Is there a trick to force ac3 5.1 to be downmixed to 2 channel? My TV doesn't decode ac3 and any file I have with the ac3 5.1 audio codec plays without sound. I tried setting "Dolby Digital" in the atv settings to off and also left the "enable Dolby Digital on Apple TV" option on PMS unchecked.
Thanks
Their in an option under transcoder settings (show advanced) for multi channel sound on the ATV, uncheck it.
You can probably also set stereo output in the Apple settings on the ATV.
Tried both of those options with no luck.
The first I described definitely worked before as we have had to guide users to do the opposite.
Yeah, I noticed most folks go the other direction, trying to get ac3 to work. I tested the ac3 in another room with an audio receiver and it works fine, I just can't make it stop working. :blink:
Here's a fresh PMS log trying to play a ac3 file. The atv2 Dolby Digital output was set to NO and the PMS advanced transcoder option to support atv ac3 was unchecked.
and here's a snip from the plexconnect.log. It was too big for pastebin in it's entirety.
Not sure if it's just me...
Were you trying to set that preference through Plex.tv (the new web interface) or the old one (your IP web interface)?
On my local server's web interface (the old one). I didn't know there was a new one....
EDIT: I just checked the online plex.tv configuration and it mirrors the local config with the option unchecked.
What happens if you downgrade your PMS? I am wondering if a bug has been introduced.
I downgraded PMS to 0.9.728.33 and still get ac3. I'll try an older version of PlexConnect later to see if that helps at all.
@nutcais: Does the source file have a stereo track in it? I have some problems on ATV (without Plex!) where I have to have both stereo and AC3 tracks/streams in order for it to play on ALL devices.
f00b4r sounds like he can help with the Plex-specific angle, which is what you want, but it might be worth checking if the source has a stereo track in it. It's pretty easy to add one, if you're comfortable running commands in the Terminal.
The PMS should automatically transcode to stereo if eg only a DD/DTS track is present.
@nutcais: Does the source file have a stereo track in it? I have some problems on ATV (without Plex!) where I have to have both stereo and AC3 tracks/streams in order for it to play on ALL devices.
f00b4r sounds like he can help with the Plex-specific angle, which is what you want, but it might be worth checking if the source has a stereo track in it. It's pretty easy to add one, if you're comfortable running commands in the Terminal.
The files in question, and tested, only have ac3 5.1. I suppose I could manually add an aac 2 channel track, but that's a lot of work for the all the ac3 files I have.
The PMS should automatically transcode to stereo if eg only a DD/DTS track is present.
Indeed. PMS is working correctly on DTS 5.1 mixdown, I've checked. I'm still messing around, maybe I'll get lucky and find the right combo of PMS, PlexConnect, and settings to make this thing work. :)
Try this version of PMS (it was the first to introduce support for 5.1 sound with PlexConnect and the universal transcoder and would immediately point to a PMS bug in newer versions if it works for you:
https://forums.plex.tv/topic/62832-plex-media-server/?p=402077
Try this version of PMS (it was the first to introduce support for 5.1 sound with PlexConnect and the universal transcoder and would immediately point to a PMS bug in newer versions if it works for you:
https://forums.plex.tv/topic/62832-plex-media-server/?p=402077
That D/L link doesn't work for me (not plexpass?). I got PMS v0.9.7.22 from here. http://web.archive.org/web/20130910125628/http://wiki.plexapp.com/index.php/Downloads#Windows_-_PMS
My assumption is this should not be able to send ac3 5.1 to an Apple TV via PlexConnect (correct?), but it does. :huh:
It is the first version that could when we switched to the universal transcoder early on.
But it definitely works for disabling it in the web interface, causing stereo sound to be sent by the PMS instead.
Also what is your specific hardware setup - TV, receiver, PC etc…?
On the server side, I have a Windows 7 Ultimate (64bit) box running PMS and PlexConnect pulling files from a NAS via SMB.
On the player side, I have an Apple TV 2 (v6.0.2) connected to a Panasonic plasma via HDMI. I also have an audio receiver (logitech z5500) that can decode ac3 connected via optical toslink that I moved into the room for testing.
In your ATV settings (the Apple ones) do you have DD set to on/off/auto?
In your ATV settings (the Apple ones) do you have DD set to on/off/auto?
Tried all three.
Auto = No sound output on TV or receiver
On = Dolby Digital sound output on receiver, no sound on TV
Off = No sound output on TV or receiver
Wierd.
Try downloading 0.9.7.28 - the first publically available PMS to support switching stereo downmixing on and off with PlexConnect.
Wierd.
Try downloading 0.9.7.28 - the first publically available PMS to support switching stereo downmixing on and off with PlexConnect.
Same thing...No sound output through the TV.
So .mkv files with ac3 are being downmixed properly, my guess is they are being remuxed due to the mkv incompatibility with the atv2. I also though it may be a problem with my test files (I encoded them) so I downloaded one from here. It's the "AC3-only M4V" file. It does not get downmixed either.
Could you verify that the test file I linked plays for you in 2 channel stereo? I'm curious if I have an Apple TV problem rather than a plex/plexconnect problem.
