LG webOS Plex Client - DTS / DTS-HD MA (5.1) Direct Stream (e.g. Video Transcoded Due to PGS Subs) Not Working

Plex Players Smart TVs
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Server Version#: 1.15.3.876
Player Version#: 3.94.1 (webOS 3.8.0)

This was brought up in a previous thread that got next to no traction, and is still broken, so I’m making a post in hopes of getting a proper fix.

The problem:

  • If DTS support is enabled in the Plex webOS client, trying to watch a video with DTS-HD MA or DTS in 5.1 with PGS subs turned on (which means the video is being transcoded with burn-in subs and the audio is direct stream) results in no audio at all.
  • DTS-HD MA 7.1 works fine because that does not fall under the client’s DTS support, and gets transcoded to AAC rather than being direct play/direct stream.
  • AC3 5.1 (which is another supported audio codec) with PGS subs (so just like with DTS, video being transcoded and audio being direct stream) works fine. I can’t say for sure if the same is true for EAC3 5.1 as I don’t have any movies with audio in that format, but since AC3 works I would expect it to as well.
  • Disabling DTS support (which causes the audio to be transcoded from DTS to AAC) is the only usable work-around without having to modify the video itself (i.e. change to SRT subs) or disabling the subs altogether (which is obviously not an actual legitimate option).

Here are example status output showing the transcode/direct play/direct stream status:

WEaq5mE.jpg846×614 91.1 KB

1 Like
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Just the PGS subs are causing the transcoding, disable the subs or switch to SRT subs and try again.

Inside a DTS-HD MA stream is a DTS stream, so the TV should be able to decode it as DTS 5.1 .

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Erase PGS and downlod srt subtitles and you´ll do directplay.

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Yes, I’m well aware that using SRT subs is a work around, and even mentioned that in my post. But that’s not the point - DTS direct stream should work, but doesn’t, which is a bug that need to be fixed. Having a video with PGS subs and DTS audio simply not play audio with no indication to the user of why is a very poor user experience.

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The PGS subs are not supported by the TV platform. As long as it is not supported by the internal player PLEX won’t be able to implement it. Also have a Shield TV, and with that it was added in an update, once the Android TV internal player got native support for PGS subs. Sadly most players/platforms don’t support PGS subs for playback. Even on Xbox One X which has a UHD BluRay player which uses PGS subs of course can play it fine inside the Blu-ray app, but not outside it.
Have a C8 myself, and would love to have this fixed as well, but not sure when and if LG will fix it…

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The subs are not the problem. PGS subs not being natively supported simply means Plex server needs to transcode the video to burn them in, and it’s doing that correctly. The problem is that when it transcodes the video the DTS audio stream is being direct streamed, and the webOS Plex client is not handling that correctly. For all I know it probably exhibit the same incorrect behavior anytime a DTS audio stream is being direct streamed (instead of direct play), I just don’t have any test cases other than movies with PGS subs causing the video transcode to lead to direct stream of the audio.

I updated the thread title to make it more clear that the DTS Direct Stream is the problem, not the PGS subs.

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