Server Setup

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Take a look at other recommendations, but I'll summarize here.

1. Match your media to your clients (i.e., what your users are watching on). If nobody has HDR/DV, don't serve that media. The most compatible is H264 Main 8-bit, AAC audio with 5.1 channels or fewer, 720p/1080p SDR in an MP4 container with external SRT subtitles. Sometimes you can get away with ASS/SSA subs, but not often in my experience.

2. If you have a mix of capabilities in clients, cordon off your media in libraries as such -- make an HDR/DV library or a 4K library and only serve that to users who can play all (or at least the vast majority of) of it.

3. Get an 11+ gen Intel chip for great support via QuickSync (QSV). If most of your clients are transcoding and you either want to head them off at the pass (i.e., re-encode media) or support tonemapping, get an Intel ARC dGPU. My 6 GB A380 was $150 and screams through media.

4. Check out used office computers like Dells. One of my old Jellyfin servers is still a workhorse in my setup.

5. Ensure you serve OS and cache from a SSD rather than a spinning drive. Doesn't need to be HUGE, but should be able to handle the cache for your media (hundreds of GB in some cases).

6. Keep in mind lower-power options exist in mini/micro PCs or NUCs, but they limit your future potential. You're essentially locked in.

Now...the first point is the most important. If you want to avoid transcoding, you need to have media that is compatible with whatever people are using. This might be problematic if you don't have any idea, but you should be able to check your dashboard and see what devices are being utilized. If you chug along as you are, you'll never hit 30 concurrent streams of transcoding. You need to isolate what media profiles work with the majority of devices and aim for that.