Plex Megathread: Your .ASS Is Getting Transcoded

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

«‹›2 »

derk: Sep 24, 2004

The Plex Pass sub is well worth the money. I have 5 or 6 users in my home account, beautiful thing.

# ¿ Apr 24, 2018 17:19

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 9, 2024 13:22

derk: Sep 24, 2004

Oldstench posted:

Can you explain this please? My wife and I have no problems sharing an account. Are you both watching the exact same movie/tv episode and stopping at different points or something?

So, with my users, my son is one of them so i restrict what in the library he can see and has access to. The rest are family members and for the TV shows that they watch, that is all they can see in my library. Otherwise it is cumbersome for them to sift through all my shows to find their shows. You cannot do that without a Plex Pass. If you just have you and your wife, you probably do not need the Plex Pass. Guys like me with remote users and different tastes and age restrictions you would. You can restrict which libraries each user has access to and can then tune it down to only show them specific shows/movies/artists within those libraries.

EDIT: Each user is locked with a pin number

derk fucked around with this message at 14:39 on Apr 25, 2018

# ¿ Apr 25, 2018 13:46

derk: Sep 24, 2004

teagone posted:

The HD audio track � that DTS-HD MA stream � is larger in file size than the other options. I'm guessing it's unchecked to try and get the encode file size output smaller. That said, Plex clients that don't support 5.1+ surround sound (for example, the Plex Web App) will request a transcoded 2.0/stereo audio stream and your server will downmix that automatically.

[edit] Also important to note, most Plex client devices don't support bitstreaming HD audio tracks, i.e., Atmos, TrueHD, DTS-HD aren't widely supported by the most common streaming boxes used for Plex like Roku, AppleTV, Chromecast, etc. Even if your AVR supports those HD audio formats, the Plex clients won't be able to pass them through. I believe the only Plex client devices that can bitstream HD audio are the Nvidia Shield and PCs/Macs running the Plex Media Player app.

The Xbox One should be able to in the near future, they can pass it over HDMI from BluRay with the latest dashboard update.

# ¿ Jul 27, 2018 17:40

derk: Sep 24, 2004

crestfallen posted:

We have a Plex pass. We use the feature where you set up a user and tag stuff to share with it � the sharing menu item in edit mode.

For me today, the sharing tab thing is not in the edit mode. Did it move somewhere else? I am stumped.

did not move.

# ¿ Aug 6, 2018 04:24

derk: Sep 24, 2004

and you are logging into N right? that is the only one that could set the sharing

# ¿ Aug 7, 2018 00:33

derk: Sep 24, 2004

crestfallen posted:

Rebooted the server and my computer. Still don't see the sharing area. Plex server is up to date. Account correctly shows that I have a Plex pass. I turned all my browser extensions off just to make sure, that didn't do anything either. Here are some screens to demonstrate:

User selection. 2 users exist:

Sharing configuration. Share by this label:

Edit screen for a movie. No sharing thing widget exists:

It's weird.

# ¿ Aug 7, 2018 00:47

derk: Sep 24, 2004

FCKGW posted:

There's a Xeon based Lenovo TS140 or Dell T30 that goes on sale for <$300 every few weeks that seems to be the sweet spot for price/performance.
Comes with 4 HDD bays and no OS.

this is my exact server. Lenovo TS140. it is a beautiful thing

# ¿ Aug 23, 2018 14:52

derk: Sep 24, 2004

Ixian posted:

So....

Silicon Dust has launched their own skinny TV bundle:

https://www.silicondust.com/premium-tv/

I got an email saying it is currently in "limited beta" but right now it appears anyone can sign up.

$34.99/month for 45 channels. The usual suspects are present and there's just the one tier with no option for premium stuff like HBO, etc. (which you can get with HBO Now, etc. separately anyway). I don't think it provides app logins for channels that have apps either but could be wrong about this, it's pretty new and info is sparse.

Nothing too exciting and SD's own client software still sucks as bad as it always has (their Windows 10 client isn't even updated to work with this yet) so normally this would be a "shrug, another cable with buffering service, wake me when it gets..." except:

It works with Plex DVR. And pretty well so far, from my (limited) testing.

It'll integrate the skinny bundle channels with your locals. Here's a shot of mine:

Looks like it supports DVR/Timeshifting too, though some channels may have restrictions on that, haven't had time to fully test out yet.

It also allows streaming to up to 4 simultaneous clients, though like the rest of Plex DVR that is in-home only.

Quality is good so far. I'm using the Plex Windows client, and my Roku Ultra.

I'm giving it a try, time will tell, but if you want an all in one interface for TV with Plex this is as good as it gets, barring CableCard. Now that Plex is rolling out the grid guide to more devices (the Shield has it now I believe) this could be...good? Maybe?

One current issue with setup - you can't upgrade your existing Plex DVR setup, you basically have to delete that and start a new one. It'll keep recordings, of course, but you'll need to re-do any scheduled recordings. Also, when you set up the new one, you have to pick cable, not digital antenna, for the guide source. Then you need to go and find the correct mapping for your local OTA channels because Plex will pull in their cable equivalents. I didn't have any problem doing this, found all mine easily, but YMMV. Plex will probably update this process in the future but it's Plex so your guess is as good as mine as to when.

So, do you need a HDHomerun? how does this work with Plex? I'm a little confused, I have no cable coming into the house, just Antenna for local OTA. Is this all over the internet and just ties into Plex DVR with a login or something into Silicone Dust?

# ¿ Aug 27, 2018 14:52

derk: Sep 24, 2004

WhyteRyce posted:

Does Plex do the commercial skip for the streaming content you record?

it can, but it isn't perfect

# ¿ Aug 29, 2018 14:00

derk: Sep 24, 2004

Shumagorath posted:

My XBox isn't hardwired and the wifi in here is kinda congested with multiple 2.4 and 5GHz networks. I'll look into splicing more Cat5e today.

gently caress WIRELESS

Fake gamers use wireless

# ¿ Oct 6, 2018 13:51

derk: Sep 24, 2004

odiv posted:

Yep, finally had enough and crawled under my house to run two lengths of Cat6. Only problem now is that it's led to me looking at patch panels and poo poo online so I can do all this properly.

atta boy! put your big boy pants on and hardwire that poo poo! I hardwire absolutely EVERYTHING that has an ethernet port.

# ¿ Oct 6, 2018 21:51

derk: Sep 24, 2004

teagone posted:

Netflix HD video bitrate is likely a lot lower than the encodes you download/rip, and are optimized for streaming. Netflix maxes out at ~6Mbps bitrate on 1080p new releases https://medium.com/netflix-techblog/per-title-encode-optimization-7e99442b62a2

exactly

# ¿ Oct 9, 2018 13:30

derk: Sep 24, 2004

The Gunslinger posted:

I don't know about any of that but in the past the apps have sucked, they had lovely nag screens/pricing and that doesn't inspire confidence in their "business model". Frankly I don't see any real reason to use it over Plex anymore now that the metadata editing has improved there, that was the only thing I ever cared about.

Getting back to Plex, I actually dig the new Roku interface and so far it still runs well on an Ultra anyway.

I have never tried Emby, so I can only speak of Plex, I pay for the plex pass, and it is money well spent and I have really enjoyed it. I share it with about 10 people total right now and really have not had any issues or complaints. Hardware transcoding is a beautiful thing seeing as my Plex box is also my seedbox, sonarr/nzbget box and file server. I set QoS up to not bottleneck my own uses when i am gaming, nobody says they have problems or complaints watching off my plex server.

# ¿ Dec 12, 2018 18:56

derk: Sep 24, 2004

Dren posted:

Keep in mind that if you have the processor to do cpu transcoding you should do cpu transcoding. GPU transcoding is faster but looks worse and compresses worse.

True statement which makes no sense when you think about it. Baffles me.

# ¿ Dec 26, 2018 17:13

derk: Sep 24, 2004

kri kri posted:

I sync music via the plex app, and videos using infuse. Not great but works 100% of the time for me.

I think they renewed their focus on getting sync to work (lol)

I've never used the sync feature.

# ¿ Jan 3, 2019 21:01

derk: Sep 24, 2004

Cornjob posted:

I know its overkill. I paid $480. I only serve friends and family. About 12 at the moment. rarely do i see more than 3 concurrent streams.

I use it for more than PMS, i do some encoding on it.

Ill see how much my power bill goes up. :-)

Im thinking ill add a sleep schedule... no one uses late night.

I have a Quadro P600 laying around you could have...

# ¿ Feb 5, 2019 20:06

derk: Sep 24, 2004

So, I run Plex with the premium pass. I have 10 managed users, half of them are remote. I have 300/300 Fios package and I get complaints that it buffers a lot sometimes, not sure if it is something on my end or their's. my server is robust enough. Intel Xeon V2 1245 3.40 ghz,
16GB ECC RAM
hardware transcoding, most of the stuff is direct played, even remotely, but the transcoding barely spikes past 10% percent on the CPU with multiple streams.

I am using the G1100 router currently from Verizon with the server behind a gigabit switch, I used to use my Netgear R7000, but when I switched to the 300/300 plan, it didn't get that speed until I hooked the Verizon router back up. any ideas, suggestions?

# ¿ Feb 6, 2019 18:42

derk: Sep 24, 2004

I can tell you that anytime I check on it it is throttled.

# ¿ Feb 6, 2019 19:00

derk: Sep 24, 2004

IOwnCalculus posted:

Then there's your answer, it's not your server. Could theoretically be anything on the entire network connection from your server through to whatever they're playing it on, but streaming video is not hard work for even a lovely router to pass through. I'd expect anything on your network side of the equation to also cause issues with your general day-to-day use of the internet, so I wouldn't focus too much there.

Alright. I was pretty certain my network should not be the problem. Buffering is all on the client side right? I know for the TV downstairs on wifi I had to adjust the client buffer to stop that from happening, basically the buffer was too small, increased the buffer size and voila, no more stuttering and buffering issues since!

# ¿ Feb 6, 2019 20:04

derk: Sep 24, 2004

Ixian posted:

There's a lot to look at here so strap in:

FIOS: If you are only using it for internet, not TV, etc. you can have Verizon customer support enable the ethernet port on your ONT and run that straight to the router/firewall of your choice, such as the R7000 you have. This will eliminate their gateway entirely (and also save you the rental fee when you return it) and give you the best performance your router/firewall of choice can provide. This site has an overview of the process: https://www.groundedreason.com/use-router-fios-internet/

If you do get FIOS TV service, you'll need to use their router/MOCA (Coax) connection. In that case, you should research if it is possible to enable bridge mode on that router so you can pass internet traffic directly to your own router/firewall. I'm not familiar enough with that model or FIOS so get Google-ing. A user forum dedicated to FIOS customers is probably your best bet because you will be far from the first person doing this.

Plex: Assuming your upstream connectivity is sorted out and you don't have any local network bottlenecks, then the problem is on the other end. As IOwnCaculus pointed out, "throttling" doesn't mean the Plex server itself is throttled, it means Plex is being throttled upstream - it is basically saying it could deliver data faster, but something (your network, the route between you and your users, or the users network/client itself) is slowing it down.

There could be a lot of reasons for this. For example my sister shares access to my server and had buffering issues and it came down to her using an old Roku 2 device, simple as that. It couldn't keep up. Replacing that with a newer Roku (which are still dirt cheap) fixed that particular problem. Could also be the end users network; lovely wireless, whatever. Just because web browsing, Netflix, etc. seems to "work" doesn't mean it's up to par streaming higher bitrate files from your Plex server.

I get that sometimes from users: "well, I can watch stuff on Netflix fine!" yeah, well I'm not Netflix, the company that has invested billions in streaming technology and infrastructure.

I do have just internet and they did use the Ethernet port from the ONT. I haven't tried my R7000 again since using the fios modem which I own outright also updated after not being plugged in for years and getting the full speed of the package. maybe it had something to do with the config file for the new package not being grabbed by the R7000, maybe now it will after the fios modem has now done it? Maybe this weekend I will mess with the R7000 again and see. Also my friend that was having the buffering issues texted me since posting this and said it has been fine, I guess just a bad couple days of internet at his house, he said he was pretty sure it was on his end as he was having some problems, but didn't tell me that until today. so there's that.

# ¿ Feb 6, 2019 20:20

derk: Sep 24, 2004

Ixian posted:

I don't know how FIOS authentication works, but since they let you bypass their gateway entirely and run to the ONT it must be some form of user login - did you configure that on your R7000? If so, likely you just needed to re-authenticate with it after you upgraded your package.

nah, mac authentication so I just clone the mac from their router onto the R7000

# ¿ Feb 6, 2019 20:38

derk: Sep 24, 2004

Dren posted:

yeah for fios you just mac clone the fios router and plug yours in

don't forget to dhcp release first!

# ¿ Feb 6, 2019 20:51

derk: Sep 24, 2004

Dren posted:

I�ve never tried it without cloning. I clone because I once had a cable internet provider where cloning was necessary. But if it works without cloning then cool.

exactly why I cloned it as well. Didn't try without cloning because of problems I encountered in the past with using my own equipment with other providers.

# ¿ Feb 7, 2019 16:58

derk: Sep 24, 2004

pzy posted:

A FiOS ONT wired for Ethernet is a beautiful thing. So is $70/mo symmetrical gigabit!

Amazing what having multiple competing cable companies since the 90s will do.

I was paying 70 for 150/150, that promotion ended and it went up to like 120 a month.

I switched plans to 300/300 and renewed/did a new contract and am locked in for 70 a month for 300/300 now for 2 years! the competition is great for pricing for sure. I will try using my netgear without cloning the mac over the weekend and see how that goes.

# ¿ Feb 7, 2019 17:17

derk: Sep 24, 2004

mattfl posted:

If I have a Movies library and a 4K Movies library that are completely separate folders on my storage, but have the same named movie in each library, if I play the movie from the Movies library, it should play the regular version and not the 4K version right? It should only play the 4K version if I select it from the 4K library right?

for this I would use the .plexignore file. if you haven't used this it works as such

you creat a file called .plexignore
in the file you would type

*4K*
*2160P*
*HEVC*
*\4K\* if you have a folder to exclude from within

etc anything you want the library to exclude from scanning and adding into a library. you place this file in directories where you want this stuff to be ignored. So say your movies are in /media/Movies, that is where you would place it. 4K movies are in /media/Movies/4K you still would place the file in /media/Movies. I think I am explaining this clear enough, if not PM me, I can show you my file I use. I then restrict everyone from seeing my separate 4K library EXCEPT for people I have set up there plex clients to direct play the 4K films so my server does NOT transcode them because oh yea it will otherwise and it eats my server up 100%.

# ¿ Mar 27, 2019 20:50

derk: Sep 24, 2004

Irritated Goat posted:

Both are named to Plex standards. I even rebooted the server to make sure it wasn't just a weird connection problem.

can you post the filenames and folder structure you are using?

# ¿ Apr 15, 2019 15:43

derk: Sep 24, 2004

Irritated Goat posted:

Did it twice. No dice.

Movies\Annabelle (2014)\Annabelle.mkv

try Annabelle.2014.1080p.BluRay.x264-SPARKS.mkv

?

# ¿ Apr 15, 2019 18:47

derk: Sep 24, 2004

My server 1st started off as FreeNAS. I then scrapped that and went to Ubuntu server. I imported my pool, re did everything, needless to say my media is not organized to my liking, I started with 8TB, I just bought 8 more TB and am going to redo my server from scratch after backing up my media.

question is https://support.plex.tv/articles/201370363-move-an-install-to-another-system/
the answer? will I have to re auth every device that uses my server again?

my folder hierarchy will be in order this time, it was before, but going from jails to Ubuntu server I half assed it and just adapted to downloading to multiple areas in my system. it got messy

# ¿ Nov 26, 2019 19:38

derk: Sep 24, 2004

Atomizer posted:

That procedure should basically clone your installation, so media metadata and user access (which is by account, not device) should remain the same.

perfect, exactly what i was hoping it would do. i will just have to fix where plex looks for the media and re scan it, not a big deal, the user access is the bigger deal to me than the metadata itself, that can be gotten easily.

# ¿ Nov 29, 2019 18:47

derk: Sep 24, 2004

Bonzo posted:

I've been looking for something like this as well. There is a plugin for Kodi called psuedoTV https://pseudotvlive.com/ that does this. Not sure about Plex

Their webpage needs updating. This is where you will find the repo's

https://github.com/Lunatixz/KODI_Addons/tree/master/zips/repository.lunatixz

# ¿ Dec 6, 2019 19:20

derk: Sep 24, 2004

Nocheez posted:

Par for the course for Linux users. "It's easy! All you have to do is load 15 customizations and then you can mount your portable hard drive!"

people need to grow up

# ¿ Dec 18, 2019 20:04

derk: Sep 24, 2004

cr0y posted:

Does anyone know if an HDMI stick exists that would let me install Plex/Kodi and poo poo without being married to an Amazon account like the fire stick? I really want a no frills Plex stick that I can share amongst friends without needing them to do the setup after they register it with Amazon/Roku whoever

smart TV with plex app, no hdmi stick required, BOOM!

# ¿ Jan 7, 2020 20:58

derk: Sep 24, 2004

bolind posted:

Dumb questions:

How stupid would it be to run the plex server on a raspberry pi 4 4GB?

Does it still cost money if I want to play stuff on an iPad?

if there is no transcoding involved it should be fine IMO.

# ¿ Jan 16, 2020 20:44

derk: Sep 24, 2004

what a weird question

# ¿ Jan 29, 2020 17:41

derk: Sep 24, 2004

BaseballPCHiker posted:

I think, and someone can correct me because Im not an expert either, that it comes down to resource usage of the underlying OS.

Compare the "server" load of a machine using ubuntu server with just terminal access to a computer running Windows 10. Ubuntu will allow you to get more density out of your machine, you'll be able to install more services and applications on it.

Also I think docker support tends to be better on linux then it does on Windows. But again I dont really know anything, I'm a networking guy that liked playing around with docker and linux as a fun little project.

this. exactly this. better usage of resources, less overhead, no gui, less junk, install services and applications you need. Not for the faint of heart tho, definitely has a learning curve if person is a windows guy and has never done ms-dos, powershell, command line stuff, plenty of well written guides out there to help.

# ¿ Feb 10, 2020 18:58

derk: Sep 24, 2004

just chiming in that i noticed the disable transcode option in the transcoder options in one of the newer builds, not sure exactly when it was added. But i have been using it as i know all my users can direct play, but sometimes after updates their devices will have stuff transcoded which i try to avoid as much as possible. my bandwidth is open enough to handle just about every one of my users at the same time which never happens for direct play. I noticed someone watching a movie the other day that was being transcoded for no reason as i know his device plays my titles directly any other time and instead of trying to contact him i clicked that disable transcode button and rebooted Plex. He connected back shortly and resumed his movie and voila Tautulli told me it was being direct played.

So far it has been working flawlessly. Easier to set that then to explain or setup peoples devices to direct play as it is not set to that as default behavior.

# ¿ Feb 28, 2020 20:37

derk: Sep 24, 2004

IOwnCalculus posted:

If your Plex server is remotely accessible, you can manage it remotely as well. Worst case you'd need to use the web client to change the server config since a lot of those screens aren't exposed to the mobile clients.

exactly this.

i never stream anything to my phone over cell connection except music.

# ¿ Mar 9, 2020 21:55

derk: Sep 24, 2004

Cornjob posted:

Can finally retire tautulli

https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/16/media-software-maker-plex-launches-new-subscriber-only-apps-for-music-and-server-management/

meh. the new plex dash is nice for remote monitoring when i am away, but i still like tautulli.

Plexamp app is much appreciated on my phone now instead of using regular plex app while in the car, much nicer UI and gets right to what i want while in the car and all the new mix builder and other radios it offers now.

# ¿ Apr 17, 2020 15:49

derk: Sep 24, 2004

EL BROMANCE posted:

Plex Lifetime Sale today - $99.99 . Promo code USETHEFOURTH https://plex.tv/subscription/upgrade

If you have an existing subscription, it'll bring it down. I'm part way into a 6 month and my end price is $88.

thank you!

just upgraded. cost me 68 bucks!!!

# ¿ May 4, 2020 20:11

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ May 9, 2024 13:22

derk: Sep 24, 2004

teagone posted:

Hardwiring the 7010 will almost certainly remedy any issues with client playback and library scanning.

hardwiring any machine you are utilizing as a server should go without saying. just saying.

# ¿ Dec 1, 2020 19:35

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

«‹›2 »