I have one remote user who is unable to play any file from my server with a bitrate higher than ~60-65 mbps through the plex windows desktop client. Playback buffers every 5-10 seconds consistently. However when using the plex web app the user has no issue playing files higher than 60 mbps. I have even had them test play a 110 mbps 1080p test file in the web app and it played smoothly. Is it possible that windows firewall or some other setting is limiting the bitrate to the plex desktop app?
Your logs show THAT the file playback is buffering but not why.
I suppose you’ll only get an optimized version of that video when playing it in the browser (while Plex for Windows will play it as-is). You should be able to see if this happens by checking the server dashboards’s “Now Playing” section. Such an optimized version will likely have a lower bitrate… so I’m not immediately ruling out a bandwidth issue.
Thanks for the reply tom80H. You are correct in that the plex web app plays an optimized version. Watching the bandwidth graph shows the bitrate going as high as 85 mbps which on the desktop client causes stuttering during playback of the same file. So the web app isn’t actually playing at 110 mbps but it is not limited by bandwidth like the desktop client. I’m at work now but happy to add some screenshots later today if helpful.
One other thing I forgot to mention in my first post: Downloading the files that repeatedly buffer on the desktop client to be played locally by the plex desktop client completely removes any problems, indicating that the plex desktop client can indeed play the files correctly. However while these files are being downloaded by the plex desktop client the download speed never exceeds 65 mbps. Testing with other users I have been able to get download speeds as high as 600+ mbps from my server.
Keep in mind that the internet upload speed you get from your ISP doesn’t guarantee a stream to get that full bandwidth all the way through “the internet”. Basically everybody along the way can apply restrictions.
Have you been testing those other accounts using the same environment (e.g. same remote network)?
Yes, of course. I have multiple different users on this remote network with different devices (PCs, TVs, phones, etc.). Other users on the network have no issue streaming high bitrate content that this particular user has issues with. I have even had one user in the house without issues swap their PC out with the user who is having issues to confirm that there isn’t an issue with the ethernet cable.
This bitrate limitation is exclusive to this one PC and to the plex desktop client. I would like to have the user clean reinstall windows but wanted to post here first to see if there is anything else we can do before having them go through the trouble.
Just to be safe… I take it you haven’t set a restriction to the video quality in that app (Settings > Plex for Windows > Quality > Internet Streaming > Video Quality)?
