Transcoding is a thing of the past. This should not exist today. This is just because a lot of people are using tricks like Firesticks and Apple TVs (I haven’t seen an Apple TV in years, maybe they are better now but Apple TV 2019 still has to convert a lot of stuff) or just want to watch things through a browser and then the web version of Plex. It works, but often you need to transcode unnecessarily because your browser doesn’t support some containers and codecs. Then at least install the Plex Media player app if you are watching from a laptop/desktop.

I have a small 10 year old HP NL 36 server, with an AMD Neo II CPU which is only a comma 0 in terms of computing power. But there’s nothing to worry about, I can still play my biggest files (4K/HDR, usually with enough bitrate that they’re between 40 and 50GB), and play directly on every device I have, for just years whether it’s my smartphone (yes, My smartphone also happens to have a 4K screen..but even though I didn’t have it like the Fold 4 I’m going to replace with the Xperia 1 MK 2, I still let it play 4K Directplay) or a smart TV, or the Surface Go 2. Everything went smoothly. smoothly.

I never get to see people who already have €2000 Plex Server setup just because they need a thick CPU/GPU array to transcode many streams. Nah, just make sure your customers can handle everything right away. It’s 2022. Even a mid-range smartphone with an HDR display should be able to play everything live.