Server Version#: 1.22.0.4163 . Plex Pass
Player Version#: any
Windows 10 x64, i7-6700, 3,4GHz, no GPU
I’m trying to get the real implications of Use hardware acceleration when available option versus Use hardware-accelerated video encoding option.
When reading what is written following each title and the documentation, I’m not sure of the meaning of the second option, just because in the first option it says "Plex uses hardware-accelerated video codecs when encoding and decoding video. So what is the purpose of second option if the first one allows hw decoding and encoding.
Could some give detailed insights of these two options? Thank you
Hardware acceleration works with intel cpus that have quick sync and or a dedicated gpu. It takes the transcoding work off of the cpu. My i5-7400 has it with 4 cores. When transcoding it uses the integrated gpu with quicksync to do the heavy work of transcoding so my 4 cores can do other server work.
It basically offsets encoding/decoding off the cpu.
The second option controls the behavior of the first; and if the first option is disabled, the second option has no effect (even though it can still be set). So, for example:
- With option 1 and option 2 both enabled, hardware accelerated decoding and encoding will be used if supported by the hardware for the codecs in use.
- With option 1 enabled and option 2 disabled, only hardware accelerated decoding will be used.
- With option 1 disabled and option 2 enabled, no hardware acceleration will be performed.
- And, of course, with both options disabled, no hardware acceleration will be performed.
The wording of the description of option 1 is a little misleading, in that both options need to be enabled for hardware accelerated encoding to take place (not just option 1). But, it does need to be enabled for hardware accelerated encoding to be possible at all.
@pshanew Thank you very much for this clarification.
Decoding: if I understand well, this feature is only used when using for instance Plex Player on the same gear. Am I right?
Encoding: is used to transcode video before streaming in order to make the stream compatible with the remote device on which the movie is displayed
Am I right?
Could Plex dev
-
grey out second option when the first one is deactivated
-
modify the wording of the first option
No. Decoding means to read the digital file and extract the video information. This needs to be done before the video can then be converted (encoded) to another format. Decoding typically is not a problem, but encoding can be so these settings are separated.
The entire process of decode/encode when done in real-time like what Plex does is then called a transcode.
@anon18523487: very clear now, thank you very much.
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