Plex Slow Transcode Speeds

Plex Media Server NAS & Devices
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Server Version#: 1.41.5.9522

When I first set up my new plex server on my Asustor AS5402T via docker the transcoding was working smoothly and I wasn’t getting any stuttering. A few days later, however, even playing exactly the same files on exactly the same player now stutters every 10 seconds or so.

I’ve turned “media mode” on on the NAS and I can confirm that the dashboard says it’s hardware transcoding the file. If I look at “top” when playing the file it says the CPU usage is at around 24% for the Plex Transcoder and overall machine CPU usage is 36%. If I look in the plex dashboard it says the CPU usage is 34% for plex and 36% for the system.

I know the issue is specifically the transcoding due to the subtitles (it’s using .ass subs) and if I turn the subs off it direct plays and everything is fine. I could probably switch to .srt subs but it was working for several days and now it’s not, and I kind of got this model of NAS because everything I read online said it could handle plex transcoding. It’s still in warranty so if it’s a hardware issue I’d rather just return it and get something else.

The specific file I’m testing with is a 1080p HEVC .mkv file but I get the same with a 1080p AVC .mkv file as well. I’ve also tested lowering the resolution in the player down to 420 and that plays with no stuttering. 720p files with .ass subs also play with no stuttering, so it’s specifically 1080p and above with the issue.

The media is stored on a HDD but the main volume1 drive with ADM and docker are on an SSD. The transcode directory is also specifically set to be on the SSD.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Logs:
Plex Media Server Logs_2025-03-30_14-40-48.zip (716.7 KB)

Server Transcode Settings:

transcode_settings
transcode_settings683×733 49.8 KB

Docker Compose:

services:
  plex:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/plex:latest
    container_name: plex
    devices:
      - /dev/dri:/dev/dri
    environment:
      - PUID=1045
      - PGID=1000
      - VERSION=docker
      - TZ=Europe/London
      - LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME=iHD
    volumes:
      - /volume1/docker/plex:/config
      - /volume1/docker/plex/transcode:/transcode
      - /volume2/media/anime:/media/anime
      - /volume2/media/anime_movies:/media/anime_movies
      - /volume2/media/movies:/media/movies
      - /volume2/media/tv_shows:/media/tv_shows
      - /volume2/media/other_videos:/media/other_videos
    network_mode: host
    restart: unless-stopped
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