Server Version#: 1.23.3.4707
Player Version#:8.18.2.25850 (Plex Android App)
I’m having an issue where transcoding audio is forcing videos to transcode. The video in question is 1080p (H.264) and EAC3 5.1. The file is in an mkv container and subtitles are not enabled. I’ve seen that this was an issue with older versions of Plex Server, but I still seem to be having the issue with the newest version.
I just dug through the logs for the player and found this line
06-29 23:36:07.686 i: [video] The device doesn’t support the ‘high’ profile, only: baseline
I came across it in another thread, but I read that it had been fixed in later versions.
There was a change back in early 2020 on how the app detects what a device supports. It did fix some cases where the device was not being identified properly.
Can you provide the entire log after reproducing the error?
Plex Media Server 1.23.4.4712
Android Mobile: 8.19.2.26377
I’m seeing same with my Pixel 3a XL phone.
The video has three audio tracks: EAC3, AC3, & AAC.
Expected that EAC3 audio transcodes. However, video also transcodes.
Video does not transcode when audio direct plays.
Plex client log:
06-30 15:25:47.540 i: [video] The device doesn't support the 'high' profile, only: baseline
Plex server log:
Jun 30, 2021 15:25:42.099 [11348] DEBUG - [Transcode] Mountain Bike Ride - video.profile limitation applies: high != baseline [list]
Plex Media Server Logs_2021-06-30_15-30-41.zip (52.4 KB)
Mountain Bike Ride XML.txt (2.5 KB)
Pixel 3a XL.log (245.4 KB)
Here are my logs
This is also happening on a remote Nvidia Shield connected to my server, but I don’t have logs from them. It is set to maximum quality for remote streaming. I have a shield at home that needs EAC3 5.1 to be transcoded, but it does not cause the video to transcode. The settings on both are identical.
plex-log-jross12385.zip (82.9 KB)
Plex Media Server Logs_2021-06-30_16-14-46.zip (4.8 MB)
Ok @FordGuy61, I see what is going on. It appears that the Android app, when trying to direct play, does not check the profile limitation or at least does not limit the playback due to the profile. However, when the audio needs to be transcoded, the decision then reverts back to PMS. PMS is then enforcing the limitation of not allowing the high profile to be used. I will pass this info along to the team to see if this is intended or if the app is sending the wrong info to the server.
@jross12385 I’m not quite sure in your case. I see multiple playbacks and multiple reasons why it’s transcoding. I’ll need the approximate time when the device in question is playing something to get a better understanding. But from what I see, there are 2 playback attempts and both required a transcode for different reasons.
In 1 case, I see a remote android device trying to play a 10-bit hevc file, but their setup does not support 10-bit, therefore PMS has to transcode this.
In another case, I see the remote android device indicate it has the quality limitation set to 4 Mbps, so it transcodes because of that.
The HEVC transcoding is working as expected. I am uploading new logs now. The most recent video playback is the issue I am having. There are no other streams running on my server at the moment.
plex-log-jross12385.zip (157.2 KB)
Plex Media Server Logs_2021-07-01_01-42-16.zip (5.0 MB)
I am seeing the same thing I saw for FordGuy.
Have there been any updates in this issue?
Not in the 1.5 days since my last comment. 
same issue here - hardware transcode activated incorrectly. Manually changed audio track from TrueHD to AC3 5.1 (supported by the TV) - this resolved the video transcoding and playback is perfect.
Also noticed in the Dashboard the playback shows “Local (public IP)”. Changed Remote Streaming to 20Mbps from Original. Restarted Plex App on Client and now Dashboard is showing "Local (Local IP). Not sure if this is related to this issue.
Server Version#: 1.23.3.4707 (SHIELD TV P2897 2017) / Gigabit LAN) / SMB3
Player Version#: 8.20.0.26605 (SHIELD TV P3430 2019) / Gigabit LAN
Media Server#: DSM 7.0-41890 (Synology NAS 1813+) / 4 Gig. LAN / SMB3
I have the same issue. On 4K HDR videos with both HD audio and AC3 audio streams, selecting the latter will enable direct play. However, if the video file only have for instance EAC3 audio, then audio and video will both transcode (effectively making it unplayable)
Do we have any news on this problem ?
I had the same problem not long ago.
I have the same here also.
VÍDEO 1080p (H.264)
ÁUDIO English (EAC3 5.1)
Strange, but if I chose the video quality to original, it works just fine !
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