Server Version#: 1.41.7.9823
Player Version#: 10.28.0.3441
Late model Sony Bravia 4K TV with a Klipsch soundbar connected via optical cable. As of the past couple days, DTS audio will not play and I have a message in the player that says “Unable to Direct Play due to Optical Passthrough no supporting DCA”. It will play the AC3 track no problem.
I have more than one TV with this setup and both exhibit the issue. Another TV without the soundbar (using internal speakers) works fine.
Also, the player is showing bandwidth spikes upwards of 190 mbps on 6 mbps content.
Plex Dash shows direct stream for both audio and video so I think it’s a player issue.
I’ve had this setup for years, and the soundbar works with other TV apps and input sources.
I should clarify that I have been using this exact setup for several years with Plex and it has played all audio, including DTS, without issue. It does occasionally transcode to Opus.
This problem just started happening in the past day or so, likely with the latest player update.
@MovieFan neither the DTS-HD nor DTS tracks play any longer. Both used to play fine.
To @OttoKerner 's point, wouldn’t PMS then transcode the audio ??
I found it odd that Plex Dash indicates Direct Play for both audio and video, yet the player app seems to think it’s transcoding. I dug through the logs late last night and nothing jumped out. Is there something specific I can look for that would help determine what’s going on between the server and the player ??
I did do that and one TV seems to be working “normally” again. Albeit with passthrough turned off. Toggling that setting off seems to have brought it back to life. The Plex client crashes often when I adjust the volume during playback , though, so something is still amiss.
I may review the settings on that working TV in a bit and possibly tinker with re-enabling passthrough. Yes, when enabled both DTS and AC3 are checked. I also toggled them to ensure they were set.
Both TVs, the one with sound and the one without sound, both show direct stream in Plex Dash. I tested both by switching to internal speakers and they both transcoded. Depending on the other audio settings it was either Opus 1 mbps or AC3 640 kbps… as expected So it shows that transcoding is working when required.
Normally, though, this setup direct streams DTS and DTS-HD up to 5.1. Anything above that transcodes… again, as expected.
This just mysteriously stopped happening as fast as it started. Very strange. There was a TV firmware update and a Plex Server update since it initially started, but no audio settings were changed manually.
Anyway, it seems resolved albeit by unknown forces. Another of life’s mysteries.
