I have a copy here for you. I am running without issues as well.

 

PlexMediaServer-0.9.7.22.511-4b5280f-unRAID.txz

MD5 Checksum 61521345B1CE4979356F7A8233DFC5F0

SHA-1 Checksum 15BFB670FEE1FCC8DC47DD4DC1AD71B9CC20EC38

I just installed the plex plugin to play around with and I am wondering with the best locations are for the library and temp directory.  what exactly are the purpose of these folders?

 

in the directions it says to make it /mnt/cache... but i do not have a cache drive in my unraid so I am wondering what the best location would be.

 

I just installed the plex plugin to play around with and I am wondering with the best locations are for the library and temp directory.  what exactly are the purpose of these folders?

 

in the directions it says to make it /mnt/cache... but i do not have a cache drive in my unraid so I am wondering what the best location would be.

 

If you don't have a cache drive, you'll have to use a location on the array itself. The disadvantage to this is Plex keeps the drive fairly active and it won't spin down. Since a cache drive is usually always spinning anyway, that's why it's the recommended location. If you use the array itself you now have two drives constantly spun up (data drive and parity).  Using the flash drive would wear it out prematurely and using RAM will lead to out of memory issues as well as not having persistence.

 

The library directory is where Plex stores all of the information about your media libraries, config files, databases, etc. The temp directory is used to store transcodes.

If you don't have a cache drive, you'll have to use a location on the array itself.

 

I just mounted a smaller older SATA 120G drive as an Apps drive, and run all my plugins off that (Plex, SAB, SB, TM etc)  I've found the older smaller drives seem to just keep going and I've never gone past 10% usage anyway.  This one is years old, has 23319 hours under it's belt, and no issues at all.   It spins all the time but the array drives sleep which is what I wanted to achieve.

 

I'm running Plex 0.9.7.22.511-4b5280f and the only issue I had was needing to restart it last week.  It was running but nothing would connect to it.  Has worked fine since though.  I think it probably crashed, but it's only happened once.  It's great so far, I love the info, and most of the time it just works!  I do wish WDTV would have a plex app though but I doubt that will ever happen.

 

Also Medialink on my LGTV is refusing to play some mp4 files.  My Samsung BR/DVD playing it fine via Plex so I think it's more to do with the Medialink software (LGs version of Plex),  but it's a shame that Plex server doesn't transcode it.  I just get an error message!

So i got plex working and its pretty awesome.  But i did notice that when i am watching a video, the cpu on my unraid server is pegged at 100%.  I have a limetech md1500.  I am wondering if i can upgrade my cpu on my existing motherboard to solve this problem. What are the recommended specs for an unraid server to be able to run a couple of videos at the same time from plex?

 

 

There is no official spec for running multiple transcodes concurrently.  Plex's official spec for a single 720p transcode is 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo, and for a single 1080p transcode is 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo.  Notice that is for transcoding only.  Streaming (without transcoding) takes very little CPU power, it's the transcoding that needs the power.

 

If the CPU was running at 100% then it was almost certainly transcoding (unless the CPU time was being taken up by something else on the server).  Why was it transcoding?  What type of source file were you playing and what were you playing it on?  Keep in mind that the majority of what you play should not need to be transcoded, depending on the client you are playing it on.  My server (and your server as well likely) can easily run 5+ concurrent non-transcoded streams without even breaking a sweat.  The idea here is to understand the difference between non-transcoded streaming and transcoding.

 

That said, while there is no official spec for multiple concurrent transcodes on Plex, my server has proved capable of at least 3 concurrent transcodes with a Core i3-3220T CPU.  Of course this all varies with the resolution of the source file and the needed resolution of the transcode.  The higher the compression, the more CPU power will be needed.  The example above for my server was transcoding 720p source files to iPad and iPhone resolutions.

 

The complete specs of my server are in my sig below.

 

EDIT: As for upgrading your CPU, you could always upgrade to a more powerful CPU as long as your motherboard supports it.

Ok thats what i was hoping. I am just new to plex and didnt know the right terminology i guess.  The source file was a 720p movie in mkv format. I was playing it using the plex app on my ipad mini. 

 

More commonly i will be playing movies on my apple tv 2 or my roku 3. 

 

I guess what i need a better understanding of is when transcoding is required.

 

Oneo ther question... How would i go about accessing my media on my iphone from outside my network?

Ok thats what i was hoping. I am just new to plex and didnt know the right terminology i guess.  The source file was a 720p movie in mkv format. I was playing it using the plex app on my ipad mini. 

 

More commonly i will be playing movies on my apple tv 2 or my roku 3. 

 

I guess what i need a better understanding of is when transcoding is required.

 

Oneo ther question... How would i go about accessing my media on my iphone from outside my network?

 

It was transcoding because you were playing a 720p source on an iPad mini.  Transcoding is required in a few circumstances.

• The client device is not capable of supporting the source resolution.
  
• The client device is not capable of playing the source media video type.
  
• The client device is not capable of playing the source media audio type.
  

In this example, the iPad mini has a display resolution of 1024x768, but 720p is 1280x720, so the video has to be transcoded down to a resolution that will fit the iPad mini screen.  In addition the iPad mini can't play mkv files natively, so it would have to be transcoded anyway, even if the source resolution were compatible.  As an example, if you were to stream a 1024x768 mp4 file from Plex to the iPad mini, it should not transcode.

 

So basically if the client device is capable of playing the source file natively, it will simply stream.  If it is not capable, it will transcode it to a compatible format.

 

In general (assuming 720p mkv source), iDevices will always trascode.  The Roku will only transcode occasionally as it is capable of playing most common file formats natively.  With my Rokus I have noticed that they sometimes transcode mkv's and sometimes they don't.  I believe the times it transcodes is bc the audio is not in a native Roku format, but may be wrong.  The ATV2 is somewhere in the middle.  It will, in general, transcode more than the Roku but less than an iDevice.  Again, this is all entirely dependent on your source media format.

 

To access your media from outside your network, you need to setup myPlex.  Go to my.plexapp.com and create an account.  You then sign into myPlex on both the server and the client.  You will then be able to see your Plex library from outside your LAN.  This requires your router to support uPNP as the Plex server will need to forward the appropriate port to itself.  If uPNP doesn't work, you can just forward the port manually in your router config.

And plex is pretty smart too.  I have a 1080p mkv movie and I also created a iPad mp4 of the same file.  Saved them with the same name (different extension) and when you pick the movie it gives an option to pick one or the other. ?  Saves my little server having to transcode.

Rhank you very much for the clarification on the transcoding vs streaming. Makes sense!

 

To access your media from outside your network, you need to setup myPlex.  Go to my.plexapp.com and create an account.  You then sign into myPlex on both the server and the client.  You will then be able to see your Plex library from outside your LAN.  This requires your router to support uPNP as the Plex server will need to forward the appropriate port to itself.  If uPNP doesn't work, you can just forward the port manually in your router config.

 

Sorry I am unclear on this process.  I set up port forwarding on my router so now if I access my external ip at my plex port it forwards to my unraid box.  If i go there in a web browser it takes me to a login page.  if i try to log in using my myplex account it says that the media server is not accessible to me.

 

I have also tried going to the plex web gui on my local network and going into settings, myplex and i was able to log into my myplex account from there but it says myplex could not connect to your server.

 

I also tried going into my plex app on my iphone (outside my network) and went to Servers, Add New Server, add new connection and entered the url and port for my server and it tells me that it cannot find the server.

 

what am I missing here?

 

 

I am trying to get this plugin to work again on my server and whenever it starts up I get the "plex has not started yet" error. I have solved this in the past but I cannot remember what I had to do to find out a useful error message. When I run /etc/rc.d/rc.plexmediaserver start in terminal it thinks for a second then gives no output but pms doesnt start. Please help

Sorry I am unclear on this process.  I set up port forwarding on my router so now if I access my external ip at my plex port it forwards to my unraid box.  If i go there in a web browser it takes me to a login page.  if i try to log in using my myplex account it says that the media server is not accessible to me.

 

I have also tried going to the plex web gui on my local network and going into settings, myplex and i was able to log into my myplex account from there but it says myplex could not connect to your server.

 

I also tried going into my plex app on my iphone (outside my network) and went to Servers, Add New Server, add new connection and entered the url and port for my server and it tells me that it cannot find the server.

 

what am I missing here?

 

You don't NEED to setup port forwarding on your router, Plex will automatically forward the port when you sign into MyPlex.  You don't need to make plex manually connect to remote clients, it needs to be done thru MyPlex. 

 

If you sign into MyPlex on the server and it says it can't connect to your server, I don't know what that error means as I've never seen it.  Go to the Plex admin page on the server.  Click on settings -> MyPlex -> and sign in with your MyPlex account.  It should automatically "publish" the server.  If it fails then it likely means your router uPNP is not working.  In that case, click "show advanced settings" and check the "manually specify port" box and use whatever port is specifies (probably 14424).  Then go to your router and forward that port.  The incoming port would be 14424, destination would be IP of your server and port 32400.

 

Then sign into MyPlex on your client device (iPhone, iPad, etc.).  It should automatically find your server.  You do not need to add the server configuration in the client.

 

http://wiki.plexapp.com/index.php/MyPlex#Configuring_myPlex

try port forwarding 32400

try port forwarding 32400

 

Forwarding 32400 should work if you want to manually configure everything, including the clients, and use your external IP to access.  If you want to do it by URL, then you need to be running some sort of DDNS service.  If you use MyPlex it handles the DDNS on the server side and requires zero configuration on the client side (apart from inputting your MyPlex user/pass).

 

I also wouldn't forward 32400 as you are effectively exposing the Plex admin page to the outside world.  MyPlex is the only way you should really be accessing Plex with your clients remotely.

try port forwarding 32400

 

Forwarding 32400 should work if you want to manually configure everything, including the clients, and use your external IP to access.  If you want to do it by URL, then you need to be running some sort of DDNS service.  If you use MyPlex it handles the DDNS on the server side and requires zero configuration on the client side (apart from inputting your MyPlex user/pass).

 

I also wouldn't forward 32400 as you are effectively exposing the Plex admin page to the outside world.  MyPlex is the only way you should really be accessing Plex with your clients remotely.

 

+1

I am trying to get this plugin to work again on my server and whenever it starts up I get the "plex has not started yet" error. I have solved this in the past but I cannot remember what I had to do to find out a useful error message. When I run /etc/rc.d/rc.plexmediaserver start in terminal it thinks for a second then gives no output but pms doesnt start. Please help

I had similar issues the first time I installed it.  I think my issue was permissions related on the apps drive I'm running.

I am trying to get this plugin to work again on my server and whenever it starts up I get the "plex has not started yet" error. I have solved this in the past but I cannot remember what I had to do to find out a useful error message. When I run /etc/rc.d/rc.plexmediaserver start in terminal it thinks for a second then gives no output but pms doesnt start. Please help

I had similar issues the first time I installed it.  I think my issue was permissions related on the apps drive I'm running.

Here's a link to the thread I was running about the permissions issues.  I had upgraded from 4.7 to 5RC10 I think, and once I had the permissions sorted, I haven't had an issue.

 

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=25276.msg219737#msg219737

 

Good luck.

I am trying to get this plugin to work again on my server and whenever it starts up I get the "plex has not started yet" error. I have solved this in the past but I cannot remember what I had to do to find out a useful error message. When I run /etc/rc.d/rc.plexmediaserver start in terminal it thinks for a second then gives no output but pms doesnt start. Please help

I had similar issues the first time I installed it.  I think my issue was permissions related on the apps drive I'm running.

Here's a link to the thread I was running about the permissions issues.  I had upgraded from 4.7 to 5RC10 I think, and once I had the permissions sorted, I haven't had an issue.

 

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=25276.msg219737#msg219737

 

Good luck.

 

thanks for the reply unfortunately my folders are already set to unraid-plex:users.

I also wouldn't forward 32400 as you are effectively exposing the Plex admin page to the outside world.  MyPlex is the only way you should really be accessing Plex with your clients remotely.

 

Ok I am confused here - I realize that I should be able to publish my server as described but that is failing.  When I check the box to manually configure, it suggest port 32400.  So in order to make that work i would have to set up port forwarding for port 32400 right?  how would i so this without forwarding port 32400 and exposing my plex admin page?

 

Currently I do have port 32400 forwarded and i did get my iphone to pick up the server remotely over LTE.  However i noticed that when I play a 720p mkv of a tv show the quality is awful - not even really watchable.  So i am wondering if it is even worth it.

 

Is anyone else getting decent quality on the iphone app over LTE/

How fast is your upload?

I am getting about 2.33Mbps right now.

That's pretty slow upload for a 720p video but if you have transcoding enabled it should be able to convert the video to a bitrate that will work with an upload speed the slow though.

 

What is your upload speed actually rated at from your ISP?

im upgrading from old plex (plex-media-server-plugin-noarch-0.2-ds.plg). i cant start plex. are there anything i should do before upgrade?

im upgrading from old plex (plex-media-server-plugin-noarch-0.2-ds.plg). i cant start plex. are there anything i should do before upgrade?

 

A Plex log would help figure out the problem. Post one.

im upgrading from old plex (plex-media-server-plugin-noarch-0.2-ds.plg). i cant start plex. are there anything i should do before upgrade?

 

A Plex log would help figure out the problem. Post one.

 

its working now. im not sure why. anyway, pardon me for not providing logs when requesting help.

 

thanks.