Media server platform Plex introduces a new feature that automatically selects the best quality setting from the first stream attempt when users stream from the internet. Until now, this was only the case with local streaming.
A Plex Contributor confirms the change on Reddit, noting that not only does a stream’s quality improve, but buffer time decreases as well; Plex’ tests would show that transcoding to a lower bitrate and that buffering, on the average server takes longer than a higher quality immediately buffering. The feature is currently being rolled out and is currently only available on Android TV. The feature replaces the current automatic quality setting, which does not automatically choose the best quality.
Plex server admins have been complaining for years about this default setting of Plex, where new devices default to a lower quality video stream than the maximum achievable. Thanks to the new feature, the content is no longer transcoded by default, which ensures that the use of bandwidth is preferred over the processing power of the server.
