Optimize: Original quality and HDR

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
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Server Version#: 1.31.3.6868-28fc46b27
Player Version#: 9.19.1.525
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Hello!
My 4K HDR TV is not compatible with DTS audio so my Plex Server (in a Windows 10 machine) tries to transcode those files and fails. The end result is buffering every 5 seconds and an unwatchable movie.

So I tired to use the Optimize tool of Plex with a 4K HDR DTS file, using the original quality setting. It took almost 10 hours, but it finally produced a 4K SDR AAC file. According to the help pages, “Original quality” should preserve video quality but convert audio to a compatible codec.

But it also removed HDR in the process. Is this the way it should work or is it a bug?

If that is the way it should work, what alternatives do we have for changing the audio of a movie while keeping HDR?

Thank you,

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Plex transcodes all video to H.264 SDR.

Try XMedia Recode: https://www.xmedia-recode.de/

You can copy the video & subtitles and transcode the audio to a desired format.

Do not use Handbrake. It does not have an option to copy/passthrough video.

If you need to convert subtitles, use SubTitle Edit: https://www.nikse.dk/.

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This one is very basic but I use it a lot. It will turn whatever audio you have into AAC or AC3 and outputs an unchanged mkv or mp4

I haven’t used the one FordGuy suggested. It may have more choices for the audio output if if your needs are more specific

It can do a large 4K file in a minute or two

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Thanks a lot for the replies. This evening I will try those tools and report back!

One thing I noticed though, is that the optimized version and the transcoded-on-the-fly original version do not look the same. Of course, the original version is unwatchable due to constant buffering, but the image quality, colors, lighting, etc. look much better than the original-quality optimized version that, at least, plays directly without any kind of transcoding or buffering.

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Hello again! I took a look at both tools. It seemed that Box4 was the simpler one, so I tried that first. It worked perfectly. In about 15 minutes, starting from a 55 Gb TrueHD video, it made a 49 Gb AC3 video, while preserving 4K HDR video quality.

This new video can be direct played without issues by my TV.

Thank you very much!

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