Plex HTPC displays only top left hand 25% of the picture in 4k

Plex Players Desktop Players
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Server Version#: 1.26.2.5797
Player Version#: Edited: 1.19.1.3076-b24239e5.

HTPC - Intel G6400, NVidia GT1030, Windows 10.

Excited to try out the HTPC player since I’ve been seeing some very odd digital blocking/artefacts with 4K HDR content on the LG app on my C2 (with blocks/artefacts that move even while the image is paused).

1080p content on the new htpc player is great. HDR also even seems to work. At least, the TV seems to think it is detecting HDR signal, but this might be not working because it’s hard to tell because…

I can only see 25% of the screen when I play any 4K video. The top left 25% in fact, with the video playing as if masked off, so the bulk of the picture is cropped out, not resized to fit this window.

The UI is scaled properly, and fits the whole screen when you bring it up. The overlay when you press i is also covering the whole screen. The overlay suggests the resolution is 3840x2160.

I’ve tried toggling the settings for adjust resolution and adjust framerate and the problem persists whether these are on or off.

The menu screens for the app itself are displayed on the full screen as expected.

Have I missed a simple setting here?

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This isn’t a version number for HTPC.

With what you are describing, you may have something off in your Nvidia settings.

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Sorry, I read the wrong number in the about screen. I downloaded it today. 1.19.1.3076-b24239e5.

I will investigate Nvidia settings.

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I may have cracked it - the 4k video displays properly if you set the windows UI scaling resolution to 100%. I had mine set to 200% to make the desktop usable on a 4K TV from across the room, but this seems to affect playback with the cropping behaviour.

This now leaves me with a desktop with microscopic UI elements. Is there a way to have both?

Edit: I spoke too soon! Having the windows UI scale at 100% now causes 1080P videos to be displayed weirdly - at very high zoom level (probably 4x scale based on the difference between 4k and 1080p?) and partially off the screen. So now 4k works fine, but 1080p is busted.

My problems remain!

My setup is reasonably standard as far as windows installs goes, so I am not sure what is going on here.

Edit 2: Disabling resolution switching fixes this behaviour, giving me fullscreen 1080p and 4k videos again. The problem of my desktop UI being tiny still remains.

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A tiny UI is what you get at 4K on a 27" monitor.
People complain. That’s why Apple uses 2K or 2560x1440.

I know how that feels. You can get a larger monitor or a 4K TV,
or you can bounce between 2K and 4K when you’re playing a film.

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This is my issue though, my desktop is now tiny on my 48" LG C2, which I use from across the room as a TV experience with very infrequent browser use.

I thought, and it seems to be suggested by googling, that the display UI for windows elements and the resolution of full screen videos should be decoupled, but it appears not to be.

I assume this means if my UI scale is 200% then any 4k video I play is not actually displayed in 4k but instead shown at 1080p and then scaled back up to 4k? At least, assuming it displays full screen properly.

The only way to get pixel-accurate 4k is to set the desktop resolution and the UI scale to 100%?

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A windows person will have to offer some insights. I’ve heard that your display controls are located in multiple locations.

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You can override your global scaling factor of 200% just for the HTPC app. Just do a right-click onto the app shortcut of Plex HTPC and go to Properties - Compatibility settings.
“change high DPI settings”
“override high DPI scaling - Scaling performed by”: Application

3 Likes
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Yes and it works correctly for nearly everyone. I’m at a loss as to why yours is different.

1 Like
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You have solved the last piece of the puzzle. I forgot about this override.

I now have properly working desktop scaling and Plex HTPC is working perfectly in both 1080p and 4k.

Thank you so much for your help everyone.

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