[BUG] Plex does not transcode HE-AAC correctly - impacts ALL android devices

Plex Players Streaming Devices
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42

Try with an Android phone or Nvidia Shield to direct play HE-AAC and you’ll see.

43

We’re tracking this issue internally :slight_smile:

44

Thanks for keeping us updated Dave. Just wanted to hop in here to say I’m experiencing an issue with the Roku app. It direct plays the HE-AAC audio, but it won’t skip intro, fast forward, resume from a time stamp, or select different chapters UNLESS I force the stream to transcode. I do not have this issue with the Windows or Android applications.

45

You’ll need to create a separate thread for that, using the #roku tag. This thread is specific to the Android app (and Roku is a bit outside my wheelhouse, so I’m not the best person for that, I’m afraid)

46

Hey Dave, thanks for following up on this. Do you have any updates as to what’s happening or when this will be fixed?

47

Issue is still happening, basically makes plex unusable. I am using Amazon Fire Tv, since Plex seems to be doing nothing, I wonder if Amazon can fix this?

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49

Amazon is pretty good at removing buggy Apps from their store if they get enough complaints.

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50

This is specific to HE-AAC, nothing to do with AC3. Please do not post off topic things in here.

51

We’re still investigating, but it seems to be a problem with ExoPlayer itself, (not just Plex), so we’re investigating further

52

Are you referring to Plex transcoding? Because transcoding seems to be directly related to transcoding.
None of your transcoding is working correctly
I have several friends using firesticks, and the problem is the same. In the future I will make sure to post directly to SPECIFIC transcoding problems that seem to affect everyone.
It is a very wide problem and needs to be addressed as such.

53

You have to remember, we are not the experts here. You are. Solve the problem please. We had confidence in Plex solving any upcoming problems when we paid for a lifetime membership.

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54

I’m talking specifically about playing it, as it’s not correctly handled by ExoPlayer, which affects our ability to handle it when directly playing it. Please stay on topic, specifically related to HE-AAC playback on Android. Anything else needs a new thread.

55

Plex client on Roku Premiere + does not play audio transcoded as HE-AAC. AAC works. Plex media server version is 1.19.4.2935.

56

This thread is specifically about Android. If you’re having an issue with the Roku, please post of in #roku

57

Any updates on this?

Thanks.

58

I’m gonna have to raise my hand in solidarity. Plex on android does not communicate and trigger my Plex server to convert any file I have in HE-AAC audio. It stalls and for about 2 min does nothing. I’m lucky to have a EAC3 5.1 audio stream along side that will transcode into a 5.1 AAC stream. I prefer the original HE-AAC stereo stream though. What I do to combat this issue is go into my Plex local host and select all the EAC3 5.1 audio streams per episode that I plan on watching ahead of time. Then, if I go back into Plex for Android and press play on an episode, it then starts playback correctly with no issues.

59

Not as yet, I’m afraid, it’s still under investigation.

60

Can you setup the transcoding profile for the android app to transcode HE-AAC to AAC in the mean time?

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61

That’s a good temporary solution that plex should be able to implement in the next release until it’s fixed.

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62

When my nVidia Shield plays HE-AAC, I haven’t noticed it jumping around and such as you all have described. But what I have noticed is that it just sounds weird - that may be because my receiver is too old and doesn’t have that codec. It would be helpful to have in Plex settings, specific codecs that we can choose to transcode or direct play.