Stuttering, Freezing, and Pausing Playing 4K HEVC Files

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
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Server Version#: 1.18.2.2029-36236cc4c
Player Version#: Same as server
Hardware: Ryzen 2400G 16GB RAM Home Theater/Server

Hi,

I recently upgraded to a 4K TV and have been trying to playback some 4k HEVC mkv files and am experiencing stuttering and freezing. Usually the file will play for a minute or two and then pause for ~10 seconds and start playing again and repeat for as long as the video is playing. These videos also take an extremely long time to start playing once paused or stopped.

What I have noticed is that when this is happening CPU usage is extremely high and looking at the Dashboard while the file is playing, it appears to be being trasncoded.

I do have 1 file that appears to play correctly, but it’s of the same type as the others and also appears to be transcoding, so it’s possible this is just happenstance and is able to be transcoded on the fly within the bounds of the hardware.

While I believe this issue might be similar to New issue with x 265 HVEC encoded media?, I would also note that playing these same files in VLC also produces odd playback that appears to be dropping frames or randomly slowing down.

I’ve tried everything I can think of other than downgrading the server, which will be next on my list, but was hoping someone here might have some insight into what’s going on.

Thank you in advance for any assistance.

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I’m assuming you have your computer connected to your 4K television?

Which Plex app (not Plex server) have you downloaded? If you’re just using the web browser, you probably don’t want to do that.

I recommend Plex Media Player:

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Whelp, I feel like a total moron because that was the issue. I just assumed that it wanted to use some sort of browser plug-in when playing locally, but I guess having the server also be a player most of the time is a relatively unusual setup.

Thanks for the assistance.

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