diff --git a/MediaBrowser.Api/Playback/BaseStreamingService.cs b/MediaBrowser.Api/Playback/BaseStreamingService.cs
index 5d7f01ad30..7a40d5bd19 100644
--- a/MediaBrowser.Api/Playback/BaseStreamingService.cs
+++ b/MediaBrowser.Api/Playback/BaseStreamingService.cs
@@ -337,9 +337,9 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.Api.Playback
         /// Gets the video bitrate to specify on the command line
         /// </summary>
         /// <param name="state">The state.</param>
-        /// <param name="videoCodec">The video codec.</param>
+        /// <param name="videoEncoder">The video codec.</param>
         /// <returns>System.String.</returns>
-        protected string GetVideoQualityParam(StreamState state, string videoCodec)
+        protected string GetVideoQualityParam(StreamState state, string videoEncoder)
         {
             var param = string.Empty;
 
@@ -348,7 +348,7 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.Api.Playback
 
             var encodingOptions = ApiEntryPoint.Instance.GetEncodingOptions();
 
-            if (string.Equals(videoCodec, "libx264", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+            if (string.Equals(videoEncoder, "libx264", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
             {
                 if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(encodingOptions.H264Preset))
                 {
@@ -369,7 +369,7 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.Api.Playback
                 }
             }
 
-            else if (string.Equals(videoCodec, "libx265", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+            else if (string.Equals(videoEncoder, "libx265", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
             {
                 param += "-preset fast";
 
@@ -377,20 +377,20 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.Api.Playback
             }
 
             // h264 (h264_qsv)
-            else if (string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264_qsv", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+            else if (string.Equals(videoEncoder, "h264_qsv", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
             {
                 param += "-preset 7 -look_ahead 0";
 
             }
 
             // h264 (h264_nvenc)
-            else if (string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264_nvenc", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+            else if (string.Equals(videoEncoder, "h264_nvenc", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
             {
                 param += "-preset default";
             }
 
             // webm
-            else if (string.Equals(videoCodec, "libvpx", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+            else if (string.Equals(videoEncoder, "libvpx", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
             {
                 // Values 0-3, 0 being highest quality but slower
                 var profileScore = 0;
@@ -417,23 +417,23 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.Api.Playback
                     qmax);
             }
 
-            else if (string.Equals(videoCodec, "mpeg4", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+            else if (string.Equals(videoEncoder, "mpeg4", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
             {
                 param += "-mbd rd -flags +mv4+aic -trellis 2 -cmp 2 -subcmp 2 -bf 2";
             }
 
             // asf/wmv
-            else if (string.Equals(videoCodec, "wmv2", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+            else if (string.Equals(videoEncoder, "wmv2", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
             {
                 param += "-qmin 2";
             }
 
-            else if (string.Equals(videoCodec, "msmpeg4", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+            else if (string.Equals(videoEncoder, "msmpeg4", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
             {
                 param += "-mbd 2";
             }
 
-            param += GetVideoBitrateParam(state, videoCodec);
+            param += GetVideoBitrateParam(state, videoEncoder);
 
             var framerate = GetFramerateParam(state);
             if (framerate.HasValue)
@@ -448,8 +448,8 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.Api.Playback
 
             if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(state.VideoRequest.Profile))
             {
-                if (!string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264_omx", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) &&
-                    !string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264_vaapi", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+                if (!string.Equals(videoEncoder, "h264_omx", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) &&
+                    !string.Equals(videoEncoder, "h264_vaapi", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
                 {
                     // not supported by h264_omx
                     param += " -profile:v " + state.VideoRequest.Profile;
@@ -458,11 +458,13 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.Api.Playback
 
             if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(state.VideoRequest.Level))
             {
+                var level = NormalizeTranscodingLevel(state.OutputVideoCodec, state.VideoRequest.Level);
+
                 // h264_qsv and h264_nvenc expect levels to be expressed as a decimal. libx264 supports decimal and non-decimal format
-                if (string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264_qsv", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) ||
-                    string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264_nvenc", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+                if (string.Equals(videoEncoder, "h264_qsv", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) ||
+                    string.Equals(videoEncoder, "h264_nvenc", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
                 {
-                    switch (state.VideoRequest.Level)
+                    switch (level)
                     {
                         case "30":
                             param += " -level 3";
@@ -492,20 +494,20 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.Api.Playback
                             param += " -level 5.2";
                             break;
                         default:
-                            param += " -level " + state.VideoRequest.Level;
+                            param += " -level " + level;
                             break;
                     }
                 }
-                else if (!string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264_omx", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+                else if (!string.Equals(videoEncoder, "h264_omx", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
                 {
-                    param += " -level " + state.VideoRequest.Level;
+                    param += " -level " + level;
                 }
             }
 
-            if (!string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264_omx", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) &&
-                !string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264_qsv", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) &&
-                !string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264_nvenc", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) &&
-                !string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264_vaapi", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+            if (!string.Equals(videoEncoder, "h264_omx", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) &&
+                !string.Equals(videoEncoder, "h264_qsv", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) &&
+                !string.Equals(videoEncoder, "h264_nvenc", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) &&
+                !string.Equals(videoEncoder, "h264_vaapi", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
             {
                 param = "-pix_fmt yuv420p " + param;
             }
@@ -513,6 +515,25 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.Api.Playback
             return param;
         }
 
+        private string NormalizeTranscodingLevel(string videoCodec, string level)
+        {
+            double requestLevel;
+
+            // Clients may direct play higher than level 41, but there's no reason to transcode higher
+            if (double.TryParse(level, NumberStyles.Any, UsCulture, out requestLevel))
+            {
+                if (string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+                {
+                    if (requestLevel > 41)
+                    {
+                        return "41";
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+
+            return level;
+        }
+
         protected string GetAudioFilterParam(StreamState state, bool isHls)
         {
             var volParam = string.Empty;
diff --git a/MediaBrowser.MediaEncoding/Encoder/BaseEncoder.cs b/MediaBrowser.MediaEncoding/Encoder/BaseEncoder.cs
index ce00acb521..2ded8a66f4 100644
--- a/MediaBrowser.MediaEncoding/Encoder/BaseEncoder.cs
+++ b/MediaBrowser.MediaEncoding/Encoder/BaseEncoder.cs
@@ -595,23 +595,23 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.MediaEncoding.Encoder
         /// Gets the video bitrate to specify on the command line
         /// </summary>
         /// <param name="state">The state.</param>
-        /// <param name="videoCodec">The video codec.</param>
+        /// <param name="videoEncoder">The video codec.</param>
         /// <returns>System.String.</returns>
-        protected string GetVideoQualityParam(EncodingJob state, string videoCodec)
+        protected string GetVideoQualityParam(EncodingJob state, string videoEncoder)
         {
             var param = string.Empty;
 
             var isVc1 = state.VideoStream != null &&
                 string.Equals(state.VideoStream.Codec, "vc1", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
 
-            if (string.Equals(videoCodec, "libx264", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+            if (string.Equals(videoEncoder, "libx264", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
             {
                 param = "-preset superfast";
 
                 param += " -crf 23";
             }
 
-            else if (string.Equals(videoCodec, "libx265", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+            else if (string.Equals(videoEncoder, "libx265", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
             {
                 param = "-preset fast";
 
@@ -619,20 +619,20 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.MediaEncoding.Encoder
             }
 
             // h264 (h264_qsv)
-            else if (string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264_qsv", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+            else if (string.Equals(videoEncoder, "h264_qsv", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
             {
                 param = "-preset 7 -look_ahead 0";
 
             }
 
             // h264 (h264_nvenc)
-            else if (string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264_nvenc", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+            else if (string.Equals(videoEncoder, "h264_nvenc", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
             {
                 param = "-preset llhq";
             }
 
             // webm
-            else if (string.Equals(videoCodec, "libvpx", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+            else if (string.Equals(videoEncoder, "libvpx", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
             {
                 // Values 0-3, 0 being highest quality but slower
                 var profileScore = 0;
@@ -659,23 +659,23 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.MediaEncoding.Encoder
                     qmax);
             }
 
-            else if (string.Equals(videoCodec, "mpeg4", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+            else if (string.Equals(videoEncoder, "mpeg4", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
             {
                 param = "-mbd rd -flags +mv4+aic -trellis 2 -cmp 2 -subcmp 2 -bf 2";
             }
 
             // asf/wmv
-            else if (string.Equals(videoCodec, "wmv2", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+            else if (string.Equals(videoEncoder, "wmv2", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
             {
                 param = "-qmin 2";
             }
 
-            else if (string.Equals(videoCodec, "msmpeg4", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+            else if (string.Equals(videoEncoder, "msmpeg4", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
             {
                 param = "-mbd 2";
             }
 
-            param += GetVideoBitrateParam(state, videoCodec);
+            param += GetVideoBitrateParam(state, videoEncoder);
 
             var framerate = GetFramerateParam(state);
             if (framerate.HasValue)
@@ -690,8 +690,8 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.MediaEncoding.Encoder
 
             if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(state.Options.Profile))
             {
-                if (!string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264_omx", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) &&
-                    !string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264_vaapi", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+                if (!string.Equals(videoEncoder, "h264_omx", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) &&
+                    !string.Equals(videoEncoder, "h264_vaapi", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
                 {
                     // not supported by h264_omx
                     param += " -profile:v " + state.Options.Profile;
@@ -702,9 +702,11 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.MediaEncoding.Encoder
 
             if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(levelString))
             {
+                levelString = NormalizeTranscodingLevel(state.OutputVideoCodec, levelString);
+
                 // h264_qsv and h264_nvenc expect levels to be expressed as a decimal. libx264 supports decimal and non-decimal format
-                if (string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264_qsv", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) ||
-                    string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264_nvenc", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+                if (string.Equals(videoEncoder, "h264_qsv", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) ||
+                    string.Equals(videoEncoder, "h264_nvenc", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
                 {
                     switch (levelString)
                     {
@@ -740,16 +742,16 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.MediaEncoding.Encoder
                             break;
                     }
                 }
-                else if (!string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264_omx", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+                else if (!string.Equals(videoEncoder, "h264_omx", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
                 {
                     param += " -level " + levelString;
                 }
             }
 
-            if (!string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264_omx", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) &&
-                !string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264_qsv", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) &&
-                !string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264_nvenc", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) &&
-                !string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264_vaapi", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+            if (!string.Equals(videoEncoder, "h264_omx", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) &&
+                !string.Equals(videoEncoder, "h264_qsv", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) &&
+                !string.Equals(videoEncoder, "h264_nvenc", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) &&
+                !string.Equals(videoEncoder, "h264_vaapi", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
             {
                 param = "-pix_fmt yuv420p " + param;
             }
@@ -757,6 +759,25 @@ namespace MediaBrowser.MediaEncoding.Encoder
             return param;
         }
 
+        private string NormalizeTranscodingLevel(string videoCodec, string level)
+        {
+            double requestLevel;
+
+            // Clients may direct play higher than level 41, but there's no reason to transcode higher
+            if (double.TryParse(level, NumberStyles.Any, UsCulture, out requestLevel))
+            {
+                if (string.Equals(videoCodec, "h264", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))
+                {
+                    if (requestLevel > 41)
+                    {
+                        return "41";
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+
+            return level;
+        }
+
         protected string GetVideoBitrateParam(EncodingJob state, string videoCodec)
         {
             var bitrate = state.OutputVideoBitrate;