Best solution for Plex Player - TV vs. PS5 vs. Mac Mini with 4k/TrueHD7.1

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Hi all,

I was hoping those with much better technical knowledge than myself could help.

So basically my set up is;

OLEDTV - OLED65CX5LB (3x HDMI 2.1 Arc + 1x HDMI 2.1 ~ all at 4k/120hz)
AV Receiver - Denon 3700H 7.1
Mac Mini M1 Chip 2020. (1x HDMI 2.0 out)
PS4 (PS5 when I can get one).

I use the Mac Mini as a Plex server so that’s covered and working very well. I previously streamed via the PS4 or the TV.

My movie folder consists of…

  • 4k HVEC movies with alot of TrueHD7.1
  • 1080p H.264 with 5.1.

At the moment I can stream to either PS4 or TV at ‘original’ quality, even on the 4K. I assume I don’t have any issues as I’m using an Asus 5Ghz router with my mac wired directly into the ethernet, although I’m not sure I’ll then be able to get the 7.1TrueHD via this method?

So my question is - what is the ideal set up for PLAYING the media (not the server).

  1. Using the MacMini as a server/player, plugged directly into the AV receiver via HDMI 2.0 and then onto the TV.

MacMini --> AVReceiver via HDMI --> TV.

I’m assuming this may be the best method as I don’t need 4k at 120hz for movies with most of it being in 24/30FPS.

  1. Using the PS4/PS5 Plex App and then having the PS plugged into the AV receiver and then onto the TV

MacMini --> PS4/PS5 Plex App --> AVReceiver via HDMI 2.1 --> TV

  1. Just use the TV plex app, but then push the audio to the AV receiver via the ARC HDMI.

MacMini --> TV App --> AV Receiver.

The reason I’m unsure, is I’m assuming I don’t need HDMI 2.1 for HD7.1 or 4K?

If I do need HDMI2.1 then it’s logical I’d use options 2 or 3, but I’m not sure if those Plex apps can support the audio output, I’ve heard it won’t allow it because they’re OS Web based.

Any help would be greatly appeciated.

thanks,

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None of your current clients support direct playing 4K HDR video and TrueHD audio passthrough. The only Plex client that does so is the Nvidia Shield.

Mac based clients do not support HDR video. HDR video will be tonemapped to SDR.

The LG Plex app plays 4K HDR video, but subtitles should be avoided as they can force a video transcode. Also, TrueHD and all dts audio variants will be transcoded.

I’m unsure of the capabilities of the Plex app on a PS4, but I’ve seen no posts saying it can passthrough TrueHD or dts-HD MA audio.

Regarding physical connectivity, if HDMI-eARC is enabled between the TV & Denon, you can connect the devices to either the TV or the AVR. If HDMI-ARC (not eARC) is used, then connect the devices to the AVR. eARC can pass lossless, high-bit rate audio such as TrueHD. ARC cannot due to bandwidth limitations.

See this thread for more info. It is long, but informative.

Additional Details:

Consider obtaining a Nvidia Shield Pro 2019. It is the only Plex client that will passthrough TrueHD + Atmos audio and supports 4K HDR video. Avoid the non-Pro “tube” model as it has issues with high bit rate media.

If Atmos is not a concern, then consider an AppleTV 4K or Roku. They send TrueHD as lossless PCM audio (Atmos data is lost during the process).

The LG Plex app will not pass dts-HD or TrueHD via HDMI-eARC due to LG hardware limitations. TrueHD and dts audio will be transcoded due to lack of codec support on 2020 LG TVs. The LG Plex app will transcode video when PGS, VOBSUB, or ASS/SSA subtitles are enabled. SRT subtitles + transcoded audio also forces a video transcode (so avoid TrueHD & dts audio).

Plex Media Player (on Mac or PC) does not support HDR video (it tonemaps HDR to SDR). PMP on a PC will passthrough TrueHD audio. I’m not sure about PMP on a Mac. Plex for Mac/Windows will have similar restrictions. Plex Web is more limited than Plex for Mac & PMP due to web browser restrictions.

I’m unsure of the capabilities of the Plex app on a PS4. However, I have not seen any posts saying it can passthrough TrueHD audio.

See this thread for additional details:

1 Like
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Thanks for the response.

This is my exact model https://www.lg.com/uk/tvs/lg-oled65cx5lb

It says e-ARC and ARC through the HDMI?

Looks like it supports the full 4k HDR?

So by the sounds of it

Lg TV app will give 4k HDR but not TrueHD audio.
If I use subtitles it’ll mess it up.

Physical connection to av receiver will give TrueHD but not 4K HDR?

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Just found out yesterday that the PS5 doesn’t do refresh rate switching currently.
If you want ideal picture quality, avoid it as a big screen client.

I agree on the recommendation above for the nVidia Shield.
Go Shield -> AVR -> TV – all with HDMI connections.

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Yes.

ARC vs eARC only matters if you have something attached to an HDMI input on the TV - a Mac/PC, streaming stick, Blu-ray player, etc.

Just make sure eARC is enabled on both the TV and the AVR, otherwise the connection falls back to ARC.

My gear predates eARC, so I do not know what configuration options, etc appear in the equipment setup menus.

Correct.

SRT subtitles should be OK with Dolby Digital (AC3), Dolby Digital Plus (EAC3), and AAC audio with 5.1 channels or less.

Avoid subtitles when playing TrueHD and dts audio.

Incorrect.

The Mac based clients will not provide HDR video due to client limitations, not where you connect them.

A streaming device such as AppleTV 4K, Nvidia Shield, Roku, etc will definitely support HDR video when directly attached to an AVR.

My setup:
Nvidia Shield Pro (2015) ← HDMI → Denon AVR-X4300H ← HDMI-ARC → LG B7 OLED

I use the Plex app on the Shield so I can play 4K HDR movies with TrueHD, dts-HD, etc audio. I can also use PGS/VOBSUB/SRT subtitles w/o forcing a video transcode (The Plex AndroidTV app direct plays those subtitle formats).

I do not use the Plex app on the LG due to the audio & subtitle restrictions of the Plex app and the HDMI-ARC connection.

2 Likes
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Thanks for the advice.

Just to confirm the Nvidia shield would replace the mac mini? Or work alongside it?

I don’t particularly want to not use it as its the specific purpose of the Mac.

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There’s still no TrueHD/DTS-HD/HD audio support in macOS. It’ll play as PCM.

In addition to the software tone mapping issue, Apple lists a weird limitation for the Mac Mini and HDR - it’s supported at 1080p only, no 4k HDR.

Play HDR video on Mac - Apple Support

  1. All HDR content plays at resolutions up to 1080p.

I don’t know why that would be, or if it’s accurate. But it sure is weird. That document was recently created, and other people are talking about it.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252057791

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+1 for nvidia shield. I own 2 , new Pro model that support Ai
and the old original pro model 500GB ssHD.

they both play every 4K HDR I have , even movies as high as 90mbps.

however I don’t have a receiver nor I have dolby atoms capable speakers
am just using 5.1 sound bar plugged to the TV via optical cable. (everything playing direct play).

nvidia shield is the only device that plays everything directly.

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The Nvidia Shield is the Plex client.

The Mac Mini runs Plex Media Server.

You can use a Shield Pro as a Plex server, but there are limitations. Read the Plex documentation before using the Shield as a Plex server. I much prefer running PMS on my DS918+ versus my Shield.

You can use a Mac or PC as a Plex client, but there are the previously mentioned limitations. If you look at product direction, it appears Plex is de-emphasizing using a Mac/PC as a home theater client, preferring clients on Smart TVs and streaming devices. Plex for Mac/Windows does not have a SmartTV/Big Screen TV type layout. Plex Media Player does have such a layout (TV Mode), but is clearly in maintenance mode, receiving the occasional bug fix but no new features (last update was in May).

1 Like
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Oh I see! Thanks for the patience.

So essentially I can keep using the mac mini as the server but if I get the nvida shield pro I can then use that as a player which will allow 4k hdr and 7.1?

Final question does the shield need to go into a 2.1 hdmi slot on av or can it be normal 2.0?

Thanks again all,

1 Like
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Yes.

The 2019 Shield Pro has a HDMI 2.0b interface.

For Plex you can use any of the HDMI inputs on the Denon AVR. You don’t have to use the 8K HDMI input (My 2015 Shield works great w/ my Denon 4300 & LG B7, all are HDMI 2.0).

There’s some stuff in the HDMI standard such as variable refresh rates, low latency modes, etc that seem to appeal to gaming. I’ve no idea if Nvidia implemented any of that in the 2019 Shield, how Denon handles it, or how LG handles it. You can probably dig into the product manuals for the details and/or just experiment when you connect things together (move the Shield between interfaces on the Denon, see what happens, etc).

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Thanks all,

Just ordered a nvidia shield pro.

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don`t forget.

No Apps for AppleTV+, Apple Music. Amazon Music and no Sky Q and Sky Ticket.

and I don’t think that will happen anytime soon.
The ShieldTV is a very good device but not perfect.
I’ve also had one for 4 years and love and hate you.

I bought a Shield Pro 2019 to test it out and I was very excited about that, but I don’t like it without the above apps and Airplay2.

I no longer want to have Google in my house and have an AppleTV 4K and am very satisfied. Plex and Infuse run very well and DTS with HD sound and TrueHD also run in a TrueHD sound track except Atmos.

But since I work with an Upmixer in Denon Receiver, it’s not as bad as Neural X Upmixer sounds better anyway.

The shield only makes sense if you don’t have an AV receiver behind it to decode the entire sound.

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