Always Transcoding HDR on Chromecast Ultra

Plex Players Streaming Devices
1

All of this worked so something broke somewhere and I’ve spent at least 3 weeks trying to fix it without luck so I think it’s time to present my problem here. The issue is that Plex is trying to transcode all 4K HDR x265 video no matter what I try. If it’s standard 4K without HDR then it direct plays the video. Right now the CC Ultra is doing the same thing when connected to an HDR television as well as SDR and it worked on both, on SDR, colors would come in a little washed out but I compensated for it with the TV’s settings. Video streams direct played all the time, right now, when playing a file with HDR, since my PC isn’t a powerhouse, it buffers every couple of seconds. When disabling transcoding, I just get the infinite spinning wheel on the CC Ultra. Here are the things I’ve tried, I’ve un-installed, re-installed the app, made sure all settings are maximum (even disabled remote access even though dashboard indicated local playback) but same thing, I’ve tried an older version of the app on the phone but the same thing. I’ve uninstalled an re-installed Plex Media Server after wiping out all metadata, etc files and rebuilding my library. I even factory defaulted my CC ultra a couple of times but video just always tries to transcode, the audio transcoding is nothing new, but the 4K HDR video always direct played. I’ve attached the log here, I hope someone can help me figure this out, I’ve aged terribly in these past 3 weeks.

Server Version#: 1.21.1.3830
Player Version#: 8.11.0.22186

(File removed)

2

Well, your log indicates :
Perhaps its not happy with the SMTP2084 profile ? And it wants something like BT2020 ?

Dec 20, 2020 01:41:20.368 [19528] DEBUG - [Transcode] Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - video.colorTrc limitation applies: smpte2084 != bt709|bt470m|bt470bg|smpte170m|smpte240m|bt2020-10 [list]
Dec 20, 2020 01:41:20.368 [19528] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017): no remuxable profile found, so video stream will be transcoded
Dec 20, 2020 01:41:20.368 [19528] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Cannot direct stream video stream due to profile or setting limitations

3

Disable “Enable HDR tone mapping” which is on by default (Settings -> Transcoder), it is cpu intensive on anything less than current gen hardware.

4

That’s what I got out of this as well, except literally nothing has changed, same Chromecast, same TVs, and there’s no related setting on the Chromecast Ultra hence me banging my head on the wall. :frowning:

5

I’m reading about this option but can’t seem to find it anywhere in settings, maybe it’s something that was a setting that was removed at some point?

6

HDR Tone Mapping is a Plex Pass feature, so may not be visible for you (you don’t have “Plex Pass” next to your forum username).

Settings -> server_name -> Transcoder -> Enable HDR Tone Mapping.
Select “Show Advanced” to make it visible.

Screenshot (398)
Screenshot (398)992×430 127 KB

1 Like
9

Thanks a lot, I subscribed for Plex Pass just to test this, I turned this option off and it worked. The only concern is that anyone that wants to play HDR files going forward (as this worked for the longest time) on the CC Ultra will need to subscribe going forward just to turn off that check box… but then again… this may be the intention.

2 Likes
10

It turns out this is a Plex Pass feature, I got one and issue resolved by disabling that. Many thanks.

1 Like
11

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