Plex for BRAVIA 49X7005D Android TV won't passthrough DTS HD-MA or Dolby TrueHD (5/7.1)

Plex Players Smart TVs
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Server Version#: Latest
Player Version#: Latest in every device mentioned below (I’m sorry, I’m at work right now and can’t get the versions but I’m 100% sure they’re the latest)

Hi! I’ve been using Plex for a while now but I notice the only way I can get an audio Direct Stream on my 4K and HDR-compatible BRAVIA 49X7005D Android TV and my STR DH-770 receiver (which supports up to 9.2 channel audio, including DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD) is by setting the audio stream to AC3 (DD) 7/5.1, otherwise the server will transcode it to an EAC3 (DD+) 5/7.1 stream.

Also, when it’s a DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD 5/7.1 stream the server doesn’t Direct Stream 4K HDR HEVC video, instead it transcodes to a 4K non-HDR H264 stream.

This happens in every scenario below and in every app audio passthrough via HDMI is turned on:

  • When I use the app on my Android and Chromecast it to the TV (not to the app, to the TV’s Chromecast player);
  • When I play directly from the app for Android TV;
  • When I play from my PS4, connected to those same devices.

Why does this happen? What are your thoughts? I was also having the famous issues with PGS subtitles forcing the server to transcode 4K HDR HEVC video but solved that by using the OpenSubtitles.org agent to use external SRT subtitles.

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unless you have both a TV and RECEIVER with E-ARC, HDMI will not pass HD audio.

HD audio such as atmos/truehd/dts-hd will not work and will be transcoded unless you choose a dd/dts audio track as you have discovered.

this may or may not help, see also @ Plex, 4k, transcoding, and you - aka the rules of 4k - a FAQ

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I see the same with my Sony Android TV.

Not sure if it is a limitation of Sony TV’s (and I guess the PS4 as well, but I don’t often use plex on my PS4)

I did find this Thread on Sony’s forum, which might be informative, but I have to admit it went a bit over my head…

If I play the same files on my Shield, then DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD 5/7.1 both get passed through to my Receiver.

Of course if anyone knows better, I would be happy to be proved wrong.

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Yes, because your Shield is feeding the receiver directly, and then the receiver passes the video through to your TV. The Android app on TV’s does do passthrough, however as stated, it will not do all of them until eArc is activated on some TV’s that do not already have it. You also need a receiver that supports it.

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Hi, there, @TeknoJunky!

Your comment opened my eyes to the understanding that the receiver can read both DTS-HD MA and TrueHD via, let’s say, a blu-ray player connected to it, but when the source device is either connected to the TV or is the TV itself, it can only send “back” to the receiver audio up to DD+ (EAC3). and that’s precisely what I think is happening in this case. For some reason Plex cannot “read” that the device that’ll read and play the audio is a DTS-HD MA/TrueHD-compatible device and so it decides to transcode.

But this is weird because if I use Plex on the PS4 - the console being connected to the receiver directly - it won’t output those formats either. But in this case I think it’s a PS4 limitation, because if I remember it well it can only output regular multi-channel DTS/Dolby or LPCM.

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it is not so much a plex limitation.

it is a limitation of HDMI.

it affects all ‘smart’ tv’s that do not already have the newest HDMI version with E-ARC.

google E-ARC if you want to know the gritty details.

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I understand, thanks a lot for your input! That’s a shame. Btw I edited my previous reply to add the PS4 behavior.

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yup many devices only support a subset of all the different audio formats.

the nvidia shield + dolby atmos receiver is still the simplest way to get the full 4k+hd audio experience without any transcoding.

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Is eARC working yet? I’m awaiting the arrival of my new LG 9 Series OLED TV that has it, specifically for the reasons of using eARC via Plex to finally get HD Audio… I’ve not seen anyone confirm that the Plex client is supporting it yet though…

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I don’t know that plex knows about or cares about e-arc.

It only cares what the device reports it is compatible with.

E-arc will also require a RECEIVER (or soundbar I suppose) with E-arc.

E-arc tv by itself does nothing.

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I don’t think there is anything complex about it, it just needs to pass through the audio without modifying it to a compatible receiver… which it should be doing anyway? Unless you’ve ticked the box to convert it.

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