Option to always transcode AAC to AC3

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
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I can’t find the option to always have Plex server transcode AAC audio stream to AC3.

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Why do you want that to happen?

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My setup (and I bet a bunch of other people’s setup as well) uses ARC from the TV to send audio to the receiver. My TV will only send DD, DTS, or PCM 2.0. Since AAC isn’t DD or DTS, it sends AAC as PCM 2.0, even though the AAC is 5.1. If Plex transcoded all AAC as AC3, then it would send DD to my receiver and I’d have surround for those files.

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What device are you running Plex on - the TV itself, or a box or dongle?

Plex does transcode for some devices, where it’s known that AAC 5.1 would be going to a dead end.

It sounds like you have devices where that isn’t happening?

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I know I’m going to lose some people here, but I had a choice to make - either view content in 4K or have all of my audio work flawlessly … I chose view content in 4K. The reason I had to make a choice is because my receiver is too old to output 4K, so I have my nVidia Shield going directly to my TV and then I use ARC to send the audio to my receiver.

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Sit further away, get older, and you won’t notice OR hear a difference any more!

I’m astonished that AC3 is the only format every TV can pass through and every soundbar/receiver can play … but things like the Shield can’t transcode to AC3. :-/ Stupid licensing $$.

I assume that when you play content with DD/AC3 it behaves how you expect? Passthrough from Shield → TV → Receiver as desired?

I’m not aware of any settings that will cause Plex to transcode to DD/AC3. The only thing I’m aware of is this:

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Hahah, so true :smiley:

Yes, when I play content with DD/AC3 or DTS audio tracks, it behaves perfectly fine.

Thanks, I’m looking into the xml route. Maybe there’s something in there I can edit that will always transcode AAC to AC3! I’ll keep this thread updated to my findings.

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Why not just re-encode the audio on the files. Here’s a editor that will convert all files in a folder and sub folders. If you set the height to 1080, it will only re-encode the audio and is very fast. http://instipics.com/VideoEase/.

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I have quite a few video files. Some are encoded as AAC, AC3, or DTS. Some are 720p, 1080p, even 2160p. I have different containers. Some use h254, some h265. I checked out your program (thank you btw), and it’s nice and quick. I just wish I could add files to a queue.

Or, the even easier option, would be for Plex to automatically transcode any AAC stream to AC3.

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So, I’ve kinda figured out a temporary solution. If I set the passthrough option in Plex to “Optical”, instead of “HDMI” (even though I’m not using an optical cable to send audio, I’m using an HDMI cable), it transcodes AAC to AC3. The only downsides I’ve noticed so far is

  • Dolby Digital Plus (EAC3) only sends as AC3
  • Dolby TrueHD only sends as AC3
  • DTS-HD doesn’t play at all

I have many more videos with AAC than DTS-HD - so switching the passthrough option back to HDMI is doable for me whenever I watch one of those videos. At least I don’t have to re-encode all of those videos and don’t have to suffer through terrible audio.

It would be best if there was an option to always transcode AAC to AC3.

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