The entire discussion is getting nowhere. This is a perfect example of how NOT to do it. They simply won’t offer a switch to disable transcoding because they are treating everyone as average Joes. A complex media server like Plex should offer ALL options! You have the advanced section, so this switch could be there. As for the “I forgot to switch it on” please, at least have the decency to treat us users with respect! There are tons of settings which can be messed with and can brake the entire thing, so this reason is not acceptable.
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Yes it is getting no where because you guys don’t really know how Plex works or you wouldn’t be asking for no transcoding option. Transcoding is used for many tasks beside just streaming to clients. If transcoding was removed then much of Plex’s features just got nuked. From Index files, to pictures taken from videos to analyzing your media. Not to mention newer features like LiveTV where you may be fine with the video but can’t handle AC3 audio and just need the audio transcoded.
To allow “Transcoding” to be turned off would probably require a lot of code checks to determine how/when it’s ok and when it’s not ok to do.
Transcoding is really the central feature of Plex itself and is doubtful that this would be removed or limited. Plex has been going out of it’s way to make Transcoding more powerful and useful instead of less useful.
Instead of trying to “fight” transcoding you should embrace it and try to figure out how to make it work better for you. This can be as easy as dropping in a used $50 AMD video card that allows HW transcoding even on the weekend of windows CPUs as an example.
I know this is going off in a different direction but it’s highly unlikely you will see any options not to allow transcoding since it’s one of the fundamental premises of the Plex server.
Brand new 918+ user here, using version 1.10.1.4602-f54242b6b I have no hardware acceleration preference serverside. Converting HEVC to H264 hurts quite a lot, not smooth and almost 100% usage. -> yay, manually downloading the latest version from the plex downloads section for the Syno made it work!
@poochie2 said:
Brand new 918+ user here, using version 1.10.1.4602-f54242b6b I have no hardware acceleration preference serverside. Converting HEVC to H264 hurts quite a lot, not smooth and almost 100% usage. → yay, manually downloading the latest version from the plex downloads section for the Syno made it work!
- Did you install the 64 bit version?
- After subscribing to your Plex Pass, did you sign the server out and back in (Settings - Server - General) to update its active features?
I installed it already having the Pass. I started on the Syno package manager, then updated via a link got somewhere in the Plex panel, then saw the site was even more updated. Never logged out in the process. Checking the downloads the second version I had actually was x86, funny because if I recall correctly it was suggested by the application.
@poochie2 said:
I installed it already having the Pass. I started on the Syno package manager, then updated via a link got somewhere in the Plex panel, then saw the site was even more updated. Never logged out in the process. Checking the downloads the second version I had actually was x86, funny because if I recall correctly it was suggested by the application.
Synology suggests the x86 version by default to be compatible with all their systems (many are still 32-bit only)
Go to Plex.tv/downloads and get the x86_64 version.
I would love to have the ability to disable transcoding too… if the transcoder can’t make the right decisions with what to direct play or not.
My LG TV can direct play all my videos with no issues. Plex insists on transcoding some of the content, especially the 4K kind. The TV is the only client I use Plex with, I now run the PMS in a Docker container, before that it ran from a Mac.
I sometimes use another server/client combination (a competitor whose name starts with an “e” and ends with a “y”) and direct play works absolutely fine with it. Therefore I know the TV supports it.
Both Plex and E…y have their advantages and disadvantages. When it comes to transcoding, E…y allows you to disable it. They actually allow that option at user level. So I can set a unique user for the TV for example.
I don’t see a point preparing my videos so that Plex can direct play them. It is time consuming, I can’t automate that preparation (yet), I want to keep things as simple as possible, drop movies in a folder, let Plex do its magic and present me all of that nicely on the screen.
Disabling transcoding wouldn’t be a request maybe if the transcoder was making correct decisions in regards of what a client can direct play or not. Why does the PMS needs to transcode? What does my TV tell it? There are 2 things that seem to annoy the PMS greatly and forces it to transcode: 1/ It doesn’t like subtitles inside a movie container 2/ It wants to see an mp4/m4v container not an mkv. If I remove the subtitles and change the container to mp4/m4v, then the Plex client plays everything without the need for transcoding. That’s all I need to change to have direct play in my case. But it requires a manual intervention from me.
So, to conclude, if the Plex development team has philosophical issues with disabling transcoding, maybe they could work something out, like ignoring subtitles and being more flexible with mkv? Obviously my use case is different from what others do with Plex and that solution would be of no help for them.
On a side note, when transcoding, CPU usage shoots to 100%. That is another reason why I don’t consider transcoding an option, I need the CPU resources for other applications and services.
If the LG can play everything DirectPlay, what are the app settings? I can DirectPlay as well on a little Synolody DS1813 with a Samsung 2015 4K. I only had to change the app settings.
As for automation of subtitle removal, for those who wish it and use Sonarr, I offer my automation script which does all that removal as the media is obtained. It requires you have mkvmerge and mkvpropedit (the mkvtoolnix package) installed and variable $Bin pointing to where they are located.
Here you see where I clean out unwanted metadata (-M) and subtitles (-S).
It is conditional so that if the cleaning fails, I do not lose the original file. Upon successful cleaning, it replaces the original with the stripped one. You only need add the wrapper as desired.
$Episode comes in from Sonarr as the path to the file.
#!/bin/sh
echo `date` Cleaning: $Episode >> ${Logfile}
rm -f temp.mkv
${Bin}/mkvmerge -o temp.mkv -M -S --no-global-tags --disable-track-statistics-tags "$Episode"
if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
echo `date` Bad file: Error \($?\) "$Episode" >> ${Logfile}
rm -f temp.mkv
else
echo `date` "Keeping: " "$Episode" >> ${Logfile}
${Bin}/mkvpropedit -s title="" temp.mkv
${Bin}/mkvpropedit --edit track:a1 --set language=eng --edit track:v1 --set language=eng temp.mkv
mv -f temp.mkv "$Episode"
rm -f temp.mkv
fi
Speaking as myself only, PMS is good but if we throw the kitchen sink (any and all junk) at it, on a processor not capable of handling it (like a tiny NAS processor) , we get what we deserve.
Both direct play and direct streaming boxes are ticked under the setting tab of my client/LG TV app, all qualities are also set to original. Does anything else need to be changed? Is there a server setting I am missing otherwise? What does Settings>Web>Quality>Home streaming do? I turned it on and off, it made no changes.
My Mac also uses 100% of the CPU resources when the PMS transcodes for the same client. It has an i7 CPU clocked at 3.1 GHz, this is not what I consider a tiny processor, so the issue might not be related to my NAS CPU.
Thanks for sharing your script with us! I also use Sonarr (and Radarr). This scipt removes the subtitles automatically, but subtitles are in fact only 1 of 4 things that make my PMS transcode as I found out after a few tests earlier today. I used an app called Subler (MacOS only) for remuxing my videos. Here are the 4 settings I changed to make the files direct-playable:
- deleted subtitles. I don’t use them the vast majority of the time. I understand this is adding a new issue if you rely on them
- enabled only one audio track (I unticked the others)
- chose the “optimize” option present in Subler. I am not entirely sure what it does exactly, it is supposed to help the file start streaming faster I believe. It is possible it is not needed, I will have to further investigate.
- chose .m4v as a container. mp4/m4v is the only container type Subler support anyway
Once the file was remuxed, it direct played nicely.
I tried to familiarise myself with mkvtoolnix, someone made a Docker container with a GUI available. I have to see if I can achieve the same results and automate all these tasks but this is all a bit tedious…
If anyone has advise on how to achieve this, please, write them down here! I guess ChuckPA’s script is already a good foundation. I am not too good with script anyway.
If I lose patience and can’t be bothered to set that part of my workflow, can some remind me where the transcoder folder/files are located on MacOS and/or Linux Debian? I promise I won’t complain if my TV or any future client cannot play movies 
Thanks!
One thing I’ve encountered with subtitles is the type of subtitle. PGS & VOBSUB are bitmap subtitle formatted. They are images which must be merged (burned) into the video image. That’s normally done by the video player. Most televisions, even the new ones, don’t handle that. They expect the player (BluRay/DVD) to do that job. If you have them, PMS will be forced to burn them in by transcoding. If they are text based (SRT, ASS, or SSA) the TV can do that.
If you’ll take a minute and show me the XML (Get Info - View XML) and tell me what you’re trying to play it on, I’ll figure out why it’s transcoding and what can be done. If there’s a player bug, I’ll write that up too.
I appreciate your help.
I copy pasted the content from the Get Info pop-up. Here’s a 4K movie that transcodes but shouldn’t. It has no subtitles. It is still in an mkv container.
Media
Video Resolution 4K
Duration 2:17:24
Bitrate 57017 kbps
Width 3840
Height 2160
Aspect Ratio 1.78
Container MKV
Video Frame Rate 24p
Video Profile main 10
Part
Duration 2:17:24
File Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017).mkv
Size 54.73 GB
Container MKV
Has Thumbnail 1
Video Profile main 10
Codec HEVC
Bitrate 54841 kbps
Bit Depth 10
Chroma Subsampling 4:2:0
Color Range tv
Color Space bt2020nc
Frame Rate 23.976 fps
Height 2160
Level 5.1
Profile main 10
Ref Frames 1
Title Valerian.and.the.City.of.a.Thousand.Planets.2017
Width 3840
Codec TRUEHD
Channels 7.1
Bitrate 3098 kbps
Language English
Audio Channel Layout 7.1
Bit Depth 24
Sampling Rate 48000 Hz
Title Valerian.and.the.City.of.a.Thousand.Planets.2017
Codec DCA
Channels 7.1
Bitrate 1536 kbps
Language English
Audio Channel Layout 7.1
Bit Depth 24
Profile ma
Sampling Rate 48000 Hz
Title Valerian.and.the.City.of.a.Thousand.Planets.2017
Codec AC3
Channels 5.1
Bitrate 640 kbps
Language English
Audio Channel Layout 5.1(side)
Sampling Rate 48000 Hz
Title Valerian.and.the.City.of.a.Thousand.Planets.2017
Codec SRT
Language English
View XML
Let’s break this down:
A. Audio #1
Codec TRUEHD
Channels 7.1
Bitrate 3098 kbps
Language English
Audio Channel Layout 7.1
Bit Depth 24
Sampling Rate 48000 Hz
B. Audio #2
Codec DCA
Channels 7.1
Bitrate 1536 kbps
Language English
Audio Channel Layout 7.1
Bit Depth 24
Profile ma
Sampling Rate 48000 Hz
C. Audio #3
Title Valerian.and.the.City.of.a.Thousand.Planets.2017
Codec AC3
Channels 5.1
Bitrate 640 kbps
Language English
Audio Channel Layout 5.1(side)
Sampling Rate 48000 Hz
D. Subtitles SRT
Title Valerian.and.the.City.of.a.Thousand.Planets.2017
Codec SRT
Language English
- Which audio is default?
- Can the TV handle it natively?
- Can it handle SRT Subtitles natively? (you said there were none)
- Audio #2 is the default (mkvtoolnix: “Default track” flag = yes; others = Determine automatically)
- Yes, Emby is able to direct play it. Also the LG TV switches to HDR automatically which indicates to me that at least the video is direct-streamed
- Good question. I can’t find a definite answer on that. I own an LG OLED B6 running WebOS 3.x
Could the issue be coming from the actual LG client app? Anyone with the same TV or running WebOS having the same issue…? The app was last updated in 2016. The Plex server has changed quite a bit since, maybe these 2 are not understanding each other fully…?
Below, you can find a more complete outlook of the file I am try to direct-play (extract from MediaInfo on MacOS)
General
Format : Matroska
Format version : Version 4 / Version 2
File size : 54.7 GiB
Duration : 2h 17mn
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 57.0 Mbps
Movie name : Valerian.and.the.City.of.a.Thousand.Planets.2017
Encoded date : UTC 2018-01-10 21:28:01
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
Codec ID : V_MPEGH/ISO/HEVC
Duration : 2h 17mn
Bit rate : 49.6 Mbps
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) : 0.249
Stream size : 47.6 GiB (87%)
Title : Valerian.and.the.City.of.a.Thousand.Planets.2017
Writing library : ATEME Titan File 3.8.8 (4.8.8.0)
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
Audio #1
ID : 2
Format : TrueHD
Format profile : TrueHD+Atmos / TrueHD
Codec ID : A_TRUEHD
Duration : 2h 17mn
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 3 098 Kbps
Maximum bit rate : 4 347 Kbps
Channel(s) : Object Based / 8 channels
Channel positions : Object Based / Front: L C R, Side: L R, Back: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : / 48.0 KHz
Frame rate : 1 200.000 fps (40 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossless
Stream size : 2.97 GiB (5%)
Title : Valerian.and.the.City.of.a.Thousand.Planets.2017
Language : English
Default : No
Forced : No
Audio #2
ID : 3
Format : DTS
Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems
Format profile : MA / Core
Codec ID : A_DTS
Duration : 2h 17mn
Bit rate mode : Variable / Constant
Bit rate : 3 642 Kbps / 1 509 Kbps
Channel(s) : 8 channels / 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, Back: L R, LFE / Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Frame rate : 93.750 fps (512 SPF)
Bit depth : 24 bits
Compression mode : Lossless / Lossy
Stream size : 3.50 GiB (6%)
Title : Valerian.and.the.City.of.a.Thousand.Planets.2017
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : No
Audio #3
ID : 4
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Codec ID : A_AC3
Duration : 2h 17mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 640 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Frame rate : 31.250 fps (1536 SPF)
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 629 MiB (1%)
Title : Valerian.and.the.City.of.a.Thousand.Planets.2017
Language : English
Service kind : Complete Main
Default : No
Forced : No
To answer:
Could the issue be coming from the actual LG client app? Anyone with the same TV or running WebOS having the same issue…? The app was last updated in 2016. The Plex
server has changed quite a bit since, maybe these 2 are not understanding each other fully…?
I suspect the app is the problem. While not so much a problem understanding. The app can’t take advantage of all that PMS can give it.
As comparison, what’s the date of the Plex app versus the Emby app?
Have you also tried using a generic play (such as DLNA) and played through that to the TV more ‘natively’) ?
Can the devs update the app on the LG app store?
The current version, 2.1, was released on 07/09/2016. While I can try to find a workaround for the server to eventually direct-play, it would seem easier to update the app. I just tried an app called Xplay, it is available on the LG App Store. It uses the Plex Media Server to stream. It does direct play without any issue so far.
Is Plex after business or not? I invested in an LG OLED TV a bit more than a year ago. These have been the only OLED screen on the market until recently. They have been the best regarded TV by far for a while. Now, people who buy that TV want to make the most of it, they don’t want a Plex app that downgrades 4K and HDR movies because the Plex Media Server doesn’t understand what the TV is capable of. These TVs are pricey. If I have made the jump with that purchase, like others, we should be considered prime customer targets for Plex subscriptions since we have a certain purchase power. What’s $120 in comparison to the price of their screen acquisition? (business logic, not a reflexion of my overall financial situation in reality). Plex should pay particular attention to the LG app and the other 4K/OLED TVs apps to offer a great experience. But instead I have to cope with a Plex system that wants to transcode everything that comes its way and choke my server. Movies are simply unwatchable because of the buffer, the colours are washed-out when it finally streams.
One could argue that the 4K TV owners crowd is not that big anyway to warrant that dev resources are allocated to them, but I would disagree with such a statement in 2018.
Who at Plex do I need to contact to get my message through? Can someone from Plex acknowledge my request for the app update? Let me know anyway if I am missing something and it is not really how it works. It is only my personal perception for what it is worth. If some bloke in Russia (I don’t mean no offence to him) got that Xplay client working with LG TVs while not working for Plex, I would expect the actual Plex devs to at least match that effort.
Hi ChuckPA,
Sorry, saw your message after.
The LG app was last updated in 09/2016. Emby’s last version was released in 12/2017. But to be fair, their first app release came in late October. So I can imagine that it is easier to improve an app when all the work you’ve done on it is still fresh in your head. And first releases are never fully baked I guess, so you probably receive a few feedbacks to act on.
I will try to DLNA
Playback with DLNA enabled is buttery smooth. The PMS shows nothing in the Now Playing section, but the TV turns automatically to HDR mode and start streaming almost instantly. To me it looks and sound like direct play.
Yes, that’s DirectPlay in action.
@Riusda said:
Hi ChuckPA,
Sorry, saw your message after.
The LG app was last updated in 09/2016. Emby’s last version was released in 12/2017. But to be fair, their first app release came in late October. So I can imagine that it is easier to improve an app when all the work you’ve done on it is still fresh in your head. And first releases are never fully baked I guess, so you probably receive a few feedbacks to act on.
I will try to DLNA
I just looked. You’re tripping over a forum bug.
https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/132141/plex-for-smart-tvs-tivo#latest shows you 2016.
https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/132141/plex-for-smart-tvs-tivo#unread takes you to the top of page 3. Scroll down
November 21, 2017 • 3.13.7 is the most recent update
- Make sure the TV is up to date.
- Then get into the app store.
- If that fails, I’ll get the web team to help out
