Plex Player Update for LG TV (WebOS)

[Gorille94]

Server Version#: 1.16.3.1402-22929c8a2
Player Version#: 4.3.0

Hi all,

I noticed I got an update of my LG TV Plex player to v. 4.3.0 yesterday. Does anyone know where I can find some release notes to see wat is new there?
Unfortunately I know already the main problem (as far as I’m concerned) is still not fixed. As soon as you enable embedded subtitles Plex is transcoding the whole media.
I know some say it is a server issue but obviously not since issue is not there when using alternative player like XPlay.

Thanks upfront for your feedback on release notes

Cheers

[Krazeh]

What format are the subtitles?

[Gorille94]

Hi Krazeh,

I’m talking the subtitles that are “embedded” in mkv media so difficult to know the format. Note that external subtitles (.SRT) are now working well (meaning video is not transcoded when they are activated).
My problem with external subtitles is that the synchronization as the synch feature deosn’t work well

Do you experience the same?

[Gorille94]

Appologies all,

I found the information.
For those who are interested, the release notes are here :

Plex for Smart TVs & TiVo

Version : 4.3.0 Platform(s) : LG webOS (2+ UHD) NEW: Improved sidebar pointer support Renamed “Online Content” group to “Plex” in sidebar “More” menu and moved it after user servers FIXED: Fixed size of related photos thumbnails in photo player Fixed wrong playback titles being shown sometimes for video clips Fixed hidden focus when going back from preplay Fixed an issue that could cause albums and seasons lists to fail to load in artist and tv show pages Fixed lyrics fetching error messa…

[Krazeh]

@Gorille94

I’m talking the subtitles that are “embedded” in mkv media so difficult to know the format.

It should tell you the subtitle format if you select them in the pre-play screen. Embedded SRT subtitles should direct play (they do on my LG at least). However, if the embedded subtitles are an image format (such as PGS) it will trigger a transcode as they need to be burnt into the video in order to be displayed.

@Gorille94

My problem with external subtitles is that the synchronization as the synch feature deosn’t work well

As long as the timings are correct in the SRT file there shouldn’t be any sync issues. If there are it may be easier to use a program like ‘Subtitle Edit’ to fix the issue at the source.

[FordGuy61]

@Gorille94

As soon as you enable embedded subtitles Plex is transcoding the whole media.

The “rules” for subtitles and SmartTV apps are:

• Enabling image based subtitles, PGS & VOBSUB, always forces a video transcode.
• SRT subtitles direct play, whether embedded or external.
• However, if the audio is transcoding, invoking any subtitle track, including SRT, forces a video transcode.

I am unsure about SSA/ASS subtitles. If I remember correctly, the Plex app treats them the same as image based subtitles (something about being able to specify font, position, etc like image based subtitles). However, I do not have any media with such subtitles, so cannot verify.

@Gorille94

I’m talking the subtitles that are “embedded” in mkv media so difficult to know the format.

The subtitle format is shown a) on the movie pre-play screen; b) in the subtitle selection dialog from the pre-play screen; and c) in the subtitle selection dialog during playback.

[FordGuy61]

Scroll to the bottom of the announcement thread. Change “Normal” to “Watching.” You’ll be notified when the thread is updated.

[Gorille94]

@FordGuy61

The “rules” for subtitles and SmartTV apps are:

• Enabling image based subtitles, PGS & VOBSUB, always forces a video transcode.
• SRT subtitles direct play, whether embedded or external.
• However, if the audio is transcoding, invoking any subtitle track, including SRT, forces a video transcode.

Thanks for the tip, I will try an embedded SRT to check.
To be on the safe side, do you advise to set “Brun subtitles” to “Only image formats”?

[Gorille94]

@Krazeh

As long as the timings are correct in the SRT file there shouldn’t be any sync issues. If there are it may be easier to use a program like ‘Subtitle Edit’ to fix the issue at the source.

Well it happens the SRT timings are not perfect that’s why the Player now allows to adjust (+ or -). The problem I see is that that subtitles are sometimes (randomly) out of synch although I’m looking at same the MKV and select the same SRT file. Typically watching the same movie with same subtitle file, one day I will have to add +1500ms (for instance) to get it right, then the next day I will need to remove -550ms (still an example) to get it right…So looks to me there is something fishy here…

[wfiveash]

I suggest you become familiar with the MKVToolNix utility. Not only will it show you what is contained in a .mkv file it will allow you to modify the contents and write that out to a new .mkv. Recently I used this to embed a subtitle file in a .mkv file because I wanted to use a SRT type of subtitle instead of the PGS subtitles already contained in the .mkv.

[FordGuy61]

@Gorille94

To be on the safe side, do you advise to set “Brun subtitles” to “Only image formats”?

Mine is set to Automatic. I’ve never tried “Only Image Format.”

[Gorille94]

@wfiveash

I suggest you become familiar with the MKVToolNix utility. Not only will it show you what is contained in a .mkv file it will allow you to modify the contents and write that out to a new .mkv. Recently I used this to embed a subtitle file in a .mkv file because I wanted to use a SRT type of subtitle instead of the PGS subtitles already contained in the .mkv.

Hi wfiveash,

I’m actually a heavy “mkvmerge GUI” user but mostly to remove useless audio and subtitles tracks.
I never really paid attention to subs format so far because I was mainly using Kodi and looking at movies via the HDMI output of my NAS to the TV and therefore never had any transcoding issues due to those “image based” subs.
I will now check this and make sure I always embed an .SRT sub in my MKVs

Thanks