Server Version#: 1.30.0.6486
Player Version#: 9.13.1.37459 (39e89c99)
The “MAX” version of the FireTV Stick 4K does not correctly map the HDR tones when playing 4K content on non-HDR 1080p TV (Samsung UE50F6, 2015), unlike the previous model “FireTV Stick 4k”, using the same settings for both Plex Player app and FireTV. However, I tried using all possible combinations of the settings to no avail. Any clues? The rest of the apps (Netflix, Prime, etc.) works fine. I published this issue 10 months ago, but it has not been solved yet.
AFAIK, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max does not do tone mapping, only the new Fire TV Cube device does that. There is a setting in the 4K Max to disable HDR. Turn that on, which should force Plex to do the tone mapping server side for you.
Thank you for your answer, but it does not solve the issue.
I already tried all possible settings, including disabling HDR, of course. Plex does not do tone mapping unless I force it to transcode the movie. However, Fire TV Stick 4K (no MAX) does do tone mapping for Plex, and the MAX version is supposed to do so, and it does with other apps, but not with Plex. Maybe there is some communication problem between Plex app and the Fire TV Stick 4K MAX, and MAX is not understanding that the contents is HDR tone mapped.
That’s correct. Transcoding is needed to tone map.
Maybe there is some communication problem between Plex app and the Fire TV Stick 4K MAX, and MAX is not understanding that the contents is HDR tone mapped.
Apps do not tell the device to tone map. It should detect that the video has HDR and tone map on it’s own if it can. If the device supports tone mapping, it should just do it. Can you provide the xml info for a video that this doesn’t work with. Maybe there is something with the video.
It happens with any HDR file. Fire TV Stick 4K (no MAX) is able to correctly do tone mapping of the same videos when played with PLEX. The MAX version of the Fire Stick does tone mapping with other video apps, so the device supports tone mapping but not with PLEX.
I had the same experience as the OP. Regular 4k stick tonemapped fine in plex without transcoding. 4k Max does not, regardless of the HDR setting in the device. It happens in Kodi too, so it’s not Plex specific. It’s a well-known issue.
For instance, when playing the same HDR videos with VIMU player on Fire TV Stick 4K MAX, using the Exoplayer Engine v.2+tunneling (“+tunneling” enabled is important), the colors are right without transcoding. Maybe PLEX engine is outdated or some extra settings would be neccessary in order to work with the MAX version.
Ok, I reproduced the issue now with my Fire Stick 4K and Fire Stick 4K Max, both connected to 1080p SDR screens and the 4K definitely tonemaps without any issue whereas the 4K Max don’t.
Any updates on this? The normal 4k stick works fine, but the 4k max doesn’t. I would great if this was fixed or if anyone knows how to get around it (without transcoding or buying a HDR TV!)
