Plex web client is choppy for local 4K playback(not playing over the network)

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
1

Server Version#: 1.15.6.1079-78232c603
Player Version#: Web Client

I have been trying to direct play a 4K video. It is choppy and laggy and takes forever to load. I tried with the Plex windows client as well. It’s not as bad as the web version but it’s still laggy. The movies play absolutely fine in VLC. Hence, it is not a hardware issue.

I have a laptop connected to a 4K dongle that has USB 3.0 ports and an HDMI port. My external drive is connected into this dongle and so is the HDMI port. Here is the info of the video file.

Media
Duration 2:10:04
Bitrate 57090 kbps
Width 3840
Height 2160
Aspect Ratio 1.78
Video Resolution 4K
Container MKV
Video Frame Rate 24p
Video Profile main 10

Part

Duration 2:10:04
File Green.Book.2018.mkv
Size 51.87 GB
Container MKV
Video Profile main 10

Codec HEVC
Bitrate 56450 kbps
Language English
Bit Depth 10
Chroma Subsampling 4:2:0
Color Primaries bt2020
Color Range tv
Color Space bt2020nc
Color Trc smpte2084
Frame Rate 23.976 fps
Height 2160
Level 5.1
Profile main 10
Ref Frames 1
Width 3840
Display Title 4K (HEVC Main 10 HDR)

Codec TRUEHD
Channels 8
Language English
Audio Channel Layout 7.1
Bit Depth 24
Sampling Rate 48000 Hz
Display Title English (TRUEHD 7.1)

Codec AC3
Channels 6
Bitrate 640 kbps
Language English
Audio Channel Layout 5.1(side)
Sampling Rate 48000 Hz
Display Title English (AC3 5.1)

Codec SRT
Language English
Display Title English (SRT)
2

Web browsers cannot play HEVC videos. Therefore your Plex server is trying to transcode this in realtime to the supported codec AVC. But most systems cannot do this in realtime. It is extremely demanding in terms of computing power.

If you want to play such a video on a PC, download and install “Plex Media Player”. Free download below.

What is a “4K dongle”?

3

Yes, I have tried it in the windows program by Plex as well. I have the same issue but it’s not as bad. I think I need some 4K codec. I don’t know which one though. It plays the same way on the Plex client(windows) as it does in Windows Media player. But it plays fine in VLC.

What I mean by dongle is just a thunderbolt adapter that has HDMI output, USB 3.0 ports, and a few other things. I attach it to my computer’s thunderbolt. I can plug in a HDMI into the dongle and it shows my computer onto my TV. I can also plug in some 3.0 USB devices and access them from my computer. I guess it’s most commonly known as a hub.

4

There are 2 different ones for Windows.
One is available in the Microsoft App Store. The other is freely available.
But yes, if your computer has a relatively old graphics adapter, then it lacks the decoding features for HEVC.

5

I downloaded it from Plex. But I don’t have a graphics issue. The video plays absolutely fine in VLC.

6

Then play a bit with the settings of PMP.

7

Okay I will try that. I can’t at the moment because I am transferring some large files. I will try it after I am done and report back.

8

Okay thanks. I couldn’t find the Native OpenGL setting. But I did find Hardware decoding. It was unchecked. I checked it and it seems to be playing fine. Thanks again.

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