Latest Chromecast w/ Google TV Update maybe introducing frame drops/connection issues on Plex app?

Plex Players Streaming Devices
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EDIT: Possible fix found on reddit: Apparently you have to go into the Dev options menu on your Chromecast, and turn off HW overlay, and that will fix this issue.

Got the latest Chromecast security update for my 4K unit, and after trying to use Plex afterwards, got a bunch of weird errors. First, Plex would basically “forget” it was connected to the server after backing out from a movie (it’s ethernet connected direct from the router) and I’d have to basically restart the server to get it to connect again. (my other streaming devices, an Apple TV and an ONN 4K, did not have this problem)

But the other problem I’m finding now is that, despite the Chromecast being set to output 1080p SDR 24hz, and the file being served encoded at 1080p 24fps, there are noticeable, frequent framedrops. I can only get rid of them by setting the output to 60fps (I’ve never had to do this before, prior to this playback was smooth at 24fps) but then there’s increased judder due to the 24fps being pulled down to 60 - which I don’t very much like.

Has anyone else using Plex on Chromecast noticed anything like this? The server is current, running on a Mac Studio, using an ethernet connection, the files are 1080p SDR 23.976 encoded, bitrate tends to be between 10-15mbps, direct play is working on the most recent app version, match res and framerate are off in the app, no transcoding is happening - but today I’m getting frequent framedrops through Plex, which I’ve never gotten before today.

Consistent video frames dropping on Chromecast w/ Google TV app on select 1080p direct-play content
Help w/ stutter when playing at native refresh rate, no change to set up, issue started 2 month ago
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Update on this: Tried the Chromecast again today to see if maybe the update was just working through stuff in the background. Plex is still dropping frames noticeably every 4-6 seconds (sometimes as soon as just one second)

Even tried reverting the app back to an older build, same result - constant frame-dropping. Updated app to current- frame drops. Weirdly, swapped in an old 2021 ONN 4K puck… so far, not a single drop (will let it run a couple more hours to see if maybe extended use causes drops to begin again but so far so good). Not sure why this would be happening, but the latest Chromecast update has made watching SDR movies at 1080p on a wired connection pretty much impossible on Plex.

Other weird thing I’m noticing: Turning on the overlay to see display stats doesn’t actually do anything. on the Apple TV app it comes up immediately, but so far I don’t seem to be able to get any stats to appear onscreen while the movie is playing.

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+1 from me as well, exactly the same observations. Noticed it in the last week on both my CCwGTV devices, both of which received updates from Google about 2 weeks ago.

As usual with updates with this device, you gain basically nothing and a range of apps perform slightly worse in subtle little ways. eg Disney Plus app constantly sees frame drops too.

I’ve tried a few different combinations of Plex player settings and CCwGTV settings but still seeing frame drops or stuttering issues. I expect I’ll need to go back to using Kodi and Plexmod on both TVs native Android OS until such time as either the CCwGTV OS or the Plex app gets an update that sorts this out.

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I also have this issue, it doesn’t matter if it’s 4k direct play 720p direct play it’s only in Plex but it’s consistent between two exactly the same Chromecast Android TV’s

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Found a potential fix on reddit: Apparently going into dev options on the Chromecast and turning off HW Overlay will fix it.

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Can confirm, turning off HW overlay on the Chromecast stops Plex from frameskipping.

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Thanks, this does seem to have worked on both devices!

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Many thanks for posting a workaround. One problem I have is that I power my chromecast from the USB port on my projector - and this setting does not seem to survive a reboot.

Hopefully will be corrected in a future Plex App update.

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Thank you. Noticed the frame drops also and disabling HW overlay fixed it.

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That’s a nice finding. It would be awesome if you didn’t need to do it gain every time you restart the device.

And i still don’t know why Chromecast with plex client cant bitstream or passthrough DTS core at least because kodi in Chromecast can, so why not?

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+1 on this issue, choppy playback since ccwgtv 4k update a few weeks ago. Verified that I jave direct playback, it’s not a server issue.

Disable HW overlay seems to help.

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Anyone have any update on this?

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I had the same issue and turning off HW overlay fixed it.
Is there also a persistent fix for this issue?

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It appears as if a new update to the Chromecast w/ Google TV has started rolling out as of last night. December security patch and “bug fixes.”

Hopefully one of those bug fixes includes this specific fix, so that people don’t have to go into their dev menu and turn on “Disable HW Overlay” in order to get a stutter-free Plex experience.

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Can you test this?

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I have the update on CCwGTV and sadly the stuttering is still there. Once I disabled HW Overlay the stuttering disappeared.

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Damn! Was hoping this update might have addressed that.

Honestly, at this point, I’m more surprised we’re still getting new updates and not announcements for new hardware, especially since we know they’ve been working on the successor for awhile now.

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Is Plex talking to Google about this? Can any dev comment please? This has been going on a while now and setting the dev option every time is very tedious.

Can anyone from Plex comment please?

Many thanks

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+1. This is a reproducible problem that is bothering a lot of people, on one of the most popular streaming devices to use plex on.

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+1 Really wasn’t expecting to still be performing the Disable HW Overlay dance after 2 months.

Given Google hasn’t issued a fix, and other streaming clients (YouTube and iPlayer at least, haven’t tried others) don’t seem to have an issue - seems like it’s probably a Plex problem. My guess is they’re hoarding framebuffers and the latest Chromecast update changed something they’d previously been getting away with.

If only the client was open source like Jellyfin so we could just fix it rather than whine about it hoping someone at Plex cares more about basic functionality than data brokering… Thinking it’s probably time to jump ship.