Hello
I use the plex of my TV to watch movies that are on the HD of my network computer
is it possible that the images on the plex of my 4k tv have more quality by upscaling a 2Gb 1080p file than in a 4K file with about 30Gbs?
I heard that upscaling produces better images than files with higher resolution, is it true?
thank you
No. If that were true we would all have VHS quality video on our servers and be amazed at how great it looks on a 4K TV.
Upscaling cannot add what is not there to begin with.
is it possible that the plex is damaging the image of films too large to send from the computer to the TV plex because of the network speed (cable., router)?
and are small files transferred without this limitation?
Plex has a mechanism that allows the server and client apps to communicate and “negotiate” the best possible approach to play your files. This will consider:
This transcoding could be limited by how powerful your CPU is (or if you disabled it in your Plex Media Server settings). Generally I wouldn’t call it “damaging” the video.
This can also happen for small files – e.g. not all players support original DVD quality formats (mostly because the used codecs on DVDs are pretty old).
i watch movies with different resolutions, which are on my pc’s hd connected to the tv by the network cable, on my smart tv through the plex app.
what hardware should i take into account to have the best image when watching these films?
what is the best configuration, of hardware and software (Plex), to see these films in the best quality?
any more recommendations on software and hardware for the best experience when using plex on my home network?
thank you
There’s no right or wrong answer to your question. This very much depends on what Media you got in your library.
If your smart tv plex app can stream the videos „as-is“ (direct play), your server can be a relatively low power machine or even a NAS. If you have a wild mix of things or higher quality Media you might be better of with a dedicated streaming box (Nvidia Shield, Apple TV, Roku).
If you have Media that needs to be transcoded you’ll need a more powerful device as a server. This will also depend on how many streams you expect to play in parallel (e.g. just yourself vs. a setup where you share with kids/family members or friends).
The 2nd support article posted above contains some references / benchmarks for what cpu you need for what kind of streams („PassMark“ score).
If you have a Plex Pass membership you can also move some of the transcoding to a supported GPU (dedicated or integrated).
what is more suitable for watching movies in 4k that is on the home network:
powerful computer or Nvidia Shield, Apple TV, Roku?
is this Roku as powerful as the others?
it is much cheaper, right?
You want to direct play, not transcode, your media. Transcoding 4K, especially HDR, is problematic in many ways.
To direct play, you need to match the audio/video types in your media with the capabilities of your client.
If your TV does not support HDR, then do not play HDR media. Currently, Plex does not map HDR colors to SDR colors when transcoding. As a result, the picture quality is degraded.
You also have to be aware of the capabilities and limitations of your clients. For example, the Plex apps for Samsung and LG TVs cannot direct play PGS subtitles. So, if you’re watching a 4K HDR movie and you turn on subtitles, Plex will transcode the video.
Transcoding audio is not as problematic as with video, but you should avoid it if possible. For example, Blu-ray discs with TrueHD audio also have a Dolby Digital 5.1 version of the audio track. If your system cannot direct play TrueHD audio, then choose the Dolby Digital 5.1 version instead.
When I first started using Plex I had a much different setup than now. Over time, I’ve migrated to a setup that direct plays almost everything.
Nvidia Shield Pro (2015) <-HDMI-> Denon AVR-X4300H <-HDMI-ARC-> LG B7 OLED
Plex Media Server runs on a Synology DS918+
I rarely use the Plex app on the LG because of its limitations. The Shield and Denon direct play all the audio & video formats I need. This lets me run Plex Server on the Synology. It has a low power Celeron CPU, but that’s OK since I rarely transcode anything. The 2015 Shield does not support Dolby Vision, but I don’t mind since I don’t have any Dolby Vision videos (the 2019 Shield does support DV).
The AppleTV 4K and Roku Ultra are also very capable clients. They do not support TrueHD + Atmos audio, but if you don’t have an Atmos sound system then it doesn’t matter.
I’ve an Amazon Firestick 4K. It is not as capable as a Shield, ATV 4K, or Roku, but it will play 4K HDR movies and it only costs $50 USD.
So, to get back to your “what is more suitable…” question, the answer is whatever will direct play your media. You’ll see many people on the forum, including me, touting the capabilities of the Shield. It is a very good Plex client. However, that doesn’t mean you have to run out and buy one. If a Roku Ultra, ATV 4K, etc works for you, then go for it.
Some pointers:
Use Plex Dashboard -> Now Playing to see if your movies/shows/etc are direct playing, transcoding, etc.
The Shield will pass almost any audio format you’ll find on DVDs, Blu-rays, and UHD Blu-rays. This includes Dolby Atmos and dts:X. As mentioned above, the 2019 versions also support Dolby Vision video. If you do go with a Shield, get the Pro model. The non-Pro (“tube”) has less RAM and some users have reported issues playing back high bit rate HDR movies.
The AppleTV 4K is a very capable client. Many people have them and are happy with them, especially if they’re already part of the Apple ecosystem. Note that it converts dts and TrueHD audio to PCM before sending it to the audio equipment. The conversion is lossless, so you won’t hear any difference. However, any included Atmos information is lost during the process.
The Roku Ultra is also a very good client. I do not own one, but many people on the forum are very happy with them. They have the same restriction on TrueHD audio as the AppleTV 4K. It is not a problem if your audio gear does not support TrueHD audio. Just wanted to make you aware of it.
Suggest you stay away from any of the “no-name” AndroidTV boxes that can be found all over the Internet. Despite what they claim, they are generally lacking in features and almost never receive updates from the manufacturer for Android updates, security updates, bug fixes, etc.
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