Currently using an old Intel i7 4770 for my Plex server, multiple 1080p stream works perfectly, but when playing just a single 4K it stutters every once in a while. Looking to upgrade soon, if you have any suggestions please let me know! 
Yours has a passmark of 9805.
So on that number alone you will need a big jump to play 4k.
i.e if the cpu is the issue ??
How many 4k have you tried?
What format is it?
How big is the file?
What is the client?
I have around 5 movies in my 4K Library, they are all around 40GB, mkv lossless audio and h.264/h.265. Clients are mostly Apple TV 4gen and Chrome.
@spikemixture said:
Yours has a passmark of 9805.
So on that number alone you will need a big jump to play 4k.
The FAQ in the Plex FAQs pertaining to CPU selection does not mention 4K:
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/201774043-What-kind-of-CPU-do-I-need-for-my-Server-
So I was wondering what are the actual requirements for 4K? One of the people I help with their home theater and Plex setup is about to pull the trigger and begin upgrading their setup to 4K TV, media, streaming devices, server and everything and, of course, they will blame me if the server they get is not adequate for at least one 4K stream and probably they will want two.
Thanks.
And the H264 and H265 both falter.
Is having 40GB movies really worth it?
Anyway try different coding options.
I will go as far as to say you can get them down to under 10gb and u will see no difference.
And depending on coding settings, no stuttering.
And FYI I have issues on some of my 4k movies on my apple tv4 (but not on my Shield)
Figure out what the requirements for 1080p transcoding is, then work from there. As per the specs Plex has released, transcoding 1080p 8Mbps takes about 2K passmarks on the CPU per stream. And since a 4K stream is roughly 4x the bitrates, that means you need roughly 4x the passmark score for every stream you intend to have transcoded.
As you can see, this ramps up quite quickly.
So asking for an affordable CPU and 4K in the same question is almost an oxymoron. There isn’t anything really “affordable” when talking 4K transcoding.
OTOH, if you can ensure that it 's only going to Direct Play, then the passmark requirements aren’t there. And almost any CPU capable of supporting PMS can be used. As there aren’t a lot of devices with H265 supported natively (In the client apps, that is) choosing the right HW and client app is just that much more important.
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To expand on what @“MikeG6.5” is telling you is if you want to play 4K forget about transcoding. Just ensure your media is encoded in a manner that it will direct play to your 4K clients.
By doing that almost any CPU will work just fine.
Here are the guidelines. Any deviation will most likely cause transcoding of 4K. Neither you and I put together could prolly afford a CPU fast enough to do any meaningful transcoding of 4K. (An Aside, Why have 4K media just to transcode it anyway. Makes 0 sense to do that)
Follow this
Container = mp4
Video Codec = h.265
Audio Codec = AC3 2 channel or 5.1
NEVER use subtitles.
A setup with the Intel Core i5-7600K should work nicely. And if you get into performance bottle-necks down the line, it overclocks like a beast. Slap an all-in-one cooler on it for $60 and you are easily getting 5Ghz speeds.
The i5 Kabylake runs cooler, and is cheaper on your electric bill than the i7’s: anandtech.com/show/10969/the-intel-core-i57600k-91w-review-the-more-amenable-mainstream-performer/12
@Ledningen said:
A setup with the Intel Core i5-7600K should work nicely. And if you get into performance bottle-necks down the line, it overclocks like a beast. Slap an all-in-one cooler on it for $60 and you are easily getting 5Ghz speeds.The i5 Kabylake runs cooler, and is cheaper on your electric bill than the i7’s: anandtech.com/show/10969/the-intel-core-i57600k-91w-review-the-more-amenable-mainstream-performer/12
That processor has a Passmark of 9248 which is less that what @“Aerok Plex Server” already has. It would be a small step down so, if the processor is the problem then a new system with that processor would still have the problem.
I think, after some research, that, if the encodes are pretty good at 4K, then any processor above 8000 Passmark would work pretty well even for a couple of streams but, for poor encodes or large files with high bit rates even a Passmark of 12000-14000 could struggle with one stream.
I think anyone wanting to use Plex with 4K should follow @spikemixture 's advice and spend some time and effort getting the files right and then get the best processor you can afford and be sure the client you choose can, as much as possible, direct play at least the video part of the file and preferably direct play all of the file.
It is my belief that 4K is vastly overrated and I will not use it BUT my eyes are old and there are many people with younger/better eyes seem to see an advantage in it.
So overall my suggestion is to first be sure you can see a real improvement with 4K and if you can’t then don’t bother. But if you see a real difference and you can afford to upgrade the hardware and add enough storage then go for it. But, even then, figure out what the best encode is for your system. Do not try to do all the heavy lifting with the server at the time you stream the file.
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Elijah: The 7600K is going to perform better than the 4770, not by much, but it’s going to be around 10-15% better at stock speed (much cooler though). And at 5Ghz its substantially better. See the review at anandtech for benchmarks.
Picture wise, 4K is a great step up, and UltraHD even more so. Having offical specs. and trying to reach for rec. 2020, or even just P3 for the forseeable future, is a great step forward. Resolution wise, we are still in early days. Most 4K blu-rays comming out right now are made from 2K digital intermidiates, which means that movie studios are basically upscaling 2K --> 4K. It’s better than what your TV can do, because they can upscale the picture from very high bitrate / almost lossless intermediate formats such as Prores, but when more content from 4K intermidiates gets released and better sensors for digital cameras are created, it will get better. It was the exact same with FullHD back when HD was launched.
Example from the new 4K bluray and old 2K bluray Hacksaw Ridge (both made from 2K studio intermediate):
UltraHD: imagebam.com/image/29e1e2534367634
FullHD: imagebam.com/image/5ac633534367641
And just an example from a youtuber that shoots with the RED WEAPON (best viewed on a 4K display for full effect, looks amazing on the LG Ultrafine 5K):
youtube.com/watch?v=1cpUwbr5YyE
youtube.com/watch?v=srj-NLj4Kt0
I do not get loading on my I7 4790S but the quality is not as good as on my E5-2697 v3
I7 4790S isn’t too happy transcoding 4k.
I could have gotten away with a 14000-15000k CPU for the tasks
so I would say 14000k to 16000 for some head room.
or get a new player that direct streams the 4k video lot cheaper
how is your apple tv4 connected?
I just don’t get it!!
Creating 4K media and worrying about transcoding it??
Makes NO Sense.
If you plan to have your 4K transcoded anyway, Why not just make a 1080p version.
Easier on CPU, Cheaper for you, and will give you a great 2k picture without any transcoding.
Keep the 4K media, encoded to direct play, available to only your 4K clients.
Much Much cheaper, Less pain, Will play to most devices as needed.
@jjrjr1 said:
I just don’t get it!!
Creating 4K media and worrying about transcoding it??
I hear ya, but I do like to take a shower fully dressed. When I come out I still stink, but I’m wet and it makes me feel clean.
I could be mistaken, but if Plex has to transcode a 4k 265 stream it’s gonna be 1080p anyway so shower with Tide or some of that Oxy-Clean. It may help lower your overall Funk Rating.
lol
With the current state of hardware, best not to plan on transcoding 4K.
You keep all your 4K content in its own library for your 4K clients to direct-play. Everything else pulls from duplicate pre-transcoded 1080P versions which can then be transcoded down further if necessary.
Im using Plex for a home cinema setup, direct stream/play with AAC or AC3 audio is not an option. A File with bitstream audio like DTS-HD Master Audio makes all the difference, it works perfectly with a 1080p file. It’s just I would like it to work with 4K files aswell haha…
Well any 4K not in a MP4 container will transcode
Also any 4K with anything bit AC3 5.1 will also transcode.
Both for technical reasons and not being defined for 4K.
Encode your 4K to mp4 / h.265 / AC3 and, in most all cases it will direct play to a 4K device.
Also set in the client for quality to be original with NO subtitles enabled.
Ensure both Server AND Client are Cat 6 connected. WiFi just won’t cut it.
@“Aerok Plex Server” said:
Currently using an old Intel i7 4770 for my Plex server, multiple 1080p stream works perfectly, but when playing just a single 4K it stutters every once in a while. Looking to upgrade soon, if you have any suggestions please let me know!
If you really need 4K transcoding on the budget, a cheap, low end passively cooled Nvidia Kepler/Maxwell based card is probably the way forward.
Forget about sinking a fortune into hardware. The simplest & cheapest answer is to buy Plex Pass & then use Plex Cloud. Store your data on Google Drive Business for $10/month. Plex `Cloud does an outstanding job of transcoding 4K. I uploaded a 65GB 60Mbps 4K UHD Blu-ray rip & this happily plays on all my devices (Roku 3, Roku Ultra, iPhone 6s Plus, Amazon Fire TV 4K, web app on my Retina MacBook Pro etc). It even plays nicely on the iPhone on 3G/4G cellular when away from WiFi.
Plex Cloud is a game changer. Anyone thinking of buying hardware for their own Plex Server should think again. provided you have a decent Internet connection Plex Cloud can provide a better Plex experience than local hardware & the cost saving is enormous.
I personally have a separate library setup for 4K media then my normal movie library. I only share this 4K library with those who can direct play these videos. This means they have both the bandwidth and the hardware needed. They will need to support HEVC. If I see anyone playing from this library and they are transcoding I remove them from this library since they should know better.
They would be be better off direct playing the 1080p h.264 version of the file I will have in my normal movie library vs transcoding the 4K version. Quality will be better and my CPU resources obviously better. Transcoding the 4K version in my mind is just a waste of resources.
The CPU resources needed to transcode 4K media is just to high right now to support more than one client without ridiculous hardware. Maybe when hardware encoding/decoding is released AND supports HVEC/10 bit this might be a different story but for now it’s not really possible.
Now if your system is just for you and the family and only one person in your family ever uses remote playing at a time… The problem is that user usage changes over time and your Plex server will get more and more popular.
There are many Plex clients that can support H.265. I WISH PLEX HAD AN OPTION ON A LIBRARY BASIS that allowed the admin to set that library to DIRECT PLAY ONLY.
My 2 cents,
Carlo
@sremick said:
With the current state of hardware, best not to plan on transcoding 4K.You keep all your 4K content in its own library for your 4K clients to direct-play. Everything else pulls from duplicate pre-transcoded 1080P versions which can then be transcoded down further if necessary.
Sorry for the silly question but how is this done? I have 1 client that can handle 4k content easily the others can not. How do i hide the 4k content from the other clients?
