I’m having an issue with random frame drops/video stutters while using Plex on my Shield Pro 2019. The issue is very inconsistent, but happens at least once every 1-2 shows or movies. During playback, the video will freeze for about a second and then continue normally without any further issues. Upon enabling “Nerd Statistics” in Playback Settings, this is further validated by the Dropped Frames metric when I notice it happening.
I’m using the most recent version of the Plex app on my Shield and Plex Media Server on my PC. It is hooked up directly to my router via an Ethernet cable. Here’s a list of troubleshooting steps I’ve already tried:
Enabling Frame Rate Switching in Plex Settings
Changing Shield frame rate (verified via Plex Nerd Statistics that the FPS matches the frame rate of the video file)
Disabling HW Overlay in Developer Settings (which unfortunately prevents Dolby Vision from being enabled)
Uninstalled Google Updates from the Play Store (this solution was a bit buried online but didn’t seem to resolve anything)
Has anyone experienced something similar or have any suggestions on what else I could try? This issue also happens on my 1080p CCwGTV, but never my 4K CCwGTV. I bought the Shield expecting it to be a snappy and reliable Plex streamer. I’m at my wits end with this and considering just switching to Kodi or Jellyfish.
Server Version#: 1.41.3.9314 Player Version#: Plex for Android 10.25.0
I downgraded to this version but every time a new episode would start or I would skip one, the first 3-5 seconds of the video would freeze and the audio would continue to play. This ended up being more frustrating than the issue I sought to fix so I rolled back.
I suppose I could try again. Perhaps I was experiencing this issue because I had enabled the Frame Rate Matching setting and this feature wasn’t as ironed out? That’s the only thing I can think of that may have caused that.
Frame rate matching seems to work fine for me on Plex 9.28 but I do get far more general stability issues in Plex on my Nvidia Shield on firmware 9.1.1. I have a slightly older 2019 Pro I kept on 8.2.3 and Plex 9.28 is perfect on that one so it also might be the curse of the latest Shield firmware. I can play a show or movie on my 9.1.1 Shield and it plays perfectly but as soon as I interact with Plex’s UI to do things it sometimes just goes mad. However on any version beyond 9.28 I got stutters in playback too which is less forgivable.
One thing to try: enable Dolby Audio Processing on your Shield if its on v9.1.1. I did this and it made Plex generally better, though its still has a tendency to crash when navigating or selecting next episode like you say. I know there is a lot of mixed info on what this Dolby Audio Processing does and I believe its function changed hugely from 8.2.3 to 9.1.1 which is why I have it off on my 8.2.3 Shield. However it does nothing terrible other than send all old school AC3 sound to my soundbar as EAC3. The rest it doesn’t touch.
I actually installed it last night. Reading through the notes and it seems like it could be beneficial. This one in particular caught my eye seeing as enabling it was supposed to fix this issue:
Resolved Bugs
Fixed AV sync issues when Dolby Processing is enabled
I had to order a USB A Male>Male cable before I could downgrade. Probably one of the stupidest cables to ever exist lol. I’ll post in here if I’m still experiencing issues, and will rollback to 8.2.3 if needed.
Yes a while ago I ordered a USB A to USB A cable too to do the downgrade but could not get it to work so gave up and returned it. Now I just live with the Shield on 9.1.1 and its instability. I watch most of the remuxes on my other 8.2.3 Shield and my 9.1.1 is used far less, mainly Moonlight game streaming, so its not a big issue.
I am very keen to hear if 9.2 improves anything for you. As usual there are some reports of issues in 9.2 but there usually are.
I haven’t been watching very much Plex this last week, but from my experiences on 9.2 with Dolby Audio Processing enabled I haven’t noticed any stutters so far. I’ve only noticed the dropped frame number increment in the Nerd Statistics right as I start a shuffle, but I think this is just the Frame Rate Matching feature kicking in. Visually, I don’t notice it as the video starts though.
I’m on vacation now but when I return, I’ll give it another week and post another update. Maybe, just maybe 9.2 is the fix we need?
As for the firmware rollback, I haven’t tried it with the cable I ordered yet. I’m following this guide which seems pretty thorough. I tried using a USB-A to USB-C cable with a USB-C>USB-A connector I had laying around but couldn’t get Windows to recognize my Shield in USB debug mode. I’m assuming this will be remedied by using the actual cross cable if I do decide to downgrade.
UPDATE: The stutters unfortunately continued to prevail with a little more time spent on 9.2. I successfully downgraded my SHIELD to firmware version 8.2.3 (following the guide I linked above) with Plex 9.28. I also debloated all the unnecessary NVIDIA, Google, and Android apps/services. The whole system is so much faster and responsive and feels a lot more stable. The weird video freezes I was getting on 9.28 with current firmware when skipping episodes is also gone! This is how the SHIELD is supposed to be.
Needless to say, I haven’t seen a single stutter with any show or movie I’ve put on tonight. While this version of Plex doesn’t have Nerd Statistics to actually confirm this, I think this is the definitive solution. It feels like this issue is prevalent enough throughout the community, and it’s really hard to put a finger on if it’s a Plex issue or NVIDIA firmware issue.
I forgot to turn off automatic updates for Plex and it accidentally updated to 10.26. The first show I turned on stuttered immediately. All signs are pointing to this being a current Plex issue, despite them claiming in multiple updates that they’ve fixed it. 9.28 has been perfect.
Thank you very much for coming back and providing updates. This will help others. Maybe you can come join our forgotten community over on the thread all about the post v9.28 stutters that Plex have roundly ignored for years now, despite new converts coming and confirming the roll back to 9.28 fixes the stutters.
Maybe add your voice and a link to your thread here.
The latest Nvidia Shield firmwares don’t help either as they really do add a level of stutter and instability. However I have tested the Plex v9.28 against the latest Plex on my 8.2.3 Shield and also confirmed only v9.28 removes stutter present in later versions. You have now done the same and adding your voice might make a difference.
I am still having issues on 9.28/8.2.3. It definitely doesn’t happen as much, but I notice that a frame will drop at the start of a show almost every time I start a fresh shuffle. I have Frame Rate Matching and Dolby Audio Processing both enabled as well.
This is so frustrating. I’ve never had issues with my 4K CCwGTV and this only started happening with the HD CCwGTV and also my Shield. I still use my 4K occasionally and it is still flawless. I might just throw that back on my big screen and call it a day :/.
I will try to get a video of what’s happening to show you exactly what it looks like. I swear I’m not crazy!
UPDATE: I finally fixed it once and for all. I noticed the frame stutter would only happen in HDMI passthrough mode. I was able to verify this because it would happen at the exact same time in the intro to Bob’s Burgers. I disabled this, but then noticed Plex was transcoding my audio (to be expected). I switched HDMI passthrough back on, and then DISABLED Dolby Audio Processing in the Shield settings. No more frame stutters, and I’m very confident about this now. I’m so happy!
I’m not sure if this also solved my problem, but I also changed my display mode to “3840x2160 60 Hz (YUV 422 12-bit Rec. 2020 | Dobly Vision and HDR10 ready” in Display & Sound > Advanced display settings > Custom display mode. I also changed the Display & Sound > Advanced sound settings > Available formats setting to Manual and selected all of my supported formats instead of Auto.
