10 bit depth video will not play

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Hi Guys

 

So it seems that the Pi only support up to 8 bit depth, which is not a problem, I do not have many files that are above 8 bit depth, what I want to ask is the following.

 

If I set Plex to force transcode it will play the file fine, but I don't want to force transcode all my media all the time, The Roku has a option to Play direct with a fall back to transcode. 

 

Could we not get a similar option for Plex Home theatre? Direct play with fallback? so video's that have the incorrect requirements get transcoded automatically?

 

Rather than having all my media transcoded?

 

Unless there is another option to get around this little problem?

 

Any advice will be much appreciated.

 

Cheers

Calvin

 

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Rasplex does, in recent releases you have to disable FFMPEG AVIO in the Preferences for transcoding to work, search the forum for the exact menu options.

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Thanks that has fixed it

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Okay, Disable FFMPEG AVIO works...der Movies are playing... but the Error Message are still there :"Video bitDepth is too hight: 10 (max: 8)"

Ist this Normal?

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Yes, it is normal, the Pi doesn't have hardware decoding for 10bit, it only can do AVC High Profile, it would need to do Hi10P etc to decode 10bit.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC

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Yes, it is normal, the Pi doesn't have hardware decoding for 10bit, it only can do AVC High Profile, it would need to do Hi10P etc to decode 10bit.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC

Hi, I've a doubt about this. Because the file plays fine with Kodi(raspbmc), and with rasplex always try to transcode. How could this happen if "the Pi doesn't have hardware decoding for 10bit"?

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Hi, I've a doubt about this. Because the file plays fine with Kodi(raspbmc), and with rasplex always try to transcode. How could this happen if "the Pi doesn't have hardware decoding for 10bit"?

That could most easily happen if that Kodi version has a software decoder for 10-bit encoded video.

Since Kodi is intended for stand-alone use without any server, it has to contain local decoders for all video to be handled, even if some have to be software decoded.

But PHT/RasPlex is intended for use only with media from servers, so the same urgent need for local decoders does not apply.

It's more efficient to leave the software decoding/transcoding to the PMS server, especially when the client runs on a low-end computer.
 

Best regards: dlanor

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Thanks for your answer, it's a very understandable reason.

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@Opulent92:

Weird artifacts and other video errors in transcoded media may be caused by errors in how the transcoder interprets the media.

CODECs installed locally on the server machine may or may not have an influence on this.

I'm unsure whether PMS relies on those, or uses only its own internal libs.

You should check how other media players on the server machine handle the same videos, to see if any artifacts appear then.

But in that test you should avoid using media players with their own internal CODEC libs, such as VLC.

(Because app-internal libs can never be used by PMS, so their results are not related.)

Another test that can help determine if it is the transcoding of PMS which adds the errors, rather than some RasPlex bug, is to try it with other Plex clients.

If any of them play the files perfectly, then the fault is isolated to PHT/RasPlex, so the final test of this kind is to test it with PHT on a PC.

If that also plays the files perfectly, then the fault is isolated to RasPlex and needs to be fixed by the RasPlex team.

But in all other cases the bug is either due to missing CODECs on the PMS system, or some bug to be fixed by Plex Inc.

Best regards: dlanor

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@Opulent92:

Thanks for helping to test this.

There is one more test I would appreciate you making, again using official PHT on your PC.

Start one of the 'failing on RasPlex' 10-bit videos again, and this time check whether it's played by 'Direct Play' method or through transcoding.

This should be shown in a message box at playback launch, but that's easy to miss.

A more reliable way to check it is to press the "i" key while playing, to open an info overlay which includes the playback method.

If it's played by 'Direct Play' method, then the result is not relevant for comparison to RasPlex, as it always needs transcoding by PMS.

You can then configure PHT quality settings to a high bitrate limit, rather than 'Direct Play', to enforce transcoding in a new test.

But the bitrate limit should still be higher than the bitrate of the video, to ensure comparable streams (so use the maximum rate).

If/when your test shows that PHT on PC can play the 10-bit video well when PMS uses transcoding,

then the case is clear, as RasPlex should always be able to use a transcoded stream properly.

So any failure to do this as well as the PC is a RasPlex bug that will need to be fixed.

Best regards: dlanor

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