[BUG] No Audio on Certain File Types with tvOS 15 (beta) and Plex AppleTV (beta)

Plex Players
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1

PMS: Latest Plex Pass for Synology
tvOS: tvOS 15 beta (19J5268r)
Plex Player: Current AppleTV beta

Apparently I’m a fan of beta life. :man_facepalming:t2:

This is just an observation and bug report rather than anything else.

I noticed certain files don’t play with audio at all once updating to the first tvOS beta. Video is fine. I’m not sure if the Plex Player also did an update at the same time, but I know it was right after updating tvOS that the issue became prevalent.

The files specifically are marked as:

File: DD 5.1, H.265 .mkv
Video: 1916x1076, 23.976 fps, 2.1 Mbps, HEVC Main
Audio: AC3 5.1 0.4 Mbps 48,000Hz

All other files have been ok.

Tested on (previous version) AppleTV 4K.

Edit: just tested the same files from macOS > tvOS via AirPlay and audio worked fine, so that’s something.

Edit 2: tested on AppleTV HD running the same Plex App beta, but running tvOS 14.7 (18M5533c) and it works fine.

2

I also noticed the old player will play the files fine but will transcode.

I am also testing the tvOS 15 beta.

3

Same issues here on tvOS 15 beta.

Tried with the Plex app on my LG TV and PlexWeb and they work fine.

4

Same issue here. Running latest Plex beta + tvOS 15 beta. The old player still works fine. I’m routing the audio via HDMI to the TV and ARC back to the soundbar.

5

Also seeing this on the latest TV OS beta. Running stable Plex (beta is full).

6

I did this as well, and everything played fine. Actually, a bit too well for my liking as there’s no way I’d ever move to a default TV app over AppleTV, but it was as smooth as butter.

7

Just applied the latest tvOS Plex beta app build 7.19 (1586), and it did not resolve the issue I’ve been experiencing. Sad face.

8

I found a quick fix for any video where the audio doesn’t play for this bug is to swipe down, go to Playback Settings and select ‘Convert Automatically’ instead of ‘Play Original Quality’ and sound pops in.

9

awesome, this worked for me…now i wish i could get back all the time i spent troubleshooting and installing/re-installing plex trying to figure this out lol

10

Installed the latest tvOS 15 Beta 2 build last night along with the new beta PMS app for AppleTV, sadly no change to default play.

Nice workaround though found in above posts!

11

Same issue for me. Also the TVos 15 beta.
Only some audio streams.
I also had problems with AC3 5.1 and also mp3 audio direct stream.

12

Wish I’d known this before updating to the public beta. Should have stayed on tvOS 14. Hope Plex puts out a fixed TestFlight build soon.

13

It’s possible to downgrade the Apple TV HD’s tvOS version with a USB cable. This is the procedure:

If you see a warning symbol on Apple TV - Apple Support

It’s not possible to downgrade an ATV 4K. Have to wait for an update.

14

I just hit this bug as i posted this:

Fingers crossed for a fix!

15

This seems like it’s still happening with (E-)AC3 with the new beta of tvOS out today.

Hopefully we will get a new Plex ATV app soon.

16

Most videos now have working audio now in the new player. 7.1 is still an issue. iPhone and iPad.
ATV still borked.

17

EAC3 5.1 on ATV was what I was reporting on. Only plays if transcoded. No Direct Play.

18

I’m having this issue as well. Changing to “Use Old Video Player” works, so I’m assuming it’s the new decode engine.

This is better than transcoding everything.

19

This issue is still happening on Beta 3 of tvOS, iOS, iPadOS, and Monterey.

20

Also facing this issue ongoing.