Just signed up for PlexPass so I could use Plex on my PS4. I'm having a problem where whatever video I try and play, it always plays the first audio track, which is AAC Stereo (I'm using iFlicks 2 on OS X to convert my videos, and that's how it puts them together). I want the app to always default to the second audio channel (AC3, 5.1), but I can't find a way to do this. I've enabled the "AC3 Capable Receiver" option, but it didn't seem to do anything. My PS4 is connected to a Sony STR-DA2400ES receiver... any suggestions?
I can manually select the 5.1 track, but that's more hassle than my old solution of using the DLNA client built into my TV and then using the Audio track button to switch to the second track...
So, the title a little misleading. The PS4 is defaulting to the first audio track. It just happens to be stereo. That correct?
What you're suggesting makes sense. If you've enabled AC3 then we could look for an AC3 track and try to play that first.
Some devices support both AC3 and DTS sound. I'm unsure how we'd handle the situation where both of those options are enabled AND the video has an AC3 and DTS tracks.
Another alternative to changing the audio stream during playback is for us to change the screen shown before playback to include the ability to change the audio in there.
So, the title a little misleading. The PS4 is defaulting to the first audio track. It just happens to be stereo. That correct?
What you're suggesting makes sense. If you've enabled AC3 then we could look for an AC3 track and try to play that first.
Some devices support both AC3 and DTS sound. I'm unsure how we'd handle the situation where both of those options are enabled AND the video has an AC3 and DTS tracks.
Another alternative to changing the audio stream during playback is for us to change the screen shown before playback to include the ability to change the audio in there.
Good stuff to think about. Any thoughts.
I have been spending the last couple of days with the PS3 version (and paid a PlexPass sub to get it)...
I would give the option for DTS soundtracks and a preference to play them over Stereo tracks. If a DTS track exists, you could either make an interface choice (DTS over DD or vice versa), but that may be harder to design. What might be easier is just to default preference to DTS in the app for a few reasons. First, DTS soundtracks is the often the default on Blu Rays these days. Second, nearly all home theater receivers made in the last decade have DTS as well as Dolby Digital compatibility. And finally, if you're using Handbrake to transcode your video library like most of us do, HB usually defaults a stereo AAC track first and then a DD track second. If a DTS track is there, that means the user intentionally chose to include one over the default transcoding process, so Plex should probably try to play it first if it's there. Plex Home Theater does a good job of figuring this out and choosing the multichannel DD or DTS track instead of the AAC track as default.
Of course, Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio would be nice to support too....especially since the PS3/4 supports both of these formats for Blu Ray playback. Baby steps.... :)
How about more generic logic, that defaults to the tracks with the highest channels, and then to the highest bitrate track out of those found? That kind of filtering should be reasonably easy to do in the client app, and give you the best audio track the vast majority of the time.
At the Plex media library browser page (from you computer), click on the movie and the audio track selection will be available. Select the AC3 5.1 track or the DTS 5.1 track there and the PS3/PS4 will remember the choice. I've tried this and it looks like it works.
Thanks all for the responses! Yes, you're right that my subject is slightly misleading :)
I think a sensible approach for the application to take would be first check to see what audio output the device is set to. If (in this case) the PS4 is set to output 5.1 audio, then it makes sense to select the 5.1 audio over the stereo audio. If the PS4 is set to stereo, then choose the stereo audio. If after that there is more than one suitable audio track with the same number of channels, I guess a blunt but generally ok solution would be to pick the one with the highest bitrate? Not sure!
At the Plex media library browser page (from you computer), click on the movie and the audio track selection will be available. Select the AC3 5.1 track or the DTS 5.1 track there and the PS3/PS4 will remember the choice. I've tried this and it looks like it works.
Do you mean I would need to individually select the track for each piece of content in advance? This wouldn't be ideal...
Do you mean I would need to individually select the track for each piece of content in advance? This wouldn't be ideal...
Yeah, that is how it works right now, and it's a big hassle if the files have the stereo track before the 5.1 track. I definitely like your previous suggestion of matching the number of channels to the PS4 output setting, that's the most reasonable option IMO.
So, the title a little misleading. The PS4 is defaulting to the first audio track. It just happens to be stereo. That correct?
What you're suggesting makes sense. If you've enabled AC3 then we could look for an AC3 track and try to play that first.
Some devices support both AC3 and DTS sound. I'm unsure how we'd handle the situation where both of those options are enabled AND the video has an AC3 and DTS tracks.
Another alternative to changing the audio stream during playback is for us to change the screen shown before playback to include the ability to change the audio in there.
Good stuff to think about. Any thoughts.
I realize this post is a few months old but I think the bold text would be a great feature to have regardless. On the Android app and Plex Web you have the option of changing the audio and subtitle before you start the video. I think this feature should be available in all of the apps because it just makes sense to be able to do that.
