Need some help understanding PLEX player on SONY BRAVIA XBR

Plex Players Smart TVs
1

Server Version#: 1.18.9.2571
Player Version#: 4.1
Hello,
I have been using PLEX (PMS,Player) for a while now and I’m having some trouble to properly configure my PMS + Player + AV amp.

okay … lets begin…
My files are located on my Synology DS218j
PMS: Lenovo M900 tiny i7-6700T
16 Gig ram
250 Gig SSD
Player: Sony BRAVIA XBR55W700d (Android-TV,4K,HDR) +
SONY STR-dn860(4k upscaler)
Audio Formats: AAC, AC-3, AIFF, Apple Lossless, DSD, DSDIFF, FLAC, LDAC,
LPCM, MP3, WAV, WMA
Sound Output Mode: Surround Sound
Built-in Decoders: DTS 96/24, DTS Neo:6, DTS decoder, DTS-ES Discrete 6.1,
DTS-ES Matrix 6.1, DTS-HD High Resolution,
DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital EX,
Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Pro Logic IIx, Dolby TrueHD
Sound EffectsDigital Sound Enhancement Engine HX (DSEE
HX)
Surround System Class: 7.2 channel
Digital Sound Processor (DSP):Yes
SIGNAL PROCESSING FEATURES:
HDMI Pass-Through: up to 4K
3D Pass-Through: Yes
Upscaling via HDMI: up to 4K

My issue is:

  1. if I disable the PASSTHROUGH in the player (Sony BRAVIA), the STR-dn860 av detect the sound encoded format, decodes it but the sound sutter or I here only noise or there’s no sound at all.

  2. if I enable the PASSTHROUGH in the player (Sony BRAVIA), the STR-dn860 av only detect the PCM sound format and I can’t play 7.1 stream without having audio/video issue.

The only way to have a nice and clean stream is by enabling the PASSTHROUGHT and select the 5.1 audio stream that isn’t often the same quality than the 7.1 stream.
When look on the PMS, I can see that the audio is being transcoded. I activate the stat info in the player and it says that format of the audio stream is not supported by this player (witch is my Android tv).

I ran some test with some different configurations on the player, on the PMS and to be honest … I cannot find what the source or my problem.

Thank in advance for any advices, tips or suggestions

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Due to bandwidth limitations, HDMI-ARC cannot pass 7.1 audio or lossless audio such as TrueHD & dts-HD MA.

It will pass AC3, EAC3, and dts up to 5.1 channels and lossless PCM 2.0.

So, you can expect that PMS will transcode 7.1 audio to a supported format.

What happens with dts-HD MA varies by TV. Some toss aside the “-HD MA” portion and passthrough the lossy dts 5.1 core. Other TVs report the codec as not supported, so PMS transcodes it.

I’ve an LG, so not sure how Sony handles things. However, it is easy to test, just play a movie with dts-HD MA audio and see what happens.

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Thank a lot FordGuy61 for this well detail explanation. So my understanding is if I want it to play the audio stream properly, I need to build à new player (a pc) with a proper graphic card

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Not necessarily.

Just choose audio and video tracks that direct play. Since you’re using HDMI-ARC, that means AC3/EAC3/dts 5.1 or less.

No TrueHD, but every Blu-ray movie disc with TrueHD audio also includes an AC3 audio track. Every disc with dts-HD MA audio also includes a dts audio track.

If you want TrueHD and dts-HD MA audio, you do not have to build a client.

The easiest thing to do would be to purchase a Nvidia Shield Pro and connect it to your receiver, not the TV. The receiver processes the audio and passes the video to the TV. The Shield also passes Atmos audio, so you’re set if/when you add an Atmos capable receiver/soundbar.

You could also use a higher-end client such as an AppleTV 4K or Roku.

The AppleTV does not support passthrough of TrueHD audio. It converts the audio to multi-channel PCM before passing it to the receiver. PCM is lossless, so there is no audio degradation. The only downside is that any Atmos information is lost during the process. I believe the same thing happens with dts audio (converted to PCM). The upside of converting on the device is that the Plex Server still direct plays things, so you don’t have to worry about server transcodes.

I think a Roku processes TrueHD the same as the AppleTV (you can cruise the Roku area of the forum to confirm). A Roku will passthrough dts audio. I think it passes just the dts 5.1 core of dts-HD audio tracks.

I do not own an ATV4K or a Roku. That’s why the suggestions to confirm before buying.

I have a Nvidia Shield Pro (2015) and am very happy with it. The 2019 models added additional features, including Dolby Vision. They’ve been getting good reports on the forum.

Suggest you do not purchase a FireTV stick 4K. It is great for $25 - $50, but has its own limitations. For example, TrueHD audio would still transcode on the Plex server. It would not be a step up from where you are now.

Anyway, you’ve options. You can stay with your current setup and be more stringent about what audio tracks you choose. You can buy an off the shelf box that meets your requirements. You can take a “roll your own” approach with a PC and Plex Media Player.

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