April 2, 201610 yr Author I agree with the others. The play back quality issues is with the client/server. Those settings need to be adjusted. Also be aware that the transcoding requirements can be highly dependent on the encoding of the source martial. Your at the stage now that any issues are plex related. Just to make sure, your fire tv is hardwired into your network correct? Your not using wireless? All I was pointing out about hard coding the IP and Master Browser was to make sure that the internal network communications was stable. They have absolutely zero impact on your transcoding issues. So are you guys suggesting, I'd be better served...at the PLEX forum, at this point?
April 2, 201610 yr Author Maybe... What hardware are you running Unraid on? CPU/Mem? Ah...I was waiting for someone to bring that up; or I was going to volunteer it. I am not very robust. One of the selling points, of uR...back in the day; didn't need much horsepower, to run on. So I've thought about that, as an issue; but here's the thing: I never have trouble streaming HD content...through either my WD TV Live, or Dune Smart D1. Now...maybe the Dune; but I can't imagine, the brand-new, fancy-schmancy...future-of-streaming, FireTV. Isn't more powerful, than the tired, old WD TV Live?
April 2, 201610 yr These are my FireTV Client settings. Try the same settings and see if that helps. You set them within the FireTV Plex app. As CHBMB said, it could also be your server hardware. These setting should put the least demand on your server.
April 2, 201610 yr If your server hardware is not up to Plex, you could always sideload Kodi on your box and use that. It is a streamer. You loose some of the features of plex, primarily remote access. http://kodi.wiki/view/Amazon_Fire_TV
April 2, 201610 yr Author Streaming doesn't tax a system. Transcoding does. Post your specs... Right; but that's the thing. Do I need/want, to transcode??
April 2, 201610 yr Author These are my FireTV Client settings. Try the same settings and see if that helps. You set them within the FireTV Plex app. As CHBMB said, it could also be your server hardware. These setting should put the least demand on your server. I will. Thanks
April 2, 201610 yr Author If your server hardware is not up to Plex, you could always sideload Kodi on your box and use that. It is a streamer. You loose some of the features of plex, primarily remote access. http://kodi.wiki/view/Amazon_Fire_TV NOOO; I love PLEX...and want to use it, and FireTV, as my STB of choice. So if I need to pump-up, my old, under-powered server; so be it. But don't suggest it...just because you guys, are over-build geeks, lol
April 2, 201610 yr Your CPU and memory aren't up to transcoding even a single 1080p stream. So basically you HAVE to stream...
April 2, 201610 yr I had the same CPU when I first built my system. It is not up to the task. I dropped a AMD Athlon II X4 640 in as it was supported by my MB/Firmware as a inexpensive upgrade. It will run plex, but just barely. You need to look into updating your MB/CPU/Memory. If you have a Microcenter nearby, they usually have good deals on CPU/MB combos. If you wanted to go cheap, you could possibly find a used CPU on ebay that would work in you MB, but if it was me, I would just upgrade to a new Intel I5 CPU. Even though the AMDs are cheaper, the Intels have more power and run cooler.
April 2, 201610 yr Seems a recent update to the Amazon Fire TV (AFTV) Plex app removed the external player option and the internal player is suspected of causing problems. https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/210052/external-player-option-gone-in-new-ui-aftv
April 2, 201610 yr Another possible cause: https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/212882/plex-quality-is-a-mess
April 2, 201610 yr I would give Kodi a try if all you are doing is local streaming. It also has an excellent interface.
April 2, 201610 yr Author OK...so; even though I've been streaming for over a decade, and HD video for like 5+ years...this is where things get a little fuzzy. I don't want, to transcode! I rip straight-up, and like I said; my WD TV Live, and of course Dune D-1...can stream the files, just fine (most are .m2ts, but the WD TV will choke...on some of the higher bitrate .ISOs). Does PLEX, have to transcode??
April 2, 201610 yr Author Did you try the setting I posted earlier for your FireTV? What were the results. Not yet. I will, before we move any further. Thanks!
April 3, 201610 yr Author These are my FireTV Client settings. Try the same settings and see if that helps. You set them within the FireTV Plex app. As CHBMB said, it could also be your server hardware. These setting should put the least demand on your server. Well...after looking at these; I was really hopeful. 'Direct Play'? 'Direct Stream'?? That sounds like, exactly what we've been talking about; streaming, without transcoding. But my settings were exactly the same; save the H.264 setting (BTW...why drop from 5.1 to 4.0? Do you really listen, in Quad? Why not just 2.0 or 2.1?). I'll check it out tonight...but I don't feel hopefully, that's going to have ANYTHING to do; with my video, down-converting to 480p. I'm anything but ungrateful; but is it time to start pestering, the PLEX peoples? LOL
April 3, 201610 yr You might want to read up on h.264. and other encoding. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC "As the term is used in the standard, a "level" is a specified set of constraints that indicate a degree of required decoder performance for a profile. For example, a level of support within a profile specifies the maximum picture resolution, frame rate, and bit rate that a decoder may use. A decoder that conforms to a given level must be able to decode all bitstreams encoded for that level and all lower levels." The levels you are referencing have nothing to do with audio. For example, my V1 Fire TV only supports up to level 4.0. You must have a second generation device. A lot of my video is encoded at 4.1 level. As a consequence, plex transcodes it down when I play it. You need to look at your source video to understand how it is encoded. Then play it back on your FireTV and look at the details on the fire TV as to why it is transcoding. What it is going to boil down to is that if you want to use plex, you are going to have to update your server hardware or spend a lot of time ensuring your videos are encoded at native Fire TV rates, audio and containers. Then you could have issues playing to other devices. Plex gets around the compatibility issues by transcoding on the fly based on the client requirements. If you don't want to update the server then you are going to have switch to streamers. To see details in plex, while looking at the video file picture, click the three dots then select info. You can scroll to see additional detail. For example, this is the details for the file I referenced earlier. Media Video Resolution 720p Duration 1:21:39 Bitrate 11178 kbps Width 1280 Height 720 Aspect Ratio 1.78 Container MKV Video Frame Rate 24p Video Profile high Part Duration 1:21:39 File xxxxxxx.mkv Size 6.38 GB Container MKV Video Profile high Codec H264 Bitrate 10316 kbps Bit Depth 8 CABAC 1 Chroma Subsampling 4:2:0 Duration 1:21:39 Frame Rate 23.976 fps Frame Rate Mode cfr Has Scaling Matrix 0 Height 720 Level 4.1 Pixel Format yuv420p Profile high Ref Frames 3 Scan Type progressive Width 1280 Codec AC3 Channels 5.1 Bitrate 640 kbps Language English Audio Channel Layout 5.1(side) Bit Depth 16 Bitrate Mode CBR Dialog Norm -27 dB Duration 1:21:39 Sampling Rate 48000 Hz
April 4, 201610 yr Author Switchman, it seems like...you may be able to help me the most; at this point. I think we've cleared, the optimal unRAID/PLEX set-up hurdle; now the issue, is between PLEX and FireTV...and you seem to have a good handle on that. Mind if I back up...and ask some, what might be dumb questions?
April 4, 201610 yr You can, but I really don't. I've about exhausted my knowledge. It just so happens I have a Fire TV and use Plex on an Unraid system. If I can answer I will, but I think you may better off asking questions of the Plex board if you want deep details You can ask a Ninja . I would still be on XBMC, ie Kodi if I did not use the remote capability of Plex.
April 4, 201610 yr If you want to upgrade your CPU, you could probably get a better one on ebay for $50-75 that would let you transcode a single stream or two on plex but not a lot of other things at the same time.
April 4, 201610 yr I also noticed you only have 2G of memory, you may have to bump that also to at least 4G. You might be able to get by with two, but it will probably be close.
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