PlexAmp iOS downloaded music, what format?

Plex Labs
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Hello. I have FLAC on my Plex server. When I download using the Mac Plex Amp client, I noticed the downloaded files are in Ogg format. Output form the file command:
Ogg data, Opus audio,

When using iOS, what format is used for downloaded files? It can make a difference as AAC format is generally of better quality at the same bit rate than MP3.

Obviously is only matters if I can hear it, and since Plex Amp downloads multiple versions of the same song if that song is in multiple playlists, I won’t be using Plex Amp for the most part (the full Plex iOS client doesn’t to this), but I was just curious.

Thanks

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Opus everywhere; it’s higher quality than AAC at the same bitrate :slight_smile:

1 Like
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That’s great!
Are there plans to sync more like the Plex app so there aren’t duplicates? I have a number of smart playlists with overlapping songs.

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Not at the moment, that sort of scenario is fairly rare imo, and space savings isn’t that huge :slight_smile:

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Elan, thanks for your answers.

While I have your attention… :slight_smile:

CarPlay for Plex app for Plex Amp anytime in the near future?

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Definitely on the list of things to try to add, yeah :slight_smile:

2 Likes
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Regarding having multiple copies of the same music files in plexamp. Have you considered using the same scheme as the plex app, and even sharing the data between the app?
https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/General/Conceptual/ExtensibilityPG/ExtensionScenarios.html

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Haven’t considered, as the two systems are designed super differently with different goals.

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The future is today.

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That’s great plexamp has CarPlay!

Can we expect it in plex app?

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Totally different codebase so I can’t speak to it.

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I am curious about the encoding being used here.

What happens if my server has FLAC and I set the download quality to 320 kbps? What file type and bitrate will reside on my device? 256 kbps Opus? Whatever the output, how does it compare to V0 VBR or 320 CBR in terms of quality and file size?

What happens if my server has FLAC and I set the download quality to 1 Mbps? What file type and bitrate will reside on my device?

What happens if my server has FLAC and I set the download quality to Maximum? What file type and bitrate will reside on my device?

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By default, 128 kbps Opus; if you raise the conversion quality to 256 kbps, then 256 kbps Opus.

You didn’t mention a codec, so I assume you mean MP3. Opus is superior (considered transparent at 128 kbps for the vast majority of cases). The “file size” question doesn’t make sense, that’s a direct function of bitrate :grimacing:

If your FLAC is under 1Mbps, then FLAC.
If your FLAC is over 1Mbps, than Opus (bitrate as per above).

Always FLAC.

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I did. Thank you for the clarifications!

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I thought of some new questions.

Does this mean that what controls download bitrate is the conversion quality under Advanced and not the Download Quality setting?

What file resides on my device if my server has V0 and the download quality is set to 320 kbps or 256 kbps? Will it download the raw .mp3 or convert to .opus?

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Maybe spend more time listening to music and less thinking of questions :grimacing:

It’s a combination of the two.

V0 is not a bitrate, so it depends what the bitrate of the file is.

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In my experience, LAME mp3 V0 will generally produce bitrates between 220kbps-280kbps depending on the source. So, assuming the server’s mp3 bitrate is higher than the settings on the receiving device, it seems you will end up with a lossy transcode of a lossy transcode. I would like to avoid that situation. Correct me if I’m wrong, it seems the most fool-proof way to avoid transcoding lossy files is to set all download settings to maximum on the receiving device. Would this result in an exact copy of the server file being sent to the device?

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Yes…

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