I assume the devs will be wise enough to base their decisions on statistics, rather than on the opinion of individual forum users.
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ā2Mbps is the default remote quality on clients, and Auto Adjust is defaulted to off as of writing.ā
This is also adding to the issue. Roku, at least, defaults to 4Mbps. FireTV is 2Mbps. Iām pretty sure of this.
I guess we have to make every single file have an alternate copy to avoid transcoding everything? After years of hoping this problem would be sorted by Plex, Iām ready to throw in the towel and have multiple copies of everything, but the clients arenāt even consistent in their defaults. Do I just do everything in 2Mbps? Will Roku use that copy by default or will it transcode my original file to 4Mbps?
No exaggeration, I contact each person I share with 2-4 times a year about their remote quality setting. FireTV is fun because I have to remember that itās labelled as āRemote Streamingā or something. That small distinction makes people unsure. And wasnāt UNO supposed to address that?
Relevant I guess: Plex Retro
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Iām actually amazed that the Roku is 4Mbps. I thought everything was 2Mbps.
I do agree though. There are options that can be set server side. 2/4 Mbps remote client default is just crazy in these times of faster internet.
I understand the Plex premise to alleviate āWhy is stuff bufferingā But times have moved on since 2Mbps was implemented as a default. More so when (yet again) it can be managed at server level.
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If the file bitrate is below the threshold of remote quality, itāll attempt to Direct Play it if possible (dependent on codecs and container compatibility, of course). So if the Roku is 4Mbps, and the file is 2 or 3Mbps, it wonāt transcode it based on bitrate. If you have a 3Mbps file, itāll only transcode if the remote quality is less than 3Mbps.
Weāre also adding in some new options for āLimit Remote Bitrateā, to give some more control to users between 20Mbps and unlimited.
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The Limit Remote Bitrate option is a Plex Pass feature, and free users donāt have access to that, so itās not available to everyone.
Give us an easier way to find it, like a dialog offering to take you to quality settings on the first run. We need a stop-gap until automatic quality is reliable enough to be the default. Itās such a chore the way it is now. UNO made the setting at least one page deeper and getting to settings by selecting your username/avatar is still not obvious to most people. I canāt just ask them to change it now, I have to walk them all the way through it and itās not the same on different clients.
Throw us a bone! 
@DaveBinM Thanks for lending an ear to this topic btw. Itās a bummer to have a transcode to 2Mbps between two gigabit fiber lines. It turns cash into cpu heat, coal into smoke, and itās like wack-a-mole to control.
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Thatās pretty awesome, but the crux of this thread is that the current client defaults cause more transcoding, than necessary, for the current internet.
Auto quality default does not change that, which is why many of us want higher default quality in conjunction with auto, and/or server controls to better influence the clients.
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Exactly. And I think Iād sooner limit remote quality downward by having lower bitrate video, than by forcing transcodes.
Said far more briefly and to the point than I started to type.
Then no disrespect but if that particular feature is PlexPass only and remote streaming defaults are governed to suit those who donāt have a PlexPass then itās a totally pointless feature in the first place.
I can set my individual/combined upload bandwidth because I have a PlexPassā¦But it doesnāt really mean anything because my 6 users client defaults will not come close to that limit anyway, unless I learn about how to change the limits on those clients I have never used before.
That hardly sounds premium.
It actually sounds insulting if itās designed that way because not everyone has a PlexPass.
(Iām not sniping here, Iām just tryingg to understand the logic behind the thinking.)
But in essence this
Perhaps I am misunderstanding, but when Auto-quality is enabled, the bitrate you set under quality is merely the starting point, it will do down and up from there. I believe this means that as long as auto is enabled, and your bandwidth will support it, your client will eventually settle playback at a direct play origional quality.
letās say the server has a 7mbps file that all clients can direct play. no server side bandwidth restrictions configured. all users have 15mbps of available bandwidth
user1 connects with todays default, fixed 2mbps quality, auto_quality-disabled
-user experience is a poor quality 2mbps transcoded visual. server impact is a transcode load plus 2mbps bandwidth consumed.
user2 connects with a proposed increased default, 8mbps quality, auto_quality-disabled
-user experience is an ideal direct play 7mbps stream. server impact is 8mbps bandwidth consumed.
user3 connects with todays default, fixed 2mbps quality, BUT with auto_quality-enabled
-user experience starts with a poor quality 2mbps transcoded visual, but the auto quality feature notices that 15mbps bandwidth is available, so on the fly swaps the stream UP to the 7mpbs origional file bitrate, and drops out of transcoding. server impact a very short period transcode load plus 7mbps bandwidth consumed.
Now, perhaps, I imagine too much for the fully developed auto-quality feature, and in fact instead of bumping upward to a 7 mbps direct play stream, the best it can do is an 8mbps transcoded stream. If that is the case, then indeed we need both a higher default quality on the client AND auto enabled.
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And to further complicate things Roku doesnāt have an auto quality feature. Sure would be cool if it didā¦
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It has probably gone off on a tangent for sure. But if the streams are remote then the clients are hard defaulted at almost exclusively set at 2-4Mbps. No āauto qualityā will fix that. Unless you are on dial up and cant cope with 2Mbps.
If the server connection is Duplex Gigabit then remote clients are still set at 2Mbps.
I may be totally wrong but foe a client set on a high/max setting auto quality will benefit.
For a client set on the default 2Mbps it will only ever do 2Mbps.
That said I hope Iām wromg.
Thatās incorrect. Auto adjust only works on transcoded playback, within a range of 0.7 and 20Mbps, and will not change to a Direct Stream or Direct Play.
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Higher default quality (help avoid transcoding) + auto (which can downshift or upshift the bandwidth only if already transcoding) would be ideal for everyone
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But it wonāt fit the bill for non Plex Pass users. Soā¦
With auto adjust enabled, that remote limit is just the starting quality and can scale within 0.7Mbps and 20Mbps. So despite it being transcoded, users would get improved quality with Auto Adjust, even though it started at 2Mbps.
Itās not just dial up with terrible upload. DSL was the only connection I had available until June 2019, and my max upload was 0.8Mbps. In 2019.
OK. Itās late here so just to be absolutely clear.
Remote clients almost all have a default 2Mbps.
Even without teaching them to change that setting then they will achieve higher bitrates if the server upload/client download is capable?
Which makes default auto on even more desirable.
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well, it is sure not working the way I describe today I do see it go up and down, but not to the degree I would hope. It doesnt seem to rise more than a small amount over the starting value, nor does it seem to be able to swap over to a direct play stream. It instead favours staying in a transcode stream. We know that auto doesnt with within a direct play stream, so perhaps thats a forever limitation ā¦ We will see when its done and out of beta ā¦
I donāt think auto will ever cross between transcoding and direct play, in either direction.
It will only ever matter for already transcoding streams, to dynamically increase/decrease bw.
I am not saying that wouldnāt be nice if it did, it would be great. But it doesnāt and probably will never and I am ok with that.
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