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How to Test Your Plex Media Server NAS – 4K, 1080p, HDR, HEVC and UHD Files to Download

Recommended Files to Test Your Plex Media Server NAS

If you are considering buying/building your own Plex Media server (or even want to test the capabilities of your existing Plex server), then you may have discovered that it is actually a lot harder to bench-test your multimedia system than it should be. Notwithstanding the fact that very, VERY few people are running the exact same server setup (even two people buying the same NAS drive might have different HDDs, SSDs, memory, caching, directories, network traffic and more), but then you need to factor in that the depth, frequency and volume of everyone’s media collection will differ wildly. One user might have a simple Nvidia Shield + external USB drive setup and mostly 1080P, another running a Synology DS920+ NAS and a tonne of 4K, meanwhile, user number 3 is a highly audio-focused user that wants to use pristine, flawless raw audio to their smart home speakers from their Plex library – These are just three setups and each is INCREDIBLY different in it’s hardware requirements! So, when you are in the market for a new server for your Plex system, or simply want to check your current setup does the job), it is recommended to run a benchmark by playing some ranged media that will stress test different areas of multimedia playback on your Plex server. I have been running Plex Media Server tests on NAS drives for a  number of years (a FULL PLEX TEST PLAYLIST can be found HERE on the NASCompares YouTube) and although I include fairly standard multimedia testing using familiar movies and TV shows, I have also used a tremendously thorough range of files known as the ‘JellyFish Files‘. This is an incredible range of files that cover everything from a 2MB sized 480p, low bitrate, H.264, all the way upto an insanely high end 1.4 GIGABYTE 400Mbps 4K UHD HEVC HDR file – ALL of which are the same 30 second media file. These files can be added to your Plex Media Server and playing them, whilst monitoring your system’s hardware and resource utilization will help you understand the limitations of your system and what the system can/cannot play natively, as well as what impact files that need on-the-fly conversion (known predominantly as ‘transcoding’ and we will cover that later). The original source website and author location of the JellyFish files has become vague over the years (with the original repository that I originally found them and credit, being a dead website now in 2022), however, I am often asked if I still have access to the Jellyfish archive and if I can share them. The answer to that first question is YES, but the 2nd question takes a little longer to answer. I tried to backlink/direct users to the repository for a long time, as well as locate the original author (feeling that it is not my work to feely distribute) but hit something of a wall and after my bazillion’th requests, I have decided to create a shared drive for ALL these files. Below are the links to the FULL range of JellyFish files for testing your Plex NAS, but before you proceed, there are a few things you need t keep in mind before you proceed:

Understanding the Jellyfish Files and the File Formats, Quality and Density on a Plex NAS Benchmark Test

Before you start testing your Plex Media Sever and its multimedia capabilities, it is worth taking a moment to understand the terminology and variations of media files. You could have two copies of ‘Marvel’s Avengers Endgame’, both in 4K, but due to variations in their bitrate, their compression technique and their file format/codec and one will play much, MUCH better than another on your system. Although there are many kinds of ways you can clarify your multimedia files, the FOUR most important variables/standards to check are Bitrate, Resolution, Codec and Video Compression Standard. Take a moment to learn about what these are and their impact using the glossary below:

There are several other terms that are more appropriate to Plex that it might be worth getting school’d up on, but these are optional and you can learn about them below in my video on Plex NAS servers for Dummies:

Where to Download the Files to Test Your Plex Media Server NAS

As mentioned, the Jellyfish files comprise a wide range of files that, although all the same 30 secs of jellyfish playing around in the sea, comprise around 56 files of varying degrees of quality and size. You can use the links below to head over to google drive for each specific file (each link opens in a new tab). Then you can use the download option at the top right corner to  download the file to your local machine:

For those looking to bulk-download, I am afraid that due to reasons of bandwidth hogging (when I shared these files with people in the past) and the sheer weight of these files, I have opted to keep these on a Google Drive shared drive. You should be able to add these files and bulk download them from inside your own Google Drive account, or you can message me directly for the full download link by contacting me directly using the contact section at the bottom of the page. Otherwise, here is the full range of Jellyfish files to download and test your Plex Media server NAS server or DIY/ByO system:

Filename
(Click to Download)
Bitrate
(Overall)
Resolution Codec File
Size
jellyfish-3-mbps-hd-h264.mkv Mbps 1920×1080 H.264 11 MB
jellyfish-3-mbps-hd-hevc.mkv Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 11 MB
jellyfish-3-mbps-hd-hevc-10bit.mkv Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 11 MB
jellyfish-5-mbps-hd-h264.mkv Mbps 1920×1080 H.264 18 MB
jellyfish-5-mbps-hd-hevc.mkv Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 18 MB
jellyfish-10-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 10 Mbps 1920×1080 H.264 36 MB
jellyfish-10-mbps-hd-hevc.mkv 10 Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 36 MB
jellyfish-10-mbps-hd-hevc-10bit.mkv 10 Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 36 MB
jellyfish-15-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 15 Mbps 1920×1080 H.264 53 MB
jellyfish-15-mbps-hd-hevc.mkv 15 Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 53 MB
jellyfish-20-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 20 Mbps 1920×1080 H.264 71 MB
jellyfish-20-mbps-hd-hevc.mkv 20 Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 75 MB
jellyfish-20-mbps-hd-hevc-10bit.mkv 20 Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 75 MB
jellyfish-25-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 25 Mbps 1920×1080 H.264 89 MB
jellyfish-25-mbps-hd-hevc.mkv 25 Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 93 MB
jellyfish-30-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 30 Mbps 1920×1080 H.264 106 MB
jellyfish-30-mbps-hd-hevc.mkv 30 Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 110 MB
jellyfish-35-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 35 Mbps 1920×1080 H.264 126 MB
jellyfish-35-mbps-hd-hevc.mkv 35 Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 129 MB
jellyfish-40-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 40 Mbps 1920×1080 H.264 142 MB
jellyfish-40-mbps-hd-hevc.mkv 40 Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 146 MB
jellyfish-40-mbps-hd-hevc-10bit.mkv 40 Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 146 MB
jellyfish-45-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 45 Mbps 1920×1080 H.264 160 MB
jellyfish-45-mbps-hd-hevc.mkv 45 Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 166 MB
jellyfish-50-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 50 Mbps 1920×1080 H.264 180 MB
jellyfish-50-mbps-hd-hevc.mkv 50 Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 182 MB
jellyfish-55-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 55 Mbps 1920×1080 H.264 208 MB
jellyfish-55-mbps-hd-hevc.mkv 55 Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 199 MB
jellyfish-60-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 60 Mbps 1920×1080 H.264 213 MB
jellyfish-60-mbps-hd-hevc.mkv 60 Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 220 MB
jellyfish-60-mbps-hd-hevc-10bit.mkv 60 Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 218 MB
jellyfish-70-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 70 Mbps 1920×1080 H.264 251 MB
jellyfish-70-mbps-hd-hevc.mkv 70 Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 256 MB
jellyfish-80-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 80 Mbps 1920×1080 H.264 286 MB
jellyfish-80-mbps-hd-hevc.mkv 80 Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 290 MB
jellyfish-90-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 90 Mbps 1920×1080 H.264 322 MB
jellyfish-90-mbps-hd-hevc.mkv 90 Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 329 MB
jellyfish-90-mbps-hd-hevc-10bit.mkv 90 Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 330 MB
jellyfish-100-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 100 Mbps 1920×1080 H.264 358 MB
jellyfish-100-mbps-hd-hevc.mkv 100 Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 365 MB
jellyfish-110-mbps-hd-h264.mkv 110 Mbps 1920×1080 H.264 394 MB
jellyfish-110-mbps-hd-hevc.mkv 110 Mbps 1920×1080 HEVC 401 MB
jellyfish-120-mbps-4k-uhd-h264.mkv 120 Mbps 3840×2160 H.264 431 MB
jellyfish-120-mbps-4k-uhd-hevc-10bit.mkv 120 Mbps 3840×2160 HEVC 438 MB
jellyfish-140-mbps-4k-uhd-h264.mkv 140 Mbps 3840×2160 H.264 502 MB
jellyfish-140-mbps-4k-uhd-hevc-10bit.mkv  140 Mbps 3840×2160 HEVC 525 MB
jellyfish-160-mbps-4k-uhd-h264.mkv 160 Mbps 3840×2160 H.264 573 MB
jellyfish-160-mbps-4k-uhd-hevc-10bit.mkv 160 Mbps 3840×2160 HEVC 586 MB
jellyfish-180-mbps-4k-uhd-h264.mkv 180 Mbps 3840×2160 H.264 647 MB
jellyfish-180-mbps-4k-uhd-hevc-10bit.mkv 180 Mbps 3840×2160 HEVC 658 MB
jellyfish-200-mbps-4k-uhd-h264.mkv 200 Mbps 3840×2160 H.264 718 MB
jellyfish-200-mbps-4k-uhd-hevc-10bit.mkv 200 Mbps 3840×2160 HEVC 731 MB
jellyfish-250-mbps-4k-uhd-h264.mkv 250 Mbps 3840×2160 H.264 897 MB
jellyfish-250-mbps-4k-uhd-hevc-10bit.mkv 250 Mbps 3840×2160 HEVC 914 MB
jellyfish-300-mbps-4k-uhd-hevc-10bit.mkv 300 Mbps 3840×2160 HEVC 1.0 GB
jellyfish-400-mbps-4k-uhd-hevc-10bit.mkv 400 Mbps 3840×2160 HEVC 1.4 GB

There you have it, those are the Jellyfish files for testing your Plex server. If you are still on the fence about the best plex media server NAS drive you should consider buying, you can use my article below that highlights the drives I would personally recommend and why:

(Click Below to view this article)

 

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