Playback problem with subtitle enabled and convert automatically

Plex Players Mobile Devices
1

Server Version#: 1.19.4.2935
Player Version#: 8.3.1.19108

Hello all,

For some months, I have noticed playback failures while trying to play videos with subtitle enabled and the “convert automatically” mode.
On the server, I see the transcoding process is in progress but nothing on the android app.

Once I disable subtitle, it plays fine. It’s also working if I switch to “Original quality” or a forced quality like 720p.

I also noticed if I change settings to “burn subtitles” by default, it fixes the problem. But it’s not really an option as I can’t control my users Android devices.

I tested on a phone (Oneplus 3) and an Nvidia shield : same problem.
On Plex web, it’s working fine.

On the server side, I tested with multiple environments : Debian 10 (KVM VM, P2000 passthrough), Arch (bare metal with a decent cpu) and even Windows.
All of them have the same problem, even with old server version.

I attached logs from server and the android app (Oneplus 3).
I also added a link to the sample I tested for the logs.

Plex Media Server Logs_2020-07-19_18-09-30_anon.zip (392.7 KB) com.plexapp.android 2020-07-19 18-09.log (201.9 KB)

3 Likes
2

I have the same issue. Didnt notice Plex had version upgrade. Subtitles that were loaded fine before has been problematic since upgrade. If I choose a subtitle, the movie does not play at all.

1 Like
3

The audio same - it plays if i set to origin for few mins and then the voice disappears. I have to go out of the movie/drama and then re-play, to get the voice.

4

I have the exact same issue. On two various phones. A Redmi Note 7 and a Galaxy A5. There must be something with the android client since it works everywhere else for me also. I have taken Android logs after I reproduced the issue, but I don’t want to put them here. I’ll give them to a dev.

5

After some more investigations and regression testing, the problem is definitely client side.
The culprit is version 8.1.2 of the Android app which has introduced this bug. Any previous versions are working fine.

The changelog is somehow related to this issue :

  • Player: fix video corruption when ABR is enabled and quality or bitrate is automatically adjusted

Anyone from Plex to take care of this problem ?
@ChuckPa I remember you helped solving and investigating subtitle related problems in the past, we would be very grateful if you can forward that to the Android dev team.
I can also provide more logs or samples if needed.

6

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