your cpu should be able to handle at least one software transcode at a time.
This is just a test to see if it is something associated with hardware transcoding (or not).
AFAIK Roku and Fire TV use HLS protocol for streaming, the video would be squeezed more to fit both the audio tracks (english plus SAP) using AC3 into the 4 Mbps limit than what the Plex for Windows would using OPUS.
I did some searching, but didn’t find anything specific. My environment differs from yours and I wasn’t able to replicate (e.g. different GPU, Roku TV instead of Roku Ultra, etc.) Are you updated to the latest Plex Server release? I do remember some pixelation issues in the 1.18.x server version timeframe.
With hardware transcoding turned back on you could also try different settings in your Plex client remote quality limit (e.g. 3 Mbps 720p or 8 Mbps 4k.) Don’t let the 4k part of the 8 Mbps worry you - I tried it with Live TV 720p MPEG2 channel played on my Roku and it gave me a transcode/remux to a 720p h.264 8 Mbps stream.
I watched a lot of YouTube videos and read tons of articles before purchasing the Intel NUC NUC7PJYH. I even made sure that the Intel UHD Graphics 605 would work with Plex Hardware Transcoding.
No matter what I change the setting to in Plex App for Roku and in Plex Server and can’t get rid of the pixelation and blurriness. Only by turning off Hardware Transcoding I get a clear picture.
At least the Windows 10 Plex App works correctly with the Plex Server Hardware Transcoding. It generates a great picture.
) is selected. What does it show when the Plex Roku client is playing vs the Plex for Windows client? If you can post a screen snip of both.
