Server Version#:1.22.3.4392
Player Version#:4.54.5
When I go to Settings/Player/ Audio & Subtitles I only get 3 items:
Normalize Multichannel Audio
Extras
Chromecast.
I don’t I see any other Audio settings like Audio Channels , passthrough DD and DD+ etc?
Am I looking in the wrong place ?
Tks
Passthrough options are not available in the web app.
You’ll need to install and open “Plex for Windows/Mac” or Plex HTPC.
Can I install Plex for windows or Plex HTPC while I am running Plex media Server in same computer?
I thought Plex server for Windows was what I installed . So before installing Plex for Windows do I need to uninstall the current server and start all over again?
You must distinguish between the server and the client.
You don’t touch the server.
We are talking about the client here.
You can of course install and run both the server and the client on the same machine.
So basically Audio passthrough and other functions are client side features?
What I am trying to do is the following:
I use Plex server solely for my local video files stored in a computer. I play the files via an old but still functioning WDTV Live which I setup to pass through DD , DD+ etc for the Onkyo receiver to decode. I wanted to be sure that Plex server would not transcode DD+ to some other audio format . Per your explanation above, I dont need to do anything server side .
This WDTVlive device is not a Plex client. It only uses DLNA to talk to the server. Because of that, Plex won’t try to transcode anything.
So transcoding lies with the player client /device whether its Plex, VLC, MPV , WDTV , Dune etc .Since my RX can decode all the current audio formats (HDMI input only) all I need is to enable passthrough which ever client I use.
Thanks .
The be more precise: the abilities of the client device determine whether the Plex Server will transcode.
I understand. Anyway to force PLex Server to not transcode ?
Plex has a specific profile for the Western Digital TV Live, where the known capabilities of the device are enumerated. This isn’t as “rich” as when a real Plex app is used for playback, which can detect what’s really possible and communicate with PMS. But it looks like AC3 should be played directly. (Assuming other aspects of the video are compatible.)
…/Resources/Profiles/Western Digital TV Live.xml:
<VideoProfile container="mkv" codec="mpeg1video,mpeg2video,mpeg4,h264,vc1" audioCodec="ac3,dca,aac,mp2,mp3,pcm" />
...
<VideoProfile container="mp4,mov" codec="h264,mpeg4" audioCodec="ac3,aac,mp2,mp3" />
Are you asking because you are experiencing audio problems? Because your receiver says the audio isn’t the format you expect? Because the Plex Dashboard says the audio is being transcoded during playback?
I am asking because my Receiver is capable of decoding DD , DD+, DTS etc, The wdTV live can pass through DD and DD+ to the RX . I was wondering whether Plex server will decode the audio data before passing it to the WDTV Live . I would like the RX to play DD and DD+ and not have the server decode it into 2 ch stereo.
… right. So what’s it doing?
What does the Plex dashboard say when something is playing?
Does the WDTV have any status/dashboard/display?
Your receiver probably has a way to display what format it is receiving, too.
As a test I had 2 identical movie files in a folder . One file has eAC3 audio (original) the other I converted to AC3.
When served up by Plex to WDTV , I don’t get a choice of which file to play , it automatically chose only the AC3 version as indicated by the RX
I then copied the same files over to a flash drive and played those file through WDTV Live I get a choice of files . I chose the eAC3 and that’s what the RX indicated.
When there are multiple versions of a movie, full-fledged, made-by-Plex player apps allow you to choose which version to Play. But DLNA clients will only see one instance of the movie.
If you Split Apart the movie in Plex, each file/version will be listed as a different movie, and you should be able to choose between them in a DLNA client.
Looking at the Western Digital TV Live.xml profile in Plex, I believe that eac3 will be transcoded/downmixed by Plex to ac3. Is that what happens?
If you know that eac3 is supported by your WDTV device, you could customize the device profile file in Plex. For DLNA devices this is how Plex knows which formats are supported and which must be transcoded.
This describes the process in great detail:
You would copy the Western Digital TV Live.xml to the Plex Media Server user directory, make a directory called Profiles, and put it there. Modify the appropriate DirectPlayProfiles entries to add eac3.
<DirectPlayProfiles>
...
<VideoProfile container="mkv" codec="mpeg1video,mpeg2video,mpeg4,h264,vc1" audioCodec="eac3,ac3,dca,aac,mp2,mp3,pcm" />
<VideoProfile container="mpegts" codec="mpeg1video,mpeg2video,h264,vc1" audioCodec="eac3,ac3,dca,mp2,mp3" />
<VideoProfile container="mp4,mov" codec="h264,mpeg4" audioCodec="eac3,ac3,aac,mp2,mp3" />
...
I set the WDTV Live to passthrough all DD and DD+ to the RX . When using the flash drive, WDTV plays both DD and DD+ . So not sure which version it chose. I listed the DD+ version first . Best way to check is to split the movie up as you suggested.
I am not an expert but will read up on profiles . and see what I can do.
Tks for your suggestions.
I found the WDTV Live Profile in Plex/Plex media Server/Resources/Profiles/
I can copy and make the changes.
Where is Plex Media Server user Directory to put it in?
Tks
It should be at %LOCALAPPDATA%\Plex Media Server on Windows.
That’s usually C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server
So you’d create a new Profiles directory inside that.
So much to learn about navigating and tweaking the Plex server . Thanks so much for your patience .
BTW just to be sure, should the new .xml file be named the same as the old profile name ? TKs
