So, I upgraded my old setup of samsung ks7000 + nvidia shield to Samsung S95b and soundbar Q995b.
But now all my high bitrate movies buffers because it wants to transcode all TrueHD and DTSX audio.
I can’t seem to put my new TV into pass-through mode. Can this be right, is there no way for me to play these lovely high bitrate movies anymore?
Are you using the Plex app on the Samsung TV?
If so, then what you are experiencing is expected behavior.
Samsung dropped support for DTS audio formats several years ago. Therefore, when using the Plex Tizen app, it will be transcoded to a supported format.
No TV, including Samsung, supports passing TrueHD audio from TV based apps to attached audio equipment. Therefore, it will be transcoded to a supported format.
If you want TrueHD + Atmos audio, connect a Nvidia Shield Pro to a HDMI input on either the TV or the soundbar.
DTS audio formats will always be transcoded. The soundbar lacks DTS audio support and the TV will not pass DTS audio from external devices.
Note: Watch out for subtitles. On some Samsung TVs, if the audio is transcoding and you enable subtitles, Plex will transcode the video. IIRC, it varies by Tizen release. I have not seen a comprehensive table of affected releases, but it is easy to test. Play a movie with DTS or TrueHD audio, which will transcode, and then enable any subtitle. Check the Plex Dashboard → Now Playing to see if the video is transcoding.
Reference: S95B at rtings.com (search for “passthrough”).
Reference: Samsung Q995B Soundbar (look at specs, dts not listed as supported format).
Reference: Server Status & Dashboard
Going from Shield to smart TV is no upgrade.
Even with the latest TV models.
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