So basically a summary of where I’m at right now.
1080p HEVC or less:
iPhone: Direct Play
Mac: Direct Play
Windows: Direct Play
Samsung TV: Direct Play
LG 4K TV: Transcodes (why?)
4K HEVC:
iPhone: Direct Play
Mac: Direct Play
Windows: Direct Play
Samsung TV: Transcodes to 1080p (understandable)
LG 4K TV: Transcodes to 1080p (why?)
My 4K TV has more playback capabilities than my Samsung does. It should be easily able to play HEVC files.
@Cyberpower678 said:
1080p HEVC or less:
LG 4K TV: Transcodes (why?)
The log indicates you are playing a 10-bit HEVC file. The Plex app on the LG does not support 10-bit HEVC.
4K HEVC:
LG 4K TV: Transcodes to 1080p (why?)
When a file isn’t supported and it needs to transcode, we only transcode to H264, 1080p Max.
@“MovieFan.Plex” said:
@Cyberpower678 said:
1080p HEVC or less:
LG 4K TV: Transcodes (why?)The log indicates you are playing a 10-bit HEVC file. The Plex app on the LG does not support 10-bit HEVC.
4K HEVC:
LG 4K TV: Transcodes to 1080p (why?)When a file isn’t supported and it needs to transcode, we only transcode to H264, 1080p Max.
Okay, I’ll try so of my older 8-bit files and see what happens.
@“MovieFan.Plex” said:
@Cyberpower678 said:
1080p HEVC or less:
LG 4K TV: Transcodes (why?)The log indicates you are playing a 10-bit HEVC file. The Plex app on the LG does not support 10-bit HEVC.
4K HEVC:
LG 4K TV: Transcodes to 1080p (why?)When a file isn’t supported and it needs to transcode, we only transcode to H264, 1080p Max.
So I just tried to play a 720p file that is HEVC encoded that is 8-bit. I’ve played this file on the now retired DLNA server I used to use before Plex and the TV handled it just fine. The transcoder still kicked in.
Please provide the log. There may be something else. Are you using subtitles?
@“MovieFan.Plex” said:
Please provide the log. There may be something else. Are you using subtitles?
I’ve sent the logs to you via PM. I’ve played a slew of different files so you can see as much details as possible.
In my testing here are my observations. None of the files had subtitles enabled. Also keep in mind this is a 4K TV.
480p H264: Direct Play
720p H264: Direct Play
1080p H264: Direct Play
4K H264: Don’t have a file with that encoding
480p 8-bit HEVC: Transcodes unnecessarily (TV has native support)
720p 8-bit HEVC: Transcodes unnecessarily (TV has native support)
1080p 8-bit HEVC: Transcodes unnecessarily (TV has native support)
4K 8-bit HEVC: Transcodes (TV should have native support)
1080p 10-bit HEVC: Transcodes to 8-bit (understandable)
4K 10-bit HEVC: Transcodes to 8-bit 1080p (understandable)
Conclusion, regardless of size or bit-depth, all HEVC files are transcoded to H264 while Direct Streaming the audio.
Your logs show you have hardware decoding enabled. It shouldn’t matter, but can you try turning that off and see if there is a difference?
@“MovieFan.Plex” said:
Your logs show you have hardware decoding enabled. It shouldn’t matter, but can you try turning that off and see if there is a difference?
I do? I wouldn’t know where to turn that off.
Hey, can you give me the exact model number of your TV. Or can you check the girmware setting on your TV to see if it lists this info. I see in your log it is reporting itself to Plex as running the LG NetCast OS. If so, this is an old OS that doesn’t support HEVC natively. Their DLNA player may do so using software decoding which is not available to 3rd party apps.
@“MovieFan.Plex” said:
Hey, can you give me the exact model number of your TV. Or can you check the girmware setting on your TV to see if it lists this info. I see in your log it is reporting itself to Plex as running the LG NetCast OS. If so, this is an old OS that doesn’t support HEVC natively. Their DLNA player may do so using software decoding which is not available to 3rd party apps.
Model/Type: 49UB8200-UH
Software Version: 04.11.18
SDK Version: 03.05
Browser Version: V6.00.00.72ffa6.4994
The TV was purchased in 2015, and the built in apps handle 4K, so I would think the OS isn’t that old considering it still gets updates.
Sorry, it’s not clear from that if your TV is running Netcast or WebOS. Can you check if you have this setting on your TV?
Settings > General Settings > About this TV > TV Information > webOS TV Version
If so, does it show version 3.0? Only WebOS 3 can play HEVC in an mkv container. It’s a limitation of the OS. If you remux it into an mp4 container, WebOS 2 and maybe NetCast TV’s should then be able to play them.
@“MovieFan.Plex” said:
Sorry, it’s not clear from that if your TV is running Netcast or WebOS. Can you check if you have this setting on your TV?Settings > General Settings > About this TV > TV Information > webOS TV Version
If so, does it show version 3.0? Only WebOS 3 can play HEVC in an mkv container. It’s a limitation of the OS. If you remux it into an mp4 container, WebOS 2 and maybe NetCast TV’s should then be able to play them.
All of my streams are encoded as MP4. I never stream MKV. With that being said I have settings, but no General Settings. I can’t find the WebOS version however digging around, I did find the installed manual, and it confirms it’s able to play 4K HEVC streams, with a resolution up to 3840x2160, Level 5.0 at up to 25 Mbps and 30p, and handle 4K input hardwire with a resolution up to 4096x2160.
The 4K files I have are all Level 5.0, 24p and have a max width of 3840 pixels and the height is smaller than the max. The highest 4K bitrate I have is 11 Mbps, so it should theoretically stream.
Ok, if you don’t see a WebOS version setting on your TV, then it is using the old NetCast OS. Keep in mind that 3rd party apps (i.e. Plex) that run on the TV are basically running in a web browser. There are limits what can be done in this environment, like not being able to support hevc. The vendor’s player app is probably a native app, not running in the browser, so it has a lot more capabilities.
It’s just like using our Plex Web App (no hevc support) versus using the stand alone video player Plex Media Player (hevc!!!).
@“MovieFan.Plex” said:
Ok, if you don’t see a WebOS version setting on your TV, then it is using the old NetCast OS. Keep in mind that 3rd party apps (i.e. Plex) that run on the TV are basically running in a web browser. There are limits what can be done in this environment, like not being able to support hevc. The vendor’s player app is probably a native app, not running in the browser, so it has a lot more capabilities.It’s just like using our Plex Web App (no hevc support) versus using the stand alone video player Plex Media Player (hevc!!!).
It doesn’t seem like it’s running in a browser. I had to actually install this app into the TV’s OS. Is it possible to add a forced Direct Play option to see if the TV can handle it? You have the perfect test subject here. 
It’s not actually in a browser, but the engine that controls everything is similar to a browser. It’s all based on HTML. There isn’t an option to force direct play, sorry.
@“MovieFan.Plex” said:
It’s not actually in a browser, but the engine that controls everything is similar to a browser. It’s all based on HTML. There isn’t an option to force direct play, sorry.
I’m asking if one could be added for testing purposes. The Samsung TV app has an option to force Direct Play, so I know the options can be added.
The Samsung app was written by someone else, not Plex. Regular Plex apps do not have that option.
I checked with our development team and they’ve tested HEVC on Netcast TVs, and it does not work, which is why it is not supported. It was not an arbitrary decision to not allow it.
@“MovieFan.Plex” said:
The Samsung app was written by someone else, not Plex. Regular Plex apps do not have that option.I checked with our development team and they’ve tested HEVC on Netcast TVs, and it does not work, which is why it is not supported. It was not an arbitrary decision to not allow it.
Well that sucks. :/. Then I’m going to resort to seeing if https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/321153/enable-hardware-acceleration-support-for-bsd-based-plex-servers#latest can be made possible as it looks like it is a possibility after having asked around.
Thanks for the info. Looks like if I use the PLEX PC Desktop App it has no problems playing HEVC direct play… But if I play through Chrome Browser it won’t direct play. This is some great info.
