# Embedded Subtitles (ASS) forces transcoding with certain clients **URL:** \ **Category:** Plex Players\ **Tags:** android-tv, plex-web\ **Created:** [April 1, 2021, 4:44pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/embedded-subtitles-ass-forces-transcoding-with-certain-clients/706266 "2021-04-01T16:44:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![discotimetraveler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@discotimetraveler](https://forums.plex.tv/u/discotimetraveler)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 4:44pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/embedded-subtitles-ass-forces-transcoding-with-certain-clients/706266/1 "2021-04-01T16:44:44Z")
Hi all, this topic has been brought up in various locations on the forums, but they all are old and either say it’s resolved or… I have a Tablo DVR that I extract recordings from. Those recordings come with Closed Captioning. I then run those files through Handbrake where the Closed Caption gets converted to an embedded ASS file (I guess, still new to this). When I then play that file WITH subtitles on both Plex Web (Edge and Chrome) and nVidia Shield Plex client; Plex wants to transcode and ultimately the video does not play. It lags and buffers and the message says, “too slow to stream” even though everything is on Ethernet AND when it does transcode, it transcodes fine. Just not whenever it’s doing what it’s doing with these subtitles. What does play correctly, though, is the Plex for Windows client. So this is something that can work… it’s just broken on these other clients. Any suggestion on how to fix this? ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 4:57pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/embedded-subtitles-ass-forces-transcoding-with-certain-clients/706266/2 "2021-04-01T16:57:17Z")
Try converting those subs to the SRT format instead. It has much greater compatibility with many Plex clients. You can use e.g. [Subtitle Edit](http://www.nikse.dk/SubtitleEdit "Subtitle Edit") ---
**Author:** ![JuiceWSA](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/juicewsa/32/12253_2.png) [@JuiceWSA](https://forums.plex.tv/u/JuiceWSA)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 5:25pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/embedded-subtitles-ass-forces-transcoding-with-certain-clients/706266/3 "2021-04-01T17:25:04Z")
Handbrake does that ASS thing - unfortunately. Try this on clients not behaving well for ASS - it’s not an image based sub format so it may not need to transcode on that client: ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/3/9/394bc38e56d4f2118d7dbf9f5bac1683ae3b6047.jpeg) Shown is Plexweb. I don’t expect that to work for Plexweb, but you never know. ---
**Author:** ![discotimetraveler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@discotimetraveler](https://forums.plex.tv/u/discotimetraveler)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 6:02pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/embedded-subtitles-ass-forces-transcoding-with-certain-clients/706266/4 "2021-04-01T18:02:55Z")
This is unfortunately not an acceptable solution for me. How can I submit this bug so that it’s ideally fixed? ---
**Author:** ![JuiceWSA](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/juicewsa/32/12253_2.png) [@JuiceWSA](https://forums.plex.tv/u/JuiceWSA)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 6:06pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/embedded-subtitles-ass-forces-transcoding-with-certain-clients/706266/5 "2021-04-01T18:06:35Z")
It’s not actually a bug. It’s the inability of the player device to deal with ASS subtitles. My Roku, for instance, has to ‘Remux’ the streams into HLS, but then will stream the ASS subs without a full blown transcode - as long as ‘Image Formats Only’ is the selection in the client. I can deal with a ‘Remux’. I couldn’t deal with a full blown transcode. I’m lucky. ---
**Author:** ![discotimetraveler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@discotimetraveler](https://forums.plex.tv/u/discotimetraveler)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 6:07pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/embedded-subtitles-ass-forces-transcoding-with-certain-clients/706266/6 "2021-04-01T18:07:12Z")
Yeah… doesn’t work. =( Thanks, though. It’s wild how I can play the video fine but the moment I select subtitles it forces the quality to Convert. It’s just a bug… this should easily be fixed. Stop forcing conversion when selecting ASS… simple. ---
**Author:** ![discotimetraveler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@discotimetraveler](https://forums.plex.tv/u/discotimetraveler)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 6:09pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/embedded-subtitles-ass-forces-transcoding-with-certain-clients/706266/7 "2021-04-01T18:09:02Z")
Something tells me my computer and Chrome can handle a text file. If the Plex Windows client can work, so too should at least the Android TV app. ---
**Author:** ![JuiceWSA](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/juicewsa/32/12253_2.png) [@JuiceWSA](https://forums.plex.tv/u/JuiceWSA)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2021, 6:13pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/embedded-subtitles-ass-forces-transcoding-with-certain-clients/706266/8 "2021-04-01T18:13:12Z")
If you’re seeing this behavior in Plexweb - that’s just the way it is. Plexweb runs in your browser and Direct Playback of just about anything is compromised - in your browser. Your browser has limited support for such things. ALL my other client devices deal with ASS - as long as the selection is ticked in the client app. BTW - that’s where you’d set the selection - not in the server. That’s ONLY for Plexweb (and apparently it didn’t help, right?). > [@discotimetraveler](#): > > the Android TV app Hunt down that setting - if available - in the Android TV Plex App. ---
**Author:** ![FlaTechNole21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@FlaTechNole21](https://forums.plex.tv/u/FlaTechNole21)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2021, 1:14am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/embedded-subtitles-ass-forces-transcoding-with-certain-clients/706266/9 "2021-04-02T01:14:40Z")
Direct Play of SSA/ASS isn’t supported by Android (current exoplayer limitation). You have to transcode. Now why your transcodes sometimes fail is a separate issue. ---
**Author:** ![Havohej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47774/32.png) [@Havohej](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Havohej)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2021, 1:10pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/embedded-subtitles-ass-forces-transcoding-with-certain-clients/706266/10 "2021-06-30T13:10:37Z")
Out of the nowhere Plex started to transcode with ASS subtitles again for no reason. By now I think Plex will never be able to support subtitles properly. They can’t even manage to handle text based subtitles. ---
**Author:** ![JuiceWSA](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/juicewsa/32/12253_2.png) [@JuiceWSA](https://forums.plex.tv/u/JuiceWSA)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2021, 3:24pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/embedded-subtitles-ass-forces-transcoding-with-certain-clients/706266/11 "2021-06-30T15:24:42Z")
Hunt down this setting - in your Device App/Client Settings (that setting shown is ONLY for Plexweb - NOT your entire server): > [@JuiceWSA](#): > > ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/3/9/394bc38e56d4f2118d7dbf9f5bac1683ae3b6047.jpeg) If that doesn’t help - your client or device can’t deal with ASS. ---
**Author:** ![Havohej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47774/32.png) [@Havohej](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Havohej)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2021, 5:55pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/embedded-subtitles-ass-forces-transcoding-with-certain-clients/706266/12 "2021-07-02T17:55:31Z")
You mean my client could deal with ASS subtitles and now it can’t? And you mean Plex implemented on the fly conversion of ASS subtitles into something your client supports and it was working and now it is not and my client is the guilty one? Sorry, but I do not buy it. If it was working before and now it is not working I seriously doubt my client is to blame. ---
**Author:** ![JuiceWSA](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/juicewsa/32/12253_2.png) [@JuiceWSA](https://forums.plex.tv/u/JuiceWSA)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2021, 6:00pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/embedded-subtitles-ass-forces-transcoding-with-certain-clients/706266/13 "2021-07-02T18:00:08Z")
Find the setting in your client. Enable it and see what happens - or don’t - and continue not knowing. At my house it turns an ASS-Transcode into an ASS-Direct Stream on my Rokus and that’s good enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![Havohej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47774/32.png) [@Havohej](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Havohej)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2021, 7:25am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/embedded-subtitles-ass-forces-transcoding-with-certain-clients/706266/14 "2021-07-06T07:25:10Z")
Of course the settings are correct from the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2021, 7:25am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/embedded-subtitles-ass-forces-transcoding-with-certain-clients/706266/15 "2021-10-04T07:25:39Z")
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