Transcoding 4k to 1080p all washed out

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
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Server Version#: 1.15.2.793

I’ve seen a number of posts on this topic but I’ve never found a resolution.

I have an Inter i9-9900k CPU with 16GB of memory and NVMe drive running Plex Server. When I watch a 4k video on a 4K TV, everything looks amazing. But when I watch the same video on a non-4k device (e.g. web browser, iPhone, smart TV, etc.), the colors are horribly washed out.

I’ve turned off and on hardware acceleration but it didn’t matter. Besides just converting the 4K’s to 1080p and maintaining separate libraries, is there any way to resolve this issue?

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No, not yet.

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Well that stinks. Just as I was about to pull the trigger on the lifetime membership, guess I’ll have to wait.

Thanks for confirming.

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There is a bunch of reasons ti implement Plex, but live transcoding from 4k to 1080p while retaining good quality just isn’t one of them.

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there currently isn’t one

  1. you shouldn’t convert 4k, you gain nothing from a standard 1080p bluray rip and you waste a bunch of time and energy to do so.
  2. keeping a separate library is the simplest and best way, this way you can limit remote and non-4k clients from using 4k content and avoid unnecessary transcoding.

you can ignore both points above, but you only make it more difficult on yourself.

you may or may not find this useful @ [INFO] Plex, 4k, transcoding, and you - aka the rules of 4k

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If the original 4K video has HDR, this is likely the reason. Plus, Transcoding 4K puts a hurtin’ on the server CPU.

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My server is an intel i9-9900k and doesn’t even blink when its doing the transcoding right now from 4K to 1080p, and that’s with multiple streams going.

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