I found an issue with Plex on Android TV when playing 4K content.
When playing 4K in original quality, if the audio needs to be transcoded (like to AC3), Plex ends up transcoding the video too, which hurts performance.
But for 1080p files in original quality, even if audio is transcoded, only the audio gets transcoded and the video and subtitles still direct stream.
Has anyone else experienced this?
Hopefully, the Plex team can help fix and optimize this issue.
Synology NAS model?
Plex Media Server version?
Does the video still transcode if you disable HEVC encoding?
(Settings → Transcoder → Enable HEVC video Encoding (experimental))
Does the video still transcode if you turn off subtitles?
Please provide a set of server logs and Android TV logs that capture the problem.
Also provide the XML Info for the movie. Save the info as a .txt file or zip it. The forum does not support uploading .xml files.
Ensure Plex Media Server is configured for debug logging.
Do not enable verbose logging.
Settings → server_name → General + Show Advanced
Stop Plex Media Server and wait 30 seconds.
Start Plex Media Server.
Wait 2 - 3 minutes for Plex to start and log the startup sequence.
With no other streaming from the server, play the movie for 20 - 30 seconds to re-create the problem, then stop playback.
Pull the server logs (settings → troubleshooting) and post the ZIP file to the thread.
Enable logging in the Plex Android TV app: Settings → Advanced → Network Logging. You can do this before or after re-creating the problem.
To pull the logs, point a browser at http://192.168.1.112:32500/logging (the IP address of the AIS Playbox based on your screenshots).
You’ll see a page of text. Save it as a text file and upload it to the thread.
Synology DS423+
Version 1.42.2.10156
Yes, I tried disabling HEVC encoding, but the result is the same.
And it still performs transcoding even after turning off subtitles.
Plex AndroidTV Logs_2025-10-04.txt (4.5 MB)
