Use Plex’s Optimization Feature for Smoother Streaming
Plex is one of our favorite ways to stream media between devices . Sometimes, however, streaming can take a long time depending on the format of your media. Use Plex’s Optimization feature to solve this problem early and achieve smooth playback anywhere.
Plex uses the transcoding feature to convert your media to a format that works on the device you watch it on. You can think of it as a universal translator . Plex usually does this translation on the fly, but it can take up precious processing power. This may result in slow or choppy playback. To compensate for this, Plex has a little-known feature that can pre-optimize your videos. It converts your media in advance to a streaming-friendly format so it’s ready to stream when you do. To find a function, follow these steps:
- Open your library and select the episode of the movie or TV show that you want to optimize.
- Press the menu button on the thumbnail of the selected movie.
- Click “Optimize …”
- Select from the optimization drop-down list to select the quality level and storage location for the optimized files.
The tech tips site How-To Geek has more information on what settings you should be using, see the source link below. Once you choose your optimization options, Plex will start converting your media. Then the next time you need to play your movies, it will be ready to go. This will take up more space on your media server, but will make streaming smoother.
How To Optimize Movies And TV Shows For Smooth Plex Playback | How-To Geek