PGS subtitles still need transcode on 4K LG TV

Plex Players Smart TVs
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Hi all, I have the latest Plex server software (1.32.1.6999) on a Synology NAS and the latest WebOS Plex app (5.59.3) on an LG 4K TV (OLED55A1PUA, WebOS 6.3.2-430). Whenever I turn on PGS subtitles, my stream buffers every 10 seconds.

Reading these patch notes from last year I was under the impression that PGS subtitles shouldn’t require a transcode on my TV anymore: Plex for webOS 3.0+ (LG Televisions) - #77 by markus101. I have set the subtitle burn option to “never,” chose to stream at original quality, direct play is on, and I picked AC3 3.1 as my sound output, but it’ll still buffer endless if I select the PGS subtitle option, and I can see my NAS pegged at 100% CPU when doing so.

What’s going wrong here? Thanks!

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Can we get your app logs ( they write to logs of server when enabled). https://support.plex.tv/articles/216955788-logging-for-smart-tvs-tivo/

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Also, monitor playback via Plex Dashboard → Now Playing + Expanded View.

PGS subtitles will direct play only if the audio and video are direct playing.

If the media is direct streaming, such as when audio is transcoding, enabling any type of subtitle results in a video transcode.

Local playback on my LG B7 OLED:

Plex Dash mobile app:

Plex Dash
Plex Dash986×345 120 KB

Tautulli mobile app:

Tautulli
Tautulli974×838 47.7 KB

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On the iOS app I see on the server that everything is hunky dory with PGS subtitles:

image

On WebOS, things are funny. If I select AC3 3.1 sound (or 5.1) with the PGS subtitles, I see no subtitles at all, but there’s no stuttering. If I select the 7.1 sound with PGS, the PGS subtitles do appear, but it buffers like crazy:

image

So to recap I can only get the PGS subtitles to show up if I select TRUEHD 7.1 as my sound output, but it’s unwatchable. I would be fine with 5.1 or even 3.1 sound if the subtitles would show up.

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Plex Media Server Logs_2023-05-11_20-36-52.zip (2.9 MB)

And here are my logs, as requested.

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@BigWheel @FordGuy61 any ideas on how to proceed here in troubleshooting this?

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TrueHD + Subtitles of any kind will require transcoding because direct stream + soft subs is not supported on webOS (time sync issues as playback goes on) like FordGuy mentioned above, only directplay

I’m gonna make a report about no subs showing up when using ac3

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Thanks very much!

Side question: Is there a way to change which kind of sound source Plex defaults to? It seems to usually default to 7.1 which means I have to manually change the sound source for every piece of media to get it to play without stuttering.

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Plex picks the first audio track that matches your language settings.

There is no way to change that.

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OK, in the current software I understand.

I guess it would be nice to have a setting in the future like: “always select _____ as sound track when available,” where the blank is a dropdown of sound options found within your media library. That would solve the problem for 95% of my library. I think in general it could be useful for others who have 5.1/3.1 systems.

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Hi. I’d just like to confirm that I’ve seen the problem with WebOS thinking it’s showing PGS subtitles but them not actually being rendered for at least 6 months. You can check out my ancient post from last December (last reply in March): PGS subtitles not appearing when dashboard showing they are. I’ve just delt with it by always adding srt subs to all my videos.

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