It’s been a long wait, but Plex Pass subscribers can now utilize HEVC hardware encoding. Plex is also rolling out its public profile system, which is enabled by default unless you previously opted out.
You may be familiar with AVC (H.264), a compression standard that substantially reduces file size without sacrificing video quality. HEVC (H.265) is the sequel to the AVC codec—it’s more efficient and modern, but it’s also more demanding.
Let’s say that you’ve got a 10GB movie encoded with AVC. Re-encoding that movie in HEVC could reduce the file size by up to 50% without any impact on quality—your 10GB movie now takes up just 5GB of storage and looks as good as ever. In the real world, you’ll probably see an average file size reduction of about 30%, but the point still stands. HEVC frees up space on your home server and can drastically reduce your bandwidth usage.
The HEVC codec also retains HDR metadata, meaning that you can “ditch” tone mapping. Yes, you’ll still encounter tone mapping if you stream HDR content to a device that cannot display HDR. But the HDR metadata isn’t thrown away during transcoding, so even if your HDR-capable smart TV lacks HEVC support, you’ll benefit from the codec’s modern HDR chops.
Speaking of transcoding—avoid it when possible. HEVC transcoding is a very resource-intensive task, especially at 4K resolution. A lot of playback devices still lack HEVC support, so if you’re running a lightweight machine (even one with Intel Quick Sync), three or four simultaneous 4K transcodes could slow things to a halt.
In other news, Plex just launched its public profile and public ratings systems. All Plex profiles are, by default, publicly visible. You can see other users’ watchlists, watch history, and ratings. The platform’s reviews system is also up and running, meaning that you can write long essays about Star Trek or other franchises and share them with the world.
I think that these social media features are pretty cool. Very few of my friends are on Plex, so I have no reason to view peoples’ profiles or write reviews, but I enjoy the idea of creating community on a streaming platform. Should public profiles be the defaultoption? Eh. I don’t know.
You can set your Plex profile to “private” from settings. And, if you locked down your privacy settings a few months ago, you don’t need to take any action. Plex respected your preferences. In addition to the new social stuff, Plex is now offering its rewritten, redesigned client app on Apple TV. Just know that the new app is still in preview and lacks some functionality.
All of these improvements are available on Plex today. You may need to update the Plex app to enjoy new functionality.
Source: Plex