Is there a piece of software that I can run on my computer that can check a video files compatibility with a player? The majority of what we play is to our Xbox One. But we do have other players. I’d like to get as many of my files formatted to the point where there is very little transcoding.
The most compatible format across all clients is:
- MP4 container
- H.264 video, High@4.0 or less, 30fps or less
- AAC 2.0 audio, 320kbps or less
- SRT subtitles
That should direct play on any recent Plex client (it will DP on a 2014 Gen 1 FireTV stick).
Note that subtitles are known troublemakers when it comes to causing transcoding. If you really want to ensure nothing transcodes, then don’t include them in your media files. For movies with forced subtitles you can burn them in using tools such as Handbrake.
Depending on the performance of your server and your clients, you can make modifications/additions.
Example 1: Not all clients support MKV containers (Apple & others). However, if the video & audio formats are supported, PMS will repackage things into an MP4 container before streaming it to the client. This is Direct Streaming, and does not require much CPU cycles.
Example 2: In addition to the AAC audio, you can add an AC3 audio track into the MP4 container. So, if you’re playing a video on a home theater you can still get surround sound. Clients that do not support AC3 will direct play the AAC audio, but you’ll have AC3 5.1 available for those that can handle it. Note that if you use a MKV container you can also add dts, dts-HD, dts:X, TrueHD, & Atmos audio.
If you’ve some content, such as 4K HDR, that plays on just a few clients, you may wish to keep it in a separate library. I keep my 4K HDR movies & TV shows in libraries separate from the rest of my media. I do not share it with friends/family that do not have 4K HDR capable clients.
There are several options to view what is in your library.
Use Plex’s “View Info” on each individual file. See Investigate Media Information and Formats.
Use MediaInfo for individual files. A very useful tool. Available for Windows, MacOS, & Linux.
Tautulli. A very useful 3rd party tool for managing PMS systems. For a given library, one of the views shows audio & video codec, # audio channels, video resolution, and other details.
Plex Export Library: In Plex Web client, go to Settings -> Troubleshooting and export the database. You can then search it with a SQL browser.
Awesome! Thanks!
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