Hello all,
I have been having A LOT of buffering issues between plex and my wd my cloud mirror NAS.After some research, it appears that i need to convert my video files to MPG4/h264. Is there such a thing as a video converter that runs directly on the NAS as an app, much like the plex app? Thanks much!
Hi Patrick
Whereas I cannot answer your question directly but I can wholeheartedly recommend you use Handbrake to convert your video files into direct playable MP4 files.
I use Handbrake to convert files either singly or in batches on my PC and when done transfer those files to my NAS.
Handbrake is a free download available from the following URL:-
https://handbrake.fr/downloads.php
Personally speaking, Handbrake is a utility that no Plex user should be without.
UK Bob
Thanks Bob!! In the time since I posted the original question, I started playing with handbrake. I’ve tried converting a couple of files that wouldn’t play. The converted files did play but the quality was really bad. Would you mind sharing your conversion settings? Thanks again!
Hi again Patrick
First, I find Handbrake’s default settings work fine and there is no real need to change any of them.
Second, if the original quality of your video is bad then there is nothing Handbrake can do about it, a low quality unplayable video will be converted into a low quality playable video.
However, I use another utility called Media Info to check the quality of a video to see if it is worth my time and effort to perform a Handbrake conversion.
This utility is available from here:-
http://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo
NB. Handbrake can also check the quality of a video as well but Media Info is smaller app that quickly gives you the info you need to make your decision.
Now here’s a bit of advice, I do not use Handbrake on any video that has a lower picture quality than 480p, anything lower is not worth the effort and personally I tend to aim for videos between 720p - 1080p.
Finally, both Handbrake and Media Info are great utilities with lots to offer, as long as you understand how to use them and what they are actually telling you but it will take you a bit of time to get to grips with them.
UK Bob
I don’t use Handbrake but I agree with everyone here, Handbrake by far the recommended software to use for Pre-transcoding. My server is powerful enough I have no need for the extra work. Take a look below for the Handbrake settings that has been recommended by Plex support on another thread–
"If you’re using HandBrake to prepare your videos for your TV / tablet / phone then you’re covered from the video perspective. I recommend H.264 encoding, 2-pass encoding (for best quality) and output container extension of either MKV or MP4
Be sure to clear the Title and other Metadata fields if you encode to MP4. PMS will read it from MP4 files and, if done incorrectly, make it difficult to match correctly. For that reason, I use MKV. PMS doesn’t read metadata from MKV files.
As for audio, AAC or AC-3 is most universal and the NAS will more than handle transcoding this to stereo as needed."
Also not sure if your aware but Plex can also Pre-transcode your media, It’s called “Media Optimizer” Have a look at the link
support.plex.tv/articles/214079318-media-optimizer-overview/?mobile_site=true
I don’t know how well it works but its another option.
one of my posts? Sounds like me. Didn’t I mention keeping the manual video bit rate up?
This feed caught my eye as I get buffering issues with my Synology 415+ and was thinking of changing to a WD PR4100 or PR2100 as they are advertised directly mentioning they’re great for Plex and support hardware transcoding, yet it would appear people are still suffering with buffering. I don’t understand why considering WD’s claims. Note I get buffering on Synology 415+ despite using Handbrake on AppleTV settings (I use plex on ATV4K) and a Poweline network. I was hoping to get NAS hardware to remove the need of using Handbrake. Any advise/suggestions would be much appreciated.
