After joining the Beta program I now have version 5.2.0.376 installed on my TV and here are the results of redoing those tests with the newer version.
For completeness I feel I should point out that my overall TV software has been updated recently as well because an update was available for it. It is now running QM152E.0.5.234.14. (with previous tests it was QM152E.0.5.101.54).
Settings on Plex client:
Video
Local quality: Original
Remote quality: Original
Advanced:
Direct play: Auto
Direct stream: ON
Passthrough: Disabled (it was on Auto since that was the fix needed as described in the post I referenced above.)
To see if the new beta version fixes the playback issue that was previously seen, I tried a few media items that were not working well before.
Unfortunately I must report that with Passthrough on Disabled (the default and wanted setting) playback is still not as expected. Anything with AC3 audio is being Direct Played and not working well. What I find odd myself is that the audio seems quite fine, it is the video that is not showing while one hears the audio play. Note that this is not a new development on the more recent code, but was the same with my previous tests as well.
When changing the Passthrough setting to Auto everything plays again, though at the cost of transcoding that has to occur.
The media came from 2 different PMS both running 1.2.7.2987.
I do see that PMS 1.3.0.3059 is available. I will install that at a later time and re-test.
If you disable passthrough, it basically tells the server to transcode everything. Regardless of the tv actually being about to play the type of audio. You don’t want that. Try reanalysing the files after updating to 1.3.0.
Also if you are using optical, that’s probably why you are experiencing issues.
I reran the tests with both servers running 1.3.0.3059. The setting at Advanced > Passthrough was again put “Disabled” like we would ideally want it to be.
Unfortunately playback of media using AC3 audio is still being Direct Played and not playing correctly. Switching “Passthrough” to Auto forces transcoding of the audio to AAC to take place which again makes the media play well.
@khuysmans said:
I reran the tests with both servers running 1.3.0.3059. The setting at Advanced > Passthrough was again put “Disabled” like we would ideally want it to be.
Unfortunately playback of media using AC3 audio is still being Direct Played and not playing correctly. Switching “Passthrough” to Auto forces transcoding of the audio to AAC to take place which again makes the media play well.
I’m confused. Why would you ideally want it off? What you want is the direct play ac3 issue resolved on Philips tvs when using direct play
Hi @danjames92
If you read the thread I mentioned at the start of this topic, you’ll understand that there are playback issues on Plex for Android TV on Philips television sets. The default setting is Audio Passthrough as disabled. As I understand it, that setting will/should/would make the Plex Client and the Plex Server talk about possible codecs for Audio and Video and then decide on Direct Play if a codec is supported. A more elaborate explanation can be found also in that topic by @MovieFan.Plex.
The situation we as Philips TV users are in is that apparently Plex concludes to Direct Play AC3 whereas the tv does not support it. The result is that the media does not play well. For me the result is that I mostly get audio but no video. I hear the audio go but the screen remains blank. On occasion nothing actually plays, but that is more of an exception. I find it odd that it is the audio that goes and not the video whereas it is the audio codec that is actually not supported, but OK, that is how it is. The net result is a media that you cannot play/use/enjoy.
When doing deeper investigation and tests that lead to me somewhat isolating the AC3 part of media (see the referenced post for the more info no those tests) being at fault. I tried a few settings inside the Plex Client on Android TV and also the one pertaining to audio (the Audio Passthrough feature I keep changing in my tests). As it turns out, when you put that setting to Auto, now all the media I try play. The ones with AC3 are transcoded and the others have a combination of streaming and transcoding. (Note that the difference between streaming and direct play is unclear to me.)
For me that was a work-around to using Plex on Android TV. I was afterwards given the opportunity to join the Beta program on Plex for Android TV to repeat my tests with the newer client and that is what I am reporting about here.
So, yes, Direct Play is preferred and that is what we are shooting for. Note that “Audio Passthrough” on Disabled actually means Direct Play will occur. (I personally find that confusing and it sounds like you might as well.) As it stands at least from my testing, the only way to reliable be able to play media in a library that has AC3 audio is to put the “Audio Passthrough” setting on the suboptimal “Auto” setting.
@danjames92, to provide some more background, the Philips TV’s report to the Plex App that they support AC3, so the Plex App sends AC3 to the TV, but the AC3 doesn’t play correctly and messes up the video playback. This is a common occurrence when a device tries to play an audio codec that isn’t fully supported. The Android Beta app had some changes (not specific to this issue) we thought might also fix this issue and had asked @khuysmans to redo his testing. The results are pointing more and more to an issue with the TV’s AC3 decoder.
After testing latest beta version on MI box Android Tv intenational version with
Settings on Plex client:
Video
Local quality: Original
Remote quality: Original
Advanced:
Direct play: ON
Direct stream: ON
Passthrough: Disabled
AC3 synchronization problem, after disabling direct play and modifying android.xml(on server) wrong playback of ac3 streams fixed. Server Version 1.3.2.3112(windows 8.1 i3 processor), client 5.3.0.507. Sorry for poor report
