Nvidia Shield Pro DTS passthrough no audio or transcode

Plex Players Streaming Devices
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Server Version#: 1.24.1.4931
Player Version#: 8.21.2.27212

Hi All

I think this an old topic, couldn’t find any answers to the below strange behaviour …

I just bought a NVidia shield to upgrade from my Firestick 4K and experiencing audio issues with the Shield and Plex.

Here is a rundown of what i am seeing

Playback from Plex On Sheild Pro (PMS Source Local, Windows, NAS)
DTS shows as direct play but no audio
DD+ (EAC-3) shows as direct play full audio
DTS-HD shows as direct play no audio
TRUE-HD shows as direct play no audio

Playback on Firestick 4K (PMS Source Sheild, Windows, NAS)
DTS shows as direct full audio output
DD+ shows as direct play full audio output
DTS-HD shows as direct play full audio output
TRUE-HD shows as transcode full audio output

I have checked all the settings on both devices HDMI pass through enabled same cables same input. I just cant understand why the Firestick can play the Audio fine but Shield loses it

My setup is

HDMI IN >>> ARC Audio >>> Soundbar

I know a few people will say It’s because you are using ARC, I don’t have any issues with the Firestick so i don’t believe it can be because of ARC.

There is something different about player on Sheild Pro that cant handle the Audio where the Firestick can.
As it stands i can only play back AC3 and EAC-3 files and my library consists mostly of DTS and some TRUE-HD with some optional EAC-3 tracks.

Have i bought a dead duck with the shield i thought it was going to enhance my experience but sadly it has not ?

Hope someone can help or advise

Thanks

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Very common for the Plex App to not function correctly on Nvidia Shield. But I would start by diagnosing your audio issue by connecting directly to the soundbar or amp/audio.
Don’t expect perfection, Plex dev’s have totally forgotten about the Shield, as long-standing (years+) issues remain unfixed.

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Something doesn’t seem right. The Fire 4K cannot pasthrough DTS audio, which means it is likely decoding it locally and sending PCM audio to your TV.

Your Shield is probably set to passthrough and it’s possible your TV doesn’t actually like DTS and why you get no audio. Turn off passthrough and see if that helps.

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Please provide some additional information regarding your configuration.

The Shield is connected to the HDMI input of a TV, correct? If so, what make and model.

What make and model of soundbar?

Not all TVs passthrough all audio formats from HDMI attached devices (ex: New LGs do not passthrough dts).

Not all soundbars support all audio formats (ex: Sonos does not support dts)

Not all devices correctly report their capabilities to each other via HDMI.

It may be necessary to modify the Shield audio settings to hear all audio formats.

If possible, connect the Shield to an HDMI input on the soundbar. This takes any TV issues out of the equation.

Rtings.com reviews many TVs. As part of their review, they test audio passthrough from HDMI inputs. They may have a review for your TV.

I’ve a FireStick 4K.

The FireStick 4K decodes dts to AC3/EAC3/PCM, depending on the FireStick audio configuration, Plex app configuration, and capabilities of the connected device.

Only the core dts 5.1 audio is processed. Any “-HD MA” or “:X” information is lost.

Plex Media Server is unaware of the process and reports direct play / direct stream.

TrueHD is transcoded by Plex Media Server to AC3/EAC3 (and maybe AAC), again, depending on config settings.

Example: Firestick is connected to a Denon receiver. If I set my FireStick audio output to EAC3 and the Plex app to Passthrough = HDMI, all audio except AAC is passed as EAC3. AAC is passed as PCM.

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Hi FordGuy61 and everyone else

Really appreciate your detailed responses ​I have learnt quite a bit

The Shield is connected Via HDMI to TV Panasonic FZ55802B >>> HDMI ARC down to Sound bar (Yamaha YAS-207)

Shield set to -
Dolby processing enabled
Audio formats Manual - AC3, E-AC3, DTS, DTS-HD
PLEX APP (on shield) - Passthrough HDMI

I did try it directly to sound bar and got the FULL DTS output (ie the sound bar lit up the DTS light)
The sound bar supports DD, DD+ and DTS DTS-X. However from what you guys are saying and what i have found is the TV does not support DTS , it does support DD DD+.

This makes things a bit clearer where the Firestick decodes the DTS where Nvidia Shield does not.

The Plex media server reporting of direct stream threw me a bit and your explanation is spot on. I don’t think i am fussed now about getting true DTS the way i have it setup but i would like to hear the audio from DTS films on the Shield even if its decoded and passed as some form of surround

Is there a reason that the Shield does not decode DTS the same as a Firestick?

Other than that I don’t think I have many options in this case other than
Connect direct to sound bar
Change TV (TV support for DTS is scarce, Sony i believe are one of the very few)
Watch DTS content on Firestick
Convert DTS files to AC3

I have seen there is a lot of debate around DTS support for TV’s and people saying just get a proper sound system. Well there are people like me who have simple needs and don’t want 5-9 speakers dotted around and just want a clean solution and better sound than TV speakers.

Appreciate all your comments and advice - Thank you :slightly_smiling_face:

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Possibly because you have forced it as enabled it in the Shield settings.

If you disable dts/dts-hd in the Shield settings, then dts audio will either be (a) transcoded by Plex Media Server or (b) decoded to another format on the Shield.

If you set the Shield audio to Auto, the TV should report if it does not support dts audio. There are cases where this does not work and dts/dts-hd must be manually disabled, but in general, “auto” is the preferred setting.

This is why connecting any streaming device directly to the soundbar is preferred. It takes the TV out of the equation.

You should be able to leave the Shield audio set to Auto. There are times where it is necessary to manually select supported audio formats(*). However, the HDMI handshake between the soundbar and the Shield should let each know the other’s supported formats.

(*) The Sonos ARC is an example. The ARC does not support dts audio, and does not seem to report this via the HDMI handshake. In this case it is necessary to disable dts/dts-hd in the Shield settings.

1 Like
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Hi FordGuy61

Thanks for all the Info. I believe after some testing I have a working solution. I completely lost the plot and didn’t realise I had an HDMI extender in between, as all my equipment is in a rack, I thought it was a direct HDMI connection. Taking this out of the equation, the TV reports the correct formats to the Sheild which is all good.

With the extender, the Sheild was receiving a generic 4K profile.

I have contacted the manufacturer of the extender and they have given me a solution to copy the HDMI handshake to the extender from the TV, Which in turn now reports the correct settings to the Sheild, DTS and DD Audio are working, with the exception of DD+

Once again thank you for all the help and education really appreciate it, and I apologise for any confusion and accusing Plex for being the problem.

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