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Message
Plex buffering help
Posted on 10/25/19 at 3:36 pm
Posted on 10/25/19 at 3:36 pm
I’m using an Apple TV, hardwired you the router.
The laptop is also hardwired.
So why am I still buffering? If I transcode, the buffering goes away.
TIA
The laptop is also hardwired.
So why am I still buffering? If I transcode, the buffering goes away.
TIA
3
Posted on 10/25/19 at 9:25 pm to BallsEleven
You answered your own question. 
Whichever movie is buffering go into Plex and have it pre-transcode it at original quality ahead of time or grab a different copy of the movie that uses a different codec.
The bottleneck is your server horsepower. Is the laptop your Plex server? What are the specs? Are you running other things at the same time on it while you're trying to watch Plex on your Apple TV?
Do you happen to know the codec of The movie in question?
Is this happening to all your movies?
If it's a 4K rip I've found Plex handles h.265 better than h.264 at least in my situation so I always grab HDR h.265 at a minimum for 4K because my computer doesn't have any buffering issues with that format.
Whichever movie is buffering go into Plex and have it pre-transcode it at original quality ahead of time or grab a different copy of the movie that uses a different codec.
The bottleneck is your server horsepower. Is the laptop your Plex server? What are the specs? Are you running other things at the same time on it while you're trying to watch Plex on your Apple TV?
Do you happen to know the codec of The movie in question?
Is this happening to all your movies?
If it's a 4K rip I've found Plex handles h.265 better than h.264 at least in my situation so I always grab HDR h.265 at a minimum for 4K because my computer doesn't have any buffering issues with that format.
This post was edited on 10/25/19 at 9:30 pm
Posted on 10/28/19 at 4:14 pm to CAD703X
Processing those 4K does take some horsepower on the PC side. Another issue could be the apple tv depending on the generation of it. I find that the firesticks 4k work like a charm for only $25
Posted on 10/28/19 at 8:26 pm to CAD703X
If it’s Direct Play though it shouldn’t be the server though should it? It’s hardly using any processing power to send it.
It happens on all movies. They are all 1080p and below. No 4K.
Codec h.264. Nothing else running while streaming and buffering happens across multiple devices.
How do you go from 264 to 265?
Edit: I see where I can go to hvec on my converter so I’ll give it a whirl and see if 265 does any better.
It happens on all movies. They are all 1080p and below. No 4K.
Codec h.264. Nothing else running while streaming and buffering happens across multiple devices.
How do you go from 264 to 265?
Edit: I see where I can go to hvec on my converter so I’ll give it a whirl and see if 265 does any better.
This post was edited on 10/28/19 at 9:03 pm
Posted on 10/29/19 at 8:33 am to BallsEleven
Are you changing the settings to "play original file" instead of trying to transcode it? That may help your buffering.
Posted on 10/30/19 at 9:52 am to bengalman
Yeah I have everything set to directplay so the only thing holding me up should be connection to the server which like I said is hardwired.
I am attempting to go back and convert everything to 265. Apparently that option was hidden in my format options on Tuneskit.
One thing holding me up is the recent Plex server update made it real unstable while trying to watch new media or live tv so I'm trying to reinstall Plex on the server to see if that works.
I am attempting to go back and convert everything to 265. Apparently that option was hidden in my format options on Tuneskit.
One thing holding me up is the recent Plex server update made it real unstable while trying to watch new media or live tv so I'm trying to reinstall Plex on the server to see if that works.
Posted on 10/30/19 at 3:35 pm to BallsEleven
Did you ever mention which version of apple tv are you using?
Posted on 10/30/19 at 4:04 pm to bengalman
I can't remember which gen but its a 4k.
The issue also happens on other devices, not just limited to Apple TV.
The issue also happens on other devices, not just limited to Apple TV.
Posted on 10/31/19 at 4:26 pm to BallsEleven
Well shite. If your movie files are in MKV then the format of them must be giving you the problem.
Posted on 10/31/19 at 9:21 pm to bengalman
I’ve tried mkv and mp4 variations of hvec coding and they are both buffering.
Posted on 11/1/19 at 8:11 am to BallsEleven
Do you know how to read a log file?
Go into Plex and turn detailed debugging on. It should tell you what's going on.
Go into Plex and turn detailed debugging on. It should tell you what's going on.
Posted on 11/3/19 at 3:52 am to BallsEleven
h.264 is the best video format.
My Plex server is running on a very low-power laptop, so I know when it's transcoding on the fly. And it's always a problem with the audio track. It won't direct-play AC3 5.1 audio. Maybe it depends on the client? I look for files with AAC 2 ch. audio, that always works. I believe AAC 5.1 also will direct-play, but that's a non-standard format.
I've used MKVToolNix to splice an AAC 2.0 audio track (from a lower-quality video) onto a higher-quality video that had an AC3 5.1 track. I left the AC3 track on there and made the AAC track the default.
My Plex server is running on a very low-power laptop, so I know when it's transcoding on the fly. And it's always a problem with the audio track. It won't direct-play AC3 5.1 audio. Maybe it depends on the client? I look for files with AAC 2 ch. audio, that always works. I believe AAC 5.1 also will direct-play, but that's a non-standard format.
I've used MKVToolNix to splice an AAC 2.0 audio track (from a lower-quality video) onto a higher-quality video that had an AC3 5.1 track. I left the AC3 track on there and made the AAC track the default.
Posted on 11/3/19 at 11:26 am to TouchedTheAxeIn82
quote:
h.264 is the best video format.
why would you make the claim that h.264 is better than h.265?
Posted on 11/3/19 at 12:13 pm to efrad
quote:
why would you make the claim that h.264 is better than h.265?
I should have said h.264 is the preferred video format. To be more precise:
1. h.264 is universally supported.
2. h.265 requires far more processing power. Older low-power devices may not be able to play h.265 video.
3. The OP said his files are all 1080p and below, and converting to h.265 didn't fix the problem. That's because h.264 video is the most compatible format for a Plex ecosystem, and was not the cause of his issue.
4. 4K and h.265 are the future, but h.264 is preferable (most compatible) if it's not a 4K file.
This post was edited on 11/3/19 at 12:15 pm
Posted on 11/3/19 at 2:53 pm to TouchedTheAxeIn82
quote:
4K and h.265 are the future
Posted on 11/3/19 at 8:23 pm to CAD703X
quote:
I'm trying to be helpful to the OP, I'm not interested in whether HEVC or VP9 or whatever codec is the future, or whatever your smug response is about. If you want to refute my advice to OP, please do, we're trying to help each other out here.
This post was edited on 11/3/19 at 8:32 pm
Posted on 11/3/19 at 10:25 pm to TouchedTheAxeIn82
I’ll have to look at the audio in the morning.
Earlier, I found a movie that plays perfectly on direct play and compared it to one that doesn’t and could find any big difference between the 2. I didn’t look hard at the audio though.
Earlier, I found a movie that plays perfectly on direct play and compared it to one that doesn’t and could find any big difference between the 2. I didn’t look hard at the audio though.
Posted on 11/4/19 at 11:51 am to TouchedTheAxeIn82
quote:
trying to be helpful to the OP, I'm not interested in whether HEVC or VP9 or whatever codec is the future, or whatever your smug response is about. If you want to refute my advice to OP, please do, we're trying to help each other out here.
I either get remux 4k or 4K hdr h.265 for every movie that's come out in the last year and my 10 year old Alienware serves them no problem to every TV in my house regardless if it's a Chromecast, Roku, fire TV, Android phone or built in smart TV Plex app.
I wouldn't exactly say that's the future when 8k TVs are on the market now. It's the best compressed 4k out there right now.
Did you even read my first response to the OP?
This post was edited on 11/4/19 at 11:55 am
Posted on 11/4/19 at 12:35 pm to CAD703X
quote:
Did you even read my first response to the OP?
quote:
You answered your own question.
Whichever movie is buffering go into Plex and have it pre-transcode it at original quality ahead of time or grab a different copy of the movie that uses a different codec.
The bottleneck is your server horsepower. Is the laptop your Plex server? What are the specs? Are you running other things at the same time on it while you're trying to watch Plex on your Apple TV?
He says it doesn't buffer if he does transcode but does buffer if he does not transcode (i.e. directplay).
So you cannot safely assume the problem is a lack of server horsepower. It could, for example, be a bandwidth issue (too high a bitrate for the network to handle on direct play, but when transcoding the bitrate is reduced enough for the network to handle).
quote:
If it's a 4K rip I've found Plex handles h.265 better than h.264 at least in my situation so I always grab HDR h.265 at a minimum for 4K because my computer doesn't have any buffering issues with that format.
While I agree with you that h.265 is the way to go in general, you're discussing 4K content while the OP is not and the Plex compatibility is different with 4K stuff. For example unless something has changed since I began changing my setup for 4K a couple years ago, 4K isn't even supported unless you're doing directplay h.265.
This post was edited on 11/4/19 at 12:48 pm
Posted on 11/4/19 at 12:46 pm to TouchedTheAxeIn82
quote:
I'm trying to be helpful to the OP, I'm not interested in whether HEVC or VP9 or whatever codec is the future, or whatever your smug response is about. If you want to refute my advice to OP, please do, we're trying to help each other out here.
I know you're trying to be helpful but making generalities like "h.264 is the best video format" is just confusing to someone who is coming from an angle of needing help. You guys are going to have him transcoding his library back and forth between h.264/h.265 before actually getting to the bottom of what's even causing a problem.
@OP:
Are you sure the clients are direct playing? Don't assume they are because that's what you set, because Plex will fall back to transcoding all audio and video if one thing about the file is incompatible with the client hardware or software. One of your clients should have an option for diagnostic information, or you could look at the currently connected streams in your Plex dashboard on PC and see if it shows directplay or transcoding.
If you confirm they are direct playing then you should look to see what the bottleneck is. Is the CPU% being maxed out? What is the outgoing transfer rate of the ethernet adapter on the server? Do a bandwidth test from the client to the server, is the transfer rate enough to handle the bitrate of those directly played files?
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