BUG: 4K not playing on Sony Bravia TV model: x75l 43 inch

[Home_Flix]

Server Version#: 1.32.5.7349
Player Version#: 9.29.0.3347

I recently bought a Sony TV Model: x75l 43 inch.

I am not able to play any stream in 4K.

If I connect my “Chromecast witho google tv” to this tv then plex woyld play 4K streams without any issues.

Plex settings on Chromecast with Google TV and Sony TV are exactly same. Both are running the same version of plex client app.

The same videos get played by jellyfin, vlc but via plex its not getting played.

Kindly guide how to fix this…

Thanks

[djfriday13]

your settings are likely not correct. set your streaming quality to maximum and if you are remote then your remote streaming quality to maximum.

if your settings are actually correct and you are still having that issue, you can try this from reddit.

[Home_Flix]

1. Streaming quality and remote streaming quality both are set to maximum. Although I am streaming it locally only.

2. Already cleared the cache and reinstalled the plex android TV app.

3. Like I mentioned in my post, 4K videos are not getting played if I play thru Sony TV, but if I connect “Chromecast with google TV” to the same TV 4K videos play perfectly.

What else I can do to fix this ?

[djfriday13]

is your tv using wifi or wired connection? you can also post your server logs which can provide more info on the reason for the transcode.

[djfriday13]

you can also look at plex dashboard when streaming the content and look at the details and post a screenshot of that. it may provide more info as to the reason for the transcode.

[Home_Flix]

Wired connection

[Home_Flix]

Ok will do that

[djfriday13]

i think a lot of TVs network cards are limited to 100mbps which means your tv doesn’t have enough bandwidth to play a 4k file that can exceed 100mbps. try it on wifi.

[Home_Flix]

Already did that… Same issue

[Home_Flix]

4K getting transcoded to 1080p.

Kindly guide how to fix this

[djfriday13]

server logs with debug enabled is probably the next step.

Restart PMS (Package Center)
Wait 3 minutes
stream the content for 30 seconds
open Settings - Server - Troubleshooting (lower left corner)
Download Logs
It will give you a ZIP file
Attach that ZIP file here.

[Home_Flix]

Ok will upload the zip

[Home_Flix]

Plex Media Server Logs_2023-08-16_08-23-24.zip (361.6 KB)

Kindly check.

[Home_Flix]

When Connected “Chromecast with google tv” to Sony TV and played via plex app from “Chromecast with google tv”. No transcoding is happening. Sony TV model is x75l 4K UHD

And if played from plex app from Sony TV

Log zip file is also attached.

I hope developers would fix this issue.

[djfriday13]

I’m no an expert in reading this stuff but this is where it is deciding to transcode the file. i think it still think there is a setting limitation or your TV isn’t reporting it has enough bandwidth. Someone here will probably know more. Also you should check your database using chuckpa’s utility. it seems to be having issues. and you may have some issue with a reverse proxy on your system as your computer when logged in appears to be producing a “tv.com” domain leading to it being ttreated as non-local but i could be misreading those logs. i’m a novice!

Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.909 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode/Req#134] We're going to try to auto-select an audio stream for account 1.
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.909 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode/Req#134] Selecting best audio stream for part ID 52784 (language: en)
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.909 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode/Req#134] We're going to try to auto-select a subtitle.
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.909 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode/Req#134] Subtitles: Found a candidate subtitle language [en] for a foreign film
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.909 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode/Req#134] Audio Stream: 67931, Subtitle Stream: 67932
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.931 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] MDE: Selected protocol hls; container: mkv
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.931 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] MDE: analyzing media item 439
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.931 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] MDE: Bird Box (2018): Direct Play is disabled
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.931 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] MDE: Bird Box (2018): media must be transcoded in order to use the hls protocol
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.931 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] MDE: Bird Box (2018): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/hevc
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.931 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] MDE: Bird Box (2018): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/hevc/eac3
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.931 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] Bird Box - video.width limitation applies: 3840 > 1920
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.931 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] Bird Box - video.width limitation applies: 3840 > 1920
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.931 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] MDE: Bird Box (2018): no remuxable profile found, so video stream will be transcoded
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.931 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] MDE: Cannot direct stream video stream due to profile or setting limitations
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.932 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] MDE: Bird Box (2018): selected media 0 / 439
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.932 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] Streaming Resource: Required bandwidth unknown (media requires deep analysis) Changing decision parameters provided by client to fit bandwidth limit of 200000kbps
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.932 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] Streaming Resource: Determining preferred transcode encoders through transcode only decision.
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.934 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] Streaming Resource: Reducing playback quality for 190476kbps stream bitrate: video resolution to 1920x798, audio channels to 6, quality to 99
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.935 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] MDE: Selected protocol hls; container: mkv
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.935 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] MDE: analyzing media item 439
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.935 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] MDE: Bird Box (2018): Direct Play is disabled
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.935 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] MDE: Bird Box (2018): media must be transcoded in order to use the hls protocol
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.935 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] MDE: Bird Box (2018): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/hevc
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.935 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] MDE: Bird Box (2018): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/hevc/eac3
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.935 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] Bird Box - video.width limitation applies: 3840 > 1920
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.935 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] Bird Box - video.width limitation applies: 3840 > 1920
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.935 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] MDE: Bird Box (2018): no remuxable profile found, so video stream will be transcoded
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.935 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] MDE: Cannot direct stream video stream due to profile or setting limitations
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.936 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] MDE: Bird Box (2018): selected media 0 / 439
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.936 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] Streaming Resource: Adding session 0xffff790aa318:aefe6b872f379ddc-com-plexapp-android which is using transcoder slot.  Used slots is now 1
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.936 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] Streaming Resource: Added session 0xffff790aa318:aefe6b872f379ddc-com-plexapp-android
Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.937 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] Streaming Resource: Reached Decision id=243 codes=(General=1001,Direct play not available; Conversion OK. Direct Play=3000,App cannot direct play this item. Direct play is disabled. Transcode=1001,Direct play not available; Conversion OK.) media=(id=439 part=(id=52784 decision=transcode container=mkv protocol=hls streams=(Video=(id=67930 decision=transcode bitrate=15321 encoder=libx264 width=1918 height=798) Audio=(id=67931 decision=copy channels=6 rate=48000) Subtitle=(id=67932 decision=transcode bitrate=2147483647 encoder=ass languageCode=eng location=embedded))))

[Home_Flix]

I just found another thread where some users of Sony TV are also reporting the same issue.

I am sure plex has some issue with Sony TV.

Data base is fine, reverse proxy is not creating this issue.

This is something that developers of plex should look into… particularly for Sony TV models.

[djfriday13]

i wasn’t saying those the reverse proxy or the database was contributing to the issue. just that i saw them in the logs. slow database query and non-local. Also saw a certificate issue.

Aug 16, 2023 08:21:26.102 [281472696398048] WARN - [Req#c9] SLOW QUERY: It took 250.000000 ms to retrieve 50 items.

Aug 16, 2023 08:22:45.345 [281472762695904] DEBUG - Request came in with unrecognized domain / IP 'tv.com' in header Referer; treating as non-local

you can also look through the smart tv thread for a plex person that assists with that more often and ping them here to look at your logs.

edit: i also wouldn’t do any future testing on anything other than wifi. as the network card on the tv will be a bottle neck.

[Home_Flix]

I am using wifi only now.

What i dont understand is if I plug mi box, firestick or “chromecast with google tv” and play the same movie via these streaming devices connected to Sony TV then every 4k movie plays without any issues.

[JaysPlex]

There are some TV apps that have limited capabilities
https://support.plex.tv/articles/204080173-which-smart-tv-models-are-supported/

Specific Playback Capabilities

The “Plex for Smart TVs” app supports the following limited capabilities for video and audio playback.

Video:

• Bit Rate: 4Mbps max
• Resolution: 1080p max
• Bit Depth: 8
• Codec: H.264
• Container: mp4, mpegts, mov
• Audio: AAC, 2 channels

I don’t know if this is your problem or not but the reason for a transcode seems odd to me on a 4k TV

Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.931 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] MDE: Bird Box (2018): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/hevc/eac3

Aug 16, 2023 08:22:11.931 [281472717005024] DEBUG - [Req#12b/Transcode] Bird Box - video.width limitation applies: 3840 > 1920

[Home_Flix]

Sony TV is running on Goggle TV version 11

Android TV/Google TV

Official “Android TV” or “Google TV” devices can run our regular Android app, which is available in the Google Play Store.