# Transcoding bitrates **URL:** \ **Category:** Feature Suggestions\ **Tags:** server-windows, server-linux\ **Created:** [May 24, 2026, 2:45am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-bitrates/939105 "2026-05-24T02:45:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JforrestJr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/278dde/32.png) [@JforrestJr](https://forums.plex.tv/u/JforrestJr)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2026, 2:45am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-bitrates/939105/1 "2026-05-24T02:45:26Z")
Simple feature I would like to see with explination. I have an upload of 30mbs, and if any of my children are remote viewing on the phone it works ok at 20mbs upload for transcoding… but when 2 of them do or If i do, then it saturates the upload stream. I would like to have the ability to set the transcode bitrate on my terms, like 4k@12mbs, 1080p @6mbs and 720p at 3mbs. this way any time any of us remote stream and its being transcoded, it doesnt saturate the upload stream. I currently have 40mbs upload speed set with Limit remote stream bitrate 8mbs (1080p)… but this also transcodes everything above and below to 8mbs. Issue with that is if my 720p video is a 3mbs video, it increases the bitrate to 8mbs instead of direct streaming at the 3mbs. Same holds true for the 1080p video, if its a 4mbs 1080p video, it will increase to 8mbs when transcoded and sent. ---
**Author:** ![nx6](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/nx6/32/103992_2.png) [@nx6](https://forums.plex.tv/u/nx6)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2026, 2:56am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-bitrates/939105/2 "2026-05-24T02:56:43Z")
> [@JforrestJr](#): > > Limit remote stream bitrate 8mbs (1080p)… but this also transcodes everything above and below to 8mbs. Issue with that is if my 720p video is a 3mbs video, it increases the bitrate to 8mbs instead of direct streaming at the 3mbs. If the program is below the 8 Mbps setting Plex can direct play it (but only if the client device is capable of direct playing the content to begin with). This is a setting in the player app. Plex Web: ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/b/2/b/b2bf45bd5fc26d71952bf72e6b283df2cc07cf1d.png) Legacy Android App: ![android-app](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/7/f/6/7f651bd7c14ed848d01935cffeb4709b55987d34.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![JforrestJr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/278dde/32.png) [@JforrestJr](https://forums.plex.tv/u/JforrestJr)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2026, 2:57am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-bitrates/939105/3 "2026-05-24T02:57:50Z")
Correct, but when being transcoding they transcode to the higher bitrate set by “Limit remote stream bitrate”. so that 720p file that is 3mbs as a direct stream becomes 8mbs when you limit it to 8mbs, and if you dont limit it, it becomes 20mbs. ---
**Author:** ![nx6](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/nx6/32/103992_2.png) [@nx6](https://forums.plex.tv/u/nx6)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2026, 3:09am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-bitrates/939105/4 "2026-05-24T03:09:28Z")
Start something playing on the mobile app, and then check the settings in the player for the quality (not the prefs, the quality setting you can change in-playback). Plex lists the “detected bitrate” next to the setting. Maybe the issue is Plex thinks the content requires a higher bitrate. ---
**Author:** ![JforrestJr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/278dde/32.png) [@JforrestJr](https://forums.plex.tv/u/JforrestJr)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2026, 3:11am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-bitrates/939105/5 "2026-05-24T03:11:49Z")
What I’m suggesting is having the server option of changing the “default” bitrates to what my network can handle for different resolutions instead of using the predefined ones hardcoded in the server. the one “Limit remote stream bitrate” doesn’t work for many issues, one example that I explained above. ---
**Author:** ![nx6](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/nx6/32/103992_2.png) [@nx6](https://forums.plex.tv/u/nx6)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2026, 3:15am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-bitrates/939105/6 "2026-05-24T03:15:35Z")
> [@JforrestJr](#): > > that 720p file that is 3mbs as a direct stream becomes 8mbs when you limit it to 8mbs, and if you dont limit it, it becomes 20mbs. Why the “3 Mbps” file is becoming 20 Mbps is the issue. If the file is 3 Mbps and your device can direct play it, it should only be 3 Mbps when it plays, and setting a 8 Mbps cap on the remote play stream shouldn’t change that. ---
**Author:** ![JforrestJr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/278dde/32.png) [@JforrestJr](https://forums.plex.tv/u/JforrestJr)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2026, 3:17am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-bitrates/939105/7 "2026-05-24T03:17:37Z")
you completely missed the topic of discussion. Let me requote: “What I’m suggesting is having the server option of changing the “default” bitrates to what my network can handle for different resolutions instead of using the predefined ones hardcoded in the server. the one “Limit remote stream bitrate” doesn’t work for many issues, one example that I explained above.” ---
**Author:** ![nx6](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/nx6/32/103992_2.png) [@nx6](https://forums.plex.tv/u/nx6)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2026, 4:00am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-bitrates/939105/8 "2026-05-24T04:00:15Z")
You’re not gonna get the ability to set all the quality settings yourself. > [@JforrestJr](#): > > **I have an upload of 30mbs** , and if any of my children are remote viewing on the phone it works ok at 20mbs upload for transcoding… but when 2 of them do or If i do, then it saturates the upload stream. > … > **I currently have 40mbs upload speed set** with Limit remote stream bitrate 8mbs (1080p) If you don’t want your two kids saturating your 30 Mbps upload, you need to set the Plex server settings accordingly. 😉 Using the same guidance as a torrent client config, the upstream cap you’d want is 25.5 Mbps. If your 3 Mbps program is ballooning _up_ in size when your limit is set to more than twice as high, that suggests either there is a bug with Plex’s calculation of the program’s needed stream size, or your device wasn’t capable of direct playing it to begin with, and Plex’s estimate is based on necessary transcoding. ---
**Author:** ![JforrestJr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/278dde/32.png) [@JforrestJr](https://forums.plex.tv/u/JforrestJr)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2026, 11:30pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-bitrates/939105/9 "2026-05-24T23:30:58Z")
Again, you missed the point of this post. Ill reiterate, I would like to see a way to control the maximum bitrate for each video size, instead of using the hardcoded rates, what I used was a real world “example”. somehow you are completely missing the point because i used a “real world example” and you’re focusing on that and not the topic of discussion.