Chromecast with Google TV not Playing DTS 7.1 Audio

Plex Players Streaming Devices
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Server Version#: 1.20.3.3421
Player Version#: 8.8.0.21074

I noticed when trying to play 4K content with 7.1 DTS audio on the Plex App for Android TV on the new 2020 Chromecast with Google TV I get the following error: “An error occurred while attempting to play this video. Please check your connection and try again.” I believe that this is related to the audio track which is 7.1 DTS. If I switch off HDMI passthrough the file plays but surround sound is lost. If I play a different file with EAC3 audio there is no issue. I also noticed that the issue is present in the Plex plugin for Kodi. However what tells me it is a Plex issue and not the Chromecast is that I can cast this file to the same Chromecast from Plex on my Android phone and everything plays fine, Direct play even. This should be possible with the Plex app, so I assume there is a bug.

I tried the lastest PMS and Android TV betas to no avail.

Hopefully this can be fixed!!

Thanks.

2 Likes
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Same here. I cant play any file with a DTS track at the moment. Hopefully the Plex devs get their hands on a new Chromecast so they can track this down.

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The new Chromecast does not support DTS so Plex has to transcode the audio. The app needs to detect a support multi-channel codec to transcode to. This will depend on your passthrough settings and what it’s connected to.

Please restart the Plex app, you might need to force stop the app. Playback the file then grab the logs. Android, Android TV, Fire TV Logs | Plex Support

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I captured the logs, I hope these are helpful.

Thanks! logs.txt (1.1 MB)

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10-13 19:27:15.616 i: [FF] AudioStream[1-dts] 8 channels over 1599 (7.1), 48000 Hz, 0,0 padding. DCA (DTS Coherent Acoustics) - DTS:HD Master Audio Profile (audio/vnd.dts.hd), 1.5 Mbps -54 sec 0.00fps, DTS:X Master Audio / 7.1-X / 48 kHz / 5953 kbps / 24-bit / English (eng), 0 bytes, Default .

Looks like your audio is DTS-HD MA with DTS:X. These don’t appear to be supported for passthrough, so the player fails and asks PMS to transcode.

PMS can only transcode a 5.1 DTS core. PMS is having trouble reading the DTS core so it can’t transcode it and it fails too.

You’re not going to have much luck playing DTS:X content on a simple device like a chromecast connected to a TV.

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If just trying to play a 5.1 dts file (which also fails) shouldn’t Plex transcode audio to 5.1 eac? Or some 5.1 variant? New chromecast supports all the dolby formats so is that an option?

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It should. Can you get me a log of it playing a 5.1 DTS file? Also provide the PMS logs so I can see if PMS is objecting.

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Just tried playback of two different videos, both DTS 5.1. Logs attached. Playback attempts start around the 7:49 time stamp

Android Chromecast Log.txt (1.2 MB) Plex Media Server Logs_2020-10-14_07-51-02.zip (1.7 MB)

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The strange thing is that when I go ahead and initiate playback via casting from my Pixel 3 XL instead of using the Plex app the audio transcodes to AC-3. This new Chromecast runs Android TV, so I can use the Plex app on ATV with the full interface. If I launch from that it fails. If I cast from my phone to the same Chromecast it plays and transcodes to AC-3.

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Yes same here. Casting from my phone gives me the video with 5.1 audio. Just can’t use the Plex client directly.

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The app detected that DTS passthrough is supported. Maybe this new device is different and does support passing through DTS. It seems to be having trouble with the 48kHz sampling rate.

I think this work around still applies. In the app, set the passthrough setting to optical. This will bring up a menu of codecs. Turn off dts, then change the setting back to hdmi.

1 Like
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Casting is different than using the app. Casting definitely doesn’t support DTS passthrough so it won’t even try. PMS will always transcode it.

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Interesting. Setting the passthrough to “Optical” and unchecking DTS works. I get 5.1 audio sent to the Chromecast. Setting passthrough back to HDMI gives me the “unable to play back” error.

Leaving it on optical is an acceptable workaround for now.

2 Likes
14

Thanks for the workaround, I will give this a try when I get home later on today.

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Thank you for the info in this thread. The workaround is great, but proper DTS support from the CCWGTV would be great.

1 Like
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Thanks that worked for me switch to optical uncheck dts.
I think you should update the passthrou hdmi option to show codecs .

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This also works for me. The downside (at least on my end), is that with pass through enabled, I can’t get any audio through Bluetooth headphones unless I disable it. Not sure if there’s any workaround for this.

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When I use my mobile to cast a dts movie to the new Chromecast Google TV, the receiver switches to dts. When I use the plex app on the new Chromecast Google TV it fails to play the movie unless the workaround is used and it switches to dolby digital + To me it seems the device can do dts passthrough but not when using the plex app on the device. So, this seems a bug in the plex app for CCwGTV (Chromecast with Google TV).

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Hi all,
It is currently possible to play your Plex content only in Local DLNA on the Quest2; This with Skybox VR, BigScreen in Cinematographic screen.
PS: just active DLNA Plex Server in setting.
Outside the home, just use Oculus Web browser to sign in

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Yup this worked for me I have a sonos 5.1 and setting the passthrough in android tv plex app, changed from hdmi to optical and suddenly dts To ac3 transcoding started working and I got surround sound.