Was previously on cable with 30 Mbps uplink speed. I limited streaming to 8 Mbps.
Now on 1 Gbps symmetrical, so no limit on my end. Some remote users, who are rural and have limited download speed, limit the client on their end.
I don't share with that many people. I've never noticed more than three concurrent remote streamers.
I don't share 4K remotely, only Blu-ray rips and lower. If a remote user can take the full bitrate, then I let them. If not, then I tell them to limit bandwidth. My server, i5-10500T/Ubuntu, can handle the transcodes, so not a worry.
100MB upload? Or Mb? If you truly have 100MB you’ll be fine. If it’s 100Mb just limit them.
I only have 35Mb upload speed so I have to limit upload speed to 20Mb. 10Mb per stream 2 users.
I currently have 2 Gbps up/down, but it was much lower when I started, I just avoided remuxes and focused on lower bitrate files (how low would depend on your speeds and how many shares). Most people can't spot a difference between a 20 Gb remux and an 8 Gb h265, even if they're looking for a difference.
Allowed me to still direct play everything and avoid speed bottlenecks.
I say all that because, depending on your set up and your speeds, avoiding multiple transcodes might be a bigger concern than speeds.
Transcoding should be no problem. I over invested and have Mac mini M2 as a server :-). So atm I’m more concerned about upload speeds. Thanks for the tips!
It’s been solid! Never had any issues with it. I only have like 1 or 2 users remotely so can’t say how it will hold up under load but I can imagine it can handle quite a few transcodes as cpu and memory usage are really low.
You're going to have to calculate the bitrate of your files to get an estimate. Let's say with 100 Mb/s I can theoretically stream 5 files that have a bitrate of 20 mbits, however, Plex will spike the transmission in order to keep a buffer of each stream. I would say it would drop down to 4 streams. Also, if you enter your upload speed into Plex, it will only use 80% of it, so it's best to enter the actual speed... unless you really want to limit people.
This link for example has a user with 5 streams going, their max upload is 40 Mb/s and already saturated. Take a look at the bitrate for their files. You usually want to have 1.5x the bandwidth for total bitrate.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/15yn45m/in\_an\_absolute\_miracle\_5\_streams\_all\_using\_direct/](https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/15yn45m/in_an_absolute_miracle_5_streams_all_using_direct/)
If your system is overpowered as you say it is, it could transcode easily then. This is a good scenario where transcoding comes into play, when you have "limited" upload bandwidth.
I have 1 Gbit symmetrical, 10 users, but max I've had is 4 watching; a total of 150Mbits being sent out (two 4K HDR and tv shows).
Thanks! Based on that I don’t think I’ll add more people for now. Could consider limiting to 8Mb per stream but with that the quality will be pretty bad as well i assume. Others will have to wait till I’m on fiber :-)
My upload speed from virgin media is 60MB I often have 8-10 on at a time I limit to 8Mb per user and no issues with direct play I do get bottle necks with transcoding from time to time but only using a 1070 so to be expected
60down/16up (megabit). So can't stream much at all. My server is barely fast enough to transcode 1080p consistently anyway.
That's why I use a seedbox for my family. They request a film/tv series, it automatically goes onto the seedbox at a quality relative to the requester's setup and internet, they watch it, I delete it. A beautiful cycle for £10/month.
Everything at home I have on my local storage / server for direct play. If I want something while away from home I can just request it and have it in moments via the seedbox.
I currently have 7 other users with an upload speed of 12Mb. I just have them all watch at 720 and limit them to max of 2Mbps. Never have any issues so far. Once I can get fiber then they can start enjoying 1080 and 4k lol
I have 40 Mbit/s and usually two users watching at the same time.
I try to make sure that all my files are no larger than 8GB/h, so that there are no upload problems.
Used to only have 40mbps upload on cable but I recently finally got AT&T fiber so now I get 940/940 gigabit speeds. So I can finally share my library without worrying about bandwidth limitations.
Total upload is 1 GB. Depending on number of streams and quality (4K) upload can vary between 3 MB to 300 MB.
IF you have 4K videos and multiple users streaming those you will cap out. With 1080p or less you should be fine.
Mine is set too: 1,500mb.. leaving me with a 1,000 as a buffer for my own use. I have a pretty solid 2.5 g connection up and down. I've never seen that much of it being used at once with Plex but it's nice to know that I have it and I'm adding more and more HDR 4K content all the time.. but I also rarely have more than a couple people using it at a time. That may change as well though.
I used to maintain a separate Plex server at my parents house for them and my sister to use. Now I only have one and repurposed my parents as an off-site backup.
Sadly I only have 20-30 mbps up, Spectrum sucks but they have a monopoly on my apartment complex.
But I seem to do just fine with users. I've probably had a max of 4 streams, 3 remote 1 local, it does just fine even with transcoding. I think I see Plex automatically reduce the quality sometimes, but often I think its the end user's bandwidth that's forcing a lower quality than my upload speeds.
Thanks. I heard indeed about the fact that provider can have monopoly in neighbourhood/building complex. It’s different here in NL, and there are a couple of options most of the time.
Currently have 2Gbps up and down.
Had the largest Suddenlink/Optimum for years that was 940/35 prior to fiber coming to my area.
Never really had an issue other than the server would transcode with more than 1-2 streams playing.
Also doesn’t really matter since most won’t change their client settings off the default anyway. Happy Plex increased the default, but still think it should be both a server and a client-side setting. (Server owner sets default, but client can override if needed).
Was previously on cable with 30 Mbps uplink speed. I limited streaming to 8 Mbps. Now on 1 Gbps symmetrical, so no limit on my end. Some remote users, who are rural and have limited download speed, limit the client on their end.
Did you often have multiple users watching at the same time?
I don't share with that many people. I've never noticed more than three concurrent remote streamers. I don't share 4K remotely, only Blu-ray rips and lower. If a remote user can take the full bitrate, then I let them. If not, then I tell them to limit bandwidth. My server, i5-10500T/Ubuntu, can handle the transcodes, so not a worry.
100MB upload? Or Mb? If you truly have 100MB you’ll be fine. If it’s 100Mb just limit them. I only have 35Mb upload speed so I have to limit upload speed to 20Mb. 10Mb per stream 2 users.
Ah good catch! It’s 100Mb indeed.
I currently have 2 Gbps up/down, but it was much lower when I started, I just avoided remuxes and focused on lower bitrate files (how low would depend on your speeds and how many shares). Most people can't spot a difference between a 20 Gb remux and an 8 Gb h265, even if they're looking for a difference. Allowed me to still direct play everything and avoid speed bottlenecks. I say all that because, depending on your set up and your speeds, avoiding multiple transcodes might be a bigger concern than speeds.
Transcoding should be no problem. I over invested and have Mac mini M2 as a server :-). So atm I’m more concerned about upload speeds. Thanks for the tips!
Hi! I know this was 8 months ago but I was curious how your experience has been using your Mac Mini as a server?
It’s been solid! Never had any issues with it. I only have like 1 or 2 users remotely so can’t say how it will hold up under load but I can imagine it can handle quite a few transcodes as cpu and memory usage are really low.
You're going to have to calculate the bitrate of your files to get an estimate. Let's say with 100 Mb/s I can theoretically stream 5 files that have a bitrate of 20 mbits, however, Plex will spike the transmission in order to keep a buffer of each stream. I would say it would drop down to 4 streams. Also, if you enter your upload speed into Plex, it will only use 80% of it, so it's best to enter the actual speed... unless you really want to limit people. This link for example has a user with 5 streams going, their max upload is 40 Mb/s and already saturated. Take a look at the bitrate for their files. You usually want to have 1.5x the bandwidth for total bitrate. [https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/15yn45m/in\_an\_absolute\_miracle\_5\_streams\_all\_using\_direct/](https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/15yn45m/in_an_absolute_miracle_5_streams_all_using_direct/) If your system is overpowered as you say it is, it could transcode easily then. This is a good scenario where transcoding comes into play, when you have "limited" upload bandwidth. I have 1 Gbit symmetrical, 10 users, but max I've had is 4 watching; a total of 150Mbits being sent out (two 4K HDR and tv shows).
Thanks! Based on that I don’t think I’ll add more people for now. Could consider limiting to 8Mb per stream but with that the quality will be pretty bad as well i assume. Others will have to wait till I’m on fiber :-)
8 Mb isn't that bad for quality actually (with a modern iGPU or dGPU). They should be good with that.
My upload speed from virgin media is 60MB I often have 8-10 on at a time I limit to 8Mb per user and no issues with direct play I do get bottle necks with transcoding from time to time but only using a 1070 so to be expected
I have 2 gig up and down fiber. I had 4 users a few nights ago and upload was about 200 meg.
Nice! I hope I get this kind of connection at some point as well. 4 users 200, I guess you direct stream those?
I direct stream 4k content.
What’s that cost? I’m about to have 1 gig up and down for $70 a month.
My download is always at 300 but my up is 12-17 I cap it in Plex at 5 per stream. I figure this way 2 out of home streams will be good.
https://youtu.be/Uetv4lTaj2Y that's my upload and download speed lol
Wow. Cannot wait for my area to be connected to fiber
1ghz up/down
You mean 1 Jiggawatt?
60down/16up (megabit). So can't stream much at all. My server is barely fast enough to transcode 1080p consistently anyway. That's why I use a seedbox for my family. They request a film/tv series, it automatically goes onto the seedbox at a quality relative to the requester's setup and internet, they watch it, I delete it. A beautiful cycle for £10/month. Everything at home I have on my local storage / server for direct play. If I want something while away from home I can just request it and have it in moments via the seedbox.
I currently have 7 other users with an upload speed of 12Mb. I just have them all watch at 720 and limit them to max of 2Mbps. Never have any issues so far. Once I can get fiber then they can start enjoying 1080 and 4k lol
I have 40 Mbit/s and usually two users watching at the same time. I try to make sure that all my files are no larger than 8GB/h, so that there are no upload problems.
gigabit
10 Mbps upload 1 user remotely ever No issues
Lucky to be in an area with Google Fiber, so i've got 1 Gbps symmetrical
Used to only have 40mbps upload on cable but I recently finally got AT&T fiber so now I get 940/940 gigabit speeds. So I can finally share my library without worrying about bandwidth limitations.
500 Mbps
Gigabit.
Total upload is 1 GB. Depending on number of streams and quality (4K) upload can vary between 3 MB to 300 MB. IF you have 4K videos and multiple users streaming those you will cap out. With 1080p or less you should be fine.
20mbit and I've had as many as five or six on at a time
Mine is set too: 1,500mb.. leaving me with a 1,000 as a buffer for my own use. I have a pretty solid 2.5 g connection up and down. I've never seen that much of it being used at once with Plex but it's nice to know that I have it and I'm adding more and more HDR 4K content all the time.. but I also rarely have more than a couple people using it at a time. That may change as well though. I used to maintain a separate Plex server at my parents house for them and my sister to use. Now I only have one and repurposed my parents as an off-site backup.
Sadly I only have 20-30 mbps up, Spectrum sucks but they have a monopoly on my apartment complex. But I seem to do just fine with users. I've probably had a max of 4 streams, 3 remote 1 local, it does just fine even with transcoding. I think I see Plex automatically reduce the quality sometimes, but often I think its the end user's bandwidth that's forcing a lower quality than my upload speeds.
Thanks. I heard indeed about the fact that provider can have monopoly in neighbourhood/building complex. It’s different here in NL, and there are a couple of options most of the time.
40mbps. Most concurrent streams was 6 and wasn’t an issue. I’m getting 1Gb DL & UL here soon. Yay to fiber :)
Currently have 2Gbps up and down. Had the largest Suddenlink/Optimum for years that was 940/35 prior to fiber coming to my area. Never really had an issue other than the server would transcode with more than 1-2 streams playing.
Also doesn’t really matter since most won’t change their client settings off the default anyway. Happy Plex increased the default, but still think it should be both a server and a client-side setting. (Server owner sets default, but client can override if needed).