"Direct play was attempted but failed, fallen back to transcoding."

Plex Media Server NAS & Devices
1

Server Version#: 1.26.0.5715
Player Version#: 9.4.1.33413 (Google TV/Chromecast)

Hi everyone, I’m trying to figure out why direct play is working from my PMS to my iPhone on the same network over wifi but not through Google TV/Chromecast which has Ethernet to a gigabit switch where the NAS is also connected. You would think direct play would work here as well. This is indeed a 4k movie, no issues with 1080p. PMS will default to transcoding the file which is annoying and causes a lot of buffering. The file is “UHD.BluRay.2160p.DTS-HD.MA.5.1.HEVC.REMUX” which is why it’s giving it a run for its money but it would be cool if I could direct play this and I’m not sure why it’s not working. Any help is appreciated, thanks!

Logs:
Plex Media Server Logs_2022-07-10_15-20-51.zip (4.3 MB)

MediaInfo:

General
Unique ID                                : 165369527878285208011012457341034869237 (0x7C690337541CF203C82AC5C37B86B1F5)
Complete name                            : /Volumes/MEDIA/Movies/Inception.2010.UHD.BluRay.2160p.DTS-HD.MA.5.1.HEVC.REMUX-FraMeSToR/Inception.2010.UHD.BluRay.2160p.DTS-HD.MA.5.1.HEVC.REMUX-FraMeSToR.mkv
Format                                   : Matroska
Format version                           : Version 4
File size                                : 66.0 GiB
Duration                                 : 2 h 28 min
Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
Overall bit rate                         : 63.8 Mb/s
Movie name                               : Inception (2010) 4K
Encoded date                             : UTC 2018-01-16 11:19:14
Writing application                      : mkvmerge v19.0.0 ('Brave Captain') 64-bit
Writing library                          : libebml v1.3.5 + libmatroska v1.4.8

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : HEVC
Format/Info                              : High Efficiency Video Coding
Format profile                           : Main 10@L5.1@High
HDR format                               : SMPTE ST 2086, HDR10 compatible
Codec ID                                 : V_MPEGH/ISO/HEVC
Duration                                 : 2 h 28 min
Bit rate                                 : 59.2 Mb/s
Width                                    : 3 840 pixels
Height                                   : 2 160 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 23.976 (24000/1001) FPS
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0 (Type 2)
Bit depth                                : 10 bits
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.298
Stream size                              : 61.3 GiB (93%)
Writing library                          : ATEME Titan File 3.8.3 (4.8.3.0)        
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No
Color range                              : Limited
Color primaries                          : BT.2020
Transfer characteristics                 : PQ
Matrix coefficients                      : BT.2020 non-constant
Mastering display color primaries        : Display P3
Mastering display luminance              : min: 0.0050 cd/m2, max: 4000 cd/m2
Maximum Content Light Level              : 1538 cd/m2
Maximum Frame-Average Light Level        : 308 cd/m2

Audio
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : DTS XLL
Format/Info                              : Digital Theater Systems
Commercial name                          : DTS-HD Master Audio
Codec ID                                 : A_DTS
Duration                                 : 2 h 28 min
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 3 821 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 6 channels
Channel layout                           : C L R Ls Rs LFE
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 93.750 FPS (512 SPF)
Bit depth                                : 24 bits
Compression mode                         : Lossless
Stream size                              : 3.95 GiB (6%)
Title                                    : DTS-HD MA 5.1
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

Text #1
ID                                       : 3
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 27 min
Bit rate                                 : 32.7 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3476
Stream size                              : 34.4 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : English (SDH)
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #2
ID                                       : 4
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 15.0 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3328
Stream size                              : 15.7 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Arabic
Language                                 : Arabic
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #3
ID                                       : 5
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 25.2 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3593
Stream size                              : 26.3 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Chinese (Traditional)
Language                                 : Chinese
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #4
ID                                       : 6
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 27.5 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3332
Stream size                              : 28.8 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Chinese (Simplified)
Language                                 : Chinese
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #5
ID                                       : 7
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 22.2 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3245
Stream size                              : 23.3 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Chinese (Cantonese)
Language                                 : Chinese
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #6
ID                                       : 8
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 27.6 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3105
Stream size                              : 28.9 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Croatian
Language                                 : Croatian
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #7
ID                                       : 9
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 22.5 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 2549
Stream size                              : 23.6 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Czech
Language                                 : Czech
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #8
ID                                       : 10
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 24.4 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 2526
Stream size                              : 25.5 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Danish
Language                                 : Danish
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #9
ID                                       : 11
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 25.2 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 2734
Stream size                              : 26.4 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Dutch
Language                                 : Dutch
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #10
ID                                       : 12
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 29.3 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 2762
Stream size                              : 30.7 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Finnish
Language                                 : Finnish
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #11
ID                                       : 13
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 24.1 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3482
Stream size                              : 25.2 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : French
Language                                 : French
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #12
ID                                       : 14
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 27 min
Bit rate                                 : 39.1 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3630
Stream size                              : 41.1 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : German (SDH)
Language                                 : German
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #13
ID                                       : 15
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 27.8 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3172
Stream size                              : 29.1 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Greek
Language                                 : Greek
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #14
ID                                       : 16
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 22.4 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3224
Stream size                              : 23.5 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Hebrew
Language                                 : Hebrew
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #15
ID                                       : 17
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 25.5 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3069
Stream size                              : 26.7 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Hungarian
Language                                 : Hungarian
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #16
ID                                       : 18
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 27 min
Bit rate                                 : 30.3 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3480
Stream size                              : 31.9 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Italian (SDH)
Language                                 : Italian
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #17
ID                                       : 19
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 18 min
Bit rate                                 : 22.8 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3220
Stream size                              : 22.6 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Japanese
Language                                 : Japanese
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #18
ID                                       : 20
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 18.4 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3099
Stream size                              : 19.3 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Korean
Language                                 : Korean
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #19
ID                                       : 21
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 25.8 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3142
Stream size                              : 27.0 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Norwegian
Language                                 : Norwegian
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #20
ID                                       : 22
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 24.1 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 2993
Stream size                              : 25.3 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Polish
Language                                 : Polish
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #21
ID                                       : 23
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 29.2 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3205
Stream size                              : 30.6 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Portuguese (Brazilian)
Language                                 : Portuguese
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #22
ID                                       : 24
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 29.7 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3081
Stream size                              : 31.1 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Portuguese
Language                                 : Portuguese
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #23
ID                                       : 25
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 27.1 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3141
Stream size                              : 28.4 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Romanian
Language                                 : Romanian
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #24
ID                                       : 26
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 28.5 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3227
Stream size                              : 29.9 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Russian
Language                                 : Russian
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #25
ID                                       : 27
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 27.0 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3102
Stream size                              : 28.3 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Spanish (Latin American)
Language                                 : Spanish
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #26
ID                                       : 28
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 28.5 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3201
Stream size                              : 29.8 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Spanish (Castilian)
Language                                 : Spanish
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #27
ID                                       : 29
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 26.1 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3060
Stream size                              : 27.3 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Swedish
Language                                 : Swedish
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #28
ID                                       : 30
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 26.8 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3185
Stream size                              : 28.0 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Thai
Language                                 : Thai
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text #29
ID                                       : 31
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Duration                                 : 2 h 26 min
Bit rate                                 : 28.2 kb/s
Count of elements                        : 3156
Stream size                              : 29.6 MiB (0%)
Title                                    : Turkish
Language                                 : Turkish
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Menu
00:00:00.000                             : en:Washed Ashore
00:11:41.743                             : en:Dream On A Train
00:21:37.338                             : en:A Paris Architect
00:31:20.337                             : en:Bilding Within A Dream
00:41:22.230                             : en:Seeking A Chemist
00:51:13.737                             : en:The Plan
01:01:21.553                             : en:Boarding The Plane
01:10:29.684                             : en:Kidnapping
01:22:15.597                             : en:The Safe's Combination
01:31:52.590                             : en:A Deeper Dream
01:40:38.532                             : en:The Ski Dream
01:51:22.175                             : en:Mal's Here
02:00:54.414                             : en:Our Children
02:10:09.051                             : en:The Kick
02:20:55.447                             : en:End Credits
2

The problem comes from the subtitles you have.

  1. You have PGS (image based) subtitles
  2. The ChromeCast doesn’t support overlaying image subtitles over the video image.
  3. PMS has no choice but to burn the subtitles into the video in real time.
ul 10, 2022 14:46:16.761 [0x7f83d743ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: 10-bit HEVC test succeeded
Jul 10, 2022 14:46:16.762 [0x7f83d743ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Selected protocol hls; container: mkv
Jul 10, 2022 14:46:16.762 [0x7f83d743ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: analyzing media item 4987
Jul 10, 2022 14:46:16.762 [0x7f83d743ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Inception (2010): Direct Play is disabled
Jul 10, 2022 14:46:16.762 [0x7f83d743ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Inception (2010): media must be transcoded in order to use the hls protocol
Jul 10, 2022 14:46:16.762 [0x7f83d743ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Inception (2010): selected subtitle cannot be converted to a compatible format, burning into video stream
Jul 10, 2022 14:46:16.762 [0x7f83d743ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Inception (2010): avoiding video remux due to burned subtitle stream
Jul 10, 2022 14:46:16.762 [0x7f83d743ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Inception (2010): no remuxable profile found, so video stream will be transcoded
Jul 10, 2022 14:46:16.762 [0x7f83d743ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Cannot direct stream video stream due to profile or setting limitations
Jul 10, 2022 14:46:16.762 [0x7f83d743ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing hevc (decoder) with hwdevice vaapi
Jul 10, 2022 14:46:16.762 [0x7f83d743ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API vaapi
Jul 10, 2022 14:46:16.762 [0x7f83d743ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x41524742 -> bgra.

The combined load of:

  1. HEVC → H24 conversion
  2. Audio conversion
  3. Subtitle burning (a single-threaded/single-core operation)
  4. muxing it all back together as the video frames come out

is causing it to “work”…

It’s common to get hung up waiting for the subtitles to burn in.

Best choice here, IF you don’t need them, is to remove ALL the subtitles you don’t need --AND-- use text-based subtitles (SRT are the very best and most widely accepted by devices)

3

Thanks ChuckPa, this was helpful and prompt! When you say remove the subtitles, I assume you mean from the file/metadata and not just by selecting none in playback settings, or would that work? If not, is there a tool you recommend to remove them? I typically like subtitles on in most cases so if I remove these and go for SRT, I assume the native plex subtitle search will do just fine, right?

4

Remove == use a tool like MKVtoolnix to physically remove the unwanted tracks from the file.

MKVtoolnix, unlike HandBrake, only does a remux. (handbrake does a full encode) so you get the original audio and video streams without alteration.

Having the subtitle streams in the file doesn’t work as you expect.

  1. PMS sees the tracks are there.
  2. In anticipation of you turning on subtitles, PMS launches the transcoder anyway.
5

Got it, okay so I gave that a go, took about 1.5hrs to complete but the subtitles seem to be gone. PMS still behaves similarly which is: it will attempt direct play and then default to transcoding. I also sometimes see a message on the top right saying that my connection isn’t fast enough but I feel that’s incorrect, especially with both the NAS and Chromecast being hardwired to a gigabit switch and router.

I read here that converting to .mp4 may be desirable, what do you think?

General
Unique ID                                : 76701310787151875835922456621923196125 (0x39B4229758D8701DD38CD0E69D7C5CDD)
Complete name                            : /Volumes/Movies/Inception.2010.UHD.BluRay.2160p.DTS-HD.MA.5.1.HEVC.REMUX-FraMeSToR/Inception (2010) 4K.mkv
Format                                   : Matroska
Format version                           : Version 4
File size                                : 65.2 GiB
Duration                                 : 2 h 28 min
Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
Overall bit rate                         : 63.1 Mb/s
Movie name                               : Inception (2010) 4K
Encoded date                             : UTC 2022-07-10 20:36:43
Writing application                      : mkvmerge v69.0.0 ('Day And Age') 64-bit
Writing library                          : libebml v1.4.2 + libmatroska v1.6.4

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : HEVC
Format/Info                              : High Efficiency Video Coding
Format profile                           : Main 10@L5.1@High
HDR format                               : SMPTE ST 2086, HDR10 compatible
Codec ID                                 : V_MPEGH/ISO/HEVC
Duration                                 : 2 h 28 min
Bit rate                                 : 59.2 Mb/s
Width                                    : 3 840 pixels
Height                                   : 2 160 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 23.976 (24000/1001) FPS
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0 (Type 2)
Bit depth                                : 10 bits
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.298
Stream size                              : 61.3 GiB (94%)
Writing library                          : ATEME Titan File 3.8.3 (4.8.3.0)        
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No
Color range                              : Limited
Color primaries                          : BT.2020
Transfer characteristics                 : PQ
Matrix coefficients                      : BT.2020 non-constant
Mastering display color primaries        : Display P3
Mastering display luminance              : min: 0.0050 cd/m2, max: 4000 cd/m2
Maximum Content Light Level              : 1538 cd/m2
Maximum Frame-Average Light Level        : 308 cd/m2

Audio
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : DTS XLL
Format/Info                              : Digital Theater Systems
Commercial name                          : DTS-HD Master Audio
Codec ID                                 : A_DTS
Duration                                 : 2 h 28 min
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 3 821 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 6 channels
Channel layout                           : C L R Ls Rs LFE
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 93.750 FPS (512 SPF)
Bit depth                                : 24 bits
Compression mode                         : Lossless
Stream size                              : 3.95 GiB (6%)
Title                                    : DTS-HD MA 5.1
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No
6

After replacing the original file with the reduced one, did you “Analyze” the file to update the PMS metadata so it knew what to do?

If so, Please create a new log file set for me and attach it here?

7

I did not but I just tried that and it didn’t seem to make a difference.

New logs:
Plex Media Server Logs_2022-07-10_19-46-29.zip (4.1 MB)

9

That looks perfect

  1. HEVC → H264
  2. HDR → SDR
  3. DTS → OPUS
Jul 10, 2022 18:47:51.836 [0x7f92eefe9b38] DEBUG - [Req#7aad/Transcode/63a55e2408f8c888-com-plexapp-android] [FFMPEG] - Direct mapping possible.
Jul 10, 2022 18:47:51.837 [0x7f92eefe9b38] DEBUG - [Req#7aad/Transcode/63a55e2408f8c888-com-plexapp-android] TPU: hardware transcoding: final decoder: vaapi, final encoder: vaapi
Jul 10, 2022 18:47:51.837 [0x7f92eefe9b38] DEBUG - [Req#7aad/Transcode/63a55e2408f8c888-com-plexapp-android/JobRunner] Job running: FFMPEG_EXTERNAL_LIBS='/share/CACHEDEV1_DATA/.qpkg/PlexMediaServer/Library/Plex\ Media\ Server/Codecs/d53cb63-4323-linux-x86_64/' LIBVA_DRIVERS_PATH=/share/CACHEDEV1_DATA/.qpkg/PlexMediaServer/lib/dri X_PLEX_TOKEN=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx "/share/CACHEDEV1_DATA/.qpkg/PlexMediaServer/Plex Transcoder" -codec:0 hevc -hwaccel:0 vaapi -hwaccel_fallback_threshold:0 10 -hwaccel_output_format:0 vaapi -hwaccel_device:0 vaapi -codec:1 dca -analyzeduration 20000000 -probesize 20000000 -i "/share/CACHEDEV1_DATA/MEDIA/Movies/Inception.2010.UHD.BluRay.2160p.DTS-HD.MA.5.1.HEVC.REMUX-FraMeSToR/Inception (2010) 4K.mkv" -filter_complex "[0:0]hwupload[0];[0]scale_vaapi=w=3840:h=2160:format=p010[1];[1]hwdownload[2];[2]format=p010,tonemap=mobius[3];[3]hwupload[4]" -map "[4]" -codec:0 h264_vaapi -b:0 62208k -maxrate:0 82944k -bufsize:0 165888k -r:0 23.975999999999999 -force_key_frames:0 "expr:gte(t,n_forced*1)" -filter_complex "[0:1] aresample=async=1:ocl='5.1':rematrix_maxval=0.000000dB:osr=48000[5]" -map "[5]" -metadata:s:1 language=eng -codec:1 libopus -b:1 768k -segment_format matroska -f ssegment -individual_header_trailer 0 -flags +global_header -segment_header_filename header -segment_time 1 -segment_start_number 0 -segment_copyts 1 -segment_time_delta 0.0625 -segment_list "http://127.0.0.1:32400/video/:/transcode/session/63a55e2408f8c888-com-plexapp-android/b877de33-724e-4e11-b6c6-7d6ac1917b56/manifest?X-Plex-Http-Pipeline=infinite" -segment_list_type csv -segment_list_size 5 -segment_list_separate_stream_times 1 -segment_list_unfinished 1 -segment_format_options output_ts_offset=10 -max_delay 5000000 -avoid_negative_ts disabled -map_metadata:g -1 -map_metadata:c -1 -map_chapters -1 "media-%05d.ts" -start_at_zero -copyts -vsync cfr -init_hw_device vaapi=vaapi: -filter_hw_device vaapi -y -nostats -loglevel quiet -loglevel_plex error -progressurl http://127.0.0.1:32400/video/:/transcode/session/63a55e2408f8c888-com-plexapp-android/b877de33-724e-4e11-b6c6-7d6ac1917b56/progress
Jul 10, 2022 18:47:51.837 [0x7f92eefe9b38] DEBUG - [Req#7aad/Transcode/63a55e2408f8c888-com-plexapp-android/JobRunner] Jobs: Starting child process with pid 18292

The CPU should not be anywhere above 50% for this transcode. I would expect no more of the 25-35% range

What did you see ?

10

I am very concerned about this.

Remultiplexing a file using MKVtoolnix should take only a few minutes.

I have a 10 GbE LAN. The average data rate was about 3 Gbps.

On normal gigabit, your time, over the LAN, should be no more than 3x the time this takes – which would be 15 minutes for this 78 GB file.

[chuck@lizum ~.2001]$ cd /vie/uhd/Gemini\ Man\ \(2019\)/
[chuck@lizum Gemini Man (2019).2002]$ ls -la
total 76504432
drwxr-xr-x   3 chuck chuck          61 May  1 13:12 ./
drwxr-xr-x 285 chuck chuck       16384 Jul  4 01:31 ../
drwxr-xr-x   2 chuck chuck         236 Aug  2  2021 Extras/
-rw-rw-rw-   1 chuck chuck 78340516414 Aug  2  2021 Gemini Man (2019).mkv
[chuck@lizum Gemini Man (2019).2003]$ time mkvmerge -S -o temp.mkv Gemini\ Man\ \(2019\).mkv 
mkvmerge v68.0.0 ('The Curtain') 64-bit
'Gemini Man (2019).mkv': Using the demultiplexer for the format 'Matroska'.
'Gemini Man (2019).mkv' track 0: Using the output module for the format 'HEVC/H.265'.
'Gemini Man (2019).mkv' track 1: Using the output module for the format 'TrueHD'.
'Gemini Man (2019).mkv' track 2: Using the output module for the format 'AC-3'.
'Gemini Man (2019).mkv' track 3: Using the output module for the format 'AC-3'.
The file 'temp.mkv' has been opened for writing.
Progress: 100%
The cue entries (the index) are being written...
Multiplexing took 5 minutes 8 seconds.

real	5m7.748s
user	1m5.239s
sys	0m49.789s
[chuck@lizum Gemini Man (2019).2004]$
11

Why God? Why?

1 Like
12

I am very concerned about this.
Remultiplexing a file using MKVtoolnix should take only a few minutes.

Sorry, I should have mentioned, I grabbed the app’s GUI version and ran it on a laptop over wifi via the mounted share, that’s probably why. Lesson learned I’ll run it from ubuntu locally on the server next time :slight_smile:

I have some more data to share: Since direct play from iPhone over wifi works, I decided to try removing the receiver I have out of the equation. It’s an Integra DTR-20.3. It’s an older unit and the Chromecast is connected to it. In fact I emailed the manufacturer to inquire about 4K capability and they mentioned:

while the receiver does support 4k is does not support the current HDCP 2.2 copyright protection which is needed to pass 4k.

Wonderful. I mean, I did see in the specs online that it does support 4K upscaling. Anyway, this makes me wonder if the receiver is the issue and not Chromecast or PMS. So what I did was I installed Plex on the Samsung smart tv to bypass the receiver and Chromecast and guess what, direct stream works fine, below is what my dashboard shows. If possible perhaps I’ll try Samsung TV + Chromecast direct without the receiver as another test to rule out the Chromecast. Perhaps I’ll look into buying their suggested unit, the DRX-2.4 which retails for ~$1,000 :confused:

Screen Shot 2022-07-11 at 2.24.05 PM
Screen Shot 2022-07-11 at 2.24.05 PM622×804 57.2 KB

.

13

Went ahead and installed mkvmerge on ubuntu vm sitting on the NAS with PMS, it took ~5 minutes. Much faster!

root@habitual-cinder-hysteria:/var/lib/transmission-daemon/movies# mkvmerge --no-subtitles Interstellar.2014.UHD.BluRay.2160p.DTS-HD.MA.5.1.DV.HEVC.HYBRID.REMUX-FraMeSToR.mkv -o test.mkv
mkvmerge v69.0.0 ('Day And Age') 64-bit
'Interstellar.2014.UHD.BluRay.2160p.DTS-HD.MA.5.1.DV.HEVC.HYBRID.REMUX-FraMeSToR.mkv': Using the demultiplexer for the format 'Matroska'.
'Interstellar.2014.UHD.BluRay.2160p.DTS-HD.MA.5.1.DV.HEVC.HYBRID.REMUX-FraMeSToR.mkv' track 0: Using the output module for the format 'HEVC/H.265'.
'Interstellar.2014.UHD.BluRay.2160p.DTS-HD.MA.5.1.DV.HEVC.HYBRID.REMUX-FraMeSToR.mkv' track 1: Using the output module for the format 'DTS'.
The file 'test.mkv' has been opened for writing.
Progress: 100%
The cue entries (the index) are being written...
Multiplexing took 5 minutes 44 seconds.
14

Update: I (painstakingly) managed to run that other test I mentioned, Google TV (Chromecast) + PMS, without the receiver and voilà, that’s the issue, the receiver. Direct play is working as expected. @ChuckPa do you recommend any 4K compatible receivers?

Screen Shot 2022-07-11 at 4.15.07 PM
Screen Shot 2022-07-11 at 4.15.07 PM613×815 59.3 KB

15

@stevesolo

I can make a recommendation but it might make your wallet hurt.

I have an Onkyo TX-RZ receiver. It works perfectly with HDCP 2.2 (which is needed for HDR passthrough).

Denon also makes some excellent receivers in their mid-price point range. Denon costs a bit more but they are historically far more tolerant of the devices we connect to them and provide excellent playback when paired properly with speakers.

If you find a few from those manufacturers you like, I’ll look at them and point out any potential limiting points (from my perspective) for you to make your final determination from.

16

First and foremost, thank you for all the help and guidance @ChuckPa, appreciate it!

Those are some nice receivers, once recommendation I got from the manufacturer of the current unit I have was to get either the Integra DRX-2.4 or DRX-3.4. I’m not married to this company but it’s what we’ve had for many years and the A/V company we used decided to use this receiver for some reason.

I’m wondering if I could separate or split the video and audio so that I can play the video direct on the 4K Samsung TV and have the audio play from the current receiver. I can get 4K direct play or direct stream to work bypassing the receiver but then the audio will come out of the TV which isn’t ideal. Any thoughts on how to do that? I was doing some research and perhaps a HDMI splitter can do the trick. It would also have to align so the audio and video are in sync.

Perhaps this? Or probably even better, this?

17

I really recommend you don’t play with “splitters”. You’ll get burned every time.

If you look carefully at the spec, it shows HDMI 2.0. You need HDMI 2.1a.

In any receiver, make certain you are getting HDMI 2.1a and HDCP 2.2.

HDCP 2.2 will give you Dolby Vision support for when you’re ready.
HDCP 2.2 also means you need the 48 Ghz HDMI cabling to get everything working correctly.

Now do you see why splitters at HDMI 2.0 aren’t going to work out?

Regarding audio coming out the receiver,

  1. My TV has 3 HDMI HDCP 2.2 ports. I can plug the device in there.
  2. HDMI port 2 (for me) is the EARC port back to the AVR.
  3. This gives me 8 HDMI inputs on the AVR, with EARC from the TV
    Plus 2 more devices plugged directly into the TV.

Anything plugged directly into the TV gives me the option of sending to the receiver or keeping the audio in the TV.

Because of how I set it up, I let the AVR do all the work. (5.1 speaker setup)

18

Very cool, slightly confused.

So my TV is a Samsung QN50Q80TAFXZA, how do I know if these HDMI ports are HDCP 2.2 compliant? From the specs, it’s not evident. I do see eARC though.

I don’t think my current receiver has any HDMI ports with ARC, it’s too old. I guess what I’m trying to do now is: PMS to the TV directly through Plex native app on the smart tv or Chromecast and send audio to my existing old receiver. That way I have my 4k video bypassing the receiver but the audio comes from the speakers. Perhaps it’s not possible to mimic your setup as ARC would be needed on both devices.

19

For your TV, which is a Samsung, you don’t have DolbyVision support.
Instead you have HDR10+ support. (Samsung went the open-specification route).
The result, either way, is ‘that next level beyond HDR color saturation & richness’
Both color specs (HDR10+ or DV) require HDCP 2.2.

The TV specs are here.

Any OLED/QLED/uLED TV being produced is going to be HDCP 2.2 capable.

I think you’re doing this the hard way:

Go THROUGH the AVR, let the video pass to the TV. Handle the audio in the AVR like it’s designed to. It knows enough to not pass audio to the TV.

20

Speaking to the point of where to run the Plex player app ???

My philosophy is pretty simple based on observation of TVs produced over the past several years.

  1. TVs are “smart” the day you take them out of the box.
  2. They remain “smart” until the manufacturer ‘moves on’ to the newer models.
  3. They remain ‘mildly smart’ as long as the manufacturer minimally updates the SSL certificates . (Reference: Important information about Plex for smart TVs after September 30, 2021 )

It is my opinion,

  1. purchase a good television in the size and picture quality you want.
  2. Ensure it has enough HDMI device connectivity to support all devices you can foresee yourself using
  3. Purchase the player device and connect it to the TV over HDMI
  4. Run the Plex player app on the device

Why do I say this?

  1. Devices like Nvidia Shield, Roku, Chromecast are supported much more aggressively and LONGER than the TVs are.
  2. Firmware updates are much more frequent.
  3. The devices themselves are more capable (faster processors and more memory) to run the plex app.
    (Better capability in the player device means less workload on your PMS server)

Prime example:

  1. I have the 2021 LG C1 48"
  2. I purchased it in January 2022
  3. EARC worked when I first got it.
  4. An update came which broke EARC output to my Onkyo
  5. It’s been 6 months now without a fix.

How “smart” is my TV? IMHO, not very.

Fortunately, I have the Nvidia Shield Pro 2019.
I run the Plex player app there. It connects to the AVR which connects to the TV.

I get great audio from the receiver and the beautiful picture I expect from the TV.

Nvidia is a company who’s been around for a long time with a history of supporting their devices. I can’t say that about the TV manufacturers, sorry.

1 Like
21

Would love to try this but unsure how exactly. At a basic level, the tv is connected to the receiver via hdmi and nothing else. Would this approach require another connection between the two devices? Would that new connection be hdmi, optical audio, something else?