Server Version#: 1.18.5.2309
Player Version#: whatever this weeks download version is
Hi. I’m very good at networking and security, but pretty much a plex noob.
Bought a DS218+ a few months back and finally got my Plex server up and running. Threw a bunch of movies and home videos on it, and once I got some stuff organized, I was very happy with the results.
…Almost.
Streaming everything to my PCs and tablets work great. Streaming 1080p movies over 5ghz wifi works great even to the Roku plus. Watched a nice long movie last night and tested a bunch of others with VERY satisfactory results.
…Theeeeen I got to my home movies. Some files in the folders play great, but others, mostly home movies from old phones and ipods, not so much… they will play for about 15 seconds, then buffer. Another 10-15 seconds, then buffer.
I know its not the network, since my tablet is wireless and can perform the same job in the same location no problem. And if I manually turn down the transcoding level per video on the roku to say 780 a 3 or 4mb, the video usually plays through (though I’ve gotten a buffer at 45s in still).
I’ve been trying to research this myself, but I lack a few fundamental basics I think.
1.) Is there a way to manually set transcoding for an entire folder on my roku plex app?
2.) Should I be paying close attention to the files in those folders for bitrate* and size?
3.) Is there a way to set transcoding per device? Or per folder per device would be better?
4.) There is some confusion on what pre-transcoding is… is this something I would blanket perform for the files for when they are served across all devices? Would it potentially mess with playback to other devices?
Thanks for the assist. Half the reason I wanted this setup was so my wife can watch old home movies of our kids on TV, and of course its the one thing I’m having trouble with
The problem is - your storage device isn’t a server and when transcoding is required you are done - take a look here:
Can hardware transcoding save the day?
Dunno - might save half the day, but you’ll need an Nvidia Graphics card (one that’s approved for your machine and Plex) and you’ll also need a Plex Pass to find out if it helps - and how much.
I have storage, but it’s only role is storage. A Server handles any heavy lifting and Transcoding is the heavy lifting in the Plexiverse. There’s nothing heavier.
As it stands right now Direct Play is the only way to survive with your equipment. Obviously your home videos won’t Direct Play and require Transcoding and therein lays the problem.
