I need to be able to watch my library of (mostly) DTS encoded videos, but my current A/V set-up doesn’t support DTS (Come on Sonos… get with it already!). I would like to have Plex transcode DTS to AC3 (or whatever works). To do this, I downloaded the PMP, which I had never used prior to now; only used Plex browser based for years.
Anyway, after going back a version or two (the latest version does NOT display any TV mode on Mac-- at least in my case. The app is now called “Plex” and not “Plex Media Player” so I assume either a bug or a change. A slightly older PMP version does have the pathway to get to Audio-- but I see nowhere to actually tell Plex what to do. In the attached screenshot, it looks as though there should be more information/access to Audio Channel Settings, but nothing appears when clicked.
Using the right-arrow button on a keyboard on that selection should bring up additional choices. Plex Media Player is meant to be keyboard / remote driven (not mouse driven) for the HTPC environment.
For the plain old desktop environment there is Plex, with very few settings.
And yes there are two players now for desktops.
The original and still excellent is Plex Media Player.
The new, more cross-platform, redesigned player is Plex for Mac.
The new player lacks TV-Mode and Passthru.
Once you set the Device Type to Optical, you still want to select
each Passthru that your computer and your external decoder support.
In your window I see no Passthru options, meaning PMP doesn’t
believe your Mac can handle any.
I was able to see those settings and check those boxes for DD and DTS, but I am now a bit (more) confused…
I don’t really play any media on the desktop; I’ve always used a Plex app on a Roku or similar to play the media I have over the network to the TV.
So here in PMP, for those settings, like “Optical” or “HDMI”, do I select HDMI ,as that is what connects my LG to my Sonos bar, or does it matter? I guess I’m trying to figure out what is “controlling” my media-- what I normally see in the web client or what I set here in the PMP?
Sorry to be so thick-- it’s just a sea change for how I’ve always done this!
No worries. Those settings on PMP on your Mac are only if you are watching the video on the Mac while outputting the audio to some speakers you have around the Mac. I never use the “Choose Player” feature. Do you?
When you use the Plex app on a Roku, that’s the player that controls the sound, and it sends the audio output from TV to AV Receiver thru whatever cables you have HDMI or Optical.
Though that makes for a bigger problem: since I’m no longer using the Roku, I’d like be able to tell Plex to transcode DTS (and others) to AC3. I think I used to have that option in early version of web server…?
My tv will transcode it to PCM for sonos via hdmi, which is fine; just wondering why that ability is gone now from Plex web-- or if I just imagined it in the first place!
I’ve not found a way to tell Optimize how I want the audio.
I use FFmpeg for things like that.
I know that Plex for Mac doesn’t passthru any encoded DTS or AC3 like PMP can do in TV Mode.
And I know they say Plex for Mac outputs multichannel PCM to make up for that.
I still need to make some debug logs while playing test sounds to satisfy myself though.
Good eye. Don’t passthru DTS, as that was the point of this thread.
Sorry @eddiewill9 for not seeing that. I’d hate to damage your speakers with bad advice.
Let us know how it’s going.
