Plex transcode x265

[snake382]

Hey all,

 

I have a nas Unraid 6.4.1 actually with a M/B E35M1-M PRO CPU AMD E350, memory 4gb ddr3 and ssd cache 120gb.

I want to upgrade this material for transcode to fly x265 480p in x264 directly in plex. I haven't more vids in 1080p x265 just one or two vids.

 

Can i add a GPU card or i must change all material ? (M/B, memory, GPU etc..) ?

My budget limit is 200 250€ for the CPU only.

 

Thank you for your help.

[John_M]

Since you have only a few files to process my suggestion would be to use the Optimize function in Plex as all it will cost you is some storage space and a lot of processing time. The processing will take place very slowly in the background but once it's complete you will be able to stream the optimized media without having to transcode it. You simply don't have the processing power to transcode H.265 material in real time and a discrete GPU wouldn't work without the appropriate driver.

 

[snake382]

ok I understand but where do you find this function optimize in PLEX? and how to use it?

I'm still scared that my NAS is not powerful enough for this kind of task.

I am ready at that moment to change the hardware (m / b + cpu + graphic card?), What do you advise me as CPU and m / b with 6 Sata Minium ports?

Edited April 3, 2018 by snake382

[John_M]

You select the movie in the Plex GUI and choose Optimize from the menu. Then you choose either one of the presets or Custom and enter your resolution/bi-rate combination - there's one for 480p at 1.5 Mb/s. It will take a long time but it will get there eventually and you can monitor its progress. You don't need a powerful processor for this kind of task because it doesn't work in real time. See here.

 

[NewDisplayName]

Did you try transcoding already?

[Zonediver]

If you have only some files, i would suggest to convert it on your PC to the proper format.

This can be done easily with Xmedia Recode (Windows).

https://www.xmedia-recode.de/en/index.html

 

I do this at the moment with all my "big" H264 Files to H265 because it saves a lot of HDD-Space.

Edited April 3, 2018 by Zonediver

[snake382]

The problem comes from the fact that I have some 480p file encoded in x265 and that I would like to switch to x264 because Plex do not know how to manage the x265 and always reencode on the fly in x264 so it takes time and my processor does not is not powerful enough.

Regarding my other files that are encoded in x264 in a container mkv or avi and those that are encoded in mpeg I do not think that they are the problem?

I also think that it will take a lot of time to re-encode in x264 even with my second PC and my I5

Edited April 3, 2018 by snake382

[Zonediver]

12 minutes ago, snake382 said:

The problem comes from the fact that I have some 480p file encoded in x265 and that I would like to switch to x264 because Plex do not know how to manage the x265 and always reencode on the fly in x264 so it takes time and my processor does not is not powerful enough.

Regarding my other files that are encoded in x264 in a container mkv or avi and those that are encoded in mpeg I do not think that they are the problem?

I also think that it will take a lot of time to re-encode in x264 even with my second PC and my I5

 

You can also encode from H265 to H264 as well.

Regarding the time for encoding: It depends...

If you have a Nvidia Graphic (i use a GTX 1050 Ti), Xmedia Recode can use the Card for encoding and this is very fast.

If you dont have a NV-Card then yes, this will take a "long" time... but only for High-Bitrate Monster Files

In your case, with 480p and 2Mbit, this can also handle the CPU.

Give them a try and see what happens. Its a really good program and its free

But be aware: The software is not for "1-klick" optimisation. You have to know, what you do because you can edit "every" parameter by hand - but all in the graphical interface - so no terminal window

Edited April 3, 2018 by Zonediver

[John_M]

3 minutes ago, Zonediver said:

If you dont have a NV-Card then yes, this will take a "long" time...

 

That is true, but if you do it once and save the result it doesn't matter.

[snake382]

Yes currently I have a Nvidia 1060GTX 6go graphics card. So with Xmedia Recode I can activate the encoding of x265 to x264 using exclusively my graphics card?

[Zonediver]

6 minutes ago, snake382 said:

Yes currently I have a Nvidia 1060GTX 6go graphics card. So with Xmedia Recode I can activate the encoding of x265 to x264 using exclusively my graphics card?

 

Perfect - you can use the Nvidia profile and then check it out

And yes, at the beginning, you must play around with the settings because the software has tons of features

 

Under the Tab "Format" use:

Profile: User defined

Format: Matroska

 

Then go to the Tab "Video" and use under Codec "MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 (Nvidia NVENC)

 

Edited April 3, 2018 by Zonediver

[snake382]

Can I perform an encoding to switch from x265 to x264 but without touching the image and sound setting? Basically I just want to change the encoding format but without the quality of the image is lowered by having the same quality as the original

[Zonediver]

3 minutes ago, snake382 said:

Can I perform an encoding to switch from x265 to x264 but without touching the image and sound setting? Basically I just want to change the encoding format but without the quality of the image is lowered by having the same quality as the original

 

If you want to do this, you have to check the bitrate of the file - i do this over Media Player Classic.

The reason is, you encode the original file to new codec, so you must set the new parameters by hand of corse.

And for the Audio-Settings use "copy". This will prevent the encoding of the audio track.

[snake382]

ok so I have to check before the bitrate of the file (eg 59.94 img / s) and that I enter the same in the software?

[Zonediver]

11 minutes ago, snake382 said:

ok so I have to check before the bitrate of the file (eg 59.94 img / s) and that I enter the same in the software?

 

See the screen

Install Media Player Classic, take your File and open the Properties, then go to MediaInfo and see the bitrate of the video.

Its important to know the bitrate "before" you convert the video. Its up to you, if you make changes or not.

 

Edited April 3, 2018 by Zonediver

[snake382]

Maximum bit rate (eg 15.0 Mb/s) or just bit rate (eg 10.4 Mb/s) ?

[Zonediver]

2 minutes ago, snake382 said:

Maximum bit rate (eg 15.0 Mb/s) or just bit rate (eg 10.4 Mb/s) ?

 

You must set "both" because the "Bit rate mode" is "variable" (in this case in my Screenshot)

If you use "constant", then you have only "one" constant bitrate.

Edited April 3, 2018 by Zonediver

[snake382]

5 minutes ago, Zonediver said:

 

You must set "both" because the "Bit rate mode" is "variable" (in this case in my Screenshot)

If you use "constant", then you have only "one" constant bitrate.

 

OK thanks for all this info. I will try this software before changing anything.
With my graphics card how long do you think you can encode a 1:30 film encoded in x265 at 60img / s to the x264?

[Zonediver]

4 minutes ago, snake382 said:

 

OK thanks for all this info. I will try this software before changing anything.
With my graphics card how long do you think you can encode a 1:30 film encoded in x265 at 60img / s to the x264?

 

Difficult to say - it depends. Do some tests and play around with the bitrate, measure the time and check the quality of the created file.

And remember: You create a "new" file - the original one will not be touched at all.

So you can do as many tests with variable settings as you like

Edited April 3, 2018 by Zonediver

[snake382]

OK thanks i will try this.

Otherwise it will be the purchase of a new Processor + M / B.

[snake382]

I just tried the conversion of a film of 1h30 480p h265 in h264 mp4 25min of conversion !!

great this software !! thanks for the info

Edited April 3, 2018 by snake382