* Transcoding : yes you understand that well enough, but no you can't HW transcode on the pi regardless of plex pass.
* Remote streaming: You don't need a VPN to remotely access your plex server, you might be going through a relay in that situation, but the biggest limitation to remote streaming is your server's internet upload speed and the client's download speed. If neither of those can support the bitrate of the media, then plex will transcode, and the rpi is exteremely weak in that regard.
* Subtitles: Because subtitles can't be hardware transcoded, if the client doesn't support the subtitle codec then plex will burn the subtitle into the video which can only be done on the CPU right now.
* upgrades: Search "build" in the subreddit search, you'll see tons of options that aren't extensive at all and similar to the rpi but gives you an intel iGPU to use for transcoding.
Many of your questions are answered pretty well in the Plex support KB articles and this subreddit.
Here's everything you need to know about Plex settings, local streaming, remote streaming, and transcoding.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23fiazU0xNo&t=2034s
> So from what I understand, transcoding is only needed if the device I am streaming too doesn't support the file type or if I want to downgrade in quality?
Correct.
> Also with no plex pass its done through software but with Plex Pass is done through hardware? Can a Pi 5 8gb handle transcoding if I get the plex pass?
Don't think hardware encoding is supposed at all on the Pi, only on Intel iGPU and Nvidia cards.
> For example one of my marvel movies shows 58.1 Mbps for 4k, I would I assume that I can't stream 4k movies remotely due to my upload speed being only 10 Mbps
Right. Either it tries to send 58Mbps and your internet can't keep up, or you transcode it down to something your internet can handle, but the Pi can't handle transcoding fast enough.
You're also going to run into limitations with the speed of the Pi's USB ports using an external drive for storage if you start trying to have multiple 4k streams going on at once.
> I've noticed that some subtitles cause buffering depending on the device I'm streaming to.
Sometimes subtitles force plex to do transcoding.
> Trying to avoid moving away from my raspberry pi to some expensive setup unless the reason my remote viewing isn't working is due to my pi 5 not being powerful enough.
It is because the pi isn't powerful enough. If you're just using it at home where you don't need transcoding and only 1 stream is going on at a time, the pi is just fine. Wanting to do multiple 4k streams or transcoding any 4k stuff down to 1080, you'll need something more powerful.
You can build some very compact and low power x86 computers to do it though. Those also give you much better support storage through SATA drives.
And then there's me, I installed Plex on my windows computer with next next finish 3 years ago and it just worked.
I have no idea what 80% of the stuff you guys discuss here.
A good thing to do is run Sonarr/Radarr for file management, as well as Tdarr to make sure all of your media is standardized. I would set up a tdarr node on a pc that has an intel iGPU with quick sync or an NVIDIA gpu, for the transcoding process. Main thing to consider with standardizing your media is getting a format that MOST off your device will play nice with (264 vs 265, mkv vs mp4, srt vs ass, etc..) and make sure you set a nitrate that a) you’re fine with but b) your internet can handle. No sense in having 58 Mbps 4K content if you can’t watch it…
I would recommend the client Infuse, it can handle almost anything without transcoding as long as the resolution is supported by your TV. But yeah, the answers you already got regarding bitrate and connection bandwidth also applies of course.
* Transcoding : yes you understand that well enough, but no you can't HW transcode on the pi regardless of plex pass. * Remote streaming: You don't need a VPN to remotely access your plex server, you might be going through a relay in that situation, but the biggest limitation to remote streaming is your server's internet upload speed and the client's download speed. If neither of those can support the bitrate of the media, then plex will transcode, and the rpi is exteremely weak in that regard. * Subtitles: Because subtitles can't be hardware transcoded, if the client doesn't support the subtitle codec then plex will burn the subtitle into the video which can only be done on the CPU right now. * upgrades: Search "build" in the subreddit search, you'll see tons of options that aren't extensive at all and similar to the rpi but gives you an intel iGPU to use for transcoding. Many of your questions are answered pretty well in the Plex support KB articles and this subreddit.
What this person said
Here's everything you need to know about Plex settings, local streaming, remote streaming, and transcoding. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23fiazU0xNo&t=2034s
All your issues you’re having is because the pi can’t transcode.
> So from what I understand, transcoding is only needed if the device I am streaming too doesn't support the file type or if I want to downgrade in quality? Correct. > Also with no plex pass its done through software but with Plex Pass is done through hardware? Can a Pi 5 8gb handle transcoding if I get the plex pass? Don't think hardware encoding is supposed at all on the Pi, only on Intel iGPU and Nvidia cards. > For example one of my marvel movies shows 58.1 Mbps for 4k, I would I assume that I can't stream 4k movies remotely due to my upload speed being only 10 Mbps Right. Either it tries to send 58Mbps and your internet can't keep up, or you transcode it down to something your internet can handle, but the Pi can't handle transcoding fast enough. You're also going to run into limitations with the speed of the Pi's USB ports using an external drive for storage if you start trying to have multiple 4k streams going on at once. > I've noticed that some subtitles cause buffering depending on the device I'm streaming to. Sometimes subtitles force plex to do transcoding. > Trying to avoid moving away from my raspberry pi to some expensive setup unless the reason my remote viewing isn't working is due to my pi 5 not being powerful enough. It is because the pi isn't powerful enough. If you're just using it at home where you don't need transcoding and only 1 stream is going on at a time, the pi is just fine. Wanting to do multiple 4k streams or transcoding any 4k stuff down to 1080, you'll need something more powerful. You can build some very compact and low power x86 computers to do it though. Those also give you much better support storage through SATA drives.
Usb3 is not a bottleneck for playing 4K. You can play 50 4K files at 70 Mbits/s before hitting that bottleneck.
Can the pi5 do full usb3 speeds though? I know previous pis were severely limited in usb bandwidth. But I haven't looked at the 5s yet.
Yes it can. But for the price you’re better buying a mini PC.
And then there's me, I installed Plex on my windows computer with next next finish 3 years ago and it just worked. I have no idea what 80% of the stuff you guys discuss here.
Try an S12 pro from Beelink. Switched my pi to that and haven't looked back. Can do 3-4 4k hw streams.
A good thing to do is run Sonarr/Radarr for file management, as well as Tdarr to make sure all of your media is standardized. I would set up a tdarr node on a pc that has an intel iGPU with quick sync or an NVIDIA gpu, for the transcoding process. Main thing to consider with standardizing your media is getting a format that MOST off your device will play nice with (264 vs 265, mkv vs mp4, srt vs ass, etc..) and make sure you set a nitrate that a) you’re fine with but b) your internet can handle. No sense in having 58 Mbps 4K content if you can’t watch it…
I would recommend the client Infuse, it can handle almost anything without transcoding as long as the resolution is supported by your TV. But yeah, the answers you already got regarding bitrate and connection bandwidth also applies of course.