NVIDIA Shield 24-bit PCM audio issue

Plex Players Streaming Devices
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Server Version#: 1.40.2.8395
Player Version#: NVIDIA Shield Pro 2019 (where do I find this version?)
Server is hosted on TrueNAS in a Docker container.

The Issue

I was noticing an issue with audio clarity and bass when playing back 24-bit 48kHz audio on my Shield. I’ve noticed this in the past but just assumed the Japanese audio on the Blu-ray discs I ripped were devoid of bass.

Tonight, I swapped to the AC3 track (most of these Japanese discs only have PCM), and noticed a ton of bass. Also, the audio didn’t sound compressed like a 64kbps MP3, it was fuller and had more separation between people talking and the action on screen.

Possible Reason???

Then I found this NVIDIA Shield page about High Resolution Audio:

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While 24-bit 48kHz isn’t specifically listed, I’d assume it’s also not supported since the conversion goes to 16-bit 48kHz. Something in this conversion is messed up. I don’t mind going from 24-bit to 16-bit, but only if the audio sounded mostly the same. It doesn’t.

I even checked the tracks (PCM and AC3) in Audacity, and they’re effectively identical.

Please help! :pray: :slight_smile:

If this is a bug, I’d like to request we get it fixed, and I’ll provide whatever I can to help; although, I’d need instructions on how to extract logs from my Shield.

I’m also wondering if there’s a chance this could get fixed with an Android audio library upgrade or if there’s a setting I can change.

I’ve made all PCM tracks the first one, so Plex plays those by default. If I have to go and change them to AC3 or DTS where available, I would rather Plex does this for me. Like "oh, your player doesn’t support this format, so instead of making it sound awful, we’re going to swap you to another track that is supported, and if not, throw an error saying the audio will be so degraded it’s probably not worth listening to.

Other info

  • I have HDMI passthrough enabled on both the Shield and in Plex.
  • I disabled the PCM to Dolby Digital conversion that the Shield has on by default.
  • My receiver is the Marantz AV 10 and my TV is the LG G2 OLED.
  • My connections are Shield → Receiver → TV.
  • I made an AVSForum post with more details (including screenshots) here: PCM audio with no bass on NVIDIA Shield & Plex? | AVS Forum
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Have you tried installing Kodi and the PM4K add-on to see what the same tracks sound like there using Kodi’s playback engine instead?

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