Server Version#: 1.18.0.1913
Player Version#: 7.27.1.15203
Hello,
So basically what’s happening is, 4k movies freeze every couple of seconds if i chose to play them with subtitles, often getting the error “Your connection to the server is not fast enough to stream this video.”
The server is running on the new nvidia shield pro (big version, not the tube), the content is stored on a synology 218+, all equipment is hardwired on a gigabit connection, no wifi.
Thought u guys should know this since it seems like a bug more than likely.
The freezing/buffering is because the video is transcoding and the server cannot transcode it in real time.
You should choose a different audio track that does not transcode. Try AC3/Dolby Digital if available.
Here’s what is happening:
The TV/receiver/soundbar/etc to which the Shield is attached does not support TrueHD audio (or something is misconfigured). Therefore, Plex Media Server transcodes the audio to AAC.
With the Plex app on Android TV devices, when audio is transcoding and subtitles are enabled, the video also transcodes. Plex is “burning” the subtitles into the video stream (they become part of the video, not a separate stream). It does this to keep the video, audio, and subtitles in sync with each other. There is no way around this.
Your options are:
Choose an audio track that does not transcode. Note that all Blu-ray discs with TrueHD audio also have a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track.
Do not enable subtitles.
Use a receiver or soundbar that supports TrueHD audio (No TVs currently support TrueHD).
What happens with dts and dts-HD audio will depend on the capabilities of your system. If it supports those audio formats, then the audio streams should direct play. If not, they will transcode, like TrueHD.
On a related note, you want to avoid transcoding HDR video. As you can see in the dashboard, Plex transcodes video to H.264, which does not support HDR. Furthermore, Plex does not tonemap HDR to SDR. Therefore, transcoded HDR video generally looks poor, with washed out colors.
