Best Plex Player for HEVC Direct Play?

General Discussions
1

First, I apologize if this question has been previously answered (I couldn’t find a definitive answer).

  1. Which Plex player (i.e. hardware device) best supports Direct Play of HEVC content? Specifically, are there any players that support 10-bit HEVC?
  2. Based on this device, which multi-channel audio format is best for Direct Play? Are there any that support Direct Play of Opus?
  3. Finally, are any subtitle formats (SRT, PGS, SSA) that support Direct Play? If so, for which players?

I’d prefer non-pc devices (i.e. Shield, Roku, etc…) if possible.

Reasons for asking:
I’m in the process of re-ripping / converting my library and updating my hardware Plex players. I’d like to encode at the highest quality, and playback that native quality to the device. Further, my server is a older and can struggle with heavy transcoding.

Thanks in advance for your help!

2

I think right now the Nvidia Shield is the best choice for you to look at.

3

@jjrjr1 said:
I think right now the Nvidia Shield is the best choice for you to look at.

Quoted for truth. It’s the Shield or a HTPC. ShieldTV supports HEVC 10 bit, h264, vc1, mpeg2 deinterlace, mkv, Avi, HD audio passthrough, private listening, 4k… I know it supports SRT and now SSA…

4

Current generations of Roku direct-play HEVC 10-bit, including the 2017 edition of the Roku Streaming Stick. The Shield is noted above and will work just fine. Also, recent PC’s (Kaby Lake CPU, or recent nvidia cards) can direct play 10-bit HEVC as well. They can direct-play nearly everything.

If you’re not sticking with AC3 or DTS for compatibility reasons, I’ve found AAC is best for cross-compatibility. Some swear by OPUS, which is fine, but many clients can’t direct-play.

5

Thanks everyone for the quick replies. This really helps.

Last question. Have you personally seen Direct Play on the Shield or Roku 4K under these conditions?

6

@Apshai said:
Thanks everyone for the quick replies. This really helps.

Last question. Have you personally seen Direct Play on the Shield or Roku 4K under these conditions?

I’ve seen the Shield direct play almost anything. Roku 4K I’m not as familiar with, but it’s not as versatile… There’s a reason it’s much cheaper.

7

If HDR is also important to you go with the Shield. I did very recently due to lack of HDR on my custom built HTPC running PMP.
In my case I have an av receiver. So I have never even seen my server transcode with any HEVC files or anything else for that matter.
I admit I was late to the Shield party but I definitely feel the love now.

8

Great help everyone. Thank you!

9

A bit late, but I just tested an HEVC 10-bit file on the 2017 Roku Streaming Stick, and confirmed it did indeed direct-play.

I don’t have any HDR files so I can’t help with that! For that, the Shield may indeed be the best path.

10

Thanks for verifying Cafe Diem! very much appreciated!

11

@“Cafe Diem” said:
A bit late, but I just tested an HEVC 10-bit file on the 2017 Roku Streaming Stick, and confirmed it did indeed direct-play.

I don’t have any HDR files so I can’t help with that! For that, the Shield may indeed be the best path.

That’s a bit simplistic. Depends on the container, audio Codec, etc.

12

@KarlDag said:

@“Cafe Diem” said:
A bit late, but I just tested an HEVC 10-bit file on the 2017 Roku Streaming Stick, and confirmed it did indeed direct-play.

I don’t have any HDR files so I can’t help with that! For that, the Shield may indeed be the best path.

That’s a bit simplistic. Depends on the container, audio Codec, etc.

It worked with MP4 and MKV. Is there another container that’s being popularly used for HEVC that I should test?

13

I should have specified. Yes, MKV. That’s great.

It would be awesome if there was a chart of Plex players (hardware) with actual verified Direct Play of containers, video and audio codecs. I know there would be a lot of variations (i.e. 10-bit, HDR, LC, HE, etc…) but it would be worth it for those interested in quality. If I had all the clients I test and would create it. Maybe this is a first step!

Or I could just get the Shield and be done with it! :slight_smile: Thanks again.

14

Get the Shield and be done with it, it plays all of that and passes through Dolby Atmos as well. There was some talk they would even implement Dolby Vision, but I don’t know where that stands.