Plex and 4K “Network too slow” on Ethernet?

[mcdj]

I have a Synology NAS with gigabit Ethernet for storage, connected via Ethernet to a Synology 2600 router. Also connected to the router via Ethernet are a 2014 Mac Mini 2.6ghz, 16gb ram, which runs the Plex server, and an Apple TV 4K.

No problems playing 4K content from sources like ITunes rentals or YouTube on ATV.

But the Apple TV Plex app is choking on 50gb+ 4K files stored on the NAS. Star Wars 4K77 is non stop jitter. Other files play for a while, a bit jumpy, then freeze a bit, then play some more, then freeze, etc.

I often get a message saying my network connection isn’t fast enough.

All Plex conversion settings are set to original/maximum. If I turn on automatic conversion, I get a message saying my processor isn’t fast enough.

Do I need a more powerful Mac mini? There’s no WiFi involved so I don’t know how much faster I can get network wise.

thanks.

 

[ActionableMango]

Assuming your gigabit Ethernet network is working properly, bandwidth is not the problem.

The legitimate streaming sources all work because they are streaming content to the ATV in a format that is supported by ATV's hardware acceleration. It's not about bandwidth--heck, they are streaming over the Internet to your home, which is for most people way, WAY slower than gigabit Ethernet.

Almost certainly your pirated content is in a format that is not supported by ATV's built-in hardware acceleration. If you set Plex to original, your ATV is receiving the unsupported video format, and so ATV struggles to play it back without the benefit of hardware acceleration. If you set Plex to transcode on the fly, it will send a fully supported video format to the ATV. The problems with that are (A) your Mac Mini has insufficient CPU power to keep up with transcoding on the fly, (B) transcoding on-the-fly results in loss of picture quality (and often audio quality too)--it is optimized for speed instead of quality.

IIRC, Plex can transcode ahead of time, making a copy that is compatible with your ATV. Your Mac Mini is capable of this because it doesn't have to keep up with real time playback--it will just take however long it takes. Doing this should work, but the drawback is that much more disk space will be used because you have two copies of every title, and you're not getting the full quality of the original file when you are playing back the transcoded file.

The other possibility I can think of only applies if you have one of the cheaper, lower-end Synology NAS units. Those have just barely enough CPU and memory to get out of their own way. In my experience if you do anything challenging at all, like turn on file encryption or having hundreds to thousands of files in a folder, they choke and have very poor file serving performance.

 

[CoastalOR]

I think there has been a bug with the Plex Media Server (PMS) app since around version 15. I have been having the same server too slow from Plex sometimes from my Mini to the aTV. I went to the Plex forums and saw some discussions about problems.

 

[Tesla1856]

Check the NAS transfer rate of a large file to Mac (outside of Plex). My Synology DS412-Plus likes to slow-down from 100 to around 20. I run CAT-5e/CAT-6 and have a nice gigabit-1000 managed switch (gigabit backbone).

IIRC, seems to have started a year-or-so ago when I upgraded to DSM-6.x . I'm fully loaded with 4tb x 4 =16tb Synology-Hybrid-RAID (RAID-5 with 1-disk fault tolerance) . It's sad, but works fine other than that.

 

[Dameatball]

It’s most likely the client can’t handle a file/bitrate that large is my guess, or if it requires transcoding to play then the mini/server may be the issue. What happens when you play it on a browser?

FYI a lot streaming devices are going to choke on something that substantial. Again try some other clients and see what the result is.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Try using the Infuse client to playback your Plex content, and see if that fixes it. Plexes clients are notoriously bad.

 

[msouter]

I've struggled with this for at least the last 6 months - Apple TV latest generation, and an unRaid server on which I'd loaded Plex - that I spent inordinate amounts of time on, endlessly optimizing the Plex configuration, network cards etc. But I could not play ANYTHING beyond a standard 576p ( and a very rare 720p) without getting the 'network too slow' message. This is on a hardwired system with CAT6 straight from my server via a switch to the apple tv. Upgraded the switch - no improvement. Driving me crazy, and she-who-must-be-obeyed was *very* unhappy... Followed numerous 'fixes' and tried Emby & Infuse to no avail. Then by chance, 2 weeks ago, the (5 yr old) OLED TV blew its main board and I decided to get a new LG OLED. By chance, this had a plex client installed, and so decided to give it a try, and bypass the Apple TV.... That has *completely solved* my problems. I can now play 4K/2160p files with ease - no stuttering, no problems. The inevitable conclusion is that it's the Apple TV, that just can't buffer. I dug out the Apple TV's predecessor - a Roku 4 - and that played all my 1080p files with no problem. Essentially, the Apple TV looks good - but does not deliver. I have now also noted that when I go back to try the appleTV it can't even keep up with Netflix or Prime without stuttering. If I was cynical I might think that a sneaky upgrade somewhere may be impacting anything other than Apple streamed input - but it's not as if Apple have ever done anything like that in the past....? oh, wait...

 

[Tesla1856]

I've struggled with this for at least the last 6 months - Apple TV latest generation, and an unRaid server on which I'd loaded Plex - that I spent inordinate amounts of time on, endlessly optimizing the Plex configuration, network cards etc. But I could not play ANYTHING beyond a standard 576p ( and a very rare 720p) without getting the 'network too slow' message. This is on a hardwired system with CAT6 straight from my server via a switch to the apple tv. Upgraded the switch - no improvement. Driving me crazy, and she-who-must-be-obeyed was *very* unhappy... Followed numerous 'fixes' and tried Emby & Infuse to no avail. Then by chance, 2 weeks ago, the (5 yr old) OLED TV blew its main board and I decided to get a new LG OLED. By chance, this had a plex client installed, and so decided to give it a try, and bypass the Apple TV.... That has *completely solved* my problems. I can now play 4K/2160p files with ease - no stuttering, no problems. The inevitable conclusion is that it's the Apple TV, that just can't buffer. I dug out the Apple TV's predecessor - a Roku 4 - and that played all my 1080p files with no problem. Essentially, the Apple TV looks good - but does not deliver. I have now also noted that when I go back to try the appleTV it can't even keep up with Netflix or Prime without stuttering. If I was cynical I might think that a sneaky upgrade somewhere may be impacting anything other than Apple streamed input - but it's not as if Apple have ever done anything like that in the past....? oh, wait...

Are you sure it's an Apple-TV 4K 5th-Gen (with a gigabit port)?

I'm running an older Apple-TV HD 4th-Gen . Plex is on an old (Atom based) Synology NAS. I can definitely run 720p files. I can even run some 1080p files (especially if they are just 1080p MP4's ripped from YouTube). Using ethernet wires with a Netgear Gigabit Switch (backbone).

Yeah, it's hard to know at what ethernet speed the Apple-TV is connecting at (10/100/1000). However, you can look at the tattle-tale lights on the switch's face (or login to it if it's a Smart one).

I'd also remind you to watch your Plex Transcoding settings, but sounds like you are a Plex power-user ( so know all about that).

 

[bob2k2]

Are you sure it's an Apple-TV 4K 5th-Gen (with a gigabit port)?

I'm running an older Apple-TV HD 4th-Gen . Plex is on an old (Atom based) Synology NAS. I can definitely run 720p files. I can even run some 1080p files (especially if they are just 1080p MP4's ripped from YouTube). Using ethernet wires with a Netgear Gigabit Switch (backbone).

Yeah, it's hard to know at what ethernet speed the Apple-TV is connecting at (10/100/1000). However, you can look at the tattle-tale lights on the switch's face (or login to it if it's a Smart one).

I'd also remind you to watch your Plex Transcoding settings, but sounds like you are a Plex power-user ( so know all about that).

I have a Synology NAS with gigabit Ethernet for storage, connected via Ethernet to a Synology 2600 router. Also connected to the router via Ethernet are a 2014 Mac Mini 2.6ghz, 16gb ram, which runs the Plex server, and an Apple TV 4K.

No problems playing 4K content from sources like ITunes rentals or YouTube on ATV.

But the Apple TV Plex app is choking on 50gb+ 4K files stored on the NAS. Star Wars 4K77 is non stop jitter. Other files play for a while, a bit jumpy, then freeze a bit, then play some more, then freeze, etc.

I often get a message saying my network connection isn’t fast enough.

All Plex conversion settings are set to original/maximum. If I turn on automatic conversion, I get a message saying my processor isn’t fast enough.

Do I need a more powerful Mac mini? There’s no WiFi involved so I don’t know how much faster I can get network wise.

thanks.

 

[Tesla1856]

Thank God I found this article. Plex on Synology DS1618+ has been for horrible since the 4K Apple TV has come out. It never occurred to me that the Apple TV was the problem and I thought it was my Synology Nas which is pretty powerful for the size files I'm trying to play. I actually thought I had to upgrade my NAS because of transcoding. I have more than enough internal band with inside my house which is not the problem. What I did do was give away my older Apple TV to my daughter and bought the 4K version - big mistake in hindsight. I bought the first ATV 4K (Model number: A1842) and second generation (Model number: A2169) for a 2nd TV. Since then I have been having nothing but problems similarly mentioned above – "you're processor is not fast enough…". The remarkable thing about this is that my LG OLED television Plex app can play everything flawlessly (I found this out today) and so can the Plex on my older non-4K Amazon Firestick when I tried it today. I don't see much difference between the first and second generation 4K for Plex operability. Both are problem for Plex. For some files it can't even find the file in the menu and video episodes appear blank with a message that states "unavailable media" while the rest of the episodes are shown. Not so on an OLED or Firestick. In other cases files as small as 785 kB keep on spooling and stuttering as I play them with messages "you processor is not fast enough" (or something like that - prior to ATV 4K I could play 1GB files w/o issues . I've tried everything imaginable to update my Plex Synology NAS settings. Nothing seems makes it better. I have several family members who can access my Plex media here and even overseas and they have no difficulty streaming or any problems with buffering - but yet within my internal network where my NAS is I can't get reliable video thru my Apple TV 4K. I had high hopes for the Apple TV 4K but I'm giving up and may just use my OLED (it is cumbersome) or just get a Amazon Fire Stick 4K. What a mess. The Apple TV 4K works well and all the other apps – just not the one I use the most on it - PLEX.

Well, I was waiting for Apple-TV (Gen 6) to be released. When it finally was, I saw that they not only changed the remote, they removed the accelerometer. Since we can't race on Asphalt-8 with either of those (bizarre) changes ... I picked up a new Apple-TV-4K (Gen 5) from OWC for $100. I still need to install it.

However, if I find that it is somehow SLOWER over wired-ethernet than my Apple-TV-HD (Gen 4) or causes problems with Plex playing local video files from my Synology-NAS ... rest-assured I will work to figure-out the problem.

As far as my old Synology DS412+ (Atom based) - If a MKV or MP4 file is large or high-quality encode (ie, 1080p and DTS-HD), I save myself the trouble and just play it thru my Windows-Kodi box (also connected to my Home Theater).

I did resolve this:

Plex and 4K “Network too slow” on Ethernet?

Check the NAS transfer rate of a large file to Mac (outside of Plex). My Synology DS412-Plus likes to slow-down from 100 to around 20. I run CAT-5e/CAT-6 and have a nice gigabit-1000 managed switch (gigabit backbone). IIRC, seems to have started a year-or-so ago when I upgraded to DSM-6.x . I'm...

forums.macrumors.com

Just not sure how exactly. It was either cabling, my old Gigabit-Switch, or maybe the Network Settings in the NAS itself. Now I always get transfers around 100, as observed just copying large files back-and-forth to my Windows PC. Back when I was having the problems with Plex playing files ... I thought maybe it was Plex, it's settings, the Apple-TV-HD, etc. Finally, I tried the file-copy test and saw that my transfers off the NAS were only 20. That's when I knew the problem didn't have anything to do with the Apple-TV or Apps, it was the NAS itself. I mention it now to you as a possible troubleshooting step.

Your problem is strange. One possible explanation might be that streaming is different, often lower quality files, and designed to handle network latency. I think playing local files is different and Plex/Apple-TV expects the files to be more readily available on the (fast) LAN.

It sounds like you have done some troubleshooting, so good work. However, I have seen every possible kind of networking part fail on one network or the other ... NIC-cards, new cables, software drivers, settings, ethernet-switches (slowing down or dead-ports) , routers, and whatever I left out.

 

[bob2k2]

Well, I was waiting for Apple-TV (Gen 6) to be released. When it finally was, I saw that they not only changed the remote, they removed the accelerometer. Since we can't race on Asphalt-8 with either of those (bizarre) changes ... I picked up a new Apple-TV-4K (Gen 5) from OWC for $100. I still need to install it.

However, if I find that it is somehow SLOWER over wired-ethernet than my Apple-TV-HD (Gen 4) or causes problems with Plex playing local video files from my Synology-NAS ... rest-assured I will work to figure-out the problem.

As far as my old Synology DS412+ (Atom based) - If a MKV or MP4 file is large or high-quality encode (ie, 1080p and DTS-HD), I save myself the trouble and just play it thru my Windows-Kodi box (also connected to my Home Theater).

I did resolve this:

Plex and 4K “Network too slow” on Ethernet?

Check the NAS transfer rate of a large file to Mac (outside of Plex). My Synology DS412-Plus likes to slow-down from 100 to around 20. I run CAT-5e/CAT-6 and have a nice gigabit-1000 managed switch (gigabit backbone). IIRC, seems to have started a year-or-so ago when I upgraded to DSM-6.x . I'm...

forums.macrumors.com

Just not sure how exactly. It was either cabling, my old Gigabit-Switch, or maybe the Network Settings in the NAS itself. Now I always get transfers around 100, as observed just copying large files back-and-forth to my Windows PC. Back when I was having the problems with Plex playing files ... I thought maybe it was Plex, it's settings, the Apple-TV-HD, etc. Finally, I tried the file-copy test and saw that my transfers off the NAS were only 20. That's when I knew the problem didn't have anything to do with the Apple-TV or Apps, it was the NAS itself. I mention it now to you as a possible troubleshooting step.

Your problem is strange. One possible explanation might be that streaming is different, often lower quality files, and designed to handle network latency. I think playing local files is different and Plex/Apple-TV expects the files to be more readily available on the (fast) LAN.

It sounds like you have done some troubleshooting, so good work. However, I have seen every possible kind of networking part fail on one network or the other ... NIC-cards, new cables, software drivers, settings, ethernet-switches (slowing down or dead-ports) , routers, and whatever I left out.

After playing a little more around with my OLED Plex app it became a little flaky at times. So, yesterday I purchased a Amazon Fires Stick 4K Max for about $32 - it was on sale - to try it out. It works flawlessly with Plex - all the problems I experienced with the Apple 4K generation one and two devices have gone away with my Synology NAS. have gone away. The TV picture is noticeably better from my media compared to what I was seeing from Plex & the AppleTV4K - when it worked! (I can even internally stream on the Plex at a higher rate (lowest 1080p rate) without any sluggishness) there's no spooling, everything shows up, media that wouldn't play before now plays, no more messages about processor speed - and it's $140 less that than an AppleTV 4K - do I like Amazon - NO - I am an Apple guy - but does it work - YES and as well as I would expect an Apple TV 4K should work with Plex - but doesn't.

Problem. Solved.

FYI my NAS is Synology Model DS1618+ with an INTEL Atom C3538 64 bit processor operating at 2.1GHZ, 4 core CPU, with 16GB of physical memory. The Apple TV 4K should not have a problem with playing media form it.

 

[Tesla1856]

I purchased a Amazon Fires Stick 4K Max for about $32 -

do I like Amazon - NO - I am an Apple guy - but does it work - YES and as well as I would expect an Apple TV 4K should work with Plex - but doesn't.

Problem. Solved.

FYI my NAS is Synology Model DS1618+ with an INTEL Atom C3538 64 bit processor operating at 2.1GHZ, 4 core CPU, with 16GB of physical memory. The Apple TV 4K should not have a problem with playing media form it.

That's cool. Sounds like me and Amazon Echos and Shows (however, we are Prime Subscribers and like Amazon well enough). Still don't have any Fire devices though. We are heavy into Apple ecosystem, but never got a HomePod (or whatever they sell now). I did see that OWC has new ones cheap.

Your Synology is much newer and better than mine. I agree, it should do fine. Have you have a chance to measure it's network transfer performance is the simple way I suggested? Still might be good to know.

 

[legato01]

After playing a little more around with my OLED Plex app it became a little flaky at times. So, yesterday I purchased a Amazon Fires Stick 4K Max for about $32 - it was on sale - to try it out. It works flawlessly with Plex - all the problems I experienced with the Apple 4K generation one and two devices have gone away with my Synology NAS. have gone away. The TV picture is noticeably better from my media compared to what I was seeing from Plex & the AppleTV4K - when it worked! (I can even internally stream on the Plex at a higher rate (lowest 1080p rate) without any sluggishness) there's no spooling, everything shows up, media that wouldn't play before now plays, no more messages about processor speed - and it's $140 less that than an AppleTV 4K - do I like Amazon - NO - I am an Apple guy - but does it work - YES and as well as I would expect an Apple TV 4K should work with Plex - but doesn't.

Problem. Solved.

FYI my NAS is Synology Model DS1618+ with an INTEL Atom C3538 64 bit processor operating at 2.1GHZ, 4 core CPU, with 16GB of physical memory. The Apple TV 4K should not have a problem with playing media form it.

It would be more efficient if you just install Plex Media Server in the Synology NAS.

 

[Tesla1856]

It would be more efficient if you just install Plex Media Server in the Synology NAS.

That's what I am doing and I assumed others were also.

When using an Apple-TV (Gen4-Gen6) , is there some other way to install and run Plex ?

 

[legato01]

Got confused a bit but OP's @mcdj (and not @bob2k2)

setup seems to be:
1. The Synology NAS contains all the media files
2. The mac mini 2014 runs the Plex Media Server (PMS)
3. Apple TV runs the Plex client

This setup works for sure but you can just run PMS on the Synology NAS server itself.

As long as the client can run the media files natively without transcoding, this should be fine.

Ideally you really don't want transcoding and most modern clients should be able to play media files as is.

 

[Tesla1856]

Got confused a bit but OP's @mcdj (and not @bob2k2)

setup seems to be:
1. The Synology NAS contains all the media files
2. The mac mini 2014 runs the Plex Media Server (PMS)
3. Apple TV runs the Plex client

This setup works for sure but you can just run PMS on the Synology NAS server itself.

As long as the client can run the media files natively without transcoding, this should be fine.

Ideally you really don't want transcoding and most modern clients should be able to play media files as is.

I suppose you could do it that way. In fact, I think people do for various reasons. But that takes 3 different machines to accomplish one task.

On my Synology NAS (and I assume @bob2k2 Synology NAS) ... Synology is not only a (storage) NAS, it's also a little Server (it has an OS and everything). It allows us to run the Plex Media Server on it also. And then we just run the Plex client on it (it's just another Apple-TV App, like the others we get from the App store).