Dumb question regarding transcoding

[AviatorBimmer 28]

This will come across as a stupid question but my brain is just not working properly this morning.

I have a PC setup with Emby Server and all my movies are stored on a Synology NAS.

The NAS and PC are both connected with 10Gbe via a 10GBe switch, which in turn is connected to my router via a 1Gbe connection.

This ensures 10Gbe speeds back and forth between the NAS and PC for quick file transfers.

My question is...

When the PC is transcoding a movie, does it actually transfers the movie from the NAS to the PC, transcodes it and then sends it out to the client?

Or does the PC transcode it "remotely"? In other words, the file is never transferred to the PC for transcoding.

I'm thinking the latter but I'm just having a brain fart this morning.

[GrimReaper 4762]

3 minutes ago, AviatorBimmer said:

When the PC is transcoding a movie, does it actually transfers the movie from the NAS to the PC, transcodes it and then sends it out to the client?

Transcode segments are placed in temporary transcoding directory, which is by default in server install-dir but can be customized in Dashboard>Transcoding, "Transcoding temporary path".

[AviatorBimmer 28]

Just now, GrimReaper said:

Transcode segments are placed in temporary transcoding directory, which is by default in server install-dir but can be customized in Dashboard>Transcoding, "Transcoding temporary path".

Hi Grim,

Ok, so if I was to set the transcode temporary path to be at the NAS, is this efficient?

Here is my situation. My PC is currently in my media closet where I keep all my equipment and my NAS. Reason being so I can connect both to the 10Gbe switch.

I was planning on moving the PC to my office but I really don't want to run a 20+ feet 10Gbe cable to my office, and just use Wifi.

This would affect Emby performance, right? Or since the NAS itself with all the movies is still hardwired to the router, it doesn't matter where I have the actual Emby Server running, whether via Wifi or LAN?

This is where I al confused and just can't get my head wrapped around it.

[GrimReaper 4762]

13 minutes ago, AviatorBimmer said:

Ok, so if I was to set the transcode temporary path to be at the NAS, is this efficient?

No, since your PC is doing the processing, you'd be doing it twice: NAS>PC>NAS. Ideally, transcode-temp would be on a dedicated SSD in your PC, although any path will do, faster acces to it - better the performace. 

13 minutes ago, AviatorBimmer said:

I was planning on moving the PC to my office but I really don't want to run a 20+ feet 10Gbe cable to my office, and just use Wifi.

This would affect Emby performance, right? Or since the NAS itself with all the movies is still hardwired to the router, it doesn't matter where I have the actual Emby Server running, whether via Wifi or LAN?

There's nothing wrong with that setup if you leave transcode-temp folder on your PC, your WiFi will likely have more than enough bandwidth for content access and streaming, everything else would be done on PC. Depending on your needs, of course, and number of users, and how high the bitrate of your media items generally goes. For reference, currently I have 10ish users on purely WiFi setup, there ain't a single wire anywhere, with my NUC (and laptop as a substitute every now and then when NUC is down for maintenance, both connected wirelessly to the router) running server and handling all transcodes, which are usually 5-6 at any given time. 

Edited September 24, 2021 by GrimReaper
Typo

[rbjtech 5284]

Depending on your NAS - it may be even more efficient to just run the Emby 'Server' on the NAS itself - then you only have to transfer what you 'need' over the network - all other I/O stays local (Direct Access).

However, if your NAS can't handle transcoding (and you need to do this because your clients cannot Direct Play), then you probably have the best setup.

[AviatorBimmer 28]

1 hour ago, GrimReaper said:

No, since your PC is doing the processing, you'd be doing it twice: NAS>PC>NAS. Ideally, transcode-temp would be on a dedicated SSD in your PC, although any path will do, faster acces to it - better the performace. 

There's nothing wrong with that setup if you leave transcode-temp folder on your PC, your WiFi will likely have more than enough bandwidth for content access and streaming, everything else would be done on PC. Depending on your needs, of course, and number of users, and how high the bitrate of your media items generally goes. For reference, currently I have 10ish users on purely WiFi setup, there ain't a single wire anywhere, with my NUC (and laptop as a substitute every now and then when NUC is down for maintenance, both connected wirelessly to the router) running server and handling all transcodes, which are usually 5-6 at any given time. 

Great info! I think I'll give it a shot and see how it copes via WiFi. Most of my clients are family members connecting remotely.

Since I no longer have access to Fiber, the most I can upstream right now on my plan is 20mbits. So I have to limit my streaming speeds for clients at 2mbits which means that ALL my clients will always be transcoded. Only direct play is me when playing locally.

[GrimReaper 4762]

1 minute ago, AviatorBimmer said:

the most I can upstream right now on my plan is 20mbits. So I have to limit my streaming speeds for clients at 2mbits which means that ALL my clients will always be transcoded. Only direct play is me when playing locally.

With those speeds you should have absolutely no issues. 

[Luke 42085]

Unless there is isp throttling which could be on either side of the connection.

[AviatorBimmer 28]

7 minutes ago, rbjtech said:

Depending on your NAS - it may be even more efficient to just run the Emby 'Server' on the NAS itself - then you only have to transfer what you 'need' over the network - all other I/O stays local (Direct Access).

However, if your NAS can't handle transcoding (and you need to do this because your clients cannot Direct Play), then you probably have the best setup.

Yea, my NAS does no HW transcoding most of my clients are family members connecting remotely, so I have to limit their speeds which in turn means it will always be a transcoded stream.

This is why I opted to have a dedicated PC with a dedicated SSD drive for the temp transcoding folder and dedicated GPU for HW transcoding.

The only direct playing is me playing locally.

[AviatorBimmer 28]

3 minutes ago, Luke said:

Unless there is isp throttling which could be on either side of the connection.

Hopefully not. So far I've had none but I sure do miss my old 1000mbit/1000mbit connection I had with AT&T Fiber.