Transcoding from UnRaid Server to Google Chromecast
Discussion
I've got a Server running Plex that I use with the latest Google Chromecast dongles, the one with the remote control and Google TV. It generally works perfectly, but occasionally I end up with a download in a 4k format that's particularly big and it goes all stuttery because Plex is transcoding to 1080p on the fly.
I can manually ask Plex to transcode in the background and play that when it's ready, but it's a pain as realistically that means watching whatever it was the next evening, but I realised I can open Plex on my PC and then Cast from there to the Chromecast. I presume that that then works because it's simply streaming to the PC, the PC is able to play it fine and in 4k, then the transcoding effectively happens as part of the Casting process and that has access to a) a much faster PC and b) a pretty decent Graphics card. This is a step forward, but it's still a pain, but I don't know exactly what would fix it.
I recently upgraded the server, which I was hoping would fix it, but it's gone from unplayable, to playing with sound, but dropping 4 frames in 5 or something like that.
So what can I do next? Put a graphics card in the server? If so, how good do I need? Given the prices of stuff these days, that's unlikely to be viable. Is there anything else I can do?
I can manually ask Plex to transcode in the background and play that when it's ready, but it's a pain as realistically that means watching whatever it was the next evening, but I realised I can open Plex on my PC and then Cast from there to the Chromecast. I presume that that then works because it's simply streaming to the PC, the PC is able to play it fine and in 4k, then the transcoding effectively happens as part of the Casting process and that has access to a) a much faster PC and b) a pretty decent Graphics card. This is a step forward, but it's still a pain, but I don't know exactly what would fix it.
I recently upgraded the server, which I was hoping would fix it, but it's gone from unplayable, to playing with sound, but dropping 4 frames in 5 or something like that.
So what can I do next? Put a graphics card in the server? If so, how good do I need? Given the prices of stuff these days, that's unlikely to be viable. Is there anything else I can do?
paulrockliffe said:
I've got a Server running Plex that I use with the latest Google Chromecast dongles, the one with the remote control and Google TV. It generally works perfectly, but occasionally I end up with a download in a 4k format that's particularly big and it goes all stuttery because Plex is transcoding to 1080p on the fly.
I can manually ask Plex to transcode in the background and play that when it's ready, but it's a pain as realistically that means watching whatever it was the next evening, but I realised I can open Plex on my PC and then Cast from there to the Chromecast. I presume that that then works because it's simply streaming to the PC, the PC is able to play it fine and in 4k, then the transcoding effectively happens as part of the Casting process and that has access to a) a much faster PC and b) a pretty decent Graphics card. This is a step forward, but it's still a pain, but I don't know exactly what would fix it.
I recently upgraded the server, which I was hoping would fix it, but it's gone from unplayable, to playing with sound, but dropping 4 frames in 5 or something like that.
So what can I do next? Put a graphics card in the server? If so, how good do I need? Given the prices of stuff these days, that's unlikely to be viable. Is there anything else I can do?
You could try installing Kodi or MrMC on your Google TV and just playing the file directly from a regular file share or DLNA media share (if you have them set up) - should totally work around any transcoding.I can manually ask Plex to transcode in the background and play that when it's ready, but it's a pain as realistically that means watching whatever it was the next evening, but I realised I can open Plex on my PC and then Cast from there to the Chromecast. I presume that that then works because it's simply streaming to the PC, the PC is able to play it fine and in 4k, then the transcoding effectively happens as part of the Casting process and that has access to a) a much faster PC and b) a pretty decent Graphics card. This is a step forward, but it's still a pain, but I don't know exactly what would fix it.
I recently upgraded the server, which I was hoping would fix it, but it's gone from unplayable, to playing with sound, but dropping 4 frames in 5 or something like that.
So what can I do next? Put a graphics card in the server? If so, how good do I need? Given the prices of stuff these days, that's unlikely to be viable. Is there anything else I can do?
I never bothered with Plex because it just over-complicates everything (especially with the licensing stuff) and I never needed to use transcoding since my main targets are media player boxes running the likes of Kodi/MrMC.
Thanks I will investigate that approach, I wondered if I could use DLNA somehow to avoid the transcoding, but I might just discover that the 1080p output Chromecast isn't powerful enough to deal with the 4k files instead.
Just checked it on my phone and I can play straight off the server in the Plex app on that without transcoding at all so it's pointing to the issue being with the Chromecast I think. I can cast from my phone to the Chromecast too, presumably the phone is sorting the stream out then.
Convenience is an important aspect of the answer here, it's the reason I use Plex to be honest. I can run the stuff off the server to Plex and know that the only time anyone else in the house will bring me problems is if I've done something stupid and taken the server offline. Like taking the array offline to add a new disk and rebuild the parity drive when my wife is halfway through a film..... "Yes, sorry, that'll be tomorrow before that's back online. Woops!"
I'm interested in graphics card in the server approaches too as I might have a spare GTX1080 soon and it would happily sit there mining bitcoin for me, so if it could pop up and transcode for me as well that would be neat. It would be more than powerful enough, but I've no idea if it's a thing.
Just checked it on my phone and I can play straight off the server in the Plex app on that without transcoding at all so it's pointing to the issue being with the Chromecast I think. I can cast from my phone to the Chromecast too, presumably the phone is sorting the stream out then.
Convenience is an important aspect of the answer here, it's the reason I use Plex to be honest. I can run the stuff off the server to Plex and know that the only time anyone else in the house will bring me problems is if I've done something stupid and taken the server offline. Like taking the array offline to add a new disk and rebuild the parity drive when my wife is halfway through a film..... "Yes, sorry, that'll be tomorrow before that's back online. Woops!"
I'm interested in graphics card in the server approaches too as I might have a spare GTX1080 soon and it would happily sit there mining bitcoin for me, so if it could pop up and transcode for me as well that would be neat. It would be more than powerful enough, but I've no idea if it's a thing.
I’d imagine it’s down to the server. The point of transcoding is to allow smooth playback on pretty much any device. My server is only an Intel i3 8100 (running Unraid) and does this perfectly, including remotely over 4G (both ends).
You might try the Plex forum, giving details of your hardware.
You might try the Plex forum, giving details of your hardware.
I have plex running on unraid.
You want to avoid transcoding on the server if possible and if you are going to transcode on the server you want to do it in hardware.
To get around transcoding 4K use a 4k client (such as a 4k fire stick or a Nvidia shield etc) connected to your 1080p display. The server will then send the file to the client and it will be down to the client to sort out getting the image displayed correctly.
For transcoding in hardware you have two options you either use a dedicated graphics card or you do it on the CPU of the server. My choice was to do it on the CPU. I didn't want to add another piece of hardware to the server and power it just for transcoding. If I do a 4k transcode in software it will max out the 6 core I5 that I have. If I do the transcode in hardware the cpu I don't notice it on the CPU graph. I can do a number of 4k transcodes without bothering it. If you want to do a lot more then you would need to go down the graphics card route.
More info on plex hardware transcoding is in the link below
https://support.plex.tv/articles/115002178853-usin...
You want to avoid transcoding on the server if possible and if you are going to transcode on the server you want to do it in hardware.
To get around transcoding 4K use a 4k client (such as a 4k fire stick or a Nvidia shield etc) connected to your 1080p display. The server will then send the file to the client and it will be down to the client to sort out getting the image displayed correctly.
For transcoding in hardware you have two options you either use a dedicated graphics card or you do it on the CPU of the server. My choice was to do it on the CPU. I didn't want to add another piece of hardware to the server and power it just for transcoding. If I do a 4k transcode in software it will max out the 6 core I5 that I have. If I do the transcode in hardware the cpu I don't notice it on the CPU graph. I can do a number of 4k transcodes without bothering it. If you want to do a lot more then you would need to go down the graphics card route.
More info on plex hardware transcoding is in the link below
https://support.plex.tv/articles/115002178853-usin...
Edited by stneville on Sunday 9th January 19:44
Thanks that's helpful, I know I want to avoid doing it, but I have Google TV on all my TVs and they're all 1080p. Apart from this issue they're miles ahead of anything else, particularly how easy they are to use if you don't know anything about the back-end. Press the power button, everything comes on, pick what to watch, watch. All off the remote, or hey Google, or cast from your device. So changing hardware at the TV isn't really an option at the moment.
Your article confirms something I think I'd realised, particularly as Plex points it out every time I try to do this - it's a Plex Pass only feature and I don't have one. So I'm stuck with software and it's not fast enough!
I think the best bet might be to just use Plex on mobile and cast to the Chromecasts for stuff that is a pain. Even with Plex Pass, if I put my spare GPU in the setup looks beyond what I have time to work out in UnRaid as it needs configuring in Docker too.
Your article confirms something I think I'd realised, particularly as Plex points it out every time I try to do this - it's a Plex Pass only feature and I don't have one. So I'm stuck with software and it's not fast enough!
I think the best bet might be to just use Plex on mobile and cast to the Chromecasts for stuff that is a pain. Even with Plex Pass, if I put my spare GPU in the setup looks beyond what I have time to work out in UnRaid as it needs configuring in Docker too.
Edited by paulrockliffe on Monday 10th January 10:53
I have the Android TVs and it is good with the plex client built in. If you have multiple users you want to keep it as simple as possible so only have one solution for all the different content regardless of what it is.
It sounds like you have no desire/need for 4k, if that's the case I just wouldn't download 4k content or convert it immediately in unraid using something like handbrake to 1080p and then delete the 4k version.
I wouldn't bother with 4K until you can transcode in hardware. All of my TVs are 4k they each have a gigabit network connection and I still end up doing the odd transcode when something won't play properly or one of the kids wants to watch something on their phone. With out hardware transcoding this would just kill it for anyone else.
I needed the Plex Pass for other features I would just get the lifetime subscription which is always discounted around Black Friday.
It sounds like you have no desire/need for 4k, if that's the case I just wouldn't download 4k content or convert it immediately in unraid using something like handbrake to 1080p and then delete the 4k version.
I wouldn't bother with 4K until you can transcode in hardware. All of my TVs are 4k they each have a gigabit network connection and I still end up doing the odd transcode when something won't play properly or one of the kids wants to watch something on their phone. With out hardware transcoding this would just kill it for anyone else.
I needed the Plex Pass for other features I would just get the lifetime subscription which is always discounted around Black Friday.
stneville said:
I have the Android TVs and it is good with the plex client built in. If you have multiple users you want to keep it as simple as possible so only have one solution for all the different content regardless of what it is.
It sounds like you have no desire/need for 4k, if that's the case I just wouldn't download 4k content or convert it immediately in unraid using something like handbrake to 1080p and then delete the 4k version.
I wouldn't bother with 4K until you can transcode in hardware. All of my TVs are 4k they each have a gigabit network connection and I still end up doing the odd transcode when something won't play properly or one of the kids wants to watch something on their phone. With out hardware transcoding this would just kill it for anyone else.
I needed the Plex Pass for other features I would just get the lifetime subscription which is always discounted around Black Friday.
I know, I thought about that too and it's trivial to limit the downloads in UnRaid, but there's an element of future-proofing in there too, I'll have a 4k TV, Projector and Chromecast eventually I'm sure. But then I supposed I could tell UnRaid to upgrade what it can and check it before watching if I'm about to start a boxset.It sounds like you have no desire/need for 4k, if that's the case I just wouldn't download 4k content or convert it immediately in unraid using something like handbrake to 1080p and then delete the 4k version.
I wouldn't bother with 4K until you can transcode in hardware. All of my TVs are 4k they each have a gigabit network connection and I still end up doing the odd transcode when something won't play properly or one of the kids wants to watch something on their phone. With out hardware transcoding this would just kill it for anyone else.
I needed the Plex Pass for other features I would just get the lifetime subscription which is always discounted around Black Friday.
Maybe I need to play some, find out what doesn't work and then change my settings not to get those formats and see where that leaves me.
You could also use "Optimised Versions" on plex if you have the storage. Create a filter for 4k content and have it so it creates a 1080p version as well.
Then when your 1080p devices request that film it will use the 1080p version. (It does the transcode up front before you play it).
I do that and set it so it only keeps the last 10 as usually by that point I have watched it.
Then when your 1080p devices request that film it will use the 1080p version. (It does the transcode up front before you play it).
I do that and set it so it only keeps the last 10 as usually by that point I have watched it.
Try to avoid transcoding 4K is the general recommendation. Better to keep a 4K and 1080p copy.
Saying that I do occasionally transcode it - most intel processors with Quick Sync can handle it just fine (and with barely any impact on CPU usage) so if you have one enable CPU HW transcoding instead of getting a GPU. I have an i5-10600 I think and it handles multiple 4K transcodes fine. 1080p transcodes I’ve chucked 20 at it and it still hasn’t broken a sweat! The later gen handle more file types in quick sync.
Edit - didn’t realise it was a Plex pass option. I’ve had a lifetime subscription for about 5 years now! Think it was £60 or so on offer
Saying that I do occasionally transcode it - most intel processors with Quick Sync can handle it just fine (and with barely any impact on CPU usage) so if you have one enable CPU HW transcoding instead of getting a GPU. I have an i5-10600 I think and it handles multiple 4K transcodes fine. 1080p transcodes I’ve chucked 20 at it and it still hasn’t broken a sweat! The later gen handle more file types in quick sync.
Edit - didn’t realise it was a Plex pass option. I’ve had a lifetime subscription for about 5 years now! Think it was £60 or so on offer
Edited by a7x88 on Monday 10th January 11:54
recalluk said:
You could also use "Optimised Versions" on plex if you have the storage. Create a filter for 4k content and have it so it creates a 1080p version as well.
Then when your 1080p devices request that film it will use the 1080p version. (It does the transcode up front before you play it).
I do that and set it so it only keeps the last 10 as usually by that point I have watched it.
Yes, I think that's what I'll do for now, no problems with storage, so I'm just going to test it out. Problem is I don't always know what's going to be a problem until I sit down to watch it and, well it's say 1.5 hours for the film I just queued up. If I optimise it, I'll need something else to watch and if I just then cast from my phone I 'm unlikely to watch it again for years, so it's a waste then optimising it for next time.Then when your 1080p devices request that film it will use the 1080p version. (It does the transcode up front before you play it).
I do that and set it so it only keeps the last 10 as usually by that point I have watched it.
So long as I can watch it I'm fairly happy, I just want to get to the point where my wife agrees that my server is awesome I suppose.
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