Raspberry pi h265

[Nem 2]

I have emby server set up on a dedicated machine with all of my media. I also have an rPi on the network plugged into the TV using kodi and the emby plugin

 

I'm wondering what the process is for playing media files in this setup. My rPi2 cant handle hardware decoding of h265 files, but is it actually the server that decodes the video and then sends it to the pi for playback? Or does emby server just send the file over to the pi, where the pi does the decoding?

 

I was thinking of buying an rPi3 for more power and hopefully be able to play h265 videos, but if its the server thats doing all the heavy lifting then itd mean I wouldn't have to buy a new pi

 

Also, would it be possible to play h265 files through the emby website if the server is doing the work?

[Jdiesel 1431]

The Emby for Kodi plugin has a setting for just that scenario. You have choose to have the server transcode h265 videos or pass them on the the client for direct playing as it. There is even the option to choose between all, 720p, 1080p and above enabling you to pass lower resolution videos like 720p but have the server transcode 1080p videos if you have weaker hardware like the RPi2.

 

You might want to browse the Kodi forums for a more definitive answer on the RPi3 ability to play h265 videos. My understanding is that with a mild overclock the RPi3 is able to play most lower to midrange bitrate 1080p h265 videos but your results may vary. My suggestion it to look for a S905 like the ODroid C2 and run LibreELEC on it. It comes with HDMI 2.0 and hardware h265 support for roughly the cost of a RPi3. Support is very good with Kodi developers and pretty much every Kodi feature minus 3D MVC playback is working on the 16.1 builds.

[Nem 2]

awesome, thanks

 

so what happens in the event of watching things in a web browser? Ive read that some browsers dont support h265, so is it possible to set an option in emby server to always transcode h265 media?

[Jdiesel 1431]

What the server sends out is dependent on the client. The server will check with the client to see what formats are compatible and will direct play if compatible or transcode to a compatible format if it isn't. Some clients like the Kodi for Emby plugin have settings for the user to specify what formats are compatible, others like the Roku, AppleTV, and web client do not. As far as I know the web client does not support direct playback of h265 material but I could be wrong. I have never had an issue with h265 material not being transcoded when needed on any client that didn't support h265 so I doubt a settings to force that behavior is even needed at all. 

Edited November 24, 2016 by Jdiesel

[Luke 42078]

That is correct, the apps and server are already smart enough to work that out.

[Luke 42078]

Raspberry Pi fans might enjoy trying Emby Theater:

 

https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/42760-emby-theater-on-raspberry-pi/

 

Enjoy.