I read somewhere, that the new Download “feature”, that’s coming with the new desktop app, will no longer transcode. That would mean, that the full blown media is copied to the devices instead of a smaller version of my choice.
My Android Devices have around 20 to 40 GB free space. I use the “old” Sync feature to automatically transcode to smaller versions of my media. So I can put complete TV series onto my devices for longer tripps.
Will this new Download “feature” come to mobile apps (e.g. Android) as well? I do not hope so.
We used to call it “Sync”, but now it’s just “Downloads” — a friendlier term that means it’s just a single click to take your favorite media with you, and you can find it all in one predictable place. It’s also built on a much simpler and more reliable mechanism, so downloads start quickly, and give clearer feedback along the way. It’s a bit of a sneak peek at the direction we’re headed with offline media across the board (including the mobile apps), so check it out and let us know how it works for you!
So… yes, the new “Download” model seems to be intended to come to the mobile platforms as well. However, the blog doesn’t talk about transcoding / optimizing and the need for that.
There have been a number of posts that point out that the desktop clients have significantly less restrictions when it comes to codecs, bitrates, storage – to me that indicates the “new download” mechanism might look the same but won’t necessarily work the same.
Found it here. It’s about the Windows/Mac App that does no longer offer transcoding to lower quality/resolutions for offline browsing. If Plex adds that new download “feature” to the mobile apps it would be a show stopper for me. But you are right - let’s wait and see.
Content is always downloaded in the full, original quality. It is not currently possible to have the content transcoded to a lower quality or resolution for downloading.
That gives two media files in your library for every file. With the old sync feature transcoding happened on the fly.
Consider a TV show you want to take with you - say 24 episodes. With the optimize feature you end with 48 files in your library. With the old sync feature you keep 24 files in your library and 24 smaller files on your device. With the new download feature a usual Android device can hold 3-4 untouched episodes.
And, who knows what optimized quality the new download feature will chose then …
