Hi, I am hoping you can help.
I’m running the latest plex server.
My friend is able to access my server remotely via the Plex Samsung TV app.
However, plex is trying to direct play remotely a 36mbps movie and consequentially buffering every few seconds. I’m assuming this is because mine or their bandwidth is unable to support this bitrate?
Nevertheless, they have tried to reduce the quality settings from with in the Samsung tv app from:
Local 10
Remote 7
Too:
Local 1
Remote 1
But plex is still trying to direct play unsuccessfully. I have also been unable to adjust the quality and reduce the size of the movie my end.
Please help, is there something I am missing?
Thanks.
Without a Plex Pass you cannot limit remote stream bandwidth on the Plex Server (Ref: Remote Access documentation).
Lowering the remote playback rate in the Plex client should force a transcode. Your friend should choose a rate below the uplink speed of your Internet connection.
Edit: I set my phone to a remote quality of 720p / 3 Mbps. It forced a server transcode when playing a 38 Mbps Blu-ray rip (Plex Dashboard pic below). The Plex app on the TV should do the same.
You can monitor playback via the Plex Dashboard Now Playing section to see if the video and audio are transcoding.
You can create an Optimized Version of the movie. Choose the Custom Quality and select a bandwidth that is lower than your Internet uplink speed. Your friend can then choose to playback the optimized version.
Just to add to the above.
Your friend has clearly manually adjusted the setting on his device. It’s a constant source of bemusement in these forums how ridiculously low the default setting is. I believe it ranges between 2Mbps up to a maximum of 4Mbps depending on the specific client.
EDIT> Actually I take that back. I just saw the settings you posted for the Samsung app and Local 10
Remote 7 looks like the older unofficial (and no longer developed) Samsung Smart TV app.
For sure the settings in that app don’t really correlate to anything in the official Plex apps and I do actually recall it was difficult to find a sweet spot.
That will provide another data point and help determine if issue is with TV, server, Internet connection, etc.
Samsung
The app is available on 2016 and newer model year 4K/UHD Samsung sets that are Tizen-based. The exception is for users located in China or Iran; the app is not currently available for users in those countries. No 720p or 1080p (“full HD”) sets are supported for our current app at this time.
Hi,
Thanks for the responses. Remote viewing via laptop and IOS Plex app/web works fine remotely. My server transcodes down to 2-4mb. The Samsung tv app - when you adjust the settings for remote and local playback does not have any affect. The server continues to attempt to playback as direct play.
I can see on the dashboard transcoding when using IOS or laptop but not when using Samsung TV app. This is shown as remote direct play on the dashboard.
It would, however seeing as the Samsung is the unofficial app I would have no idea if that outdated client would respect the server setting.
I think @OttoKerner has used that client in the past, perhaps he may have an idea.
If you had a Plex Pass you could set a server controlled bandwidth limit for remote streams. Note that it is a global setting and applies to all streams. It cannot be set for individual users or devices.
This setting takes precedent over the client settings if the client is set to a higher limit. For example, if the server is set to 4 Mbps and the client is set to Unlimited/Maximum, the client will still receive at most a 4 Mbps stream.
If you have a supported TV and it is ignoring the client side bandwidth setting, then it might be a bug that needs addressing by Plex developers.
If you have a TV with the unsupported client you have a couple of options. You could buy a Plex Pass and invoke server side limits. Or, your friend could get a Roku / Apple TV / Shield / etc and use it to stream from your server.
