Color space is not supported error after updating to 1.25.5

Is this a DV licensing (financial) issue or a code bug?

Apparently it’s a license/financial thing per reply from Plex Staff member earlier in this thread.

Unclear if this is something the Plex team is or will be able to resolve.

Is the issue that after 1.25.4.5487 Plex Media Server stopped trying to transcode and provided the “color space is not supported” message because of the licensing?

I see incorrect tone maps with 1.25.4.5487 and versions after I get the “color space is not supported” message.

Is that your understanding?

This is what I have.

Old version : pink and green colors.
New versions: color not supported error.

The same file is correctly played on Android TV with Nvidia Shield.
But I guess that’s because of the use of the native Android player which has licensing rights.

And I suspect the same file plays properly on Infuse for Apple devices as well. I wonder if Infuse pays for licensing rights or if Infuse knows how to hook to an Apple player that has licensing rights. I’m surprised that an Apple device wouldn’t already have Dobly Vision licensing entitlement.

Does anyone know the answer to this question about Infuse? If this is an issue of Plex not properly invoking the licensing, maybe this is really a bug. If it is a licensing cost issue, I suspect everyone using Apple devices as front end for Plex will migrate to Infuse.

I wonder how many users Plex will lose over this. I am enjoying the Infuse front end.

If this isn’t fixed soon I’m migrating to jellyfin. FIX THIS ISSUE PLEX

Y’all seem so angry!

I’d appreciate feedback on this please. Meanwhile I’m happily watching fixed HEVC DV P5 MP4 files myself. :laughing:

Easy hack ffmpeg && mp4dovi method:

# remux to correct structure
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -map 0 -c:a copy -c:v copy -c:s mov_text -bsf:v hevc_mp4toannexb -tag:v hvc1 -strict experimental -movflags faststart output.mp4
# correct codec tag to dvh1
mp4dovi -from hvc1 -to dvh1 output.mp4

Alternative better MP4Box method:

# Extract all raw streams
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c copy video.h265
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c copy audio.eac3
# MP4Box uses dvh1 for dv-profile=5 when starting from raw streams
MP4Box -add video.h265:dv-profile=5 -add audio.eac3 -new output.mp4

(Or of course the Dolby mp4muxer tool works.)

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we pay for plex. we’re allowed to be.

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I can’t control others - and I’m not even referring to you specifically - but it sure makes the forums and community a less pleasant place to be.

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Agreed on anger being unnecessary. Expressing frustrations and discontent? Sure. But angrily yelling isn’t going to solve anything. Just adds noise.

So, Volts, I tried the mp4dovi method (albeit on an mkv file with a few extra flags to deal with the new format) and the resultant file, when played on Plex (through web and Roku), has the bizarre color mapping where everything is green/purple. Is this just changing the color mapping setting in the file (without actually re-mapping any color?)

These are the flags I used

ffmpeg \
  -i input.mkv \
  -map 0 \
  -map_metadata -1 \
  -map -0:s \
  -c:a copy \
  -c:v copy \
  -bsf:v hevc_mp4toannexb \
  -tag:v hvc1 \
  -strict unofficial \
  -movflags faststart \
  output.mp4

mp4dovi \
  -from hvc1 \
  -to dvh1 \
  output.mp4

Being honest, I don’t really know what the options mean, do, or why they make it run (specifically talking about the -map flags). I kind of know it’s mapping streams in the file, but I’ve always struggled with the variations on how media files work.

I’m going to try the mp4box method here in a bit to see if it makes a difference. In the meantime I have a general question – are these tools going to fix the coloring issue? or is it just flipping some bits to trick the player into thinking it can play it?

Please share mediainfo -f or Plex’s XML Info? Or PM me a link to the file?

I just tested. If the video stream is compatible it shouldn’t matter that it came from an MKV.

Are you using a recent version of ffmpeg?

Which browser and platform?

I don’t expect Plex Web to work. HEVC doesn’t work in Plex Web on most browsers. Plex won’t transcode or tone-map DV P5 anywhere.

Although Plex supports HEVC in Safari, on iOS it doesn’t trigger Dolby Vision, so the colors are wrong. Safari on an older Mac gives the “Color space is not supported” error.

I can vouch for it working in the Plex app on Apple TV, iOS, and Roku TV.

I do expect that to work, assuming it is a P5 DV HEVC stream.

There are also mutant files with bad labeling and attempts “trick” playback modes.

Not even that! This assumes the streams are good HEVC DV P5. This doesn’t change any color data. It only muxes into the structure and labeling that Apple prefers.

Plex “Direct Plays” HEVC DV P5 files directly to Apple’s handler on tvOS/iOS without any changes. So the goal is to make a file that’s palatable to Apple’s decoder.

Roku is a bit more flexible about the labeling, and supports Apple’s preferred structure.

I’m not angry. I’m just trying to understand if/what is broken. Similar to @jamesharr, I’m not sure what you are doing with this remux. Is there a problem with the metadata associated with the video files causing the problem? Are the flags not to spec or is Plex having a problem with a particular set of flags?

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Although Plex supports HEVC in Safari, on iOS it doesn’t trigger Dolby Vision, so the colors are wrong. Safari on an older Mac gives the “Color space is not supported” error.

This implies that Plex isn’t doing something properly? I’m particularly interested in why a client like Infuse works properly, but the native Plex client (on iOS, iPadOS or tvOS) does not work properly.

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Just to check, what do people think is broken?

Many HEVC DV P5 files are in an MKV or aren’t muxed to be compatible with Apple’s decoder, or they are muxed one way but labeled in another way, or they aren’t labeled correctly for DV P5.

Muxing an HEVC DV P5 video stream into an MP4 container, in the style Apple requires (and others support), with matching sample tag/vtag/codec ID.

Please share samples, I’d like to further confirm that this method works using more sources and other players.

Plex Web doesn’t work for a variety of reasons. Most browsers don’t support HEVC. Plex doesn’t tone-map DV. (Perhaps Safari on iOS could support Direct Play?)

The native Plex client on iOS/tvOS works great with compatible files.

Infuse is clearly doing something different. It obviously isn’t trusting the MP4 codec ID/sample tag. I assume it’s using an alternative player, or extracting the video stream and feeding the decoder directly, or manually manipulating the display mode.

It would be swell if Plex could add those features too, but nothing seems broken to me.

Thank you very much for your perspective. It’s very nice to have someone objective, unemotional, and knowledgeable comment on a situation. It’s clarifying.

One last question, if you don’t mind. Have you heard of TDARR? Could it be used to automate the process you prototyped with ffmpeg?

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For sure. I think it would be an easy Tdarr plugin. I’ll look at how the detection and logic would work.

I’d like to get some more feedback about the process working (or not) for others. Have you tested?

I haven’t tried the straight FFmpeg command line you suggested. I did set up a container to run Tdarr. It is something I’ve wanted to do for a while. If you created the Tdarr plugin I would test it and provide feedback. I run Plex on a QNAP NAS, which has a 1050Ti which is exposed to PMS. The GPU would also be available to Tdarr and I want to do other media management tasks with Tdarr anyway.

You seem very competent and knowledgeable about media formats and flags, so I would be comfortable trying anything you recommend.

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I am probably more of a casual user than most here. Essentially - I’m running plex from an external harddrive on my windows 10 computer. I have a few movies that are giving me this error when played from the server. I tried running infuse on my apple TV but still won’t play nor will they play using Samsung’s plex app.

So my question is do you all have a consensus on what’s the best way going forward?

Should we just download the movies in a workable format?
Wait for a patch from Plex (I’m not in a huge hurry)?
Roll plex back to the previous working version?

Thanks

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LOL. I am running the same setup but using a Macbook instead.

Why does the container matter here for direct play? Why is mp4 different than mkv if the content within the container is the same?

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On Apple devices, Plex (only) supports DV P5 via Direct Play to the Apple player.

So MP4 matters because the Apple player supports it. :slight_smile:

Plex people have given hints that there are licensing limitations with respect to Dolby stuff. I don’t know what those limitations are, or if Direct Stream could be implemented in the future.