I use PopCorn. You can convert/overwrite entire folders. Just make sure the video files aren’t in use.
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I have tested Emby and Kodi with the same files and they can direct play my movies with DTS and subtitles without encoding the video. So it’s 100% a Plex bug… I can’t believe they haven’t fixed this.
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I second this. It is a terrible implementation and needs to be reworked by Plex.
Plex has so many open issues regarding 4K movies.
Basically it is useless for 4K movies at the moment except for direct play.
4K transcoding on the CPU is nearly impossible for most of us and a remedy is not in sight because of the Passmark requirements. So we need hardware accelerated transcoding for 4K files.
Admittedly this does work, however only, if the client is able to play the audio and/or subtitles it requests.
So basically for it to work properly a client must either direct play or, in case of a transcode
(1) support the audiostream and
(2) use a subtitle format supported by the client
If the client needs an audio transcode and wants subtitles (independent of the question whether it supports it) Plex falls back to CPU transcoding (which fails in most cases).
As you can see, this is not very user friendly and I cannot babysit all my users (e.g. girlfriend, parents etc.).
A short term solution could be to:
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let the serveradmin create 1080p optimized versions and use those as a default and only deliver 4K on demand/direct play capability.
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Fix this issue? (I do not know how difiicult it is)
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Wait 5-7 years until most hardware has caught up with codecs and/or CPUs are more powerful.
Did I forget anything?
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Any news on this?
WebVTT support coming?
2019 had a playback engine enhancement but no news/updates on this since mid-2018.
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That issues has been driving me crazy. And it seems to only affect the Android TV app, since it affects both my Sony TV and Mibox, but not my Xbox One.
I am considering moving to Emby or Kodi after years using Plex just because of it. 
Any news on this issue? I recently bought my first 4k Sony TV and I am also experience this using the built in Android TV client. Will a Nvidia Shield fix this? Otherwise I will probably just try Emby instead.
With the chain above shouldn’t it be enough with hdmi 2.0 between receiver and tv?
Try emby that’s cheaper than shield.
I did but it has these Grey bars when playing HDR content so it is not an option: https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/50860-grey-bars-with-hdr-playback-in-app/page-5
I have also tried kodi with plex plugin but it also has the transcode bug.
So I think I need to get a external player and run Emby on that instead.
as far as I remember for plex;
- audio transcoding + subtitles = video transcoding
this is to keep audio/video/subtitles all in sync.
if you want to avoid transcoding, then you must have a compatible audio chain.
you will not get HD audio through smart tv.
you can only get HD audio through shield connected to a receiver or soundbar that can handle the hd audio.
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Ah, okay. So the solution is to get an external player like the Shield that supports High res audio formats and plug it directly to my receiver (Yamaha RX-V681). It should also fix the Emby grey bar problem. So a Shield would basically fix both of my problems? 
Now the problem is that they seem to be out of stock in about everywhere at the moment.
You can always choose to use a NON-HD audio stream, like ac3/eac3/dts 5.1 or stereo.
then you don’t need a shield or other external player.
all 4k blurays come with a non-hd audio stream, you just have to include those audio streams in your rip, and select them when you play them.
This is only true for Android TV, as far as I’m concerned. When I try to play some movies on Xbox One, using external subtitles, the audio is transcoded, but the video direct plays.
Any new about this issue from a Plex employee? I’m looking to switch to emby because of this issue too.
Is there a way to disable the subtitle burning from the server ? It can be a good option.
N My DS918+ is very good at 1080p/4k transcoding and audio transcoding but not for subtitle burning (because it doesn’t use hardware acceleration). Nobody wants subtitle burn because many client support srt subtitles.
Please help us Plex ! 
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I agree this is a very annoying issue. I know I can re-encode my files to use a compatible codec, but still, this is really inconvenient.
Please fix it!
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I don’t understand that after years of waiting for this to be fixed, I still have to settle for burned subtitles just because audio needs transcoding? How can this still be a problem?
If this is indeed an HLS bug, then I assume the Android devs have tried switching to DASH? Or doesn’t the server support DASH?
I also don’t understand why the client can’t software decode most known audio formats. And why you aren’t given the option to add relevant ffmpeg libraries yourself to extend the support of Exoplayer (if you aren’t allowed to distribute it with the app).
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I find it sad that a 3rd party Plex plugin for Kodi does a better job at playing content then Plex itself on the nvdia shield, how’s this issue still ongoing and not fixed people don’t want fancy shiney new UX they want functional software…
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Hey,
Just wanted to let people know that we have merged in changes into the Android app that now allows us to direct play subtitles, even when either the video or audio is being transcoded. This will be in our next Beta (next Monday) and then in the Public release 2 weeks after that.
For those who have access to the Beta channel, once the new release is out, please let us know if you have any feedback.
Ian
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Awesome!
Hopefully no strange side effects crop up
In any event, finally I won’t have to make sure all my audio is compatible 
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