Server Version#: 1.41.3.9314
Player Version#: Android (latest release)
I have a TV show on my Plex Media Server, with every episode available as two files – one 4k HDR, and one 1080p SDR. Plex is recognising the files correctly (I can see them in Versions and Info).
However, when I play an episode I’m never offered a chance to choose which file to play from, Plex will always try to play the HDR file, even on a 1080p device without an HDR screen.
It used to be that when Plex had multiple file options, it would ask me to choose one – is this option no longer available, or is there some way to change its selection behaviour for individual clients?
While I do have an HDR screen connected to the machine that acts as my server, I’d like to be able to play some content on other devices as well, and would have expected it to choose the file that matches the screen size where possible.
What settings (if any) now control this behaviour? Can it be changed? I’ve looked everything that seems likely but all I found was bitrate for streaming (and the direct play option under Debug).
What criteria does Plex use when choosing? Why would it select an HDR source for a non-HDR device? I know it’s possible to split files so they appear as separate episodes, but that seems like a messy way to do it that shouldn’t be necessary, I just want to be able to tell Plex “play the 1080p h.264 file” or something.
I’m using the regular Plex app for Android – the one that’s basically just the web player in an app.
NOTE: I’ve put this under mobile because I’m seeing the issue for both an Android tablet and a 3rd party Android TV device so figured mobile is the common denominator since it’s one of those that’s basically a phone with an HDMI port.
