Sure. Actually, a 4K copy and a 240p transcode would really shrink the keep-two-copies-of-everything workaround. Thanks for the tip. Yeesh. You aren’t just talking remote users. Not every TV in the house is 4K.
4 Likes
fwiw, recent plex server and client updates make plex smarter about choosing the more appropriate quality when you have multiple qualities of the same content in the same library.
ie it will avoid trying to play 4k to non-4k clients when there is other available compatible versions.
1 Like
Applies to video only.
It WILL NOT decide if the 4K client can handle a high-res audio stream, and if it won’t, it will play back at a 4K resolution but it will wash out the HDR colors (because right now Plex can’t just transcode the audio and leave the video alone in a 4K HDR file). So in essence “make plex smarter”… it needs to be “more smarter” to understand that just a 4K display/4K client does not necessarily mean it should attempt to play the 4K file vs a lesser quality file (because transcoding the audio forces the transcode of the 4K video from 4K HDR-> 4K SDR and it wipes out and muddies the colors).
2 Likes
There’s a thing called AviSynth and there are thousand of filters that add an extensive list of capabilities to it.
One filter does HDR -> SDR tonemapping on the fly, either using Reinhard or Hable operators. Another filter does HDR PQ -> HDR HLG on the fly using CUDA.
And another filter does HDR -> SDR tonemapping too but using CUDA.
One video decoder filter for AviSynth also runs in CUDA.
And since ffmpeg understands AviSynth scripts and does support NVENC you basically end up with 100% hardware transcoding.
Only downside is: Windows only since most filters are not ported to Linux / their source code is not available.
If transcoding HDR content leaves it looking so bad for everyone, why is Plex even attempting it? And why wouldn’t we have a way to prevent it?
This is a never ending discussion around the “Thou shalt not disable transcoding” Plex logic. Both sides have sound arguments, I would prefer to be able to not transcode in certain scenarios but I can live with the “Plex way”. However, in this particular situation my message would be: transcode it properly! If you cannot do it properly don’t do it at all! It’s not about codecs, mappings, color spaces and all the details. If I may quote Yoda: “Do, or do not. There is no try” 
Of course this will generate other discussions about organizing your media, the devices you use and so on (you’ll find a lot of forum discussions on these topics) but in my opinion all this kind of media preparation kinda defeats the argument for transcoding.
That is such a sloppy policy. It basically renders this beta software. So it has a show-stopping “feature” that doesn’t work under any circumstances…
Coupled with a default remote streaming limit of 4mb 720p, it’s just a mess for anyone who who hasn’t been walked through changing this horrible default.
In fact, this can be used as a Denial of Service exploit, intentionally. A user with access to a library that has some UHD content can select the UHD source and force it to transcode even if there is also a 1080p source. This cripples any server that can’t handle HEVC encodes, and for what? A high resolution video in grayscale? Cool.
And what percentage of Plex servers can handle concurrent HEVC transcoding? Like 5%?
It’s not a show-stopper, people would have stop using it already if it was. It’s an inconvenience and it will be fixed down the road. If only Plex would provide a roadmap… 
They would have to do it anyway in hotel or public hotspot with crappy internet connection. I agree with their approach on this setting. And it’s not difficult unless the user is computer illiterate in which case you’ll have a bunch of problems 
Well, I guess it could only happen once because you’ll cut access for that user, right?
1 Like
Well, it currently happens when a user with an android phone that is UHD capable casts to a Chromecast that isn’t. So that DoS attack is on Plex. 
If Plex wants to cater to people who watch UHD video without color, I guess I’m in the wrong place.
“They would have to do it anyway in hotel or public hotspot with crappy internet connection. I agree with their approach on this setting. And it’s not difficult unless the user is computer illiterate in which case you’ll have a bunch of problems”
Do some critical thinking before making an argument such as this. If they are on a bad connection, they will have to adjust anyway, as I often do. You know you need an adjustment because it buffers. Conversely, if it is transcoding for no reason by default, the user has no way of knowing that. Your argument is broken because i could just as easily use it to make the opposite point, if someone on the edge of WiFi range can’t figure out how to lower their quality, “you’ll have a bunch of problems,” including buffering that video.
Your argument is that transcoding HEVC without color is cool, and a default setting of 720p 4mb is also cool.
The things I am asking for WILL happen eventually. The default won’t always be 720p and eventually we will be able to limit HEVC transcoding independently from H.264. I think Plex will relent on these policies.
One more thing to consider is that transcoding when it’s unneeded causes much more CPU load than a direct stream. If you consider how many people are transcoding from all these Plex servers without needing to, that would add up to massive wasted energy on all these Plex servers. If you added it all up, it would be significant. Plex, go green please.
1 Like
Are Plex employees still following this discussion?
1 Like
hope so
2 Likes
I notice that audio transcoding is not forcing video transcode anymore. I.e., when playing 4K video on a 4K TV, the DTS-MA or TrueHD audio will transcode but the 4K video will directplay.
Am I mis-perceiving this? Is this new in Plex?
It depends on the client you’re using but everyone I have seen works that way for a long time.
I know Apple TV got a big upgrade with the experimental player recently.
It all depends whether you are playing with subtitles or not.
AFAIU audio transcode + subtitles = video transcode.
Audio transcode - subtitles = video direct stream.
1 Like
Still waiting for the tonemapped HDR transcoding. Have a house with several devices (kids use tablets and older 1080p TVs), mom watches from retirement home, an HDR TV and phones.
Definitely not going to make multiple copies. Tried that and it’s too much work to keep up, plus it’s painful to teach all my users (kids, older family, etc).
Have about 24tb space (40% filled) + i7-3770s + an nVidia 1060 for transcoding. Would love it if most newer stuff didn’t look like garbage except on my single HDR TV.
Getting worse as my title become mostly 4K, though have been mostly using 1080p non-HDR content to partially avoid (just super recently). Just sucks to do that though. A mess.
3 Likes
A mess. Definitely.
1 Like
nevermind
VLC latest update has HDR fix, i just checked it it looks better than MDR in in my opinion , its almost perfect. Gonna start watching all my 4k movies
2 Likes
I agree with everyone. Plex is really slacking in this department, though it’s not just transcoding. My NVidia shield outputs improper Tone Mapping when direct streaming.
This guy goes around the forums berating anyone who wants to transcode 4K or have any kind of flexibility. Its like he just doesn’t understand that someone could possibly have a situation other than his own.
4 Likes
