Maximum PC - UK (2019-12)

ripped with the H.264 Level set to 4.1 direct-played perfectly

instead of transcoding (poorly). At the same time, the server’s

CPU load dropped from 60 percent to 5 percent.

>> Most smart TVs—plus Plex for Roku and also the Plex add-in

for Kodi (which we use on a Raspberry Pi 3 running LibreElec)—

share a similar web-wrapped user interface, so the following

settings should be broadly similar across all devices. Click your

user account name at the top of the screen and choose “Settings

> Video tab.” Set “Local, Remote, and Online” to “Original” and

verify “Allow Direct Play” and “Allow Direct Stream” are both

checked. If supported, you’ll find the “Maximum H.264 Level”

setting here, too.

>> If you’re serving 4K content, you should also find “Allow 4K”

and “Allow HEVC (h265)” options on compatible devices. If you’re

confident your pl ay back dev ice c an handle it, check both of these,

too, to avoid transcoding.

7

CREATE OPTIMIZED VERSIONS

Sometimes transcoding appears to be inevitable—for

example, trying to play a 1080p movie on a 720p screen.

Plex users can pre-empt these problems by having the server

pre-transcode content based on your chosen settings, which is

then served to those devices that can’t direct-play the

original file.

>> To set this up, open the Plex app or web interface

and navigate to the content you want to serve. Select

one or more items using the check box at the upper-left

of the episode or movie title, then click the “...” button

and choose “Optimize.” You’ll see a drop-down currently

set to “Optimized for Mobile”—click this and choose

“Custom.” Use the middle drop-down to select the target

device type, then use the right-hand menu to choose a

bitrate and resolution that you’re confident will direct-

play on your target device [Image E]. Give your preset an

easily identifiable name, leave these converted files in

the same folder as the originals, and click “Optimize.”

>> You can follow the progress of the optimization—

how long it takes depends on the power of your server.

Once done, your player should detect the optimized

version and attempt to play it directly. You can manage

these optimized versions via “Settings > Optimized

Versions” (look under “Manage”)—delete them all to free

up space, or select one to perform additional actions,

including editing the optimization further.

1. VIEW ACTIVITY
   Open the web interface (or the Plex
   app on your PC or Mac), and click the
   “Activity” button, choosing “Dashboard”
   from the drop-down menu.


2. START PLAYBACK
   Start playing media on a target device
   and then check the “Now Playing”
   section. Click the “Show Details” button
   to see which videos are direct-playing
   and which ones aren’t.
   3. TRANSCODING
   If the original stream isn’t compatible,
   your server must produce a working
   version on the fly, putting pressure on
   its CPU.
   4. DIRECT STREAMING
   This occurs when the stream is
   compatible, but either the file container
   isn’t supported, or the other stream
   requires transcoding. It has little impact
   on your ser ver’s CPU.
   5. DIRECT PLAY
   The Holy Grail of streaming—your
   client can play the file in its original
   form, which means the server has no
   additional work to do other than serve
   the stream.
   6. REVIEW BANDWIDTH
   Some playback-related issues may
   occur when your network or Internet
   connection is saturated by multiple
   streams vying for available bandwidth.

HOW TO MONITOR TRANSCODING ON PLEX

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