Help with Hisense 4K Direct Play

[cousinjon21_gmail_com]

Server Version#: 3.102…0
Player Version#: ???

All, I’m having issues getting trying to get this movie to Direct Play. I’ve seen in other posts for other clients where the order of audio tracks might be influencing the server’s decision to transcode, but I can’t find any concrete evidence of what the root cause is. Could someone check out this excerpt from my logs and point me in the right direct?

Also - When the movie is playing, the audio reports as direct stream (aac), the video is transcoding 4k (h.264 HDR) to 1080P (h264).

Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.725 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - It took 0.000000 ms to retrieve 113 items.
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.726 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - We’re going to try to auto-select an audio stream for account 1.
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.726 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - Selecting best audio stream for part ID 34701 (autoselect: 0 language: en)
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.726 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - Audio Stream: 38594, Subtitle Stream: -1
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.727 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - We’re going to try to auto-select an audio stream for account 1.
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.727 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - Selecting best audio stream for part ID 34814 (autoselect: 0 language: en)
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.727 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - Audio Stream: 38832, Subtitle Stream: -1
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.728 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - Codecs: testing h264_nvenc (encoder)
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.905 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API vaapi
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.905 [0x7f78a1683700] ERROR - [FFMPEG] - libva: va_getDriverName() failed with unknown libva error,driver_name=(null)
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.905 [0x7f78a1683700] ERROR - [FFMPEG] - Failed to initialise VAAPI connection: -1 (unknown libva error).
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.905 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - Codecs: hardware transcoding: opening hw device failed - probably not supported by this system, error: Input/output error
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.905 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - Scaled up video bitrate to 27600Kbps based on 1.500000x fudge factor.
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.905 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - Scaled maximum bitrate for resolution reduction to 6900Kbps.
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.905 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - MDE: Selected protocol hls; container: mpegts
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.905 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - MDE: analyzing media item 34751
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.905 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - MDE: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014): Direct Play is disabled
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.905 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - MDE: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014): media must be transcoded in order to use the hls protocol
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.905 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - MDE: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014): no direct play video profile exists for http/mp4/h264
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.905 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - MDE: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014): no direct play video profile exists for http/mp4/h264/aac
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.905 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - MDE: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014): no direct play video profile exists for http/mp4/h264/ac3
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.905 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - MDE: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014): no direct play video profile exists for http/mp4/h264/ac3
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.905 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 - video.width limitation applies: 3840 > 1920
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.905 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 - video.width limitation applies: 3840 > 1920
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.905 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - MDE: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014): no remuxable profile found, so video stream will be transcoded
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:14.905 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - Codecs: testing h264_nvenc (encoder)
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:15.067 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 - video.width limitation applies: 3840 > 1920
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:15.067 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - MDE: Cannot direct stream video stream due to profile or setting limitations
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:15.067 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API vaapi
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:15.067 [0x7f78a1683700] ERROR - [FFMPEG] - libva: va_getDriverName() failed with unknown libva error,driver_name=(null)
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:15.067 [0x7f78a1683700] ERROR - [FFMPEG] - Failed to initialise VAAPI connection: -1 (unknown libva error).
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:15.067 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - Codecs: hardware transcoding: opening hw device failed - probably not supported by this system, error: Input/output error
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:15.067 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - Scaled up video bitrate to 27600Kbps based on 1.500000x fudge factor.
Jun 17, 2019 12:43:15.067 [0x7f78a1683700] DEBUG - Scaled maximum bitrate for resolution reduction to 6900Kbps.

[FordGuy61]

@cousinjon21_gmail_com

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 - video.width limitation applies: 3840 > 1920

What is the model # of your TV?
What is the resolution?

Looks like Plex thinks you have a 1080p TV and you’re trying to play a 2160p movie.

[cousinjon21_gmail_com]

Thanks for replying! It’s a Sharp LC-55P6000U, and the resolution is 3840x2160p. The only spec information I can find is below.

Sharp%20Model%2055P6000U_Rev.3.pdf

[FordGuy61]

Which Plex app does the Sharp TV use? Is from the Opera / VEWD store?

If so, that app may not support 4K. It does not on other platforms, including Hisense branded TVs, not sure about Sharp.

Transcoding Movies / Series with local ressources an not on the plex server itself

Ok, found some info on this. The Swisscom devices act as a Smart TV and they use the Opera TV store (now called VEWD). This just runs our regular Smart TV app. That app, on that device, does not support 4K video, so PMS will have to transcode the video. No way around that.

content not direct playing to capable hardware

Hi All, I have recently purchased a new 4K TV (Hisense 65n7), which is capable of HDR 4K HEVC playback, the Plex app on the TV comes via the VEWD (Opera TV) store. My Plex server (latest version) runs on a Synology DS918+. I have about 10 movies which are at least 4K HEVC (some are also HDR) which, when loaded onto a USB and plugged in directly, play just fine on the TV. The problem comes when I try and play the same content via Plex. On all except one video, the server decides to transcode …

[anon18523487]

@cousinjon21_gmail_com

It’s a Sharp LC-55P6000U

The title you put says Hisense. ???

[cousinjon21_gmail_com]

Good Catch!
Plex shows it as a Hisense TV, so I figured it was just a Black Friday Special which was re-branded. My apologies if that was misleading - I’ll happily edit the title if need be.

[anon18523487]

Ah, I just Googled and found that Hisense recently gained the rights to the Sharp brand. So the TV does report correctly to Plex as a Hisense TV.

The Plex app on the Hisense TV does not support 4K.

[cousinjon21_gmail_com]

Well nuts. Thanks for making clear for me @anon18523487 & @FordGuy61! I guess I’ll go get a Roku Ultra now or something.

[TeknoJunky]

you might want to review @ Plex, 4k, transcoding, and you - aka the rules of 4k - a FAQ before you get all invested in 4k.

also you should search the forum for roku ultra to be aware of other folks experiences.

[cousinjon21_gmail_com]

Dually noted @TeknoJunky - I’ve sufficient resources and intend on keeping separate libraries. We had a cheaper roku that “supported” 4k, but the 2.4GHZ wifi limitation on that stick kept us from enjoying a seamless movie. That was the only limitation though, I had the sound figured out and it was direct playing as expected.

Being that the Ultra supports 5GHZ or Ethernet if the wifi doesn’t work it’ll give me an excuse to hardwire the livingroom. I would look at a shield, but they’re too expensive for a simple plex client, and I don’t have a nice sound system.

[TeknoJunky]

good deal.

a lot of folks jump into 4k without knowing what is involved and expect it to just work, unfortunately it just isn’t that simple.

[NFusionBert]

You can also try the DLNA app in the same menu on your TV where you find the Plex app. The default profile will likely be generic.xml since there is no specific profile for Hisense or Sharp. This profile will send everything to your TV without transcoding, so some video/music files may not play or give an error message stating the video or audio cannot be played. In this case you will need a custom profile to include which video/audio codecs can use direct play, and a transcode section for the rest, One gotcha is that the DLNA section of Plex appears not to recognize 4K TVs. You will need to set the Web Client/Quality to maximum. The default is 2 Mbps 720p. There are no settings for 4K other than maximum. Even if you save this setting, it will revert back to 2 Mbps 720p after a reboot. The other setting you need is for DLNA Client Preferences. Make sure to check “Show Advanced” In the DLNA Client Preferences the box may be blank or may already contain information. This normally contains an IP address followed by specific options. According to Plex, this is populated by the client. However, I find it never contains the correct information for 4K TVs. You will need the following:
IP=1.1.1.1,DirectPlay=true,DirectStream=true,LocalResolution=4096x2160,RemoteResolution=4096x2160,OnlineResolution=4096x2160,LocalVideoQuality=99,RemoteVideoQuality=99,OnlineVideoQuality=99,SubtitleSize=100,AudioBoost=100,MusicBitrate=320

You will need to replace the 1.1.1.1 IP address with your own, and at least the LocalResolution with either 3840x2160 or actual 4K 4096x2160 if you have any real 4K files. Most UHD TVs seem to downscale to their maximum without issue. Keep a copy of these settings handy as Plex will randomly change them. Then you can just copy/paste them back and then save them until Plex changes them after a restart/reboot or after a video file fails to play correctly. This will at least let you watch your compatible 4K files. You wont have the nice GUI or extra information you get with the Plex client, but you can test the videos and capabilities of your TV until you decide on a Roku Ultra or other device. Note that the ethernet port on your TV is likely only 100Mbs so you may end up using/needing wireless for 4K videos that are close to or over 100Mbs.

[cousinjon21_gmail_com]

Sorry for the late reply! I’ll give this a shot, but will have to do so when I’ve time to troubleshoot fully, as anytime I try to ues the DLNA stuff with our TV it forcibly reboots.