Plex for Samsung (2016+ 4K/UHD televisions)

February 7, 2018 • 3.2.2

This release updates Tizen from 3.1.0 to 3.2.2. It was a long strange trip to get this release out.

Most notable change in this release is refactoring how soft subtitles are handled. Previously 3.1.0 had subtitle synchronization issues when resuming a video or seeking. Working around this in the previous soft subtitle implementation was impossible.

Plex for Samsung version 3.2.2 changes the subtitle implementation to a more standard format. Unfortunately we discovered some unique behavior in the Tizen player which required changes to PMS’ encoding of the soft subs within the Direct Stream. The previous encoding caused the display to crash. The encoding approach was to standard and used by other clients.

The PMS compatibility changes are available in 1.11.2. A preview build will be released into the forums this week for Plex Pass users. A public builds available for all users is planned to be released very shortly thereafter. The stagged release is only necessary at 1.11.2 needs a bit more attention before it’s ready to step through releasing to all platforms.

Plex for Samsung version 3.2.2 requires a full transcode to display subtitles when playing videos from server versions less-than 1.11.2. This is necessary to avoid the crash mentioned above.

NEW:

• Include support for updated Plex privacy policy - https://www.plex.tv/about/privacy-policy-update-notice/.
• The app should now be available to users in Brazil.

FIXED:

• Fix soft subtitle sync issues by including the subtitles as WebVTT within an HLS direct stream. Requires PMS version 1.11.2.
• Correct audio stream switching on Tizen versions < 3.
• Play 3rd parth movie trailers at the correct aspect ratio.
• Tizen < 3 requires PMS transcode of portrait orientation videos to maintain aspect ratio.
• Tizen >= 3 plays portrait orientation videos at the correct aspect ratio without PMS transcode.
• Enable MP4 and MKV to direct play DTS audio streams.
• Transcode unsupported music files to multichannel AAC.
• Direct play MKA files with DTS audio.
• Non 4K displays will correctly require PMS transcode 4K video to 1080p.
• Pressing Left, Right, Up, or Down remote control buttons during initial video buffering now correctly navigates between video player control buttons.
• On supporting devices, pressing the Exit remote control button during playback is now appropriately handled.
• Browsing cloud servers no longer displays unblurred background images.
• The first letter jump bar now works correctly when browsing a music library as a list of tracks sorted by title.
• Pressing stop before media is ready will correctly teardown the media components.
• The music player no longer respects the allow direct play and allow direct stream video player setting.

KNOWN ISSUES:

Both of the following issues are addressed in our 3.3.0 release being submitted to Samsung QA this week.

• Soft subtitle position on servers >= 1.11.2 isn’t optimal.
• Sometimes a non-default audio track isn’t selected correctly only when starting playback.

May 14, 2018 • 3.3.4

FIXED:

• Re-enable selection and deselection of DCA audio support.
• Correct anamorphic display issues on Tizen 2.4.
• Detect and display anamorphic videos incorrectly identified by PMS.

Version : 3.72.1
Platform(s) : Samsung 2016+ UHD Televisions (Tizen 2.4+)

Following our Samsung Beta, this release brings all the features and fixes from our other Plex Web TV platforms (LG, PS4, XBox One, and PMP TV) to the Samsung application.

Features include:

• Web TV v2 UI
• 4K and HEVC video support
• Live TV and DVR support
• Web Shows and Podcasts support
• Direct Play with soft subtitles (Using PMS 1.13.4 or later)
• Subtitles on demand

Version : 3.84.2
Platform(s) : Samsung 2016+ UHD Televisions (Tizen 2.4+)

NEW:

• Improvements to subtitles search results titles
• Added new music player UI for podcasts
• Added Related Episodes hub underneath the Podcasts player
• Watch Later and Recommended support has been removed. Please see: plex.tv/blog/subtitles-and-sunsets-big-improvements-little-housekeeping
• Added recording progress to recording schedule
• Subtitles search modal UI changes
• Added delay to lightweight seeking
• Updated look of playlist/collection posters
• Added AAC_LATM to profile so it can be direct played
• Added extended artist biography on artist preplay
• Added actions menu to Web Shows and Podcasts show preplay pages
• Added Chapter Selection title to chapter selection menu
• Don’t show ‘More…’ button when there is only one more item

FIXED:

• Fixed occasional loss of focus on library page when applying “unplayed” filter
• Fixed settings failing to open in some circumstances
• Fixed zip code not disappearing in News settings after selecting a country that doesn’t have zip codes
• Fixed selecting a play queue item occasionally not starting playback
• Fixed player control state when playback starts or pauses without application control
• Fixed case where focus was lost when navigating back after changing list styles
• Fixed play queue starting playback automatically when app is reopened
• Fixed non-functional action buttons on preplay pages in some circumstances
• Fixed case where focus could be lost when navigating into the dashboard types header
• Fixed unavailable indicator on preplay pages when media item file is unavailable
• Managed users can no longer change the Automatically Sign In setting
• Improved image upscale quality for episode posters
• Fixed sorting/filtering being reset when deleting item
• Fixed a bug where the player sometimes crashes when attempting to play media
• Fixed a bug where the app will load a black screen with white text
• Fixed an issue where signing out or switching users could cause the app to freeze
• Fixed an issue where the app could crash when loading a type view
• Fixed an issue where focus would be lost after removing the last item from a list
• Fixed an issue where enabling recording all episodes for certain shows could return in nothing getting added to the priority list
• Fixed an issue that could cause a blank screen to appear after playback
• Fixed loss of focus on episode preplay in some cases
• Fixed app settings sometimes wrongly showing an item as selected
• Fixed media provider hubs occasionally not loading
• Fixed an issue where the application could show a blank screen when all servers are unavailable
• Fixed possible error on user switcher screen
• Fixed chapter selection sometimes losing focus at the end of the list
• Fixed Live TV restarting from another position when enabling or disabling Closed Captioning
• Fixed some issues with video transcoding when it can direct stream

Version : 3.84.3
Platform : Samsung 2016 UHD Televisions (Tizen 2.4)

This is a hotfix to roll back the application from 3.84.2 to 3.84.1 to address issues with the black screen with white text bug. We are still investigating the bug with Samsung’s help and trying to track down the cause of the issue.

Version : 3.90.2
Platform : Samsung 2016+ UHD Televisions (Tizen 2.4+)

NEW:

• Support translation of relative time strings
• Adjusted library page jump bar so more characters can be shown
• Changed user menu from dropdown to full screen modal
• Added subtitle color and position options
• We’ve updated our tooling to provide an improved user experience.
• Add setting to opt-in to prefer insecure connections
  • Turn this setting on if you are having issues with videos buffering
• Added deletion of external subtitle files from Plex Media Server
• Fix image not loading in actions modal during playback
• Renamed ‘More…’ subtitles option to ‘Search…’

FIXED:

• Fixed playback controls not showing the correct duration when lightweight seeking
• Fixed possible endless spinner when downloading subtitles
• Fixed player controls sometimes not closing when playing from companion app
• Fixed News and Podcasts directories so they don’t touch navigation bar
• Fixed extended info poster not positioned properly.
• Fixed issue with text flickering on marquee titles
• Fixed loss of focus when going to an empty web shows page
• Fixed navigation order after switching to the admin user
• Fixed an issue where the wrong images could be displayed for items played from other shared or own servers
• Fixed an issue where focus could be lost after reordering types or changing types visibility
• Fixed loss of focus on My Webshows/Podcasts when one or more is removed
• Fixed companion pre-play being lost after companion playback
• Fixed an issue where focus could be lost on back navigation
• Fixed regression that caused videos with AC3 audio tracks to direct play and result in no sound
• Fixed an issue with 2016 devices getting a black screen with text on app start
• Improved network connect and disconnect handling

Version : 3.92.3
Platform : Samsung 2016, 2017, 2018 UHD Televisions (Tizen 2.4, 3.0, 4.0)

This does not include 2019 devices yet, as we are still verifying and testing the device.

NEW:

• Fixed playing media when controlled by remote player
• Fixed positioning of poster/text in Live TV conflict items
• Close and reopen websockets when app is suspended/restored

FIXED:

• Fixed regression with search shortcut
• Fixed issue changing audio or subtitles during playback of multi-part files
• Fixed focus order issue on photo tag page
• Fixed missing Playlists link for Other Videos
• Fixed audio tracks being transcoded to AC3 or EAC3 instead of AAC
• Fixed an issue that prevented playing tracks on playlists with items of different sources
• Fixed an issue where the network disconnected popup is not closed when network is reconnected.
• Fixes an issue with the app being unable to connect to a server requiring secure connections

Version : 3.98.1
Platform : Samsung 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 UHD Televisions (Tizen 2.4, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0)

This update has also been released to 2019 (Tizen 5.0) devices.

NEW:

• Added subtitles offset controls for external subtitle files

FIXED:

• Fixed podcasts related episodes getting cut off
• Fixed user ratings showing the wrong value on the extended info screen
• Fixed an issue where the network disconnected popup is not closed when network is reconnected.
• Fixed blurry letter avatar in user menu
• Fixed text getting cut off in related hubs
• Fixed user avatar not appearing in playlists with shared content
• Fixed quick links hubs not correctly positioned with line borders
• Fixed On Right Now hub for Live TV not showing “More…” button
• Fixed loss of focus when only server goes offline
• Fixed multitasking restoring to a black screen on Tizen 5 devices

Version : 3.98.2
Platform : Samsung 2016 Televisions (Tizen 2.4)

FIXED:

• Fixed the dreaded Black Screen with White Text issue on 2016 Tizen devices.

Version : 3.103.1
Platforms : Samsung 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 UHD Televisions (Tizen 2.4, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0)

~~Note: This release is currently only available as a preview release, which you can download from here: https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-tv-uno-preview-for-samsung-2016-uhd/422621/2~~

It will be publicly available through Samsung’s App store after it goes through the Samsung release process. This post will be updated when it is available.

This is now publicly available from the Samsung Apps store as of 2019.06.25

NEW:

• Added a new base background image
• Added error pages for empty home screen, empty libraries and unavailable servers

FIXED:

• Fixed titles missing for music videos in playlist
• Fixed bandwidth estimate handling when playing multiple videos in the same app session
• Fixed manage and refresh buttons overlap in errored home hubs
• Fixed DVR options appearing for managed users with only Live TV permissions
• Fixed initial missing focus after selecting “Watch Now” in Live TV
• Fixed being unable to get back to library content after leaving a page with no content

Version : 3.105.0
Platforms : Samsung 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 UHD Televisions (Tizen 2.4, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0)

NEW:

• Added Artist TV Radio
• Added News personalize settings link to News sources in UNO sidebar
• Added loading default tab and saving last viewed tab for Playlists sources in UNO sidebar
• Automatically remove pinned sources from deleted libraries in UNO sidebar
• Improved video quality for News, Web Shows, and TIDAL Music Videos during beginning of playback

FIXED:

• Fixed ads sometimes not playing correctly
• Fixed an issue in search where the type would reset to “All” after pressing search button from more results
• Fixed related photos in photo player showing limited results
• Fixed an issue in UNO where users are unable to select initial pinned sources if they only have one server
• Fixed pinned sources in UNO sidebar showing error icons after switching users
• Fixed an issue in UNO where server unavailable icon won’t update
• Fixed an issue where the More poster was too big for some hubs
• Fixed an issue in UNO where going back to a Recommended tab could sometimes result in focus being lost
• Fixed an issue in UNO where switching between sources could sometimes result in loss of focus
• Fixed missing focus in TIDAL playlist pages when UNO preview is enabled
• Fixed an issue with reordering UNO sidebar pinned sources where the wrong item would be moved
• Fixed search in UNO not correctly restricting results per type by default

Version : 3.109.2
Platforms : Samsung 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 UHD Televisions (Tizen 2.4, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0)

NEW:

• Plex’s new UI experience with many major enhancements including
  • Customizable / always accessible sidebar navigation
  • Ability to pin and reorder your favorite libraries to the sidebar
  • Quick access to all of your media through the “More” menu item
  • Redesigned tab views that remember your previous view within each library (can be controlled via setting)
  • A customizable home screen including pinning content rows from any library to home
• Disabled List View and Browse By Folder for Photo libraries
• Replaced Browse by Folder option available in PMS libraries with Folders option in types menu
• Added “Remember Selected Tab” app setting
• Removed Go to <library> metadata item action
• Added “Reset Customization” button in user menu to reset sidebar and home screen
• Added automatic refresh when library is rescanned
• Don’t show “More” button when user has no servers and has disabled all online media providers

FIXED:

• Fixed an issue that caused Related Photos hub to sometimes become unfocusable while viewing photos
• Fixed having to press twice in a sidebar item where in preplay pages to navigate to a different page
• Fixed Live TV hubs on missing airing information
• Fixed an issue that could cause the sidebar to become inaccessible after ending playback
• Fixed an issue that made it possible to navigate from the jump bar to the page header
• Fixed an issue that could result in managed users not seeing the onboarding screens
• Fixed an edge case that allowed a pre-UNO page header to be visible while browsing sources
• Don’t show Search button in Home screen when no preferred server was selected
• Fixed PIN entry not accepting number keys as input
• Fixed long song names breaking album view layout
• Fixed an issue that caused the app to become unresponsive after deleting a hub from the Home screen
• Fixed an issue that caused the Home page to display an infinite spinner after finishing the onboarding
• Fixed an issue that could result in managed users not seeing the onboarding screens
• Fixed home hub labels not updating after changing the language
• Fixed an issue where a scrollbar sometimes appears up on the source edit screen
• Fixed long song names not marqueeing when focused on album view
• Fixed empty library message being shown for Live TV

Version : 4.1.1
Platforms : Samsung 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 UHD Televisions (Tizen 2.4, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0)

NEW:

• Added an item count to collections

FIXED:

• Fixed photo cells not loading in strip in slideshow
• Fixed issue with no sound when playing transcoded movie trailers
• Fixed scrollbar sometimes showing up in toolbar
• Fixed seeking sometimes not updating progress bar and elapsed/remaining times
• Fixed an issue that could cause home page hubs to display a Content Unavailable error
• Fixed showing the more actions menu in the video player while playing movies
• Fixed app losing focus after reconnecting to server
• Fixed non-functional search button in Home screen
• Fixed play/pause not working while changing subtitle offset
• Fixed occasional unexpected behavior when attempting to use lyrics as a non-Plex Pass user
• Fixed cast members linking to pre-UNO view
• Fixed an error loading Manage Hubs modal in TIDAL

Version : 4.5.1
Platforms : Samsung 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 UHD Televisions (Tizen 2.4, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0)

NEW:

• Renamed “Online Content” group to “Plex” in sidebar “More” menu and moved it after user servers
• Moved source page settings (“Manage Hubs”) to sidebar and header menus
• Moved home page settings (“Manage Hubs” and “Restore to defaults”) to sidebar and header menus

FIXED:

• Fixed an issue where seeking while paused causes an error and resumes play
• More readable support.plex.tv URLs in app
• Fixed various layout issues on sidebar
• Fixed video playlist thumbnails size
• Fixed Live TV/DVR hub titles overlapping line borders
• Fixed tab titles not being translated when changing app language in settings
• Fixed an issue that prevented resetting customization from certain pages
• Fixed pause not working while seeking
• Fixed home button in sidebar not being selected when returning home from search page
• Fixed size of related photos thumbnails in photo player
• Fixed wrong playback titles being shown sometimes for video clips
• Fixed hidden focus when going back from preplay
• Fixed an issue that could cause albums and seasons lists to fail to load in artist and tv show pages
• Fixed lyrics fetching error message flashing
• Fixed wrong thumbnail image for photos in album list view
• Fixed Preplay buttons too close to summary on preplay screen
• Fixed sidebar customization being skipped for users with only one server and no enabled online media sources

Version: 4.11.2
Platforms: Samsung 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 UHD Televisions (Tizen 2.4, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0)

NEW:

• Adjusted message displayed in empty “My Podcasts”, “My Webshows” and “My TIDAL” screens
• Ensured search via controller/keyboard shortcut uses preferred server selected during first run
• Added Russian language selection
• Mobile servers no longer appear in sidebar

FIXED:

• Fixed an issue that could cause some filters to not work correctly
• Fixed focus not being correctly restored when going back to Categories/Channels pages
• Fixed margin below artist on album preplay
• Fixed an issue that could cause navigating the sidebar to fail on certain pages
• Fixed missing current position time during Live TV playback
• Fixed an issue where removing content from “My TIDAL” did not always update “My TIDAL” page properly
• Fixed the sidebar and preplay page content not loading correctly after starting playback quickly
• Fixed an issue where restoring the home screen to its default state twice in quick succession could cause the app to crash
• Fixed an issue that could cause the jump bar to not be displayed in library pages

Version: 4.15.2
Platforms: Samsung 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 UHD Televisions (Tizen 2.4, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0)

NEW:

• Added better sorting for shared servers. We now sort by the username, and use the username as the primary title

FIXED:

• Fixed subtitles not showing up when advancing to the next episode
• Fixed an issue that could result in broken sidebar functionality on poor network conditions
• Fixed being unable to return to other views after selecting a Collections tab for a library without collections

Version: 4.17.1
Platforms: Samsung 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 UHD Televisions (Tizen 2.4, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0)

NEW:

• Improved home screen customization reset behavior

FIXED:

• Fix error on launch for some users
• Fixed an issue with toggling subtitles on videos with multiple versions
• Fixed hubs sometimes not loading in Manage Hubs modal in source settings
• Fixed an issue that caused the app to show an infinite loading indicator after backing away from a folder while in list view

Version: 4.19.2
Platforms: Samsung 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 UHD Televisions (Tizen 2.4, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0)

FIXED:

• Fixed an issue where a no longer existing server could prevent you from sharing other servers
• Fixed an issue where some hubs on the Home Screen overlap the separator
• Fixed back key going back to user switcher when editing a managed user’s name
• Fixed pinned sources occasionally not influencing home screen content when switching between Auto and Custom modes
• Fixed error preventing the app from starting properly for some users

Version: 4.21.2
Platforms: Samsung 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 UHD Televisions (Tizen 2.4, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0)

NEW:

• Added proper maximum bitrate to player profile
• Disabled the option to add hubs to home screen when Automatic Home is enabled

FIXED:

• Fixed an issue where movies sometimes won’t play after pre-roll or trailers
• Fixed metadata line height issue on some preplay pages

Version: 4.25.2
Platforms: Samsung 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 UHD Televisions (Tizen 2.4, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0)

NEW:

• New Search page with updated design and functionality:
  • Search VOD, News, Podcasts, Web Shows and TIDAL as well as PMS libraries
  • Keeps a history of recent searches
  • Change search target to search all media, pinned sources, specific source types or providers
  • Results are grouped by owned libraries, shared libraries and providers
  • Contextual results promoted based on where search was started from (i.e. if search is made from a library, results from that library will be promoted to the top)
• Avoid transcoding of 4K video when another version is playable.
• Added server name to Log to Media Server app setting
• Added the mp2 audio codec to the player profile for mpegts

FIXED:

• Fixed handling of Auto Play when acting as a Plex Companion player
• Fixed a stuttering issue with 60 FPS h264 video
• Fixed an issue where DVR activity sometimes wasn’t showing up
• Fixed an issue that could cause the sidebar to become inaccessible after stopping playback from a controller app
• Fixed loss of progress when VOD is stopped during initial ad after resuming