# Server Side control of content quality **URL:** \ **Category:** Feature Suggestions\ **Created:** [December 7, 2017, 12:06am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-side-control-of-content-quality/216724 "2017-12-07T00:06:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Altheran](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/altheran/32/8355_2.png) [@Altheran](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Altheran)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2017, 12:06am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-side-control-of-content-quality/216724/1 "2017-12-07T00:06:40Z")
Have a section in the Plex server Settings to configue default qualities (Local Video, Internet Video, Mobile Video, Local Music, Internet Music, Mobile Music) (Original, 20 mbps, xx mbps, 320 kbps, 256 kbps, etc…) and an option client side (default selected) to use Server preferences. This sould work in conjunction with Auto adjust quality even on “Original Setting”. This would make it so that server admin can define quality preference based on their hardware / internet upload bandwidth and also make the usage of plex by less tech savy people much easier. (Trying to explain to you aunt where to go to adjust a settings to reduce transcoding as much as possible is no simple task) ---
**Author:** ![Collisionc](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/collisionc/32/8371_2.png) [@Collisionc](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Collisionc)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2017, 2:34am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-side-control-of-content-quality/216724/2 "2017-12-23T02:34:25Z")
Completely agreed. Having to explain to people over and over that they have to set remote quality on every client and every browser that they use sucks. Chrome seemingly resets remote bandwidth when it upgrades major versions as well, which means every 6-9 months they have to set it again. I want to move my server to something that doesn’t suck 200-300 watts out of the wall 24/7, and I can’t realistically do it when so many videos transcode. I’d rather deal with explaining to people how to lower bandwidth settings than having to increase it – and most people are smart enough to lower their bandwidth when buffering occurs. ---
**Author:** ![Altheran](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/altheran/32/8355_2.png) [@Altheran](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Altheran)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 8:25am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-side-control-of-content-quality/216724/3 "2017-12-24T08:25:35Z")
And well, with auto ajust … you shouldnt need to lower bandwidth settings, it should do so by itself … ---
**Author:** ![jjrjr1](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/jjrjr1/32/10993_2.png) [@jjrjr1](https://forums.plex.tv/u/jjrjr1)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 8:46am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-side-control-of-content-quality/216724/4 "2017-12-24T08:46:04Z")
Those settings already exist in PMS in server settings-\>Remote Access. You can specify remote bandwidth. I use the setting to limit remote access users to 4mbps. Mostly to preserve upload bandwidth for as many streams as possible at 720p ---
**Author:** ![Collisionc](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/collisionc/32/8371_2.png) [@Collisionc](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Collisionc)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2017, 6:45am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-side-control-of-content-quality/216724/5 "2017-12-26T06:45:01Z")
> @jjrjr1 said: > Those settings already exist in PMS in server settings-\>Remote Access. > You can specify remote bandwidth. > I use the setting to limit remote access users to 4mbps. > Mostly to preserve upload bandwidth for as many streams as possible at 720p We want to force clients to use more bandwidth to prevent transcoding. We know that there are already server controls for restricting client maximum bandwidth. Changing that setting does not force the client to use more than the 4 megabit default. I want a way to change the client default remote quality to 8/12/20 megabit. ---
**Author:** ![Altheran](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/altheran/32/8355_2.png) [@Altheran](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Altheran)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2018, 7:03am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-side-control-of-content-quality/216724/6 "2018-01-01T07:03:52Z")
And control of all the clients default “quality settings” ---
**Author:** ![niallobr](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/niallobr/32/5664_2.png) [@niallobr](https://forums.plex.tv/u/niallobr)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 1:14am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-side-control-of-content-quality/216724/7 "2018-01-02T01:14:59Z")
This would be a good solution to a very frustrating problem. In my opinion the client quality settings are unnecessarily confusing for users and create big headaches for admins (unnecessary transcoding). Giving the server admin the ability to disable ‘augmented profiles’ which reflect the default settings or settings the user has chosen may also work. More discussion here: [https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/comment/1583280#Comment\_1583280](https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/comment/1583280#Comment_1583280) ---
**Author:** ![SOSAGES](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SOSAGES](https://forums.plex.tv/u/SOSAGES)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2018, 2:37pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-side-control-of-content-quality/216724/8 "2018-01-02T14:37:26Z")
oh yes please. i can control this to clients outside my LAN but i want to set defaults for internal clients. Having a list of clients and being able to set some to 720p (older ipads or a browser etc) via the admin UI would be great. ---
**Author:** ![thomy22](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@thomy22](https://forums.plex.tv/u/thomy22)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 9:10am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-side-control-of-content-quality/216724/9 "2018-01-03T09:10:12Z")
This has already been requested several times in this thread: > **[\[Implemented\] Server-Side Speed Limits/Caps for Shared/Subscribed Users](https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/80857/implemented-server-side-speed-limits-caps-for-shared-subscribed-users)** > > I saw a feature request somewhat similar to this but it was ultimately too convoluted, disorganized, and old to bother "liking," so here it is in a more streamlined post that covers the different applications and reasons to implement.   Proposal:... But I think it’s a good thing that this has been restarted again, because I think you ignore the old thread anyway, because a part of it has been integrated. It was also said that the service would be extended more and more, but so far nothing really new has been added for months, although it would be one of the most important components for the service. I would be extremely happy if you could finally set this on the server side. Many of my users are often overwhelmed, although I have created some nice instructions for each app, which you have to adapt. It would be much easier if the server had full control over the shared users and could manually adjust everything from picture and sound. In this way, the Plex experience could be perfectly optimized for all users. ---
**Author:** ![SOSAGES](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SOSAGES](https://forums.plex.tv/u/SOSAGES)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2018, 9:52am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-side-control-of-content-quality/216724/10 "2018-01-03T09:52:10Z")
as you say it is about giving users a great experience, in my life the majority of my users are small children and they dont know or care 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![t4nd4r](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/t4nd4r/32/90192_2.png) [@t4nd4r](https://forums.plex.tv/u/t4nd4r)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2018, 4:28am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-side-control-of-content-quality/216724/11 "2018-01-05T04:28:23Z")
Yes please! ---
**Author:** ![iforgot](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/iforgot/32/8296_2.png) [@iforgot](https://forums.plex.tv/u/iforgot)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2018, 4:49pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-side-control-of-content-quality/216724/12 "2018-04-16T16:49:16Z")
Seriously three years down the line since this was first asked for. News, VR, all this work done, and still the server admin cant control bandwidth, properly. A global setting was a start, we NEED per user control. Most admins want to be able to specify that some users are allowed more bandwidth than others. Three years . Come on . ---
**Author:** ![jantron2020](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@jantron2020](https://forums.plex.tv/u/jantron2020)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2019, 3:41am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-side-control-of-content-quality/216724/13 "2019-04-25T03:41:46Z")
I’m replying to say that this is still sorely needed. I have friends that I share with all around the world and every time they get a new device I have to track them down and remind them to change streaming as to not transcode. I have a 1Gbps upload - bandwidth is not the problem, it’s CPU! ---
**Author:** ![ultimate255](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ultimate255/32/97102_2.png) [@ultimate255](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ultimate255)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 1:01pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-side-control-of-content-quality/216724/14 "2019-04-30T13:01:01Z")
The simplest solution is to change the default **720p** to **original**. The default SHOULD BE original. My plex library is mostly 1080p, this means every client transcodes by default when they could be direct playing instead. I don’t understand why this is not a thing yet. ---
**Author:** ![Subasicaly](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/subasicaly/32/9524_2.png) [@Subasicaly](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Subasicaly)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2019, 4:14am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-side-control-of-content-quality/216724/15 "2019-07-08T04:14:47Z")
Not having this feature causes me the biggest headache running my plex server! None of my users are knowledgeable enough to go into the settings and change quality to original. Some of them are even ok watching 720p video so my server is transcoding 8-10mbps 1080p down to 720p. What is the point of having good quality 1080p files? ---
**Author:** ![jantron2020](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@jantron2020](https://forums.plex.tv/u/jantron2020)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2019, 3:56am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-side-control-of-content-quality/216724/16 "2019-08-05T03:56:49Z")
Even a prompt in the clients that says “your server administrator recommends that you use the automatic quality setting, would you like to enable now for this server?” and only have that pop up for servers with the “Recommend Automatic” or “Recommend Original” enabled. ---
**Author:** ![derekakelly](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/derekakelly/32/188053_2.png) [@derekakelly](https://forums.plex.tv/u/derekakelly)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2020, 2:27am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-side-control-of-content-quality/216724/17 "2020-05-17T02:27:50Z")
I created a pre-roll with instructions on setting the remote quality setting and people still play movies in 720p 😭 Seems like this would be such an easy adjustment to make for the plex developers. The only bandwidth they should be concerned with is the server owner’s. It should always default to the original and then if a user has an issue, they can turn it down. ---
**Author:** ![RockStar](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/rockstar/32/613_2.png) [@RockStar](https://forums.plex.tv/u/RockStar)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2020, 8:10am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-side-control-of-content-quality/216724/18 "2020-05-17T08:10:40Z")
I love this request. I hate it when people choose to transcode and on top of that uses 20 mbps. Now they are using tons of cpu AND bandwith. This feature could even be somewhat simplified. The server-admin could have a checklist of the availiable bitrates and resolutions. The server admin checks which ones apply for his/her server. The client wouldnt need any change at all. It could just play the highest availiable alternative, equal to or smaller than what the server offers. So if my server offers max 720p @ 3 mbps, thats what they would get, even if they choose 1080 @ 10 mbps in the client. Ofcourse, a simpler sollution than nagging at devs and being annoyed by plex’ limited admin control, is to do what I have done. Just kick out all the users, exept immediate family and users who are appreciating the server enough to upgrade their hardware to support direct play. I have had my users get Apple TVs and have recomended infuse for its awesome disc cache system. On top of that, I have turned off transcoding entirely. Now everything works for the ones still on the server. ---
**Author:** ![freebeer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/freebeer/32/8346_2.png) [@freebeer](https://forums.plex.tv/u/freebeer)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 5:15am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-side-control-of-content-quality/216724/19 "2021-03-08T05:15:33Z")
Altho some of the issues like bandwidth limits are addressed since this topic was made, I still think this is a great feature. Being able to change options like “recommended to library”, hiding plex provided sections not in use by default (live tv, etc). Since the settings are stored locally on the client, perhaps an option for the client to select and apply the recommended server settings would be in order? ---
**Author:** ![Floppie7th](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/cc9497/32.png) [@Floppie7th](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Floppie7th)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2022, 11:10pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-side-control-of-content-quality/216724/20 "2022-02-18T23:10:34Z")
Four and half years now, server operators have been begging for this feature. Yet another Reddit thread about it today: [https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/svmy0b/honest\_to\_god\_the\_hardest\_thing\_about\_my\_plex/](https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/svmy0b/honest_to_god_the_hardest_thing_about_my_plex/) Instead, we keep getting more third-party streaming services that nobody asked for bundled in. [Next page](https://forums.plex.tv/t/server-side-control-of-content-quality/216724.md?page=2)