Android Plex client won't stream/play certain vids on my Pixel 8a, but will on Pixel 5a5G

Plex Players Mobile Devices
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Server Version#: 1.41.0.8994 (running on Windows 10 x64).
Player Version#:10.22.0.1579

Who else is having issues playing certain content in Android Plex on the Pixel 8a?

Stipulated: Lifetime Plex Pass user. PMS on hosting PC up to date, and Android client up to date on both phones as of last night and today, Oct 7, 2024. Same version and patch level of Android on both phones (14, Sept. 5th patch). Only difference is the phones’ hardware.

I’m theorizing it’s a Plex problem with the 8a hardware somehow and the original 1080p 1.8 Mbps x265 version–won’t stream nor play it in Plex client if downloaded to the 8a–when I optimized it for Mobile with Plex, it streamed that version (3 Mbps 720p) fine.
The original file streams and plays fine in Plex on my old phone, a Pixel 5a with 5G.

Also bypassed Plex entirely and downloaded the original file directly to my phone’s internal storage via USB cable, and it plays without issue there using VLC Media player for Android, so I know it’s not the file corrupted or whatever. Plex must not like the audio codec, maybe? I did notice that the theme music wasn’t kicking in as soon as I opened the episode page but before I hit the play button.

I can clearly play the content via alternate means as mentioned, but wonder if any other Android client users have seen this on the Pixel 8a.

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Might be the EAC3 issue I raised here (thread closed)

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That could well be it, and I’d bet the reason the same content plays fine on the older cell phone is that it doesn’t allow that EAC3 option to be checked, forcing transcoding on the server side. The error message I saw was identical to yours.

Let’s hope they get this sorted soon.

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Very likely then! I faced the issue when upgrading from a Pixel 5 to the 8 Pro - frustrating but at least there is a work around for the time being

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