[Guide] Hardware Transcoding: The JDM way! QuickSync and NVENC

ok , so how do I troubleshoot it?

Are you using linux like the guide recommends?

yes, Iā€™ve only done what the guide asked

Are you running 19.10 by chance? @Hey_Danny is having similar issues.

Checking now

19.04 for me

Is this supposed to be server or desktop version?

Iā€™m on 19.10 and it seems to be doing fine for me. I thought the cpu usage before my most recent update to 19.10 was more than it should be, but it was still only around 25-30%. But running ubuntu 19.10 and Plex Version 1.18.1.1973 seem to have improved it.

I think the main difference is the desktop environment. Iā€™m using Ubuntu desktop.

Shouldnā€™t matter if itā€™s desktop or server.

Updated to reflect recommendation of using the Plex official package.

ā€œUbuntu (16.04+) / Debian (8+) - Intel/AMD 64-bitā€

Added this screenshot above.

i3-8130u laptop with 8GB of RAM achieving 17 1080p 8Mbps transcodes. I was starting to run into client issues. No buffering or issues server-side.

4 Likes

After reading thisā€¦ still not sure if itā€™d be more worth it to get a i7 7th gen or an i5 8th genā€¦

or even an i7-6700 6th gen versus an i5-7500 7th gen??

6th-gen is missing HEVC support, Iā€™d recommend 7th or higher. I find that 8th-gen laptops are the most cost effective way.

I moved from a Win 2012R2 dual xeon plex server to a quicksync build and the difference is amazing.

Box:
Dell Inspiron 3670 Intel Core i7-8700 16GB 128GB NVMe running Ubuntu 19.04 with a HDMI Plug.

Before, with my windows box I was able to support maybe a max of 10-11 transcodes and my CPU would be pegged, now, its barely touched,

Sessions: 11 streams (4 direct plays, 7 transcodes) | Bandwidth: 42.2 Mbps (LAN: 5.3 Mbps, WAN: 37.0 Mbps)

2 Likes

Iā€™ve created some all-encompassing searches for 7th-9th Generation quicksync processors, desktops, and laptops. These searches include every major CPU model from the particular generation and family.

Searches are: buy it now, sorted by price (low to high)

CPUs (Avoid ā€œFā€ series processors, they do not have QuickSync)

Desktops (Avoid ā€œFā€ series processors, they do not have QuickSync)

Laptops

2 Likes

instead of having to reboot after editing the fstab file, just do a ā€˜sudo mount -aā€™ and it will accomplish the same thingā€¦you can go into your new /mnt/xxxx directory and ls -l and if you see your files, youā€™re good to go.

4 Likes

Cross posting this here for reference.

Well I got it all setup ok and can see the mounts and play the files but there is loads of buffering? Its almost like its coming down my broadband?!