DLNA Samung TV - File format not supported

Plex Media Server
,
1

Server Version#: 1.25.3.5409
Player Version#: N/A
Linux Ubuntu Server 20.04.3 LTS (Focal Fossa)

Plex Media Server 1.25.3.5409-f11334058

DLNA client preferences:
IP=xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx,DirectPlay=true,DirectStream=true,LocalResolution=1920x1080,RemoteResolution=1920x1080,OnlineResolution=1920x1080,LocalVideoQuality=99,RemoteVideoQuality=99,OnlineVideoQuality=99,SubtitleSize=100,AudioBoost=100,MusicBitrate=384
(xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is the static IP if my “dumb” Samsung TV.)

DLNA default protocol info:
http-get::video/mpeg:,http-get::video/mp4:,http-get::video/vnd.dlna.mpeg-tts:,http-get::video/avi:,http-get::video/x-matroska:,http-get::video/x-ms-wmv:,http-get::video/wtv:,http-get::audio/mpeg:,http-get::audio/mp3:,http-get::audio/mp4:,http-get::audio/x-ms-wma,http-get::audio/wav:,http-get::audio/L16:,http-get:image/jpeg:,http-get:image/png:,http-get:image/gif:,http-get:image/tiff:

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Problem description:
I have a large (~16TB) library of movies and TV shows as well as some home videos. All of these can be viewed on my smart Samsung TVs via Plex app. I also have an older “dumb” TV that supports DLNA. When attempting to play media on this TV, about 90% of the files refuse to play with “File format not supported” error. Some other files with the same video codec, etc. are able to play just fine. Do I need to change something in the client preferences to fix this?

2

DLNA fully depends on the client to be able to deal with the files as they are.
Keep in mind there’s more to compatibility than just the video codec… your TV will need to support

  • the container (e.g. mp4, m4v, mkv…)
  • the codec for video, audio and subtitles
  • that particular combination of video, audio and subtitles
  • video characteristics like resolution and bitrates
  • audio characteristics like number of channels
  • …

There’s not much to do if the TV cannot do it.
DLNA is really just about serving a video file to let the TV play it.

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