Server Version#:1.29.0.6244-819d3678c-x86_64_DSM7
Player Version#:1.29.0.6244(smb)
Hardware: Shield TV Pro 2019 , Synology 920+ DSM7
Bluetooth device: Bowers & Wilkins Formation Duo
I can play everything without trouble when using the projector which connected to shield using HDMI, the audio is directly play in EAC3 5.1. But when I connect bluetooth speaker to shield, most of the dolby audio format like EAC3 needed to be transcode due to the unsupport of the device. Plex won’t use the decode function of shield tv pro.
The funny thing is when I open a movie with EAC3 audio without connecting to bluetooth speaker, it plays perfectly. Then I connect bluethooth speaker to shield and restart the movie, it still plays perfectly on speaker. But when I choose another movie with EAC3 or some other dolby digital plus audio, or I exit plex and relogin, the movies won’t play due to the same issue.
Plex have the same troubles when I connect shield to bluetooth speaker but choose to use HDMI for audio output. Which means connecting to bluetooth device will cause the disfuncion of decoding of shield tv pro.
My guess would be that either the Speaker it’s self does not support the audio format or the Bluetooth connection does not support the audio format. Probably a stereo only speaker.
Plex doesn’t usually change audio formats once it starts playing. And your bluetooth speaker is probably downmixing it anyway when you connect it after playback has started
Best bet if you do not want plex to transcode your EAC3 or DD+ audio, use hdmi passthrough instead.
I test in youtube for Dolby Atmos video and Netflix. The way they handle that is they notice my device doesn’t support atmos audio, and they let my speakers to provide stereo sound.
I tried both to use or stop HDMI passthrough(when bluetooth speakers connected to shield), the plex still didn’t use the ability of decoding function of my shield. I think PLEX can upgrade in software in this process to let my shield using its decoding function instead of transcoding in the server.
