Confirming my knowledge, research, and current capabilities with Plex Server and my various Plex clients:
My System Specs are this:
Dell 8950 XPS
Windows 11 Pro
Liquid-Cooled i7-12700K (Intel iGPU - UHD 7700)
32 GB RAM
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (Turing)
SSD for Transcode directory
Plex PMS x64 (Upgraded from x32 just today)
Marantz NR-1509 5.1 AVR supporting TrueHD, DTS-HD MA and below. AVR is non-Atmos. (ARC only AVR)
LG CX (Operating in ARC mode, but eARC 2.1 HDMI capable)
All Media streaming devices and Plex server with Plex HTPC client connected to AVR directly over HDMI 2.0
ARC only used if I want to use TV Apps, but really don’t use the TV Apps.
I’m aware that LG CX cannot pass-through any DTS variant, and so that is why no devices are connected directly to LG CX, except HDMI monitor out from AVR.
So my Plex clients are: Plex HTPC running on same machine as Plex Server with HDMI from Nvidia 1660 Ti to AVR, Apple TV 4K (2nd Gen.) connected to AVR (HDMI), and ChromeCast with Google TV connected to AVR (HDMI). AVR out via HDMI to LG CX HDMI ARC port.
My media is 4K MKV (Home LAN streamed only through Gigabit wired network to all LAN media streaming Plex devices), and Handbrake MP4/M4V 4K and 1080P/720P streaming out through synchronous Gigabit fiber internet. I have only 1 or 2 users transcoding at any one time.
I just recently disabled both hardware-acceleration support and encoding only Plex PMS server settings, but left HDR Tone mapping enabled for my SDR users.
I haven’t patched the Nvidia card for allowing more than 3 transcoded streams, but disabling hardware-acceleration support renders that Nvidia card patching unnecessary as CPU is now doing the transcoding for my users.
I disabled hardware-acceleration support so that I can use my 1660 Ti for smoother Plex HTPC client usage and not interfere with user transcoding, and some very light gaming from time to time.
The Plex HTPC client is sending HDR (static) only, (No Dolby Vision), but it is sending lossless TrueHD and DTS-HD MA, as it shows on my AVR. All without transcoding.
The Apple TV 4K can show my Dolby Vision files, and Plex server indicates Direct Play/Lossless audio for both video and audio. I also know that the ATV 4K is converting the lossless audio to AC3 and DTS lossy and sending it to AVR as Multi-Channel PCM.
The CCwGTV Plex client also shows multi-channel PCM on AVR, when it’s operating correctly. Otherwise, it just shows Stereo and needs rebooting to get back to multi-channel PCM.
I’m reading that Plex server does not yet support HDR to SDR Tone Mapping on the 12700K CPU integrated iGPU (UHD 7700), but May in the near future.
So my questions:
Does this information above sound accurate in my recent research and learning?
So will I ever be able to see Dolby Vision mode triggered on my LG CX Plex HTPC client?
Am I losing much on the Apple TV and CWGTV lossless audio decodes to LPCM?
Is the Shield TV Pro (2019) the only Plex client that will do both DV and lossless audio to my AVR? I read that it is due for a hardware refresh that probably won’t happen, is chock full of advertisements, and uses Android TV 11. The CCwGTV has Android TV 12.
Just as an aside, I don’t want to switch to Linux, as great as I hear it is for Plex. I’m sticking to Windows.
Is the Shield TV Pro worth it in my situation to get the best of Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, HBO Max, etc. streaming apps, and my Plex high-bitrate MKV, Dolby Vision and Lossless TrueHD/DTS-HD MA audio?
Any other thoughts/suggestions/corrections?
Thanks all
