Support / Documentation Questions

[edddeduck]

I have a couple of questions surrounding the tool that would be really helpful.

1. When it comes to setting GPU_THREADS what metric should I look at to choose the number? Is it the number of simultaneous transcodes the GPU can handle in Plex?
2. When setting PLEX_BIF_FRAME_INTERVAL does this need to match Plex servers setting? Can I just leave Plex server disabled and use this tool to generate all my thumbnails?
3. Is there a maximum value for PLEX_BIF_FRAME_INTERVAL I have seen mention of 10 seconds but nothing confirmed.
4. I assume this tool will notice if the thumbnails have already been generated and not generate them a second time. For example if I run this tool every month to create thumbnails for new videos will it try and replace all the existing ones I generated last month (assuming I keep the PLEX_BIF_FRAME_INTERVAL time the same)?

Once I have tested the tool myself I'd be happy to (if it's useful) submit a pull request with these details added to ether the main page or an FAQ area as I think it could be useful to others.

[stevezau]

Hi @edddeduck,

Sure, see my responses below.

1. I am not sure if this will help you, but I looked at https://www.elpamsoft.com/?p=Plex-Hardware-Transcoding as it helped me understand the expected performance of my card... However, the value of this setting depends on your card and various other factors. The idea is to max out the GPU, so I'd suggest you start with two and adjust it from there.
2. Yes, I'd match the setting in Plex, so the experience is the same. I guess you could do that but to be clear this tool was designed to be used ad-hoc to generate all the images for a new library or a library which was reset. It wasn't intended to be used on-going as Plex handles the generation, and video files are added just fine.
3. This value "sets how often (in seconds) we create the thumbnail". So, i am not sure there is a max value but you wouldn't want it too high as it would defeat the purpose of allowing users to "quickly skip through" videos in your library. Does that make sense? Note: See https://support.plex.tv/articles/201105343-advanced-hidden-server-settings/ (GenerateBIFFrameInterval)
4. Yes, it should only generate for videos which do not currently have any images generated. However, why are you not allowing plex to generate on video add? That (IMO) is a better solution?

An FAQ PR would be amazing!

[edddeduck]

Hi @edddeduck,

Sure, see my responses below.

Thanks, answers inline below.

1. I am not sure if this will help you, but I looked at https://www.elpamsoft.com/?p=Plex-Hardware-Transcoding as it helped me understand the expected performance of my card... However, the value of this setting depends on your card and various other factors. The idea is to max out the GPU, so I'd suggest you start with two and adjust it from there.

Great, I already have that page bookmarked so I was hoping they should line up.

2. Yes, I'd match the setting in Plex, so the experience is the same. I guess you could do that but to be clear this tool was designed to be used ad-hoc to generate all the images for a new library or a library which was reset. It wasn't intended to be used on-going as Plex handles the generation, and video files are added just fine.

OK, great. That's exactly the info I was looking for as I was wondering how it was designed and how it was intended to be used.

3. This value "sets how often (in seconds) we create the thumbnail". So, i am not sure there is a max value but you wouldn't want it too high as it would defeat the purpose of allowing users to "quickly skip through" videos in your library. Does that make sense? Note: See https://support.plex.tv/articles/201105343-advanced-hidden-server-settings/ (GenerateBIFFrameInterval)

Yes, I'd just been thinking due to my library size I could perhaps use 15 seconds instead of 10 seconds although 10 seconds is already a 5x saving on my existing files.

4. Yes, it should only generate for videos which do not currently have any images generated. However, why are you not allowing plex to generate on video add? That (IMO) is a better solution?

Yes, I was thinking about that I was just wondering how the two systems interact now you've confirmed I think I'll be doing exactly as you suggest.

An FAQ PR would be amazing!

Great, I'm happy to contribute on the documentation side. I'll make a note and try and do one at the weekend once I have my new server setup and have run the tool so I can check what I've written.

I was thinking of making a separate page and then adding a link to it from the main page (in the support and questions) section.

[stevezau]

Yes, I'd just been thinking due to my library size I could perhaps use 15 seconds instead of 10 seconds although 10 seconds is already a 5x saving on my existing files.

I think the default is 2 seconds so going to 5 or 10 is a huge saving in disk space.. esp if it's on an SSD.

Thanks so much, looking out for the PR :)

[stevezau]

@edddeduck i just pushed a new version, do you mind trying it? I need someone to test it.

[edddeduck]

I have just (under 10 hours ago) got the UNRAID server up and running. I am currently working on getting the docker setup.

It looks like the variables needed are not pre-populated in the docker so I need to add them all manually and I am a little confused with the file paths but working my way through it. Once that is done I'll let you know.

[stevezau]

Ok, lmk thanks

[stevezau]

Hi @edddeduck just following up on this one?

[edddeduck]

The server rebuild is taking a lot longer to get back up and all the data restored. Once we're back up and running I'll get onto this one.

[stevezau]

ok thanks. Ill wait to hear from you.

[stevezau]

how did you go @edddeduck ? :)

[stevezau]

@edddeduck following up. Are you planning to open a PR with updates to the docs still?

[stevezau]

@edddeduck perhaps you got too busy. should we just close this one out?