Plex Megathread: Your .ASS Is Getting Transcoded

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Inspect Your Gadgets > Plex Megathread: Your .ASS Is Getting Transcoded

cruft: Oct 25, 2007

Warbird posted:

It�s a little hinky to wrap your head around but is pretty painless one you get it going. Generally you�d be better off just yeeting a port at it, but for some stuff like DNS or RPs you�re going to want to reserve 80/443 for use with the container, but you do you. Plex wouldn�t really benefit from this but if you want documentation I think I have a bookmark around here with a decent example.

Holy crap, why didn't I think of using macvlan to run my name server

# ? Feb 26, 2023 04:12

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 8, 2024 21:20

Matt Zerella: Oct 7, 2002; Norris'es are back baby. It's good again. Awoouu (fox Howl)

Whoreson Welles posted:

Cool, good to know. I�m still very early in the process but this is a lot of interesting and cool stuff. I already got my plex container in an error loop and it generated about 150 crash reports before I figured out how to kill it. Fun!

Follow the trash guides for Sonarr/Radarr/Prowlarr and atomic linking and you�ll have a nicely organized setup in no time.

# ? Feb 26, 2023 05:55

Warbird: May 23, 2012; America's Favorite Dumbass

cruft posted:

Holy crap, why didn't I think of using macvlan to run my name server

The only reason I even know about the stuff is my not wanting to bother with a VM for a Pi-hole bit also not being stupid enough to hand my DNS over to the whims of a SD card.

# ? Feb 26, 2023 07:53

Qubee: May 31, 2013

Could I get some advice on if I'm utilizing Plex to it's fullest?

- I have my PC with all my shows and movies on it, I segregate them into two folders and point Plex at it
- Plex shows up on my TV and I've got my two separate tabs, one for TV shows and one for movies
- I just stream directly from PC to TV and have never had any issues

Am I fully utilizing the functionality of Plex? What's the point in getting a dedicated home threatre PC? I feel like a moron for asking this question but I'm really happy with Plex but just want to make sure I'm taking advantage of all it has to offer. I'd even be willing to pay for the premium membership but as far as I can tell, there's not much point to it.

# ? Feb 26, 2023 10:44

CatHorse: Jan 5, 2008

Qubee posted:

Could I get some advice on if I'm utilizing Plex to it's fullest?

You already are.

Qubee posted:

What's the point in getting a dedicated home threatre PC?

HTPC hasn't been a thing for like 10 years. I got my WDTV in 2009.

# ? Feb 26, 2023 11:54

PRADA SLUT: Mar 14, 2006; Inexperienced,
heartless,
but even so

Linuxserver.io has some Docker containers you can pull that are pre-co figured for the Arrs. You just need to import your user information and folder locations you want.

# ? Feb 26, 2023 21:04

cruft: Oct 25, 2007

I finally figured out how to get ffmpeg to do hardware h.264 encoding on the RPi4!

It goes about twice as fast as software-only, and the quality seems good. You have to tell it the average bitrate, the CRF setting doesn't seem to do anything, and the default bitrate is slightly better than potato quality.

For some reason I can't get it to work when using an mkv container, only mp4. I don't understand why, I thought the container either supported the codec or it didn't, and that mkv supports h.264. So now I'm trying to figure out how to either get subrip to convert to something mp4 supports, or get hardware encoder to work with mkv.

Anyway, here's what I have so far:

code:

ffmpeg -i in.mkv -vf format=yuv420p -b:v 1638k -c:v h264_v4l2m2m -map 0:v -c:a copy -map 0:a out.mp4

As soon as I add

code:

-map 0:s

it fails, saying "Could not write header for output file #0 (incorrect codec parameters ?)". But it works fine if I change the video codec back to h264.

Anyway, hopefully this helps somebody else?

e: Got subtitles! At least, this should work for subrip and rear end:

code:

#! /bin/sh

arging=true
while $arging; do
  case "$1" in
    -h|-help|--help|-*)
      cat <<EOD
Usage: $0 SRC [SRC...]

Re-encodes to h.264 with hardware acceleration.
Also shrinks resolution to no more than 720p.

This creates a file called $SRC.h264.mp4.
For some reason I can't figure out yet,
the hardware encoder requires mp4 containers.
This means any subtitles will be converted to mov_text.
EOD
      exit
      ;;
    *)
      arging=false
      ;;
  esac
done

for fn in "$@"; do
  base=${fn%.*}
  out="$base.h264.mp4"
  ffmpeg \
    -i "$fn" \
    -map 0:v \
    -vf "scale=w=1280:h=780:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease,format=yuv420p" \
    -b:v 1638k \
    -c:v h264_v4l2m2m \
    -map 0:a \
    -c:a copy \
    -map 0:s? \
    -c:s mov_text \
    -num_capture_buffers 16 \
    -num_output_buffers 32 \
    "$out"
done

cruft fucked around with this message at 18:02 on Feb 27, 2023

# ? Feb 27, 2023 17:43

Corb3t: Jun 7, 2003

Qubee posted:

I'd even be willing to pay for the premium membership but as far as I can tell, there's not much point to it.

If you're doing all your streaming locally via direct play of media files, there probably isn't much that Plex Pass offers that you'd be interested in. I couldn't live without it, but I share my Plex library with family members and close friends and do a lot of remote streaming when I'm not at home.

Plex Pass is for people who...

-Would like hardware transcoding when they're streaming on the go at a video quality that isn't the original source material
-Wants to download content onto a mobile device within the Plex app
-Wants to use Plexamp to stream audiobooks and music from their mobile devices
-Wants skip intro/credits for TV shows.

Every Black Friday, they offer a pretty nice discount on Plex Pass lifetime.

# ? Feb 27, 2023 18:04

odiv: Jan 12, 2003

Wants multiple user profiles. Or is that for everyone now?

# ? Feb 27, 2023 18:08

kri kri: Jul 18, 2007

What

# ? Feb 27, 2023 19:36

odiv: Jan 12, 2003

I looked it up. They're called "Managed Accounts".

https://support.plex.tv/articles/203948776-managed-users/

Looks like it's no longer Plex Pass only. Or maybe it never was and I'm just misremembering.

# ? Feb 27, 2023 19:39

RichterIX: Apr 11, 2003; Sorrowful be the heart

I've gotten my money's worth just out of plexamp which is good because I thought I'd use the other perks and never have done so even once.

# ? Feb 27, 2023 20:33

Wayne Knight: May 11, 2006

I bought the plexpass for the hdhomerun integration, and was delighted when I learned about plexamp. I use both, and they both work very well!

# ? Feb 27, 2023 20:43

ringu0: Feb 24, 2013

For those affected, PlexAmp finally fixed Google Cast streaming they broke a couple weeks ago

# ? Feb 27, 2023 21:00

RichterIX: Apr 11, 2003; Sorrowful be the heart

Has anyone had trouble with the Plex Android app losing control of a casting device? I can still use the Google Home app to control the video but the Plex App controls no longer work even though the casting icon is lit up and it is still showing accurate progress on the playtime bar. I have given the app unrestricted battery access thinking that when the phone went to sleep it was losing control of the chromecast but that hasn't fixed it (and also doesn't make sense because Google Home still controls it just fine).

# ? Feb 27, 2023 21:09

Scruff McGruff: Feb 13, 2007; Jesus, kid, you're almost a detective. All you need now is a gun, a gut, and three ex-wives.

Ibracorp just did a good video on a new -arr app for onboarding people to your sever called Wizarr. Looks like this could be pretty handy. Basically it walks them through creating a Plex account and then automatically joins them to your library so you don't have to wait for them to create a Plex account, then give you the email they used so that you can send them an invite. Looks like it also works for Jellyfin and also can incorporate a step to explain Overseerr or Ombi to the user as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLxBC4rxT-E

# ? Feb 28, 2023 16:17

Motronic: Nov 6, 2009

If you need that you are sharing your server with a sufficient number of people to paint a target on your own back.

# ? Feb 28, 2023 16:35

priznat: Jul 7, 2009; Let's get drunk and kiss each other all night.

Plex Megathread: It�s like you are Netflix, but you�re not getting paid. And also in the copyright police�s crosshairs.

# ? Feb 28, 2023 18:07

Fozzy The Bear: Dec 11, 1999; Nothing much, watching the game, drinking a bud

Google didn't reveal anything.

Is there any Karaoke plugin for Plex? I have a large collection of mp3s with cdg files that work great with VLC, but it would be great to be able to do this on my TV.

# ? Feb 28, 2023 21:44

EL BROMANCE: Jun 10, 2006; COWABUNGA DUDES!
🥷🐢😬

Plugins are essentially dead for Plex these days.

# ? Feb 28, 2023 21:59

cruft: Oct 25, 2007

Fozzy The Bear posted:

Google didn't reveal anything.

Is there any Karaoke plugin for Plex? I have a large collection of mp3s with cdg files that work great with VLC, but it would be great to be able to do this on my TV.

Nope. Sorry.

# ? Feb 28, 2023 22:01

Endless Mike: Aug 13, 2003

If you have YouTube on your TV or TV-connected device, just search "[Song] Karaoke" and it's probably on there.

# ? Feb 28, 2023 22:47

Bonzo: Mar 11, 2004; Just like Mama used to make it!

Fozzy The Bear posted:

Google didn't reveal anything.

Is there any Karaoke plugin for Plex? I have a large collection of mp3s with cdg files that work great with VLC, but it would be great to be able to do this on my TV.

Pretty sure Kodi has one.

# ? Feb 28, 2023 22:49

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

Motronic posted:

If you need that you are sharing your server with a sufficient number of people to paint a target on your own back.

Actually on all of ours. There are people running bootleg Netflix servers with paid signup new user flows and who knows how many users and everything and that poo poo is gonna get the entire Plex scene shutdown.

# ? Mar 1, 2023 13:27

El Mero Mero: Oct 13, 2001

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/02/lastpass-hackers-infected-employees-home-computer-and-stole-corporate-vault/

Saw this in the self-hosting thread and was wondering about the best ways to segment Plex on my network. Right now it�s in its own docker container on a synology, but not sure if that would cut it since it�s still on the home network and has read/write on the nas shared folders�

El Mero Mero fucked around with this message at 23:02 on Mar 1, 2023

# ? Mar 1, 2023 13:35

cruft: Oct 25, 2007

El Mero Mero posted:

https://arstechnica.com/information...orporate-vault/

Saw this in the self-hosting thread and was wondering about the best ways to segment Plex on my network. Right now it�s in its own docker container on a synology, but not sure if that would cut it since it�s still on the home network and has read/write on the nas shared folders�

I don't give plex write access to anything other than its own state. This means I can't remove videos from Plex, and I can't create "opmitized versions" of things.

It used to be common advice that once someone has local access to your machine, it's just a matter of time before they have administrative access. I wouldn't count on Linux cgroups (the technology that enables Docker) being effective at isolating a determined attacker from escalating privilege.

This may actually be the thing that pushes me to Jellyfin: at least there I can audit the codebase. I'd prefer to front-end everything with authentication, but neither Plex nor Jellyfin will work that way (Jellyfin will kind of work, I guess).

If it helps, this attack was almost certainly against the Plex client. That doesn't make me feel any better about the security of the Plex server, and it shouldn't make you feel any better, either. But it would mean nobody knows (yet) of any attacks against the server.

# ? Mar 1, 2023 15:09

Motronic: Nov 6, 2009

cruft posted:

This may actually be the thing that pushes me to Jellyfin: at least there I can audit the codebase.

You feel that you're qualified to do this? And have the time to do so?

Otherwise this is a statement that gets tossed about sometimes and makes basically no sense at all to me.

# ? Mar 1, 2023 15:19

cruft: Oct 25, 2007

Motronic posted:

You feel that you're qualified to do this? And have the time to do so?

Otherwise this is a statement that gets tossed about sometimes and makes basically no sense at all to me.

I mean I've already gone pretty deep into the code that peforms Library scans in order to figure out why they make the web UI is so frickin' slow, so, yes.

But more important than auditing the code is that I could add functionality to put the whole damned thing behind external authentication. That reduces the attack surface significantly: first, the attacker would need to get past the gate, and then they could discover I'm running Plex Media Server. Right there you're knocking out almost all of the scanning scripts, if not 100% of them.

e: Your larger point is super valid, though. A lot of people lean on "well *somebody* could look things over" and then hope somebody does. Hope is not a security policy.

# ? Mar 1, 2023 15:22

That Works: Jul 22, 2006; Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy

brains posted:

https://tailscale.com/kb/1097/install-opnsense/

works great.

So I have a couple of odd issues with this so far that initial poking around hasn't solved.

1. I did the install on the OPNSense router following the instructions at the link above via ssh into the router. On my tailscale page the opnsense machine shows up, and its confirmed as an exit node. On the router itself I can ping the 100.xxx tailscale set IP address and the device is selectable via other tailscale client machines as an exit node. However, in the OPNSense webUI it never listed Tailscale under the "Interfaces" tab even after a reboot and poking around with it in the shell etc. Made sure to run the opnsense-code ports etc again at the end and all as well. Googling around on it points to some things for DNS setup and I've tried that so far, telling it to override local DNS, adding a few cloudflare dns addresses etc.

2. Maybe related to 1, maybe not. On my client machine (win10 laptop) I have tailscale running but when I select the OPNSense router as my exit node I lose all internet access. Googling around also points to potential DNS issues and tried a few things there as detailed above but nothing yet. Rebooted both router and client and nothing doing. Bit stuck on this. Everything seems installed properly, the instructions are all straightforward, and all the devices show up normally on the tailscale webUI so I'm a bit stuck I'm afraid.

Any ideas?

# ? Mar 1, 2023 15:31

Warbird: May 23, 2012; America's Favorite Dumbass

cruft posted:

Hope is not a security policy.

I�ve worked enough �critical infrastructure� firms by now to know this is not the case and try not to think about it too much to avoid existential dread.

# ? Mar 1, 2023 16:24

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Are there any good resources for troubleshooting remote streaming performance and HW Transcode?

My server itself is a reasonably well spec'd nix(Ubuntu 22.04) VM (4 cores, >16GB ram, 1070 with nvenc unlocked) and I'm on 1GB symmetrical fiber.
Enabling HW encoding and adding the 1070 helped on some of the content, but not all.
From my side everything looks good, Plex doesn't appear to be breaking a sweat, but on the remote side it's like RealPlayer sometimes.

I can stream/direct play 4k content all day long (Plex server to Shield Pro), but my remote users tend to get lots of buffering when they stream some of the 4k/UHD/HDR/DTS content.
Some 4k content seems to play fine, others play fine until someone tries to enable live subtitles, and others just buffer from the start.

I have a feeling its a combination of their internet/home network/SmartTV, but wouldn't mind digging into it a bit more.

My initial searches landed on a bunch of "just re-encode it yourself, or download 2 versions 4k+HD and have 2 libraries, one for 4k local, and one for 1080p or lower remote streaming" which feels like an annoying bandaid/extra space for not much benefit.

Any other ideas/thoughts/links?

# ? Mar 1, 2023 16:34

EL BROMANCE: Jun 10, 2006; COWABUNGA DUDES!
🥷🐢😬

I�m gonna say your gut feeling about the internet connection between you is most likely the culprit.

# ? Mar 1, 2023 16:37

Enos Cabell: Nov 3, 2004

I have yet to hear of anyone sharing 4k libraries to remote users without issue.

# ? Mar 1, 2023 16:40

Matt Zerella: Oct 7, 2002; Norris'es are back baby. It's good again. Awoouu (fox Howl)

toplitzin posted:

Are there any good resources for troubleshooting remote streaming performance and HW Transcode?

My server itself is a reasonably well spec'd nix(Ubuntu 22.04) VM (4 cores, >16GB ram, 1070 with nvenc unlocked) and I'm on 1GB symmetrical fiber.
Enabling HW encoding and adding the 1070 helped on some of the content, but not all.
From my side everything looks good, Plex doesn't appear to be breaking a sweat, but on the remote side it's like RealPlayer sometimes.

I can stream/direct play 4k content all day long (Plex server to Shield Pro), but my remote users tend to get lots of buffering when they stream some of the 4k/UHD/HDR/DTS content.
Some 4k content seems to play fine, others play fine until someone tries to enable live subtitles, and others just buffer from the start.

I have a feeling its a combination of their internet/home network/SmartTV, but wouldn't mind digging into it a bit more.

My initial searches landed on a bunch of "just re-encode it yourself, or download 2 versions 4k+HD and have 2 libraries, one for 4k local, and one for 1080p or lower remote streaming" which feels like an annoying bandaid/extra space for not much benefit.

Any other ideas/thoughts/links?

What kind of router are you using? If it's from your ISP theres a chance it's not able to keep up with the data being thrown around (usually due to paltry CPU/RAM). Are you letting remote users stream 4k?

# ? Mar 1, 2023 16:48

Motronic: Nov 6, 2009

Enos Cabell posted:

I have yet to hear of anyone sharing 4k libraries to remote users without issue.

Probably because you don't have a reason to post about a non-issue.

I'm having 0 problems.

# ? Mar 1, 2023 16:51

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Matt Zerella posted:

What kind of router are you using? If it's from your ISP theres a chance it's not able to keep up with the data being thrown around (usually due to paltry CPU/RAM). Are you letting remote users stream 4k?

I'm running Ubiquiti and MikroTik networking gear and HW offloading as well.

Internally, I have 10GB available to the high bandwidth devices, and 1GB to the WAN.

Issue persists with streaming bitrate set at:
Original/No limit
4k 40/30/25Mbps,
1080 @ 20/15/12/10Mbps.

Also attempted allowing "WAN as LAN" and seeing if DirectStream would work nicer. Same result.

# ? Mar 1, 2023 16:59

Enos Cabell: Nov 3, 2004

Motronic posted:

Probably because you don't have a reason to post about a non-issue.

I'm having 0 problems.

What kind of connection do your remote users have? I've got gigabit u/d and a Quadro P6000 for transcodes and haven't been able to get it working properly for anyone outside my house.

# ? Mar 1, 2023 17:19

CopperHound: Feb 14, 2012

toplitzin posted:

I'm running Ubiquiti and MikroTik networking gear and HW offloading as well.

Internally, I have 10GB available to the high bandwidth devices, and 1GB to the WAN.

Issue persists with streaming bitrate set at:
Original/No limit
4k 40/30/25Mbps,
1080 @ 20/15/12/10Mbps.

Also attempted allowing "WAN as LAN" and seeing if DirectStream would work nicer. Same result.

Have you seen if you can reproduce it by having it transcode on your lan?

# ? Mar 1, 2023 17:29

Bonzo: Mar 11, 2004; Just like Mama used to make it!

El Mero Mero posted:

https://arstechnica.com/information...orporate-vault/

Saw this in the self-hosting thread and was wondering about the best ways to segment Plex on my network. Right now it�s in its own docker container on a synology, but not sure if that would cut it since it�s still on the home network and has read/write on the nas shared folders�

This now goes to a 404. What was it?

El Mero Mero posted:

Actually on all of ours. There are people running bootleg Netflix servers with paid signup new user flows and who knows how many users and everything and that poo poo is gonna get the entire Plex scene shutdown.

Had this issue years ago and came out on top by saying whatever people do with the software after they download it is not their responsibility. Plex would likely just do the same and probably why they dropped plugin support.

# ? Mar 1, 2023 18:45

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 8, 2024 21:20

toplitzin: Jun 13, 2003

Disabling Direct Play under plex web and launching 4k content is streaming it down in SD/160p, barely using any bandwidth:
Plex Web � Chrome
Playing�2:38 / 1:43:38
Indirect�2 Mbps
Video
4K HDR10 (HEVC Main 10) (hw)
SD (H264)�Transcode (hw)
Audio
English (EAC3 5.1)
AAC�Transcode

Direct play/local will hit 100s of Mbps:

Manually changing the resolution via playback settings (480/720/1080) either gets ignored and still appears to direct play/4k or it shits itself/spins on buffering.

Playback over VPN gets Mbps and direct streams but on and off buffering:
85 Mbps
Video
4K HDR10 (HEVC Main 10)
Direct Stream
Audio
English (EAC3 5.1)
AAC�Transcode

I still think something's fucky somewhere.

# ? Mar 1, 2023 18:46

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Inspect Your Gadgets > Plex Megathread: Your .ASS Is Getting Transcoded

«‹›320 »