I just re-read this thread and didn't see a definitive request for any particular clients
Is this feature request just for the web browser? For PHT, etc?
I'd imagine, at best if implemented this could only work for some clients (mostly software based) and not for most of the hardware based clients such as PSx, Xbox, Roku, Chromecast, etc as these have "hard-coded" buffer sizes and Plex already does a good job keeping the buffer filled on these devices.
So at best this could help in "some" cases and not in others. Â However, not to change the subject but the problem trying to be "fixed" here is really only a "band-aid" to some other problem such as saturated CPU during transcoding or not enough bandwidth (client or server side). Â If you fix the underlying problem then most of the need of this thread goes away.
Carlo
PS I'm not saying I would not like to see this (I voted for it) also but I understand that it can only be done for certain clients and not others and would really only be "useful" in certain situations. IE sitting in hotel with poor bandwidth and you don't mind starting the movie 30 to 60 minutes before you actually watch it type thing. Â Friend or family with close to enough bandwidth but not quite enough (start 10 minutes early).
I think I'd actually prefer if Plex allowed downloading of files by everyone (op configurable) and not just the admin, because as a work-around this could help to serve the same purpose at least from a web browser anyway. Â This type of change would also be pretty trivial too. Â MB3 allows all users to download files (op configurable) and this works well in that situation and could here in Plex land also.
Is this feature request just for the web browser? For PHT, etc?
...
So at best this could help in "some" cases and not in others. However, not to change the subject but the problem trying to be "fixed" here is really only a "band-aid" to some other problem such as saturated CPU during transcoding or not enough bandwidth (client or server side). If you fix the underlying problem then most of the need of this thread goes away.
For me personally, PHT makes the most sense, with the assumption that Plex/Web would do it (but I would probably never use it).
(For mobile, it would be helpful to be able to watch files that are in the process of downloading.)
Certainly there is a point that once the underlying 'problem' is fixed, that this issue would resolve itself, but there are times when that problem can't be fixed and those are the times when it hurts the most not to have a solution.
To speak to a pain point: Visiting friends - You happen to have your laptop, and after a meal everyone starts settling in. A old movie comes up, and everyone talks about wanting to see it again. You have it in Plex, and say "let's grab a couple drinks and put it on!".
You have unshakable faith in Plex, and start setting it up.
Everyone gathers around, maybe it's even hooked up to the TV as everyone gets ready.
You press play while sitting comfortably. The logo shows... the sound rises in crescendo... then! ....stall.
You hope it gets better, but it buffers every 10 seconds.
Your friends are casual internet users, and it never occurred to you to check.
There's no solution to this, and the only thing left to do is pack up the hardware and try to recover the mood.
Next time, you think twice before sharing Plex with people.
But it the case you just gave jackandjohn you already have a solution on your laptop.  Since it's you the admin you can download the file.  Actually in most browsers right click/show in new window.  It will start playing, just click the pause and it will continue to download while paused.
However, the problem with this is that if you decided to watch this film at friends house you will be bombed before watching it. Â If it were to pause ever 10 seconds you are going to need a lot of download time before the buffer is big enough to be played the whole way through. Â So you would have had to decide on the movie. Â Start it downloading/buffering, go have drinks, more drinks, and more yet. Â About a hour later you might have enough downloaded or at least 2/3rds buffered which you'll need or it will still pause on you by the end.
Plex really is designed to work in "real time" for streaming or you should "sync" or if not an option than download. Â So for the OP/ADMIN we already have a solution that works. Â It's other people we share with that don't have this ability to "download" that's the problem.
But it the case you just gave jackandjohn you already have a solution on your laptop. Since it's you the admin you can download the file. Actually in most browsers right click/show in new window. It will start playing, just click the pause and it will continue to download while paused.
Even if you're an admin, downloading is a non-solution, because you lose the power of transcoding.
If you store your movies as BluRay rips or any other large format, and go to a place where you have maybe 2mbps from your server, you're done, you'll have to wait hours just to download that file.
Plus you lose external subtitles when you download from Plex.
An intermediate solution would be for Plex to let you download a transcoded version. This is in essence what Plex Sync can do, but PHT and Plex/Web don't have it.
The perfect solution would be the prebuffering, plus, Plex could tell you (estimate) how long it would take to prebuffer at other quality rates.
So you request 1080p 4Mbps and it tells you it's gonna take 30 mins, and it also shows that 720p 3Mbps would only need 10 minutes, and maybe 720p 1.5Mbps would start playing right away.
You being a Plex pass subscriber makes no difference to whether this gets implemented. Hasnât this already been implemented anyway? Plexpy shows a buffering white bar⊠or so I thought?
+1 from me as well. Lots of folks have the transcoder/network horsepower to distribute most of their content easily, but even the occasional network hiccup seems to play havoc with Plexâs players outside the local network.
Iâve never understood why this wasnât incorporated from the start. Itâs such a fundamental and basic thing.
I can certainly understand if it couldnât be done on every device if limited by the device but frankly I donât know of any device that you canât do this on now.
@CrazyHat said:
So this thread was started in 2012 and itâs 2014 ⊠this is probably the biggest feature iâve been waiting for, i could care less about plugins and play queues not that they arenât cool but so sad it doesnât get more attention!
And now itâs 2016 and weâre still waiting for this basic feature.
Gracenotes, lyrics and other non-essential features I guess are more important than basic video streaming. ): Sarcasm hat now back off.
I really donât understand how we donât have this⊠Plex started as a streaming service and has now branched off into other features such as music. I would think they should finish the video streaming before moving on to other things.
How do we not have this or some sort of adaptive bitrate?
Checking in on this again; any word from the devs? Itâs been several weeks without any activity. I just installed the most recent update with no fix to this ongoing issue.
Check the first post on this thread. It was created in August of 2012. Plex doesnât comment on upcoming features so we donât know if they are even trying to implement this. Its been a very popular feature request for years.
