# Video Playback Testing
**URL:** https://forums.plex.tv/t/video-playback-testing/155640
**Category:** Feature Suggestions
**Created:** [August 24, 2016, 8:44pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/video-playback-testing/155640 "2016-08-24T20:44:30Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Codeman20400](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Codeman20400)
#### Post date: [August 24, 2016, 8:44pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/video-playback-testing/155640/1 "2016-08-24T20:44:30Z")
I’d love to be able to check different files against the common device profiles without needing to actually have the corresponding device…e.g. select a video to test, and get a table showing direct play, direct stream and transcode profiles for different device classes or specific devices. i think it would be useful, being able to see what files will direct play on a roku, or ATV, and visually see compatibility.
EDIT: to put it more simply, this would be a tool to answer the question “will this video direct play on a roku 4, and direct stream on a windows 10 pc?”
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### Author:  [@kinoCharlino](https://forums.plex.tv/u/kinoCharlino)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2016, 4:09pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/video-playback-testing/155640/2 "2016-08-26T16:09:12Z")
Just to add here… this topic was brought up in last night’s Plex Pass Roundtable and received some nice _eyebrow raises_ from the Plex employees attending. We have captured this feedback as part of the session. I personally would love this capability.
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### Author:  [@Codeman20400](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Codeman20400)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2016, 7:34am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/video-playback-testing/155640/3 "2016-09-27T07:34:30Z")
i did a quick mock-up to more clearly illustrate my thinking around this. test could also be done on a by-device basis, using one profile (or tested from the device itself) against many (or all) titles in a given library. results could then be shown in a tab on the item details popup (after the info tab) or in a generated spreadsheet or text file.
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### Author:  [@Codeman20400](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Codeman20400)
#### Post date: [December 16, 2016, 8:22am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/video-playback-testing/155640/4 "2016-12-16T08:22:14Z")
a bump for visibility, and hope that some thought has been given to exposing more data to admins, even if it must be hidden behind a checkbox.
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### Author:  [@tom80H](https://forums.plex.tv/u/tom80H)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2021, 11:35pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/video-playback-testing/155640/5 "2021-03-21T23:35:58Z")
Early 2021 clean-up: duplicate
> [@Client Direct Play/Stream Compatibility Verification](https://forums.plex.tv/t/client-direct-play-stream-compatibility-verification/140780):
>
> I feel that it would be incredibly useful if Plex Media Server could inform me which of my video files are Direct Play or Direct Stream compatible for the clients I specify that I’m using. I want to avoid transcoding if at all possible, and I would like a way to easily make sure which of my files still needs encoding so it will Direct Play to an Android Phone, Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, Apple TV, or iOS device. It bothers me when I play a movie or a show and it tells me it must transcode because …
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### Author:  [@tom80H](https://forums.plex.tv/u/tom80H)
#### Post date: [June 10, 2021, 12:44am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/video-playback-testing/155640/6 "2021-06-10T00:44:04Z")