how to turn off transcoding and force direct play ?

[Luke 37008]

Yes we are looking into it, thanks.

[christian875 2]

Yes we are looking into it, thanks.

 

thank you!

[bebaldin 1]

I have the same issue. Been doing some re-encoding of my movies (using Emby on the Thecus now and it doesn't have the power to play my current mkv movies without stalling) and I notice everything I run to the Amazon Fire TV transcodes even in MP4 / AAC format (while encoded with H.265 10-bit). I have had to reduce the size of my files to get the transcode above 30fps. I am hoping that if I can get them to direct play from the Thecus they will run fine. I can play them off the Thecus on Emby Theater and they are direct play and work fine. 

[Luke 37008]

I have the same issue. Been doing some re-encoding of my movies (using Emby on the Thecus now and it doesn't have the power to play my current mkv movies without stalling) and I notice everything I run to the Amazon Fire TV transcodes even in MP4 / AAC format (while encoded with H.265 10-bit). I have had to reduce the size of my files to get the transcode above 30fps. I am hoping that if I can get them to direct play from the Thecus they will run fine. I can play them off the Thecus on Emby Theater and they are direct play and work fine. 

 

In this particular case I believe there's a reason for that. In other words, just giving you the option won't give you the playable result that you're looking for. However, if you really want to do this, you can disable user access to transcoding in the server dashboard.

 

Can you please post in the android tv section and ebr will give you an answer.

[bebaldin 1]

In this particular case I believe there's a reason for that. In other words, just giving you the option won't give you the playable result that you're looking for. However, if you really want to do this, you can disable user access to transcoding in the server dashboard.

 

Can you please post in the android tv section and ebr will give you an answer.

I did try to disable transcoding in the user settings, and it just refused to play the video instead. Audio continued to work, though. 

[Charley04 2]

New Emby user here and stumbled on this thread looking to also solve the "turn off transcode issue".  While the above suggestions to turn it off under User Settings worked, it just doesn't seem like a logical solution, unless I'm missing something.

 

As a user of multiple devices, desktop, laptop, tablet and phone, remembering and using different logins for each device type, just to control transcoding, seems illogical to me.  If I'm streaming Live TV across my Gb LAN from the server to a desktop or HTPC, which is 99% of the time the case, I don't need transcoding and the CPU power it requires.

 

Since the need to transcode is device specific, why isn't it controlled by connected device ID (device type) rather than User ID?

[Luke 37008]

That's a possibility for the future.

[slosvt 0]

1 year later.

I still can't find an option for direct stream/disable transcoding. I just discovered Emby after Yatse was updated. When I play Atmos audio or folders laid out as BDMV the server will transcode and strip the Atmos with the extra audio channels from the file. When I disable "Allow video playback that requires transcoding", Kodi and SPMC crashes. I'm using a 2015 Shield with a gigabit wired network.

I am having the same issue. Did you ever get this resolved?

 

I ended up using Kodi and setting up SMB shares for direct play. Now to make Kodi pretty....

 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[Luke 37008]

Yes you can deny transcoding access on a per user basis and that will force direct play.

[oneduality 8]

Old topic but I'm  amazed this still isn't an option.. I'd like to force transcoding just because some files aren't playing in their native format on Roku..  this has been being requested for a long time, it honestly seems to be a basic request.. I don't want to just lower the quality in user settings simply because the files I have issues with happen to just be older 480p content whereas most of my 1080p content plays perfect.. 

I bought a life time subscription and I usually go to the forums first only to find that a lot of people have had my issues and in most cases they go years without being resolved.. sadly now that I have a life time subscription, motivation to  help me probably is lower.. my money has already been had.. ( sorry .. annoyed ) .. 

Sadly for the files that don't work with Emby .. they work on other media servers just fine (Playon for example) .. so I know it can be solved.. it just never has been...

A per-user or even per-library setting to force transcode would be great.. I don't imagine it will happen though... something like

[  ] Auto
[X] Force transcode
[  ] Deny transcode

 

Edited August 11, 2020 by oneduality

[Carlo 4330]

Hello,

That's would be a bandaid fix that doesn't resolve the root of the problem which likely might already have a solution.

For example your issue might actually be 480i not 480p content.  It could just be a deinterlacing option that can be controlled at the client level as some devices handle deinterlacing perfectly while others do not and need the server to transcode and deinterlace.  It could also be the particular codec used in your 480 content.

So instead of wanting transcoding across the board which will cause far more issues it's better to go over a specific issue seen on YOUR system so we can help specifically  if possible with your issue(s).

Make sense?

Carlo

[oneduality 8]

47 minutes ago, cayars said:

Hello,

That's would be a bandaid fix that doesn't resolve the root of the problem which likely might already have a solution.

For example your issue might actually be 480i not 480p content.  It could just be a deinterlacing option that can be controlled at the client level as some devices handle deinterlacing perfectly while others do not and need the server to transcode and deinterlace.  It could also be the particular codec used in your 480 content.

So instead of wanting transcoding across the board which will cause far more issues it's better to go over a specific issue seen on YOUR system so we can help specifically  if possible with your issue(s).

Make sense?

Carlo

Why does it work flawlessly on other media servers and only fails on emby then? you point to "MY" system when other solutions work great.. 

I only stick with Emby at this point for the UI ( despite many issues never having been addressed there either ) .. and for granular user control in my household..  otherwise it's got little to nothing on the other options.. they work.. they all work..  I just can't control the content so I only enable them to watch the stuff Emby won't play.. 

So how is this a fault with "MY" system? .. seriously.. no that doesn't make sense... especially with other threads and therefore other users having quite similar issues over a period of years.. not seen any so far that were resolved.. I, didn't read them ALL ..  but aside from manually transcoding them myself which isn't feasable since that can be hundreds of files just to make Emby play nice.. 

Also I'm not opposed to this option being available per library.. I do NOT WANT it to be across the board.. but that sort of "fix" has been suggested in other similar threads.. such as going into user settings and adjusting quality .. which is a client only option .. that is a bandaid fix if ever there was one.. that's not desirable.. but if I have tv series that is an issue for Emby, I'd like to be able to force transcode.. so it WORKS like it does with every other media server I've tried.. 

Again.. I like Emby for it's UI despite lacking some things people have complained about for a long time ( especially pertaining to themes ) .. and it's good for granular permissions.. but it's lacking in this area big time and the first post I saw complaining about it was 2017.. I didn't look very hard, but I saw a number of other threads .. 

Too many options is better than not enough.. I'd rather have the ability to choose and it work than not have the ability to choose and stare at nothing while it tries to load for 30 minutes to no avail while I could simply load up playon and have it working in seconds.. 

Edited August 11, 2020 by oneduality

[oneduality 8]

Simply put.. how does everyone else's software I've tried nail it when Emby hasn't for a number of years now? I don't see how that's my fault?

PS. 

Tried..

1. Playon ( works )
2. Subsonic and Madsonic ( works )
3. Plex ( works )
4. Kodi ( works )
5. Emby ( .. nope )

Edited August 11, 2020 by oneduality

[Carlo 4330]

When I say "YOUR" system I'm simply saying that depending on YOUR media you can tune Emby differently as it's quite flexible.  MY server depending on media might want different settings than YOUR server with your media and choice of clients.

We need to go over a couple of specific example situations you currently have a problem with.

[oneduality 8]

2 minutes ago, cayars said:

When I say "YOUR" system I'm simply saying that depending on YOUR media you can tune Emby differently as it's quite flexible.  MY server depending on media might want different settings than YOUR server with your media and choice of clients.

We need to go over a couple of specific example situations you currently have a problem with.

What could I set to help me prevent direct play? it's obvious Roku doesn't support the encoding.. so direct play won't work.. the option to disable direct play doesn't exist.. and I updated my last post to include everything that just simply works out of the box.. 

Why do I need to tweak and tune when it's not necessary with those other 5 servers? ( Madsonic and Subsonic split branches long ago ) .. 

They all work fine with my Roku .. I've tried the regular Emby client and beta.. both fail .. web play works.. local play works.. re-encoding works.. but the point remains, none of that is necessary outside of Emby thusfar.. 

[Carlo 4330]

Let go over a specific example of a file that doesn't plat back correctly when direct played.  Can you give us info on one of these?

[oneduality 8]

Certainly, a series I downloaded for my mother for her 83rd birthday.. which she never got to start..  

There's been plenty of others.. but this is that one.. I assume some episodes are encoded differently but they also exhibit weird behavior because when they DO play, they repeat the same episode over and over again, whereas another season performs properly ( bewitched, auto plays ) .. 

Now why is it that this below .. works fine for me on all those media servers I listed with Roku, but fails on Emby with Roku.. I've been trying to give her options during quarantine .. but yes I've had this myself with other things over the last 2-3 years.. the specific videos evades my memory by now.. but it's the same symptoms..

 

Format                      : MPEG-4
Format profile              : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID                    : mp42 (isom/iso2/avc1/mp41)
File size                   : 178 MiB
Duration                    : 24 min 23 s
Overall bit rate            : 1 020 kb/s
Collection                  : Gilligan's Island
Season                      : 0
Part                        : 1
Track name                  : Gilligan's Island - S00E01 - Marooned (Unaired Pilot)
Performer                   : Natalie Schafer, Jim Backus, Bob Denver, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson, Dawn Wells, Alan Hale Jr.
Director                    : Rod Amateau
Genre                       : Comedy, Family
ContentType                 : TV Show
Description                 : Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale... So now the seven castaways are stranded on the legendary fictional island. This is one of the many pilot episodes that sold, just didn't get aired (Such as Captain Jack, which was renamed Leave it to Beaver), instead they altered the show drastically, replacing actors, characters, and the theme song. / A group of castaways are stranded on a desert island, left there after a boat trip got caught in a storm. In each episode the eclectic group of castaways attempt an escape from the island, but are frequently foiled by infighting and bitter recriminations breaking out between the crew.
Recorded date               : 1964-09-01
Encoded date                : UTC 2020-05-06 05:27:08
Tagged date                 : UTC 2020-05-06 15:39:42
Writing application         : HandBrake 1.3.1 2020010400
Cover                       : Yes
ContentRating               : us-tv|TV-G|300|
TVNetworkName               : CBS
Part_ID                     : Marooned (unaired pilot)
LongDescription             : Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale... So now the seven castaways are stranded on the legendary fictional island. This is one of the many pilot episodes that sold, just didn't get aired (Such as Captain Jack, which was renamed Leave it to Beaver), instead they altered the show drastically, replacing actors, characters, and the theme song.
AppleStoreCatalogID         : 77345
Xtra                        : WM/ParentalRating

Video
ID                          : 1
Format                      : AVC
Format/Info                 : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile              : Main@L3.1
Format settings             : CABAC / 4 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC      : Yes
Format settings, Reference  : 4 frames
Codec ID                    : avc1
Codec ID/Info               : Advanced Video Coding
Duration                    : 24 min 22 s
Bit rate                    : 844 kb/s
Width                       : 640 pixels
Height                      : 480 pixels
Display aspect ratio        : 4:3
Frame rate mode             : Variable
Frame rate                  : 23.356 FPS
Minimum frame rate          : 2.498 FPS
Maximum frame rate          : 23.981 FPS
Color space                 : YUV
Chroma subsampling          : 4:2:0
Bit depth                   : 8 bits
Scan type                   : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)          : 0.118
Stream size                 : 147 MiB (83%)
Writing library             : x264 core 157 r2935 545de2f
Encoding settings           : cabac=1 / ref=1 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x1:0x111 / me=hex / subme=2 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=0 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=0 / 8x8dct=0 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=0 / threads=6 / lookahead_threads=2 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=1 / keyint=230 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=10 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=23.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=14000 / vbv_bufsize=14000 / crf_max=0.0 / nal_hrd=none / filler=0 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Language                    : English
Encoded date                : UTC 2020-05-06 05:27:08
Tagged date                 : UTC 2020-05-06 05:27:08
Color range                 : Limited
Color primaries             : BT.601 NTSC
Transfer characteristics    : BT.709
Matrix coefficients         : BT.601
Menus                       : 3
Codec configuration box     : avcC

Audio
ID                          : 2
Format                      : AAC LC
Format/Info                 : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID                    : mp4a-40-2
Duration                    : 24 min 23 s
Bit rate mode               : Constant
Bit rate                    : 161 kb/s
Channel(s)                  : 2 channels
Channel layout              : L R
Sampling rate               : 44.1 kHz
Frame rate                  : 43.066 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode            : Lossy
Stream size                 : 28.1 MiB (16%)
Title                       : Stereo
Default                     : Yes
Alternate group             : 1
Encoded date                : UTC 2020-05-06 05:27:08
Tagged date                 : UTC 2020-05-06 05:27:08

Menu
ID                          : 3
Codec ID                    : text
Duration                    : 24 min 23 s
Encoded date                : UTC 2020-05-06 15:39:42
Tagged date                 : UTC 2020-05-06 15:39:42
Menu For                    : 1
00:00:00.000                : Chapter 1

Edited August 11, 2020 by oneduality

[pwhodges 1523]

1 hour ago, oneduality said:

Why does it work flawlessly on other media servers and only fails on emby then? you point to "MY" system when other solutions work great.. 
[,,,] other users having quite similar issues over a period of years.. not seen any so far that were resolved..

Of course, there are few threads from the thousands of people who don't have the same issue happening with their Emby.

To try and find what's different in your case, what will be most helpful is not lists of other servers, but logs covering times that the the problem was happening.  Work with the staff here, and in turn they will work with you to try to find a solution - and that solution is not necessarily to force transcoding by an option, as it would be better to understand what is actually causing your problem and fix that so that you don't need to use an option.

Paul

[oneduality 8]

6 minutes ago, pwhodges said:

Of course, there are few threads from the thousands of people who don't have the same issue happening with their Emby.

To try and find what's different in your case, what will be most helpful is not lists of other servers, but logs covering times that the the problem was happening.  Work with the staff here, and in turn they will work with you to try to find a solution - and that solution is not necessarily to force transcoding by an option, as it would be better to understand what is actually causing your problem and fix that so that you don't need to use an option.

Paul

Of course I get it.. I'm a linux systems administrator and a software developer myself from 1998.. that leads to my frustration  ... I know transcoding works.. I also see by experience that others have managed to solve it.. so the question is .. why not Emby? .. I know the pitfalls of transcoding all things .. that goes without saying, I'm also a fairly well known deepfake creator and I know GPU utilization and limitations.. 

Question still remains... why Emby?

I also notice, from signatures only, none of the replies to me are from devs..  so I understand the process .. it's very much like when I call about cable issues and have to go through the tiers.. 

Edited August 11, 2020 by oneduality

[oneduality 8]

And yes it sounds pretty and hopeful to say 

Quote

To try and find what's different in your case, what will be most helpful is not lists of other servers

It's still a glaring in your face fact .. it's not just in my case.. and yes it was dismissed without any good reason that so many unresolved same issues are in the forums exist... let's not be silly here..

sorry my friend, the fact remains it's not just my case, and even if it some how were.. how is it only with Emby? .. the one that has failed to resolve it since 2017 .. they all work.. and I'm not supposed to consider that relevant? .. 

I'd love to be an advocate of Emby, and I once was.. but feature requests have lacked, support for issues like this ( AND MANY OTHERS ) have gone unresolved for years.. it's annoying as a lifetime supporter..

[oneduality 8]

27 minutes ago, pwhodges said:

Of course, there are few threads from the thousands of people who don't have the same issue happening with their Emby.

PS. This is the worst possible argument that people tend to make.. 

You can equate that to many billions of absurd arguments but I'll  use a more recent one

Look at at the billions of people who DIDN'T get Covid 19.. 

Seriously.. you know that argument is nonsense.. that's a common tactic, it's essentially a strawman argument.. just because thousands haven't reported it doesn't mean ..

a) they haven't experienced it and just didn't report it
b) haven't experienced it because they got lucky and their content is compatable
c) they don't know HOW to report it
d) .. who knows how many other possibilities

That's useless and not helpful .. 

[pwhodges 1523]

Something is wrong, plainly, I'm not denying that - however, you have complained vociferously but have not provided (yet) the evidence that the developers will want to look at to try to determine what is wrong so that they can fix it.  Instead you want a work-around.

Well, installing a workaround may be as much trouble as fixing the issue, but without the benefit of, you know, actually fixing it.

Those of us with long computer experience (mine goes back to 1966) know that the fact that a problem looks simple doesn't necessarily mean it is - in this situation the solution will come from patient cooperation to help find the underlying issue.

Paul

[Carlo 4330]

Thank you for the media info on that one file.   Let me ask you to clarify something.

Is your problem that Gilligan's Island - S00E01 - Marooned (Unaired Pilot) doesn't play on the Roku?  Is that the case with the shows you're referring to that they don't actually play OR is the issue that AFTER playing the up next doesn't work properly?

Do all of the episodes giving you a problem show as "Codec ID : mp42 (isom/iso2/avc1/mp41)/;" in Media info?

 

[rbjtech 4222]

It's using VFR (Variable Frame Rate) .. 

Frame rate mode             : Variable
Frame rate                  : 23.356 FPS
Minimum frame rate          : 2.498 FPS
Maximum frame rate          : 23.981 FPS

Does Emby work with VFR - I've never personally used or seen a VFR file ... ?

[Carlo 4330]

It's also using mp42 which is an older non-standardized version of MPEG-4 encoding, before it became standardized. Backstory https://www.moviecodec.com/solutions/mpg4-mp42-mp43-microsoft-mpeg-4-versions-1-2-and-3-5098/

Both mp42 and VFR are what caught my eye but with only 1 file's metadata it's hard to know.  We also need clarification of the problem as it's not clear what the actual issue is.