Must my Jellyfin server be able to AV1 videos?

Submitted ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨barnaclebill@lemmy.dbzer0.com⁩ to ⁨selfhosted@lemmy.world⁩

I’m planning a NAS/media server build for general centralized storage + Jellyfin to stream my media library, which consists of a mix of AVC, HEVC, and AV1 encoded videos. I’ll be watching on various devices, primarily on the living room TV w/ a Chromecast. The Chromecast is capable of playing AV1 videos (I know this b/c it says “direct playing” in the Jellyfin media info panel).

Given that my Chromecast is capable of direct playing AV1 encodes, when source the parts for my new server build, does my new server also need to be capable of AV1 transcoding or does this capability only matter if the client device doesn’t support AV1 video? I ask because I’ll possibly source my build from used parts, and the answer to this question may impact which generation Intel processors I focus on. I’m currently focusing on 12th gen i5-12400 b/c it has QSV capabilities and supports AV1, but if AV1 support isn’t needed for my server, then I may look for older gens to save a few bucks. Thank you!

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curbstickle@anarchist.nexus ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Only an impact if the client device doesnt support av1. Then it needs to transcode.

The “various devices” you mention are your potential pitfalls here.

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- barnaclebill@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  I’ll double check my various devices’ specs before I move forward. Thanks for confirming that.
  
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  - illusionist@lemmy.zip ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Also if you want another resolution. Then it’ll also transcode afaik.
    
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  - CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Consider any future clients you might have or if you decide to share with other people the clients they have. I personally think it’s worth spending a few extra bucks now to ensure compatibility in the future.
    
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entropicdrift@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
It helps if your server can decode AV1, but you never need it to encode to AV1. Basically the main usecase for transcoding AV1 would be burning in ASS formatted subtitles, commonly used for anime. If you keep your anime in other codecs then you shouldn’t need to transcode AV1 ever unless you add more clients into the mix that can’t handle AV1 natively.

For what it’s worth, I use an Intel N100 with quicksync, and that can decode AV1 because it’s 12th gen. Works great for me.

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Mellow12@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
If you never plan to use a device requiring transcoding for AV1 you’ll be fine. You are building for your needs. If you’re like me and you have various family and friends on your server using whatever streaming hardware they can find. Then you may want to account for other scenarios. Playing tech support at 10pm on a Friday for a 60 year old luddite sucks, so I just need it to work for them.

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- barnaclebill@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  Very good point, thank you for chiming in.
  
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