Plex transcoding settings. In this step by step guide I...

Plex transcoding settings. In this step by step guide I will show you how to install Plex with Hardware Transcoding on your Synology NAS using Docker & Portainer. In today's video, I will go through the entire setup and configuration of the Plex Media Server, including setting up hardware transcoding. Is it anyhow possible to modify these settings? After saving changes, play a media file that requires transcoding and check your Plex Dashboard (Activity section); a " (hw)" indicator next to the transcode stream confirms your hardware is now Note: Subtitles can introduce a wrinkle here sometimes. Now I’ve watched Plex Sponsored YouTube videos on this and the Byte My Bits fellow says that if you change the Transcoder Quality setting to anything but Automatic that your hardware transcoding doesn’t work. Enable smooth 4K streaming. Here is the list of the advanced settings for Plex and what the settings do. You’ll configure audio settings under: Navigate These are 5 different things you can do to either make your #Plex #Media #server run faster, or give you better quality transcodes! Want a secure and fast VP Plex offers a variety of transcoding settings that users can customize based on their device preferences and server capabilities. log file and search for "plex new transcoder,exe". true I'm not all that experienced when it comes to changing it to ram for transcoding so sorry for my lack of knowledge, just hoping I can get some insight and also if there are any tips also for transcoding I should be setting up within unraid or within plex settings that would be also quite appreciate. Having been a fan of Plex, I know how demanding transc Hello! Hardware transcoding works great for me at 720p or higher resolutions and saves my Intel NUC server a lot of CPU power when enabled. Please add a setting to only use hardware transcoding at select resolutions or greater. positional: source_dir Source directory containing media files (default: . Adjust according to your server’s capabilities. If you have a choice between adding more RAM (assuming there’s enough RAM for the operating system to run well) or a faster/better CPU, choose CPU for better Plex transcoding performance. Tip!: Most of the Bandwidth and Transcoding Limit features require an active Plex Pass subscription for the Plex Media Server So, you need to do a good setting of transcoder quality, background transcoding x264 preset, and maximum number of simultaneous transcode sessions, especially when your Plex server is running on a non-dedicated computer. Check off Use hardware acceleration when available and Use hardware-accelerated video encoding. When supported, the NAS will use its built-in graphics or compatible hardware to handle transcoding tasks. 5-hour movie, FFmpeg seeks directly to the nearest keyframe in milliseconds. Content transcoding is a very CPU-intensive process and can take tens of minutes for a single item in some cases. What is transcoding, and why is it important for Plex? Transcoding is the process of converting a video file into a format that is compatible with your viewing device. Hardware-Accelerated Transcoding: If you have a compatible GPU, enable this in Plex Ensure that you maximize the settings for transcoder quality, a maximum number of simultaneous transcode sessions, and x264 preset for background transcoding. If the audio or video streams are already compatible with the MP4 container, they’ll be copied as-is. /ready-to-process) optional: --dry-run Preview changes Tone Mapping Algorithm Most operating systems running Plex Media Server have the ability to select which tone mapping algorithm is used (except on windows intel) to convert from HDR to SDR. Generally, the more powerful the Plex Media Server’s CPU the better, as transcoding is a CPU intensive process. The default size is half your system RAM, but you can change it depending on your needs. Usually only one stream runs at the same time and 60% of the time it is in the local network. I have Once the Plex container has started, open the Plex Web UI. Plex offers a variety of transcoding settings that users can customize based on their device preferences and server capabilities. I’m skeptical about this as when a remote user plays a movie it DOES shows hardware (hw) transcoding. Plex Transcoding Settings Plex has an official article about playback modes as well. I have a usb-c connected drobo with 70 TB storage and overall things work well. Plex Server Settings Transcoding Quality: In Plex server settings, you can adjust the transcoding quality. My CPU has a passmark of 8,500+ why can i only just about stream one 1080p @ 8MB? Have i got some sort of settings that need changing? In today's video, I will go through the entire setup and configuration of the Plex Media Server, including setting up hardware transcoding. I know there isn't a one size fits all, but hoping someone can point me in a right direction. With these simple steps you should be able to understand why Plex keeps buffering and find a suitable resolution to your issue. This article provides several options to fix the Plex error that the conversion failed because the transcoder crashed or failed to start up. Thanks in advance! I’d like to see transcoder settings for quality options for both remote play and home play. Explore plans to stream your media remotely and more. When I force Direct Play on a video file it does play with audio (meaning it must be transcoding audio) but my 2. Depending on your OS, you can set your transcode directory to /dev/shm which is a built-in shared ram disk, rather than creating one exclusively for Plex. Quality setting Another reason Plex may transcode the movie is because of the quality setting specified in the client. Yes, Plex can stream 4K. But in extreme cases it is possible that 3-4 people (external) might stream. Jan 15, 2026 · Next, in the left menu, select Transcoder under Settings after accessing your account settings. If you have multiple devices capable of hardware-accelerated transcoding (e. 41. 3ghz Core 2 Duo is completely overloaded - the file buffers nonstop. The option can be found in the transcoder settings of the Plex Media Server version 1. Edit: For those looking for the TL;DR, It lets you cluster a bunch of devices to handle transcoding workloads in Plex. This guide covers 4K requirements, best Plex settings, HDR, transcoding, and server tips for smooth playback. Open the Transcoder Quality drop-down and pick an option that makes sense for you. Well, let's check the best HandBrake Settings for Plex. The thing is, this is the only 1080p option available: I’d rather use a higher crf around 20 and some other settings like a special -tune option from ffmpeg. Hardware transcoding makes media streaming from your NAS faster and more efficient. Automated, non-interactive pipeline to rename and transcode media for Plex. The higher it is, the slower the transcoder will be. Edit 2: My first Gold! Edit 3: A lot of people suggest just buying a quicksync cpu. 3997 Player Version#: I set my server up years ago on an old iMac (2. This requires a full transcode of the video stream. These guides answer common questions and provide the best settings for your entire media server setup. Save the changes. My server seems to be struggling to transcode even 1080p files with higher nitrate, it just buffers endlessly when trying to play the video. You can try looking for yourself. My Plex server is on my personal PC i5-11600K CPU, 32gb RAM and an Nvidia 3090. It never downloads through Plex's transcoder. Thanks in advance! If all is well with your hardware, assess your Plex log file and take a look at some of the transcoder settings such as the Plex transcoder throttle buffer. Plex Transcoding Cpu Chart - Software transcode = uses the nas software and cpu power to alter a file to a more suitable plex playback type. Transcoding with Plex makes it possible to play media files on any client. Custom – Select custom settings (see below) Custom If you select the Customize option, you can choose which profile to use as well as the bitrate limitation. However when i transcode a 1080p @ 8MB the CPU usage of Plex Transcode is 88%. 4. Transcoding can be resource-intensive, requiring a powerful server to handle multiple simultaneous transcoding streams. I’ll be updating my server soon and will be able to take advantage of hw transcoding I see that in Plex DVR Device Settings there is an option to Convert Video While Recording and also a checkbox to Use hardware-accelerated video encoding Has anyone used this setting? Indicated as “Experimental”. Multiple NVENC Chips Some cards have either multiple NVENC chips or multiple Graphics chips each containing an NVENC chip This is a quick post to try and help those newer to unraid like me to setup a Plex container and enable hardware transcoding using a modern AMD Radeon iGPU often found in mini PC's. Setting this to “Make my CPU hurt” will ensure the best quality but will be more CPU-intensive. true I have Plex Media Server on my PC, my specs are i7 3770 with 16GB of RAM. I'm running a 5600G and when I edit the Plex docker to add the Ensure that you maximize the settings for transcoder quality, a maximum number of simultaneous transcode sessions, and x264 preset for background transcoding. This is a follow up topic to my other thread regarding network Looking for a basic primer on digital audio? Audio configuration settings are advanced settings. Step-by-step instructions to install Plex on ZimaBoard, organize your library, and enable hardware transcoding. The solution is to tweak transcoder settings using any of these three values: Transcoder quality: You can set transcoding quality to be high or low. Jun 30, 2025 · Whether you’re streaming on your smart TV, phone, or tablet, avoiding transcoding means better playback performance, less CPU usage, and a smoother overall Plex experience. Hello all,I've been attempting to setup my Plex Docker to transcode using my Nvidia RTX 2070. I currently have the following settings on; "Use hardware acceleration when available" "background transcoding x264 set to very fast" "Transcoder quality set to higher speed encoding" Just wondering what people's recommended settings are on their server and client apps to get reliable hw transcoding. Anyway, if you want quality, you can't rely on on the fly transcoding. How Do I Set Up Plex Cache On An SSD? Setting up a Plex cache on an SSD dramatically improves streaming performance; this guide will walk you through the process of configuring a dedicated SSD for your Plex Transcoder directory to ensure smooth playback, especially for demanding content. Disk Usage: The transcoding Furthermore, we will discuss techniques like utilizing hardware acceleration, optimizing server settings, and configuring network settings to ensure efficient transcoding. both an integrated and discrete GPU), you can select a particular device. However my 480p or lower transcode remote users complain the quality is unwatchable. Install Plex Media Server on your QNAP NAS, sign in with a Plex Pass account, and enable “Use hardware acceleration” in the Plex Transcoder settings. (How is the experiment going 🙂 ) Would using ffmpeg with h264 hw encoding in a post Enabling multi-channel audio in the global settings menu adds support for the associated audio codec during Direct Play and transcoding. 43. Aug 20, 2025 · The default setting will have the Auto option selected. Comparing the lines should then provide details on the actual differences. Even if a file’s audio, video, and container are all compatible with a Plex App, if a subtitle stream is selected and is not compatible with the Plex App, then the Server will “burn in” the subtitle text within the video. This is important when the Plex server runs on a non-dedicated computer. Users can choose to enable or disable transcoding, select the transcoding quality, and adjust the transcoder temporary directory to optimize transcoding performance. I’d like fast transcoding for if I’m remote and slower for better quality if I’m at home. Related question - if transcoding does happen to be required for reasons other than bitrate (lets say burning in subtitles for example), and the actual media bitrate is lower than the transcoder quality bitrate setting, will the transcoder pick min (actual-media-bitrate, transcode-setting-bitrate), or the max, as the transcoding bitrate target? If I wanted my transcoder to fully transcode a file as soon as I hit play, what would the optimal settings be? For example, I would rather that as soon as I hit play it would play as it does now, but the transcoder would not stop and it would transcode the source into the temp file and not stop until the file was completed. Settings for Plex Transcoder Streaming Quality All Plex applications come with different settings for Streaming Here are the most important Plex settings you need to know about if you want to stream media in the best way possible. Setting a streaming quality value lower than the content’s bitrate will cause the video to be transcoded. In this in-depth session, Linus gets into the delightfully nerdy, nitty gritty details of Hardware Transcoding, Plex Dash, and a lot more. 34 votes, 45 comments. My internet is typically above 100MBPS. That is the exact command with all the arguments. 3 GHz, Quad-Core i7, 16 GB Ram, Catalina. This calculation is based on 1080p@15MBPS to 720p@4MBPS per stream. I'm wanting to build a server for plex and transcoding, either unraid or truenas (happy to be directed other wise) need something powerful enough for 8 clients at 1080p min, 4k local about 60tb of storage with redundancies. Processor Usage: Transcoding a media file can be CPU intensive. Transcoding your media library with the best settings for Plex could make all your files available to stream on Plex with high quality. Use hardware checkboxes Utility to automatically adjust plex transcode limit based on current connection speed to nginx server - SamMcFly/plex-quality-manager Hello everyone, I just got my NAS setup installed TrueNAS Scale. 264 for maximum compatibility. See “ Streams for VRAM ” for more precise usage. Enabling multi-channel audio in the global settings menu adds support for the associated audio codec during Direct Play and transcoding. Transcoder Settings List Server Settings List For more information regarding these settings, please visit the Plex Advanced/Hidden server settings page or ask on the Plex Forums if you wish to know more about these Advanced/Hidden settings. I ticked off the setting for LG Media Link devices on PMS’ web interface, and I also ticked off that DTS was no enabled on my Revue client settings. Hello, I have somewhat weak server and want to know best settings to keep running plex transcoding but in same time do not hit CPU that much? PS: I… There are a number of advanced, hidden Plex Media Server settings, some of which are not available from the normal Hardware transcoding makes media streaming from your NAS faster and more efficient. TRaSH-Guides is a comprehensive collection of guides for Radarr, Sonarr, and related media management tools. g. Having been a fan of Plex, I know how demanding transc Is your Plex Media server CPU usage high because of transcoding movies? Learn the proven and easiest way to get Plex to avoid transcoding. Money well spent! Enable hardware transcoding in Plex Open the Plex Web app. Navigate to Settings > Server > Transcoder to access the server settings. 21. I've installed the Nvidia Driver Package, which has detected my GFX card:I've added the hopefully correct Variables into my Plex Docker:However when playing a video in Plex, running nvidia-smi in Termina Plex’s transcoding feature can sometimes cause issues with MKV file playback. 0 release. Learn how to configure hardware transcoding for Plex, Jellyfin, and Emby on ZimaOS for buffer-free playback. 2. For a clip starting at 1:42:15 in a 2. Useful if you don't have the transcoding capacity or if you want to utilize any old or low-spec devices, such as RPIs, old laptops, desktops, etc. Build a powerful Plex server. I currently have the following settings on; "Use hardware acceleration when available" "background transcoding x264 set to very fast" "Transcoder quality set to higher speed encoding" 4. Since plex does not transcode INTO x265, your 4k video will be transcoded down to x264 SDR, and you will lose all the benefits of 4k hdr. Click on Show Advanced in the upper-right corner to expose advanced settings. PLEX COLLECTION TIPS & TRANSCODING SETTINGS (Episode 3) iTrustStream 112K subscribers Subscribe This said, if your server has Plex compatible hardware transcoding enabled, don't care about this. Below screenshots from my CPU and from my settings in the Plex app. Reasons for Content not Direct Playing There are a number of advanced server settings for Plex Media Server. In this case, the Plex Media Server on your Synology NAS will try to change the file to a more suitable version, on the fly, to ensure you can enjoy your media in the best way. 0 or newer. The Local and Remote Streaming Quality settings on the Plex clients specifies the maximum bitrate that Plex Media Server can deliver to that client. Some cpu's have integrated graphics controllers. I'm looking for any recommended transcoder settings for my plex server. The thing is… it’s (as described) not an override but an Append. The Transcoder Quality setting on Plex Media Server adjusts how transcoding is performed (when transcoding is required). Subtitles Depending on the client and subtitle type, enabling subtitles may cause video transcoding. Background transcoding x264 preset: The setting controls the speed of transcoding in the background. Plex makes juggling all these variables simple by using a combination of Direct Play, Direct Stream, and a smart Transcoder. I have everything running and working great except, the hardware transcoding in Plex. In some cases, this will involve transcoding the content. Optimized for Apple devices (Apple TV, iPhone, Mac) using H. Server Version#: 1. Cliparr uses direct file access -- it resolves the on-disk path of media via the Plex API, then invokes FFmpeg directly against the file. Click the Show Advanced button and set the Transcoder temporary directory to /transcode. However, Plex provides various settings and options to optimize the transcoding process and balance performance and quality. Curious about Plex hardware transcoding? Learn about how to enable and use it for streaming media content to your devices. Follow these easy step-by-step instruction to disable transcoding on your Plex server to prevent Plex from transcoding when streaming media. For more on Pro Wee The Transcoder Quality setting on Plex Media Server adjusts how transcoding is performed (when transcoding is required). Jan 27, 2026 · If you've set bitrate limits on the client device, you might want to increase them so that Plex doesn't have to transcode anything to fit within those limits. 💡Note: This guide works perfectly with the latest Plex HW 1. In this step by step guide I will show you how to install Plex with Hardware Transcoding on your UGREEN NAS using Docker & Portainer. I'm setting up a low power home lab to learn and get some utility out of unRAID. Change the transcoder setting and repeat. 14 votes, 10 comments. Learn about how Plex transcodes files and the transcoding benefits and risks. . Another option is to pre-encode your media using Plex's media optimizer, which uses idle time to make compatible versions of a given video. Preparing Download Content When you specify content to download, then your Plex Media Server will first prepare that content to ensure it is in a compatible format. Does anyone has an idea what the issue could be ? CPU : Plex settings in Recommended Plex Streams Maximum 1080p@15Mbps streams to maintain live streams without buffering pauses based on FPS of chipset and VRAM available. I have Allocated the GPU to Plex but still it does not use Hardware Transcoding (I am a PlexPass user). Hardware-Accelerated Transcoding: If you have a compatible GPU, enable this in Plex On 9/11/2024 at 8:21 PM, chaosclarity said: I've been trying to get this to work but not successful. Transcoding can still occur if the original video is not compatible. If the client device is on the same local network as the Plex server, then you can probably set the quality setting on the client to Original/Maximum to ensure Plex streams the highest quality move to the client. Implementing these strategies will not only speed up Plex transcoding but also enhance the streaming experience for all your users. If Plex is unable to transcode the MKV file quickly enough, you may experience buffering, stuttering, or other playback issues. Go to Settings → Transcoder. Use a client to force transcoding, then you can look in the plex media server. I was doing my initial setup and w Confused about direct play, direct stream and transcoding with Plex Media Server when streaming movies? Get the full details on what they are here. This is known as transcoding and though the Plex application is actioning this with the software, the actual work is being done by the Synology NAS CPU. Sep 11, 2025 · To convert videos faster and with less processing power, you can turn on Hardware-Accelerated Streaming in Plex Media Server. Could someone explain the meaning (in “layman’s terms” 😄 ) of this Transcoder advanced setting? The description “Amount in seconds to buffer before throttling the transcoder” is not totally clear to me as to what exactly it is doing. jar8, 1vgs, jusn9, bx1h2, ddwf6, exyf, y5lh, 5hmfp, vns6x, l8ue,