default quality levels are different

[justinrh 174]

I have two Shields, one on a 4k TV and powerline Ethernet; the other is a 1080p TV and Wi-Fi.  For the same DVD-quality MP4 video (for reference) the 4k TV shows the default quality at 70Mbps, but the 1080p TV shows the quality at 110Mbps.  Why are the values different and what does the number mean?

To see the quality level:  play the video -> Settings -> Quality (the highlighted value at the top of the list is what I'm referring to)

Edited March 27, 2022 by justinrh

[ebr 14910]

29 minutes ago, justinrh said:

the highlighted value at the top of the list is what I'm referring to

This will depend on the bitrate of the item being played.

[justinrh 174]

53 minutes ago, ebr said:

This will depend on the bitrate of the item being played.

Then why do I get diff values on the same video?

AND, why is the bitrate so high?  The video is only a 1.3Mbps stream.

Edited March 27, 2022 by justinrh

[Luke 37058]

3 hours ago, justinrh said:

Then why do I get diff values on the same video?

AND, why is the bitrate so high?  The video is only a 1.3Mbps stream.

Can we please look at an example?

Thanks !

[justinrh 174]

@Luke I'd love to, but what do I give you?  You do exactly what I did:  open a video on two diff devices (device pair) and look at the quality value.  ebr's explanation made no sense to me.

From what I'm seeing, the quality number is always the same for a particular device.

Tell me if this makes sense:  I use the web app to direct play a 1.3Mbps video and quality says 2Mbps.  Any video on the web app says 2Mbps.  (Ignore this question if it will confuse the original issue!  I'm just giving another data point.)
 

[Happy2Play 8281]

7 hours ago, justinrh said:

For the same DVD-quality MP4 video (for reference) the 4k TV shows the default quality at 70Mbps, but the 1080p TV shows the quality at 110Mbps.

Images may explain this better along with mediainfo.

[Luke 37058]

3 hours ago, justinrh said:

@Luke I'd love to, but what do I give you?  You do exactly what I did:  open a video on two diff devices (device pair) and look at the quality value.  ebr's explanation made no sense to me.

A specific example of the generalized example you just gave. Thanks !

[justinrh 174]

@Happy2Play, I don't know how a pic and stats will help in this case, here you go:

General
Complete name                            : \\SVR\media\DVDs\Braveheart.mp4
Format                                   : MPEG-4
Format profile                           : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID                                 : mp42 (isom/iso2/avc1/mp41)
File size                                : 2.39 GiB
Duration                                 : 2 h 57 min
Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
Overall bit rate                         : 1 929 kb/s
Encoded date                             : UTC 2018-04-11 04:29:47
Tagged date                              : UTC 2018-04-11 04:29:47
Writing application                      : HandBrake 1.0.7 2017040900

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L3.1
Format settings                          : CABAC / 5 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames        : 5 frames
Codec ID                                 : avc1
Codec ID/Info                            : Advanced Video Coding
Duration                                 : 2 h 57 min
Bit rate                                 : 1 313 kb/s
Width                                    : 720 pixels
Height                                   : 366 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 2.35:1
Original display aspect ratio            : 2.35:1
Frame rate mode                          : Variable
Frame rate                               : 23.976 FPS
Minimum frame rate                       : 19.978 FPS
Maximum frame rate                       : 29.970 FPS
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.208
Stream size                              : 1.63 GiB (68%)
Writing library                          : x264 core 148 r2708 86b7198
Encoding settings                        : cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=umh / subme=8 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=6 / lookahead_threads=1 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=240 / keyint_min=24 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=50 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=18.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=17500 / vbv_bufsize=17500 / crf_max=0.0 / nal_hrd=none / filler=0 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Encoded date                             : UTC 2018-04-11 04:29:47
Tagged date                              : UTC 2018-04-11 04:29:47
Color range                              : Limited
Color primaries                          : BT.601 NTSC
Transfer characteristics                 : BT.709
Matrix coefficients                      : BT.601
Codec configuration box                  : avcC

Audio #1
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : AAC LC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID                                 : mp4a-40-2
Duration                                 : 2 h 57 min
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 160 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel layout                           : L R
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 204 MiB (8%)
Title                                    : Stereo / Stereo
Default                                  : Yes
Alternate group                          : 1
Encoded date                             : UTC 2018-04-11 04:29:47
Tagged date                              : UTC 2018-04-11 04:29:47
Fallback From                            : 3

Audio #2
ID                                       : 3
Format                                   : AC-3
Format/Info                              : Audio Coding 3
Commercial name                          : Dolby Digital
Codec ID                                 : ac-3
Duration                                 : 2 h 57 min
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 448 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 6 channels
Channel layout                           : L R C LFE Ls Rs
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 31.250 FPS (1536 SPF)
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 569 MiB (23%)
Title                                    : Surround / Surround
Service kind                             : Complete Main
Default                                  : Inherited From: 2
Alternate group                          : 1
Encoded date                             : UTC 2018-04-11 04:29:47
Tagged date                              : UTC 2018-04-11 04:29:47
Fallback To                              : 2

Report created by                        : MediaInfoLib - v21.09

[justinrh 174]

@Luke, sorry for being dunce, but does the above help.  Why can't you answer how the same video can give two diff answers in this case?  Am I misunderstanding what this value is?  Like I said, I get the same answer for every video from a particular device, so it has nothing to do with the media, evidently.

"Why are the values different and what does the number mean?"  I don't know why it is so hard to just get a straight answer.  Should I have asked "how could the values be different"?

Edited March 28, 2022 by justinrh

[Luke 37058]

Quote

 

Tell me if this makes sense:  I use the web app to direct play a 1.3Mbps video and quality says 2Mbps.  Any video on the web app says 2Mbps.  (Ignore this question if it will confuse the original issue!  I'm just giving another data point.)

That is the chosen quality, which might be higher than what you're actually getting if it is direct playing.

[ebr 14910]

11 hours ago, Luke said:

That is the chosen quality, which might be higher than what you're actually getting if it is direct playing.

Correct.  The number in parens is the quality that is chosen in the playback settings.  If you pull up the quality menu during playback, however, it will only show qualities that make sense for the item being played.  In this case, it should stop at 2Mb because the item is only 1.9.

Does that make sense now?

[justinrh 174]

Okay, I get the meaning of the value.  Why do I get two diff values, especially since the devices are the same?

[pünktchen 1258]

Because the max. streaming quality in the playback setting of your apps is mostly set to "auto". That means the value depends on the devices connection speed, which is different for your powerline and wlan connections.

[justinrh 174]

It sounds like Emby app is discerning the highest bitrate it can comfortably use (independent of the media).

Thank you, @pünktchen for the simple, straightforward answer.  Between 3 replies I mostly understand now.  Thanks.

[justinrh 174]

10 hours ago, ebr said:

If you pull up the quality menu during playback, however, it will only show qualities that make sense for the item being played.  In this case, it should stop at 2Mb because the item is only 1.9.

ebr, I am getting the value during playback (see the OP).  The top number on the SETTINGS menu shows an exceptionally high value (not the 2Mbps you suggest).  Does my experience match your expectation of how the app works?

[ebr 14910]

13 hours ago, justinrh said:

The top number on the SETTINGS menu shows an exceptionally high value (not the 2Mbps you suggest).

Hi.  The restricted value I indicated is shown when selecting a new quality during playback.  In the settings menu, there is no single item playing so no known restriction.

On 3/29/2022 at 8:37 AM, ebr said:

If you pull up the quality menu during playback, however, it will only show qualities that make sense for the item being played.  In this case, it should stop at 2Mb because the item is only 1.9.

 

[justinrh 174]

ebr, please read what I've written.  I am showing the menu during playback.  My pic above is during playback.

10 hours ago, ebr said:

In the settings menu, there is no single item playing so no known restriction.

Again, I don't understand your language.  There is never an item playing (single or multiple) in the settings menu.  Things don't 'play' in the menu.

[Happy2Play 8281]

Don't know this app but player OSD menu should restrict to the item being played.  Auto does similar.  But options become Resolution based.

From Web Client.

But yes per your image above this client appears to do something different.

 

[justinrh 174]

39 minutes ago, Happy2Play said:

From Web Client.

Tell me more about this "Home network quality" setting.  Mine is not set.  Should it be set?  Why would you want to set it?

I'm not sure I get this gist.  E.g., "4K - 60 Mbps" vs "4K - 40 Mbps" doesn't make sense to me.  Just let Emby do the best it can, right?

[Happy2Play 8281]

Just now, justinrh said:

Tell me more about this "Home network quality" setting.  Mine is not set.  Should it be set?  Why would you want to set it?

I'm not sure I get this gist.  E.g., "4K - 60 Mbps" vs "4K - 40 Mbps" doesn't make sense to me.  Just let Emby do the best it can, right?

Ideally you shouldn't have to set it for Home/LAN. If I am seeing issues, then I set to client max option.

Emby's best it can is what, as almost every device has a documented limits.  This is why some devices perform better then others.

But your example media over 40Mbps with setting of 4K - 40Mbps will transcode and 4K - 60Mps will allow it to potentially direct play.  But say you have a external user depending on your upload speed could possibly assist with direct play setting client quality from something beside auto.

[justinrh 174]

After looking at the options again in this "Home network quality" droplist, I want to re-ask if mine being 'not set' (null) is expected?  The reason I have to ask is because null is not an option in the list.  Once I set it to a value in the list, I can't set it back to null.  @Luke @Happy2Play

I'd expect the default to be Auto.

[Happy2Play 8281]

1 minute ago, justinrh said:

After looking at the options again in this "Home network quality" droplist, I want to re-ask if mine being 'not set' (null) is expected?  The reason I have to ask is because null is not an option in the list.  Once I set it to a value in the list, I can't set it back to null.  @Luke @Happy2Play

I'd expect the default to be Auto.

Have never seen it blank unless this is a css color issue.

[Luke 37058]

Was that the answer?

[justinrh 174]

14 hours ago, Luke said:

Was that the answer?

CSS issue?  No.  It is just not set.