[CJston15]

Below are the specs of my server and HTPC in the bedroom.

Server: i7 930 processor w/ 16gb of RAM hosting Plex on Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials
HTPC: i3 4130 processor w/ 4gb of RAM using Intel HD 4400 graphics on Windows 8.1 Professional

My question is. Will I get better quality streaming movies/TV shows over my LAN using VLC media player and network shares or should I watch it over Plex? I primarily use Plex because of my LG Smart TV in the living room but if it's better than VLC over the LAN i'll use it on the HTPC in the bedroom.

To note: My server is RARELY stressed on resources. CPU and Memory utilization are very low. The server is primarily being used as AD, DHCP, DNS, Plex, GoogleMusic, Teamspeak, VPN remote access and remote web access.

Any suggestions or guidance in advance would be much appreciated!

 

[Gooberman]

I couldn't tell a difference when I had plex at max bit rate, but there could be a difference, though I never notice it. I have network shares setup and if i'm using my TV it's plex(easier to browse content for me). If it's my desktop i just use vlc. The main reason I even use plex is so i can stream outside of my network to my laptop/phone, so I love it for that

 

[karmuhhhh]

I usually stream using VLC over LAN and only use Plex for outside use, such as watching on my iPhone/Galaxy S3. I've tried using Plex via browser a few times but felt like it lagged a little bit, so I just stick with network shares.

 

[cones]

You could use XBMC for inside your LAN. I thought Plex also could be and it would just send the file without touching it first.

 

[CJston15]

Thanks for input all - I will probably just continue using network shares + VLC to watch on my HTPC. My only gripe with Plex is not having the ability to make a playlist and since the lady and I usually throw a bunch of TV show episodes on each night when going to sleep having that functionality is big for us.

 

[pharcycle]

XBMC will do what you want, you can map network drives and queue playback. There's no reason not to have both XBMC and plex running on your network so that you can get the best of both worlds.

 

[karmuhhhh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CJston15

Thanks for input all - I will probably just continue using network shares + VLC to watch on my HTPC. My only gripe with Plex is not having the ability to make a playlist and since the lady and I usually throw a bunch of TV show episodes on each night when going to sleep having that functionality is big for us.

Plex does have playlist functionality though. They just call it "queue's" instead of "playlist".

 

[pioneerisloud]

I switched from XBMC on my HTPC to Plex. Honestly I don't know how I lived so long without Plex now, I absolutely love it. So obviously that'd be what I'd use. Personally, I use the Plex for Home Theater (windows) program with a remote, and it just auto launches at startup on my HTPC's, so all I need is a remote.

 

[CJston15]

Quote:

Originally Posted by karmuhhhh

Plex does have playlist functionality though. They just call it "queue's" instead of "playlist".

Not exactly, and if you read Plex's website it flat out tells you it's not a playlist.You can do a play all on a particular season of a TV show but the Plex It! bookmark bar does not queue up any of your server hosted media files. In my experience it only works when trying to queue up youtube videos for example.

From the Plex website...

Note: Play Queues are not playlists. Full playlist control is not yet supported in Plex. You cannot, for instance, save Play Queues as separate playlists.