Shield TV vs. Open PHT on Computer

Plex Players Streaming Devices
1

Plex Server - MacMini 1
Storage - NAS
Plex Client 1 - Mac Mini 2 (Open PHT)
Plex Client 2 - Shield TV (Official Plex Client)

Playing a file on the Mac Mini 2 using Open PHT, the file plays directly from the NAS to the Mac Mini 2. The network card on the Plex Server (Mac Mini 1) never gets involved, the data is flowing directly from NAS to Mac Mini 2 (Open PHT client). I can verify this by looking at traffic stats on both NIC’s, and my network switch. Plex shows the session as Direct Play.

Playing a file on the Shield TV, the file plays using Direct Play as well, but I can see the data transfers from the NAS, in to the Mac Mini 1 (Plex Server) network card, and right back out to the Shield TV. No transcoding is happening, the Plex Server CPU is not working hard or anything, but the traffic just flows right through the server anyway.

Is this just a difference in the way OpenPHT works vs the official Plex Client on the Shield TV (and others)? It seems inefficient to route the packets through the server when the client is perfectly capable of handling the file, no transcoding is happening, etc. Am I missing a setting on clients to allow them to Direct Play directly from a NAS and completely bypass the Plex server?

Server Version#: latest as of 9/19/21
Player Version#: latest as of 9/19/21

2

If your OpenPHT is connected to the server, the traffic will also go through the PMS on your MacMini1. If the stream isn’t going through your PMS you have probably established some direct connection to the files on the NAS.

The Plex apps don’t have a concept of streaming from a file server – they’ll always run your media through the Plex Media Server. If that server is connected to storage on a different device (e.g. your NAS), that’s where the PMS will read the data.

3

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