So I have been using an Xbox as my Plex devices for years now, Currently using an Xbox One X and Plex and Xbox do not get along well with 4k HDR. I have confirmed with Plex developers that this is a platform issue between Xbox and Plex where 4k HDR video and other videos will cause a buffer loop after 5-20 mins of playback. This issue has been going on a long time and I give up and want to move to another device that can handle 4k HDR on Plex.
So given that my server setup is good, I can stream 240 MBPS 4k HDR video to other devices over wifi, twice the bit rate of UHD discs how does Vero handle 4k HDR using Plex?
This will be the primary use of Vero for me so it is the most important factor. Is Plex just a kodi plugin on Vero or a stand alone app and does it fully support 4k HDR using Plex?
It will play any 4K HDR rips (128Mbps is max) over WiFi.
It will play 4K up to 400Mbps if HEVC, over Wired Ethernet.
I’ll let others chime in regarding the efficacy of Plex on Vero. There is the official add-on and Plex Kodi Connect. I’m not sure which one is best or preferred nowadays.
Both versions are add-ons, so they can use the full capabilities of the player (i.e. 4K, HDR, HD audio playback)
Sam
Thanks, is the 128 MBPS limit over wifi sustained bit rate or peak? On average my 4k HDR videos range between 20-60 mbps but I notice spikes on the Plex server can go past 300mps. Will Vero handle these spikes if the avg bit rate of the video is between 20-60 mbps?
If your using a local server and you get it setup right then all the files are just streamed local and the quality is as good as your source. The normal Plex add-on that works like what your used to is currently working just fine but I believe Plex have decided to no longer maintain it. The PlexKodiConnect add-on is a bit different as it basically takes over your library in a very un-sanctioned by Kodi way, although I did try it recently and it seemed to work fine.
If your files are local you don’t actually need to go through Plex. You could just setup a normal Kodi library.
As for the bitrate question the Video buffer is user adjustable if you have issues.
Thanks, I have a server setup with Plex and at this point I’d just like to get a bullet proof device that can stream 4k Plex to my TV without buffer issues.
Because of all my Plex/Xbox issues I copied my Movies to a couple of hard drives and just plugged them directly into my TV, but I’d rather go back to just using a device that has a good version of Plex to play them on.
The device should meet your requirements then, and we’re happy to help.
Do you plan to use WiFi or Ethernet?
This isn’t a WiFi limit.
4K UHD Blu-rays are limited at 128Mbps.
With a good connection you will get 200Mbps on 802.11ac. The adapter supports 433Mbps negotiation. So a WiFi connection in the real-world, could stream just shy of two 4K UHD rips simultaneously. If your rips are 60Mbps max, then they are likely encodes; so definitely wouldn’t be problematic.
Sam
I plan to use Wifi, my local wifi is good and 4k HDR files would stream fine if the Xbox version of Plex did not have bugs causing buffer loops. They fixed it in the spring and everything worked great but then a regressive bug was introduced which cause the buffer loops again so my wifi network and server can fully support serving up high bit rate 4k HDR over wifi with no issues. I have a tablet and a phone that support native 4k HDR and those play fine with my current setup through Plex.
What is the current status through of the Plex implementation on Vero?
Then you will be fine.
There are two add-ons available
The official Plex one and a third party one, named PlexKodiConnect.
The only suggestion I’d make is ensuring that your 5G network and 2.4G network, if you have one, have separate SSIDs
I’ve been using PlexKodiConnect for about 2 years and I think it is excellent - basically all the benefits of Kodi combined with all the benefits of Plex. Its great having the central database managed by Plex and it means setting up a new device takes minutes.
Yep I have 5ghz and 2.4 fix on seperate ssids and would connect it to the 5ghz ssid.
Well just made the purchase. Hopefully this works without any buffer issues. It will be nice to use plex without any scare of a random buffer loop killing my movie session.
I use plexkodiconnect and as someone else said it works great. If you are worried about buffering plug in some storage and turn the buffer up to full in advancedsettings.xml
Does the plexkodiconnect support 4k hdr?
The regular plex app acts like the one on the xbox.
The PlexKodiConnect add-on takes your media from Plex and inserts it as links into normal Kodi library so it no longer looks like Plex anymore. This can be done in one of two ways. You can let it attach the files in the “normal” Plex way such that if you took your device to another location it would just stream them over the internet. The alternative is to set it up so it pulls the info from Plex but puts the files in the library as direct links to your file share (bypassing Plex when you play a video). Either way if you can get 4k hdr as long as your setup correctly just like you can with the regular add-on.
Yes. It will play the file as is, if configured correctly as @darwindesign explained
The plexcodiconnect plug in seems kind of odd, why would I use that instead of the official plex app/plug in?
I’ll be using the Plex servers I normally have and would just want it to work and look like plex
If your happy with how you have been using Plex you probably wouldn’t. PlexKodiConnect can be a good option for people who prefer the Kodi library but want a shared watched state with other Plex clients, or want to run a shared library with multiple Kodi boxes without running a MySQL server.
I use the “official” Plex for Kodi app. Love it. I personally pull my 4K HDR Remuxes from a cloud account (plex sees the remote share mapped locally) and my max download is 250 Mbit/s and I nearly never have any buffering issues.
Files always render correctly, meaning HDR, 2160p, Direct Play, Lossless Audio, etc.
Hope that helps.