---
title: "Jellyfin ContainerBitrateExceedsLimit — Client-Side Setting, Not Server"
aliases: [jellyfin-bitrate-limit, ContainerBitrateExceedsLimit, jellyfin-transcoding-client, jellyfin-4k-lag]
tags: [jellyfin, streaming, 4k, bitrate, transcoding, homelab, media]
sources:
  - "daily/2026-05-03.md"
created: 2026-05-03
updated: 2026-05-03
---

# Jellyfin `ContainerBitrateExceedsLimit` — Client-Side Setting, Not Server

When Jellyfin shows `ContainerBitrateExceedsLimit` in logs and starts transcoding (or buffering heavily), the cause is a bitrate limit set in the **Jellyfin client app**, not on the Jellyfin server. For 4K HEVC or Dolby Vision content with high bitrates (20-30+ Mbps), the client's default quality setting may cap the bitrate below what the video requires, forcing server-side transcoding — which is CPU-intensive and introduces lag.

## Key Points

- **`ContainerBitrateExceedsLimit` is a client-side limit** — the client told the server "max bitrate X Mbps"; content exceeds X → server transcodes
- **Fix is in the client app**, not in Jellyfin server settings — go to the TV/phone/browser app's quality settings
- **Setting to "Original"** (or max bitrate) tells the server to send the original stream without transcoding
- **Direct play vs transcoding:** direct play = no server CPU, no quality loss; transcoding = server CPU overhead, quality may drop
- Common triggers: 4K HEVC content (15-30+ Mbps), Dolby Vision streams, HDR10+ content

## Details

### The Log Signal

In Jellyfin server logs or the admin dashboard → Active Sessions:

```
Reason: ContainerBitrateExceedsLimit
Transcoding: Video codec: H264, Audio codec: AAC
```

This indicates the client requested a maximum bitrate lower than the source file's bitrate.

### Fixing in the Jellyfin TV App

On Android TV / LG webOS / Samsung Tizen Jellyfin app:

1. Open **Settings** (gear icon in the app)
2. Navigate to **Quality** or **Playback Quality**
3. Find **Maximum bitrate** or **Video quality**
4. Change from auto/numeric value → **Original** or **Maximum**
5. Also check **Allow transcoding** → disable if you want to force direct play

### Fixing in the Jellyfin Web UI

For browser-based playback:

1. Click the user avatar → **Settings**
2. Go to **Playback**
3. Set **Internet streaming video quality** and **Home network video quality** to **Auto** or a high value (e.g., 200 Mbps)

### Why Transcoding Causes Lag

For 4K HEVC Dolby Vision content:
- Original bitrate: 26 Mbps
- Client limit set to: 10 Mbps
- Server must decode 4K HEVC DV → re-encode to H264 at 10 Mbps in real time
- On a CPU-only server (no GPU transcoding), this uses 100% CPU for 4K
- Result: buffering, lag, playback stops

Direct play bypasses all of this — the server sends the original file bytes directly to the client.

### When to Keep Transcoding

Transcoding is appropriate when:
- The client device doesn't support HEVC or Dolby Vision natively
- The network connection is slow (transcoding to lower bitrate)
- The file uses an unsupported audio codec

For modern smart TVs with HDR10/DV support on a local gigabit LAN, always prefer direct play.

## Related Concepts

- [[wiki/concepts/jellyfin-tmdb-thetvdb-plugin]] — other Jellyfin configuration and plugin patterns
- [[wiki/concepts/faster-whisper-startup-memory]] — CPU-intensive operations on the same homelab server context
- [[wiki/homelab/_index]] — homelab media stack context

## Sources

- [[daily/2026-05-03.md]] — Jellyfin transcoding 4K HEVC Dolby Vision (26 Mbps) causing lag on TV; logs showed `ContainerBitrateExceedsLimit`; fix was in Jellyfin TV app Settings → Quality → Max Bitrate → Original; this is a client-side limit, not server config
