So if your bunch of videos are not in above parameters, you can run your media through a video transcoding tool like DumboFab Video Converter to make these videos more compatible with Plex. The movie in MP4 will still play, you'll just see a higher CPU/GPU utilization on your server. If somebody plays a 1080p video on a device with a 720p or 480p screen (low-end or older model mobile phone, tv, etc). Keep the AC3 bitrate to 640 kbps (Blu-ray disc standard) or lower.Ģ. You can also add AC3 5.1 as a secondary, non-default, audio track for devices that support surround sound. Audio: AAC 2.0 audio (320kbps or lower)ġ.Codec: H.264 video (30fps or less, or lower, reference frames 5 or less).To get the best result playback for Plex streaming, you're recommended to keep your videos in the lowest standard provided below: That means, if you want to stream your own movies thru Plex, MP4 is highly recommended and more widely supported than MKV. Since the most compatible format across devices and other softwares is MP4 but not MKV, the better option is MP4. Moreover, MKV supports storing multiple video and audio tracks, chapter and subtitles, which is more complicated actually. In terms of container format features, MKV is an open-source container format that can hold any video codec and audio codec, while MP4 is limited to the codec specified by the MPEG standard. Then what's the best video format for Plex streaming without transcoding? Is that MKV, MP4, or something else? As known to all, MKV and MP4, as the two most widely used formats for media players, are both container formats. Therefore, if you want to avoid lousy matters such as choppy playback and regular buffering, you have to take consideration of both format feature and device compatibility. However nifty this server is, there are always real scenarios where the quality of your Plex experience is decreased due to the problem of video file incompatibility. It's officially claimed that formats like MP4, MKV, MOV, ASF, AVI, HEVC/H.265, H.264 can be played if they're uploaded to Plex. Part 1: What is the Best Video Format for Plex, MP4, MKV.?

Part 2: How to Convert Media Files to MP4 for Plex Streaming.

Part 1: What is the Best Video Format for Plex, MP4, MKV.?.

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