My aunt is using my plex and im trying to figure out why the app does transcode DTS 5.1 audio to 5.1 DCA?
Im a noob at this but I have checked her settings and it seems to be fine in her plex app.
So what is it that causes this?
This is her TV: Samsung UE55NU7093 55 "Smart 4K Ultra HD LED-TV
Server Version#:
Player Version#:
Anyone?
DCA is the technical code name for DTS. It stands for “DTS Coherent Audio.”
In other words, nothing is transcoded.
It says transcode on my screen when she is watching and my internet lags since the audio is being transcoded. And when I told her to turn off everything stopped lagging, im a noob but not that noobie. On my friends TV it says DTS 5.1 and then everything getting directplayed and same on my tv. So obviously something is wrong then
Newer Samsung TVs cannot decode DTS anymore. If your aunt doesn’t have an AVR or soundbar connected which is able to play DTS directly, the TV might ask your server to transcode the audio.
However, transcoding audio is much less CPU-intensive as transcoding video. If this already makes your “internet lag”, you can do one of these things:
So it seriously would work with just a nVidia Shield Pro or an AVR soundbar? Because we talked about something like that so she maybe will buy one of these things 
Could you maybe recommend some cheap but okay soundbar for me?
Careful: I am not sure if the Samsungs even allow to “bitstream” DTS audio.
I know for certain that the Shield works, if you connect it this way
Shield -> AVR -> TV (all HDMI connections)
However, if the Plex player software inside the TV is used, you are forced to use the HDMI ARC connection TV -> AVR
I’m not sure that this use case is supported by newer TVs, with DTS audio.
Yeah I understand! How can I check this out so I know for sure this will work?
What is AVR in the first place I don’t know that haha.
Sorry about all these questions but I really need the help so I really appreciate all the answers I really do!
And I need to know what AVR is 
Audio-Video Receiver AV receiver - Wikipedia
Either you can find other owners of this TV model who use Plex, or you take a look into the manual of said TV, or ask the Samsung customer support.
Okay thank you big time!
Another option is the Amazon FireTV 4K stick.
It does not passthrough dts/dts-HD MA/TrueHD audio like the Shield. However, both dts & dts-HD MA audio direct play. TrueHD is transcoded by Plex Media Server to Dolby Digital Plus. The FireStick converts the output to either Dolby Digital or Dolby Digital Plus depending on FireStick audio settings.
It would be more cost effective than a Shield, especially if she is using the TV speakers. It lists for $50 USD, but is frequently on sale (Amazon Prime Day is Oct 13-14).
You could get the Shield later if/when she gets a soundbar or receiver that supports dts, TrueHD, Atmos, etc.
Screencaps playing dts-HD MA & TrueHD audio on my FireStick 4K (dts 5.1 & dts-HD MA 5.1 also direct play).
FireStick 4K <-- HDMI --> Denon 4300 <-- HDMI --> LG B7 OLED
So if I buy Amazon FireTV 4K stick it will fix this?
I don’t need to buy anything else?
That seems to be a cheap solution and she dosen’t care about good sound and stuff like that.
It should work for you, especially if using the TV speakers.
TrueHD audio will transcode on the server, but AAC, AC3, EAC3, dts, & dts-HD MA direct play.
PGS & SRT subtitles direct play. VOBSUB (from DVDs) should direct play as well.
Based on other posts in the forum, I’m pretty sure SSA/ASS subtitles that contain font, size, position, etc information will force a video transcode. Plex has to burn in the subtitles to honor the font, size, etc information. This would happen on a Shield as well as the FireStick. Probably on other clients as well.
See if Amazon puts it on sale in ~10 days. Might save $5 or $10. If it doesn’t work or you just don’t like it you can return it for no charge (at least in the US).
Newer samsungs dont do dts… but it depends if an older. My 2017 does dts
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