Transcoding - multiple clients

[Blue407 0]

I'm just building a new Server for my media.

 

Whats key to ensuring that you can support 2-3 clients transcoding simultaneously?

 

Most of my movies are MKV blu-rays.

I've just tried one test iPhone via web page and CPU on server hit 100%, this is a fast Xeon machine with SSD, 16GB RAM, running Server 2012 R2.

I will get another couple of clients available to test it further tomorrow.

 

Does it make a difference if you use Windows clients capable of playing the MKV directly?

 

Thanks in advance for suggestions and help

[Nologic 30]

Well first the device must support MKV natively...next it needs to be on the same network...then the media folders need to be shared on that network...then you need Emby to redirect the device to the networked paths.

 

If all of the above is met...you can then do direct play...in other words play the media directly from the shared drive.

[Deathsquirrel 745]

If the client devices can play the media but don't have rights to the source folder they can still do a direct stream through Emby which isn't going to create much CPU load either.

[legallink 187]

Just be aware that ffmpeg will spike the CPU initially and then lower as its gone through some of the movie if you have throttling on. Otherwise it will just go as fast as it can until it is done. I wouldn't stress about it initially hitting 100%, as I believe it is multi core aware. Worry more about say 5 iPhones hitting the server and then see if you get a lot of buffering or pauses in watching the movie.

 

I have mkv blu Rays and it works just fine and I just have an i5 for a processor.

[pr3dict 33]

I'm also interested int his discussion. I currently have the following:

 

• Intel Core i3-4130 Haswell Dual-Core 3.4GHz
• 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
• Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD
• 1.5TB Seagate Landing disk
• 4x 3TB WD Red drives in a FlexRAID (1 parity; 3 data)
• Ceton InfiniTV 6 PCIe

I have the above machine as my:

 

1. Emby Server
2. Emby WMC Client
3. File Server/NAS

 

So basically I want to start using more extenders in the form of nexus players (Android TV). Will this be a good enough setup to stream to 3-4 devices at a time almost all the time? If not, what does everyone recommend.

 

Thanks!

[JeremyFr79 228]

It all comes down to how many transcodes, source bitrate vs transcoded bitrate etc.  There's a lot of factors that come into play.  The more you are compressing the content the more work it will take.  For instance transcoding a file that's encoded at say 40Mbps down to 4Mbps is going to be a lot work, compared to say a 10Mbps File down to 5Mbps.

 

What I can say is that I run Emby on a dedicated server.  it's only job is running Emby and transcoding.  It's got (4) Xeon L7555 cpu's for a total of 32 cores or 64 threads.  I can get roughly 15 or so transcodes with no issue from it.  But that number flucuates depending on what is being transcoded.  For instance live TV which uses MPEG2 encoding takes more to transcode to x.264, vs transcoding x.264 to x.264 but just a different bitrate.

[meep 1]

Well first the device must support MKV natively...next it needs to be on the same network...then the media folders need to be shared on that network...then you need Emby to redirect the device to the networked paths.

 

If all of the above is met...you can then do direct play...in other words play the media directly from the shared drive.

 

How do I know if transcoding is in effect or not on the client?

 

It would be super useful to have a setting on the server to disable transcoding. Then, I could set about configuring my server / clients to I get picture. All my media is on my wired network and I know my clients can handle HD files - I don't want transcoding and would love to be able to flick a switch to turn it off rather than a hit and miss approach of trying to fulfil the above in the hope that I get native playback.

[pr3dict 33]

It all comes down to how many transcodes, source bitrate vs transcoded bitrate etc.  There's a lot of factors that come into play.  The more you are compressing the content the more work it will take.  For instance transcoding a file that's encoded at say 40Mbps down to 4Mbps is going to be a lot work, compared to say a 10Mbps File down to 5Mbps.

 

What I can say is that I run Emby on a dedicated server.  it's only job is running Emby and transcoding.  It's got (4) Xeon L7555 cpu's for a total of 32 cores or 64 threads.  I can get roughly 15 or so transcodes with no issue from it.  But that number flucuates depending on what is being transcoded.  For instance live TV which uses MPEG2 encoding takes more to transcode to x.264, vs transcoding x.264 to x.264 but just a different bitrate.

 

All my movies are usually bluray remux's so they are usually higher bitrate 1080p. Also live TV at times...

 

Soooooo I'm only looking to transcode like 3-5 things at a time. What do you recommend lol?

[JeremyFr79 228]

All my movies are usually bluray remux's so they are usually higher bitrate 1080p. Also live TV at times...

 

Soooooo I'm only looking to transcode like 3-5 things at a time. What do you recommend lol?

To pull it off comfortably at least 8 physical cores/16 threads.  My previous Emby Server was running dual Xeon X5770's and that load would have been pushing probably 60-70% CPU utilization to give you an idea.

[pr3dict 33]

To pull it off comfortably at least 8 physical cores/16 threads.  My previous Emby Server was running dual Xeon X5770's and that load would have been pushing probably 60-70% CPU utilization to give you an idea.

 

what I dont understand is those CPUs you keep recommending are like 5-6 years old... There has to be some kind of updated tech since then.

[JeremyFr79 228]

what I dont understand is those CPUs you keep recommending are like 5-6 years old... There has to be some kind of updated tech since then.

Not as much as you'd think, there is some but it's not been huge, why do you think they keep cramming more and more cores on a single die?

[pr3dict 33]

They have newer haswell based Xeons. Why no dual cpu designs for those?

[JeremyFr79 228]

They have newer haswell based Xeons. Why no dual cpu designs for those?

There are, dual and quad, I work on em all day long at the data center I run.

[Kent 92]

I'm also interested int his discussion. I currently have the following:

 

• Intel Core i3-4130 Haswell Dual-Core 3.4GHz
• 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
• Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD
• 1.5TB Seagate Landing disk
• 4x 3TB WD Red drives in a FlexRAID (1 parity; 3 data)
• Ceton InfiniTV 6 PCIe

I have the above machine as my:

 

1. Emby Server
2. Emby WMC Client
3. File Server/NAS

 

So basically I want to start using more extenders in the form of nexus players (Android TV). Will this be a good enough setup to stream to 3-4 devices at a time almost all the time? If not, what does everyone recommend.

 

Thanks!

 

Hi, just wanted to share that I'm having great success with nexus players + Kodi using the Emby for Kodi plugin. No transcoding requirements at all.  If you need LiveTV, it does require that you are running WMC/ServerWMC or NextPVR or something similar that has a Kodi plugin.  WAF is high as well.

[pr3dict 33]

Soooo in totality. What are we thinking. I was going to go for a haswell i7 but your making me believe thats not the best way to go.

 

Could you give me a literal list of parts you would put in a server that you were looking to stream 3-5 1080p streams to.

 

ALSO the kodi on nexus thing... Whats wrong with the native emby app that you can use on it?

[ice pube 20]

Kodi will not transcode whatsoever, whereas the Emby ATV app will if it needs to. 

[colejack 30]

Soooo in totality. What are we thinking. I was going to go for a haswell i7 but your making me believe thats not the best way to go.

 

Could you give me a literal list of parts you would put in a server that you were looking to stream 3-5 1080p streams to.

 

ALSO the kodi on nexus thing... Whats wrong with the native emby app that you can use on it?

 

Whats your budget?

[Deihmos 169]

I personally avoid doing anything that causes transcoding. I have done a lot of testing and comparison to other software. There has to be something really wrong with the way emby handles transcoding. It pushes the cpu a lot unnecessarily. Those devices should be able to play everything with virtually no hit to the cpu or expensive upgrades.

Edited November 6, 2015 by Deihmos

[colejack 30]

I have done a lot of testing and comparison to other software. There has to be something really wrong with the way emby handles transcoding. It pushed the country a lot unnecessarily. Those devices should be able to play everything with virtually no hit to the cpu or expensive upgrades.

 

Please expand. Need more information on how you tested and the other software you used. Probably should go in another thread but I would like to see that info. Always looking for new things.

[JeremyFr79 228]

I personally avoid doing anything that causes transcoding. I have done a lot of testing and comparison to other software. There has to be something really wrong with the way emby handles transcoding. It pushes the cpu a lot unnecessarily. Those devices should be able to play everything with virtually no hit to the cpu or expensive upgrades.

What you're most likely seeing is how Emby will encode as quickly as it can at first and then throttle down after a while to avoid issues with buffering etc.  Things like Plex like to transcode in real time to keep CPU down  but this can lead to issues if there is any bottleneck or hiccup along the way.  Pesonally I like the fact that emby will get stuff out the way as quickly as it can freeing up the CPU faster for other tasks.  Not to mention that it will give up CPU to other tasks/transcodes when needed.  At least in my experience.

[Deihmos 169]

What you're most likely seeing is how Emby will encode as quickly as it can at first and then throttle down after a while to avoid issues with buffering etc.  Things like Plex like to transcode in real time to keep CPU down  but this can lead to issues if there is any bottleneck or hiccup along the way.  Pesonally I like the fact that emby will get stuff out the way as quickly as it can freeing up the CPU faster for other tasks.  Not to mention that it will give up CPU to other tasks/transcodes when needed.  At least in my experience.

No that's not what I see. Actually the video isn't being encoded at all unless it absolutely needs to like if the bitrate is too high for the network. The video is  direct stream and the only thing transcoded is audio if needed. The result is cpu use is like 0-0.5% and not 60+%. 

 

 

You might have a file that has a stream-compatible video track, but an audio track that needs transcoding. For example, your playback device cannot handle DTS tracks, but works with AC3. In this case:

• The Audio track will be transcoded from DTS to AC3;
• The original Video track will not be touched; and
• The transcoded audio track is sent with the unaltered video track to your device.

Edited November 6, 2015 by Deihmos

[pr3dict 33]

Soo My budget isnt really of a concern. Its more so "whatever it costs to get that job done" type deal.

[Nologic 30]

Soo My budget isnt really of a concern. Its more so "whatever it costs to get that job done" type deal.

 

Yeah as you mentioned prior...get the i7...the rest of you hardware is fine.

 

However you probably wont need it...probably your biggest issue is going to be networking. You'll need a quality wireless router...and maybe some access points spread around the house.

 

I personally prefer wired networking...course I'm a carpenter so retro fitting my house to gigabit was only a mild annoyance. So thus I use Roku 3's since they have gigabit ethernet ports.

 

 

[pr3dict 33]

Yeah as you mentioned prior...get the i7...the rest of you hardware is fine.

 

However you probably wont need it...probably your biggest issue is going to be networking. You'll need a quality wireless router...and maybe some access points spread around the house.

 

I personally prefer wired networking...course I'm a carpenter so retro fitting my house to gigabit was only a mild annoyance. So thus I use Roku 3's since they have gigabit ethernet ports.

 

 

 

 

Thanks. I have noticed this issue as well (the networking one that is). I use a few Roku3's and they work fine but the interface is not 100% what I would like it to be. I did find that the nexus players with the wireless are not hopping a long to well. I was considering buying a usb to ethernet adapter and just plugging it in that way.

[pr3dict 33]

sooooooo I settled on an i7-4790 for $210.

 

Hopefully this is a stable cpu for the foreseeable future.