Decoding/Transcoding Question

[Chasemans]

I'm looking at getting an SBC to use as a media server. While I'm not new to using apps like Jellyfin and Plex I am new to setting up a media server. I've always used my desktop PC which has always been relatively decent specs to brute force anything, so I didn't have to understand anything about decoding/transcoding since it just worked. My actual question is the decoding done by the computer that's hosting the files or by the TV playing the file? For example; if I get a Raspberry Pi 5 which supports HEVC 265 10bit codecs and stream to my LG TV will the decoding be done on the RPi5 or will it have to transcode the file because it's the TV doesn't support the codec? Basically, I'm trying to understand so I know how powerful of an SBC I'll need for my media server to support 4k streaming to my LGTV.

[boimouse]

I'm looking at getting an SBC to use as a media server. While I'm not new to using apps like Jellyfin and Plex I am new to setting up a media server. I've always used my desktop PC which has always been relatively decent specs to brute force anything, so I didn't have to understand anything about decoding/transcoding since it just worked. My actual question is the decoding done by the computer that's hosting the files or by the TV playing the file? For example; if I get a Raspberry Pi 5 which supports HEVC 265 10bit codecs and stream to my LG TV will the decoding be done on the RPi5 or will it have to transcode the file because it's the TV doesn't support the codec? Basically, I'm trying to understand so I know how powerful of an SBC I'll need for my media server to support 4k streaming to my LGTV.

The serving machine will be the one needing to transcode files. I started with a Raspberry Pi 4 to try and learn how everything worked but it didn't take too long for me to realize its limitations. If I wanted/needed to transcode anything due to compatibility or poor internet connections while remote streaming, there was no chance for it to keep up with me watching content do the the lack of processing power needed. I have since moved to a dedicated server running TrueNAS with a dedicated GPU for transcoding and that has done me nothing but good and I'm glad I made the switch.

[TheDreadPirate]

If you want to use a SBC, get something with a Rockchip RK3588/RK3588S.

https://jellyfin.org/docs/general/admini.../rockchip/

The RPi5 has very limited encoding/decoding support and is not suited for transcoding.

My other recommendation is getting an Intel N100 based miniPC. Much better codec support and performance, but still small and low power.

[Chasemans]

Thank you both. Definitely going to look into the Rockchips and miniPCs options instead.