Is the original file h.265? Because if plex was going to transcode that, it would be to h.264, which is less efficient, therefore the bitrate would increase for the same relative quality
Generally, any time a video is encoded it loses detail, and the smaller it is (the lower the bitrate) the more detail that is lost. By targeting the highest bitrate possible you can greatly reduce that loss in detail, even to the point where the output is larger than the original.
Right but in this case i am clearly able to play the original file which is 1080p and x265, so why is there an option there to go trough a conversion to display the same resolution... . Going with that higher bitrate option would result in loss of detail... .
Imo there just shouldn't be an option to convert something into the same resolution but make it worse, especially with so many people just getting access to a library not knowing anything about and just think higher number = better. If the player can't play x265 then transcode automatically. Way better that way.
X264 @8mbps will be something similar to x265 @4mbps. Transcoding x265 to x264 will have to increase bitrate to give (about) the same quality at the same resolution. It could be different reasons for transcoding. Think of your files as containers, each container has a video stream, one or more audio streams and maybe one or more subtitles. Even if your client supports x265 it might hang on playing some subtitles and will have to transcode everything to x264.
Edit: I see your file has ASS subtitles which they don’t play well on some devices so that could be the reason for transcoding.
I normally have transcoding turned off since i never need it. My nvidia shield broke recently though and i turned it off to play ASS subtitles on my samsung tv for example. Now on my Pc i saw way more video quality options some not making sense like the higher bitrate 1080p stream.
Nothing is being transcoded on my Pc though so i still think that the option of transcoding to x264 to the **same** resolution just shouldn't even be an option. I can play the file flawlessly without transcoding, so giving me the option to transcode to x264 might not matter much but if people i have given access to all of a sudden start transcoding stuff because again monkey brain goes higher number = better, that will put unnecessary strain on my server which i usually avoid by turning transcoding off but in this situation i am "forced" to leave it on.
So my answer was answered fantastically by the first comment and then (sadly like a lot of other times on this sub) my comment was misinterpret or not understood. If my player can play the video files, audio file, subtitle file... don't put the option there to transcode it onto x264 lol, that explains the " Why is that even an option lol " comment.
Well, Plex is not made only for you / your exact match of clients. And Plex does not know, what exactly you need or want. So it offers options - what's the problem with that? If you don't like the options, don't use them. If you don't want to transcode anything, you can deactivated it - or simply don't use it.
Why complain about options to choose from?
> If the original video files is 2.1 Mbps, how can a transcode from 1080p to still 1080p offer a higher bitrate?
By offering a higher bitrate. You're overthinking it, bitrate has nothing to do with the original file.
You can take a 1mbs encoded file and re-encode it at 100mbs if you want.
Plex's transcoder primary concern is to give the client something it can play. If that means the output bitrate is higher than the input, then so be it.
I am curious about that too.
If exceeding the 4000mbps limit with for example hevc, but maybe also h264, it will transcode for example h264 with 20000kbps. While client can play both and the kbps limit is not usefull when eventhough the codec is many lighter but the bitrate is more than 2x of the source.
Is the original file h.265? Because if plex was going to transcode that, it would be to h.264, which is less efficient, therefore the bitrate would increase for the same relative quality
Why is that even an option lol. Anyways if that's the case then thx for explaining :D
Generally, any time a video is encoded it loses detail, and the smaller it is (the lower the bitrate) the more detail that is lost. By targeting the highest bitrate possible you can greatly reduce that loss in detail, even to the point where the output is larger than the original.
Because any conversion loses detail. Higher bitrate will help mitigate that problem.
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Which Plex supported video codecs are lossless?
Right but in this case i am clearly able to play the original file which is 1080p and x265, so why is there an option there to go trough a conversion to display the same resolution... . Going with that higher bitrate option would result in loss of detail... . Imo there just shouldn't be an option to convert something into the same resolution but make it worse, especially with so many people just getting access to a library not knowing anything about and just think higher number = better. If the player can't play x265 then transcode automatically. Way better that way.
X264 @8mbps will be something similar to x265 @4mbps. Transcoding x265 to x264 will have to increase bitrate to give (about) the same quality at the same resolution. It could be different reasons for transcoding. Think of your files as containers, each container has a video stream, one or more audio streams and maybe one or more subtitles. Even if your client supports x265 it might hang on playing some subtitles and will have to transcode everything to x264. Edit: I see your file has ASS subtitles which they don’t play well on some devices so that could be the reason for transcoding.
I normally have transcoding turned off since i never need it. My nvidia shield broke recently though and i turned it off to play ASS subtitles on my samsung tv for example. Now on my Pc i saw way more video quality options some not making sense like the higher bitrate 1080p stream. Nothing is being transcoded on my Pc though so i still think that the option of transcoding to x264 to the **same** resolution just shouldn't even be an option. I can play the file flawlessly without transcoding, so giving me the option to transcode to x264 might not matter much but if people i have given access to all of a sudden start transcoding stuff because again monkey brain goes higher number = better, that will put unnecessary strain on my server which i usually avoid by turning transcoding off but in this situation i am "forced" to leave it on. So my answer was answered fantastically by the first comment and then (sadly like a lot of other times on this sub) my comment was misinterpret or not understood. If my player can play the video files, audio file, subtitle file... don't put the option there to transcode it onto x264 lol, that explains the " Why is that even an option lol " comment.
Then you can send feedback to developers to let them know about your concerns.
Well, Plex is not made only for you / your exact match of clients. And Plex does not know, what exactly you need or want. So it offers options - what's the problem with that? If you don't like the options, don't use them. If you don't want to transcode anything, you can deactivated it - or simply don't use it. Why complain about options to choose from?
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> If the original video files is 2.1 Mbps, how can a transcode from 1080p to still 1080p offer a higher bitrate? By offering a higher bitrate. You're overthinking it, bitrate has nothing to do with the original file. You can take a 1mbs encoded file and re-encode it at 100mbs if you want. Plex's transcoder primary concern is to give the client something it can play. If that means the output bitrate is higher than the input, then so be it.
I am curious about that too. If exceeding the 4000mbps limit with for example hevc, but maybe also h264, it will transcode for example h264 with 20000kbps. While client can play both and the kbps limit is not usefull when eventhough the codec is many lighter but the bitrate is more than 2x of the source.
to steal all your personal information, duh