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What Inspiron did you get exactly? I7s in laptops are not at all the same things as I7s in desktops.
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Mar 23, 2017 03:28
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CFox posted:What Inspiron did you get exactly? I7s in laptops are not at all the same things as I7s in desktops. This is true. I did point out earlier that some i7s are dual core CPUs. I'm assuming Cornjob got a PC with a quad core i7.
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Mar 23, 2017 05:03
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Seems like plex should be able to autoscale the streams depending on load if it knows the total upstream. Hell, it could be auto tuning if it looked at retransmissions etc.
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Mar 23, 2017 13:47
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Wibla posted:Seems like plex should be able to autoscale the streams depending on load if it knows the total upstream. That would require adaptive bitrate streaming, which Plex doesn't do. Plex does live transcoding of your media (unless you have already chosen to "optimize" said media using that feature) on the fly. Adaptive bitrate streaming - like Netflix, Hulu, etc. - requires multiple versions of the same file to chose from. Or your pc would need to adapt/transcode on the fly, using a fragmented file instead of one source, changing the bit rate depending on available bandwidth. You'd need a buffer and the actual technical ability to send constant QOS data back to the Plex media server. MPEG-Dash does this however there's serious overhead involved. You'd need the storage and CPU overhead to handle it. Whether they do this in the future is up to them, but it's not something they do now.
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Mar 23, 2017 16:52
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Like I said earlier, it would be really nice if they split off transcoding so you could have processes running on multiple servers. The Plex web app and metadata database on one machine, and the ability to register X number of servers as transcoding servers. Would help greatly with scaling and it sounds like it might make adapative bitrate streaming more possible.
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Mar 23, 2017 17:15
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CFox posted:What Inspiron did you get exactly? I7s in laptops are not at all the same things as I7s in desktops. Inspiron 5520, found on craigslist, for $230. I feel like i got it at a good price. Seems like heavy laptops with short battery life are becoming easier to come by on the used market. I put an SSD in it. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834200932 It has this quad core CPU: https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-3632QM+%40+2.20GHz Cornjob fucked around with this message at 17:37 on Mar 23, 2017 |
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Mar 23, 2017 17:31
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Internet Explorer posted:Like I said earlier, it would be really nice if they split off transcoding so you could have processes running on multiple servers. The Plex web app and metadata database on one machine, and the ability to register X number of servers as transcoding servers. Would help greatly with scaling and it sounds like it might make adapative bitrate streaming more possible. Niche use case. I don't mean desirability of ABS, I mean users who would set up an in-home transcoding farm. Also commercial on-prem software that does that, like Telestream Vantage, costs tens of thousands of dollars. It's not easy to do. They could leverage cloud compute, but the big players like Amazon are already notoriously unfriendly to Plex and the idea of thousands of Plex users setting up cloud transcoding farms to stream pirated media to their buddies seems....unlikely, but stranger things have happened I suppose. Microsoft came closest to the ideal with SmoothStreaming a few years ago - that at least let you take a single high-bitrate source and fragmented it on the fly - but it chewed CPU like no ones business and is also now dead. MPEG-Dash is the newer industry "standard" around ABS but is more complicated. This isn't an easy problem to solve, really. You are better off just setting an upper limit on bandwidth, like previous posts suggest, and insuring you have a CPU that can handle the load. With ABS you'd need a beefy CPU anyway. There's really not as much benefit to the use cases folks are posting here as far as ABS is concerned.
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Mar 23, 2017 18:06
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Cornjob posted:Inspiron 5520, found on craigslist, for $230. I feel like i got it at a good price. Seems like heavy laptops with short battery life are becoming easier to come by on the used market. I put an SSD in it. Yeah, that laptop will be fine with handling multiple transcodes no problem. The only thing limiting your scenario now is your ISP's 6 Mbps upload speed.
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Mar 23, 2017 20:01
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Internet Explorer posted:Like I said earlier, it would be really nice if they split off transcoding so you could have processes running on multiple servers. The Plex web app and metadata database on one machine, and the ability to register X number of servers as transcoding servers. Would help greatly with scaling and it sounds like it might make adapative bitrate streaming more possible. Plex lives in a place where every feature has at least as one if its use cases "This is for me, and my family to watch our legal media anywhere". Being able essentially roll your own netflix is a step across that line, I doubt it will ever happen. A modern i7, especially when quicksync is bug free, will cover 99% of use cases.
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Mar 24, 2017 01:59
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Internet Explorer posted:Like I said earlier, it would be really nice if they split off transcoding so you could have processes running on multiple servers. The Plex web app and metadata database on one machine, and the ability to register X number of servers as transcoding servers. Would help greatly with scaling and it sounds like it might make adapative bitrate streaming more possible. Someone made a project that does this but I'm not sure how well it works. https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/178320/plex-remote-transcoder-a-distributed-transcoding-backend-for-plex
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Mar 24, 2017 02:16
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Interesting, thank you! And to the other replies, I know it is hard but it seems like most modern server applications these days can split the web, database, and worker functions for scalability. I know it's not trivial but it seemed like a good idea.
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Mar 24, 2017 03:11
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EngineerJoe posted:Someone made a project that does this but I'm not sure how well it works. Thanks for that. Looks like some folks can get it to work, though it's a process. Worth noting it has nothing to do with Adaptive Bitrate (where this convo last ended) - it just allows you to spread on-demand decoding around. From the looks of the Github thread some problems are to be had with remote streaming. So, might be a good way to lessen your overall load if you have a lot of simultaneous local streams? Maybe if you transcode a lot of media for offline mobile/optimization? Honestly, getting a decent CPU should satisfy most use cases. Upstream bandwidth is going to be the gating factor for most people anyway, especially in the US.
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Mar 24, 2017 03:15
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Man, why does the Xbox One Plex app have to be so lame? I always assumed my collection was too big and that's why it lagged....then I got a PS4 and a Samsung Smart TV and was like ".....oh."
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Mar 24, 2017 11:40
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Ixian posted:That would require adaptive bitrate streaming, which Plex doesn't do. Plex does live transcoding of your media (unless you have already chosen to "optimize" said media using that feature) on the fly. Adaptive bitrate streaming - like Netflix, Hulu, etc. - requires multiple versions of the same file to chose from. Or your pc would need to adapt/transcode on the fly, using a fragmented file instead of one source, changing the bit rate depending on available bandwidth. You'd need a buffer and the actual technical ability to send constant QOS data back to the Plex media server. MPEG-Dash does this however there's serious overhead involved. You'd need the storage and CPU overhead to handle it. Yeah... I hope they do, but I realize that it's not a minor feature. I solved my transcoding issues by throwing hardware at the problem. I already have 100/100mbit FTTH, rebuilt my fileserver into a norco 4020 with a supermicro motherboard and two hexacore xeons to replace an old C2Q. I doubt I'll be able to max that thing out anytime soon.
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Mar 24, 2017 11:43
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porktree posted:A little PSA, because it bit me in the rear end, one of Windows 10's security updates from last week (3/15-16) broke Plex. As in the server wouldn't start. It took me far to long to figure this out, removing and rebooting restored functionality. Thanks for posting this. My server went into boot loops because every time Plex would start it would hard lock the whole system. The update itself had an issue with my network card driver and the mpeg2 Plex thing so I spent a good chunk of last night getting rid of that update and manually installing the newer cumulative. The new lack of update testing with Windows 10 is so wonderful 
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Mar 24, 2017 13:07
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I need help making decisions Backstory for context: I'm moving into a new place with my girlfriend who I lent a PC for HTPC purposes, and she's bringing it. Currently I use my main PC [i5-6600k] as a Plex Server for my needs, but in the new place I'd like to change that for the sake of freeing up my PC to be turned off at night and also to save on electricity. The goal is to have a PC [the HTPC/GF PC] in my house hooked up to a small monitor for the main purpose of hosting Plex content but also serving as a casual browsing computer when need be - for this reason, along with my complete lack of experience with Unix/Linux, it'll be running Windows 8 or Windows 10. However, I've got what I assume are a few problems. Namely, my motherboard on the incoming GF HTPC only supports 4 SATA ports, one of which will be taken up by the 60GB SSD whose sole purpose would be to host Windows itself and maybe Plex if I can move the media/database files onto one of the slow drives. Currently the HTPC has three internal HDDs [in addition to the SSD, meaning all 4 SATA ports are filled] plugged into it and one external HDD via USB 3. Parts for reference: CPU: i3-3200. Old processor but apparently its 4200 Passmark score means I *should* be able to do two 1080p Plex streams at once. RAM: DDR3 : 8GB/Kit : PC12800 - hopefully this is enough? Motherboard GA-H77N-WIFI [1155 chipset, mITX] Video Card: GTX 650 Ti. Not unwilling to sacrifice this if needed for the PCI-E port if it means more SATA ports. Case: BitFenix Prodigy. I can't remember how many HDD bays are in this but I probably need more. PSU I can't remember. i think it's 500W-ish HDDs 1x 60GB SSD for Windows, 3x 3TB internal HDD, 1x 4TB External HDD that I wouldn't be opposed to shucking if I can make it all internal. Future Hard Drives [currently in my own PC, to be moved: 1x 5TB Internal HDD, 1x 4TB Internal HDD, 1x 3TB Internal HDD, 1x 4TB External HDD that I also wouldn't be opposed to shucking. Drives in Canada are pretty expensive right now too so switching out my 3TB drives for 5TB drives wouldn't be the cheapest thing in the world to do if I can avoid it. Few questions: 1) Is this adventure worth taking on? Or am I better suited to spend the money and buy a standalone NAS or something else with 8ish Drive Bays? 2) What's my best route to add more SATA ports? I've read something about adding some via the PCI-E bay but I don't actually know much about this. 2) Is the i3-3220 legitimately good enough for 2 streams? I share my Plex Library with some family at the moment but there is generally no more than 1 [maybe 2] streams going on at a given time, including my own usage which will be Direct Play. My ISP's upload speed is 150 Mbps so I'm not worried about that end either for outside users. 3) Is there an incentive for using Linux or another OS over Windows if I go down this road? For whatever it's worth, my setup is [or will be] a Shield TV hooked up to my AV Receiver, 5.1 setup and 60" Plasma TV. Because of that my files are quite large and almost every HDD I mentioned is pretty much full, downsizing isn't an ideal way to go. Nairbo fucked around with this message at 06:25 on Mar 25, 2017 |
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Mar 25, 2017 06:22
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Godinster posted:Parts for reference: Your Shield TV should 'Direct Play' everything from your Plex server, i.e., it can natively playback anything in your Plex libraries without the need for your server to transcode (this is dependant on how your media is encoded). Scrap the videocard, the Plex transcoder doesn't make use of GPU cycles. The 60GB SSD is fine for installing Windows 10 and Plex, but yes, you're going to need to move the application data folder for Plex to a bigger drive as the directory can get fairly large over time. You can do this by going to Settings > Server > General > Show Advanced > then specify "The path where local application data is stored" to a directory on whatever HDD. quote:
1) Yes. That PC is perfectly capable to be a 24/7 dedicated Plex server. 2) As mentioned, scrap the video card and get one of these PCI-E SATA cards in whatever flavor you want: https://www.amazon.com/IO-Crest-SI-...cie+card+marvel Just make sure it has a Marvell chipset. 2) The Core i3-3220 is perfectly capable of handling two simultaneous 1080p transcodes. But how is your media encoded? Are they just raw blu-ray 30-40GB rips with HD audio? Or are they H264 encoded with DTS/AC3 audio tracks? As mentioned, if your encodes are H264 w/ DTS/DTS-HD/AC3/Dolby TrueHD audio, your Shield TV should have no problem natively playing back content from your server without any problems. Note: Your server transcoding media is entirely dependent on the client apps, so whatever streaming devices your family members are using will determine whether or not the Core i3 has the potential to be overwhelmed if too many full audio/video 1080p transcodes are going on. That said, with 150Mbps upload, it's entirely possible that — again, depending on what bitrate and how your media is encoded — your family can also 'Direct Play' or 'Direct Stream' content from your server remotely, forgoing the need for your server to transcode. 3) Ubuntu is free? Otherwise no, if you already have a purchased copy of Windows, stick with what you're comfortable with. teagone fucked around with this message at 06:51 on Mar 25, 2017 |
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Mar 25, 2017 06:45
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That's super helpful, thank you! Last question (I think), this PCIE to SATA adapter should be fine, yes? I'm in Canada so things are a little harder to come by https://m.newegg.ca/products/N82E16816124064 My media is almost entirely DTS audio and encoded in x264 within an mkv container to refer back to your questions / suggestions regarding formats. Nairbo fucked around with this message at 06:55 on Mar 25, 2017 |
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Mar 25, 2017 06:53
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Godinster posted:That's super helpful, thank you! Yep, that PCIe SATA card should be fine. And since most of your media is x264/DTS audio, your family should at least be able to 'Direct Stream' from your server remotely — Direct Stream in this case would mean they would receive a 'Direct Copy' of the video stream, but any DTS audio stream will have to be transcoded to either AAC or AC3 as HTTP Streaming (HLS) doesn't support DTS audio. In my experience, Plex transcoding audio has minimal impact on CPU usage so it doesn't matter much. But again, whether or not your server does full audio/video transcodes depends on what devices are being used to access your content remotely. Also looked up your BitFenix Prodigy case. Looks like it has room for 6 total 3.5" hard drives (5 x 3.5" bays, and you can get a caddy or something to slide a 3.5" drive into the 5.25" bay). If that's limiting your expansion (it likely will) I recommend transferring all your components into something like the Node 804 that has room for 8 x 3.5" drives and 2 x 2.5" drives if you want to keep a small footprint. Otherwise get some cheapo tower that has a lot of 3.5" bays and adequate mounts for cooling the HDDs. Here's a link to the Node 804 on Newegg.ca https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352047&cm_re=Node_804-_-11-352-047-_-Product teagone fucked around with this message at 07:13 on Mar 25, 2017 |
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Mar 25, 2017 07:11
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teagone posted:
If my familiy has their clients set to direct stream, and my PMS is set to limit to 720, i assume my setting supersedes theirs
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Mar 25, 2017 20:02
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89 posted:Man, why does the Xbox One Plex app have to be so lame? I always assumed my collection was too big and that's why it lagged....then I got a PS4 and a Samsung Smart TV and was like ".....oh." Mine seems slow as crap too. Used a friend's Xbox and it was fast as can be. No idea of why.
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Mar 25, 2017 20:30
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Cornjob posted:If my familiy has their clients set to direct stream, and my PMS is set to limit to 720, i assume my setting supersedes theirs Yep. Enabling the "limit remote stream bitrate" setting takes priority over whatever the client device quality is set at.
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Mar 25, 2017 21:39
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Anyone using Stablebit Clouddrive to keep your media encrypted on something like Google Drive for Plex usage? My server is hot as poo poo and I'm tired of living in hell before I actually die.
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Mar 29, 2017 19:34
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Just a heads up! I recently received an email regarding new Plex Pass Perks; looks like they brokered deals with Western Digital and Silicon Dust to give Plex Pass users 20% off WD hardware and 15% off HDHomeRun hardware. Pretty sweet. Might pick up another NAS drive.
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Mar 29, 2017 20:41
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teagone posted:Just a heads up! I recently received an email regarding new Plex Pass Perks; looks like they brokered deals with Western Digital and Silicon Dust to give Plex Pass users 20% off WD hardware and 15% off HDHomeRun hardware. Pretty sweet. Might pick up another NAS drive. Hmm, I kept waiting for that WD PR4100 to get in stock to use a fat discount and they never could get it available.
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Mar 30, 2017 07:25
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Does plex now support local metadata? I have brought this up in the past, and the answer then was no. I noticed the PMS agent seems to have changed, and I see their support website indicates its possible. https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200220677-Local-Media-Assets-Movies Does this mean i can use emby or a similar metada downloaded to have local .NFO's, JPEGS, etc? My library huge, and Im a stickler for cover art. It'd be nice not to have to re edit everything in PMS, every time i move to a new server or get create a new library. Can i export my existing posters to the same folder where the movies are stored, so I don't have drag them over from somewhere else?
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Mar 31, 2017 18:03
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Nfo no, image files yes if they are named correctly
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Mar 31, 2017 18:34
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Cornjob posted:Does plex now support local metadata? I have brought this up in the past, and the answer then was no. I noticed the PMS agent seems to have changed, and I see their support website indicates its possible. If you are super-picky about metadata and have custom entries for all your stuff you are better off with Emby. Emby does metadata, including local metadata, much better than Plex. Though Plex is a slightly better overall solution.
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Apr 1, 2017 16:12
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After updating to the latest server release it's taking about 50-60 seconds for my client (iOS) to connect to the server, and another 50-60 seconds for a stream to start. (Local network). The odd thing is, after I've watched one thing, the next thing doesn't have the same delays. Anyone else, any solutions?
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Apr 7, 2017 14:51
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porktree posted:After updating to the latest server release it's taking about 50-60 seconds for my client (iOS) to connect to the server, and another 50-60 seconds for a stream to start. (Local network). The odd thing is, after I've watched one thing, the next thing doesn't have the same delays. Anyone else, any solutions? Hmm, maybe try running the "Optimize Database" and "Clean Bundles" library options, then restart the server?
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Apr 7, 2017 15:59
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Hey, I recently subscribed to a VPN service and Plex is unhappy. Whenever I leave my home network it cant connect. Any help?
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Apr 7, 2017 23:01
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GoldfishStew posted:Hey, I recently subscribed to a VPN service and Plex is unhappy. Whenever I leave my home network it cant connect. Any help? If your VPN service supports port forwarding, forward the port. If it doesn't, there's no reasonable steps to take.
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Apr 7, 2017 23:24
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I'm sorry to be so stupid. How do you forward a port? Even just a good link will suffice I'm sorry again for being so stupid.
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Apr 7, 2017 23:37
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GoldfishStew posted:I'm sorry to be so stupid. How do you forward a port? Even just a good link will suffice I'm sorry again for being so stupid. Which VPN is it? Should be able to just google +"(VPN name here)" +"port forwarding" and find a tutorial. Or dump the +/-/" if you don't want to be a 1999 internet searcher. 
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Apr 7, 2017 23:48
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I had Plex all set up on my Mac Mini and it was connecting for remote access just fine for many months until about a week ago when I decided to format and do a clean install of MacOS (hadn't done that in a long time and things were getting a bit slow around the edges). Before formatting and reinstalling everything I backed up my library, and after everything was re-installed I put my library back in place and everything seemed to be fine... except now I can't connect for remote access anymore. Nothing has changed on my router, my Mini still has the same static IP on the local network, and I haven't changed ISPs at all... the only change is that I'm running PMS as a non-admin user now (like a fool I was running everything as admin in the past). And regardless of whether I have firewall turned on or not, it still won't connect. So what gives? Could it be that backing up the library from an admin account and then re-inserting my library into a non-admin account screwed something up? I've tried running it from an admin account without the backed up library at all, and it still won't connect for remote access. Local streaming works just fine to all my devices when at home, but remote access won't work no matter what I try.
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Apr 8, 2017 02:08
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Dicty Brojangles posted:I had Plex all set up on my Mac Mini and it was connecting for remote access just fine for many months until about a week ago when I decided to format and do a clean install of MacOS (hadn't done that in a long time and things were getting a bit slow around the edges). Before formatting and reinstalling everything I backed up my library, and after everything was re-installed I put my library back in place and everything seemed to be fine... except now I can't connect for remote access anymore. Nothing has changed on my router, my Mini still has the same static IP on the local network, and I haven't changed ISPs at all... the only change is that I'm running PMS as a non-admin user now (like a fool I was running everything as admin in the past). And regardless of whether I have firewall turned on or not, it still won't connect. Have you tried manually specifying a different port?
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Apr 8, 2017 02:19
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teagone posted:Have you tried manually specifying a different port? Yup, along with port forwarding at the router (didn't need it before), and disabling and re-enabling UPnP. It's definitely not a double-NAT situation, either.
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Apr 8, 2017 02:25
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Dicty Brojangles posted:Yup, along with port forwarding at the router (didn't need it before), and disabling and re-enabling UPnP. It's definitely not a double-NAT situation, either. Odd. Only thing to my knowledge that I can suggest is to specify a different port again, restart the router, restart the Mac mini, disable remote access, enable it again, and then wait like a couple minutes to see if the remote access icon turns green.
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Apr 8, 2017 02:55
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teagone posted:Odd. Only thing to my knowledge that I can suggest is to specify a different port again, restart the router, restart the Mac mini, disable remote access, enable it again, and then wait like a couple minutes to see if the remote access icon turns green. Still nothing... guess I'll leave it for tonight and see if there's any change in the morning.
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Apr 8, 2017 04:21
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Dicty Brojangles posted:Still nothing... guess I'll leave it for tonight and see if there's any change in the morning. As per the Plex support forums, double check to make sure the Plex port you're forwarding can be seen outside your network: http://www.yougetsignal.com/tools/open-ports/ Something funky could be going on in the router settings, or maybe even with your ISP.
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Apr 8, 2017 05:19
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