Server Version#: 1.32.5.7349
Player Version#: 1.77.3.3966-a5ddb215
Firstly: this is not a burn-in issue. Plex for Windows and macOS can direct stream PGS subtitles just fine. I can play my content at a transcoded quality with PGS direct streaming. Most of my content will work fine, PGS subtitles are visible, the server reports a transcode for video/audio and direct stream for PGS subtitles.
It seems a random subset of my content (when transcoding) will not visibly show PGS subtitles if it is the first subtitle option. Simply, they are invisible, despite being enabled, and the server showing they’re being direct streamed. This is very frustrating because the first subtitle option (English) is the one I want to use.
If I select another PGS subtitle track (that is not the first option, e.g. French), those subtitles are perfectly visible (what the heck!).
If I select original quality, all PGS subtitle tracks work fine (not surprised).
The recipe for the issue is: some content w/ the 1st PGS subtitle option selected and transcoding at a lower quality.
The server always shows that these are being PGS direct streamed. If I play the same content on Android, iOS, Android TV, or tvOS - the first PGS subtitle track is perfectly visible (all of which do PGS direct stream also). This issue only seems to effect Windows and macOS players.
To make it extremely clear, in both the invisible cases and working cases, PGS is always direct streaming alongside the transcoded stream. Even if I wanted to burn them, this setting does not seem to be available on Windows/macOS players. And I don’t want to burn subtitles when I could be direct streaming them perfectly fine.
I’m not looking for “just use SRT” as an answer. - Clearly Plex can serve PGS subtitles as a direct stream perfectly fine on Windows and macOS - I just don’t know why its invisible on some content on the first subtitle option specifically. It effects no other player I’ve tested, so I think this is a bug in the Windows/macOS Plex player.
I have tried setting up a new server on different hardware, installing client OS from scratch and Plex player for windows/macOS for the first time - the issue is consistent.
I cannot discern any pattern as to why some of my content is effected with this. It’ll be fine on movie A but invisible on movie B. The only way I’ve truly solved it is to remux the content with reordering the subtitles (so that the desired subtitle track is not the first option), but this is a highly tedious and frankly, ridiculous solution.
I’ve had this issue for sometime, and its beginning to really bother me.
