With more HD content to stream I always had a problem to stream via my Smart TV direct. With a great Internet connection I never understood why it was so bad - my internet is 600Mbps symmetric so I should have zero problems.
I recently did a speed test on the TV and was lucky to reach 80Mbps via both Wifi and Ethernet plugged in to realise the adapter is limited to 100!
Even 80Mbps should be plenty to stream HD content but the TV struggles so I need an alternative and this is where I need your help.
The Nvidia Shield seems to be the box of choice to stream ALL content with no issues, and should I get this - I would build it to bypass the TVs limited adapter.
Unfortunately, I find it difficult to spend 200€+ for such a solution and was wondering if anyone could suggest a box that has been tested that has a gigabyte adapter and will play most files in mkv with DTS+ sounds which normally needs a lot of bandwidth.
I wish that my Chormecast Ultra just played these files seemlessly - however plex always encodes the sound file via this which is a little frustrating - the only way Plex wont transcode the sound file is via the TV app direct, however, then, I have the streaming problems of the TV.
Please let me know what alternatives I may have which has the same capabilities as the shield for less money (I do not need gaming) all i need is a reliable substitute until Chromecast wont transcode sound files via Plex.
What brand and model TV? A lot of Plex subscribers have had great success with LG with WiFi or a USB Ethernet adapter. For price a HDMI solution maybe your solution.
Yeah, make and model of TV would be helpful. I stream 4K HDR content over Wifi to my Sony Bravia 55" 4K no problem, through the Android TV App, as well as a FireStick 4K (Unfortunately AT&T TV Now doesn’t have an Android TV App, so I had to get the firestick for that).
Have you noticed when you play something if it’s Transcoding or if it’s DirectPlay/DirectStream? 1080p HD ripped directly from BluRay shouldn’t exceed 40Mbit (That’s the maximum a regular BluRay can output), 4K UHD HDR content goes over 100Mbit though for sure…
If you have a good 80Mbits wireless and wired (meaning little to no packetloss) you should be able to stream 1080p content without a problem. The only thing I can think of is that your TV is forcing the files to transcode, and your server may not be up to task…
That runs Android TV right? Go into the settings for the plex client app, go to audio and video, and set all of them to maximum/original, then try and play a movie again and tell us the result. It should play just about anything you can throw at it honestly…
Yeah, the if the TV doesn’t Natively support DTS then it should only transcode the audio and be DirectStream at that point, but I have mine passing through to a Soundbar that is capable and it plays DTS Audio just fine… But DirectStream shouldn’t be causing any issues, transcoding audio is pretty easy for any processor really…
Currently playing a 1080p DCA-MA 7.1 DTS, file around 12giga.
Using Plex TV app to play it
The amp identifies the DTS sound so I know it is passing through - however - the picture stutters and sound is very badly stuttering.
I can only think it is internet at the moment.
I also tried a 720p DTS 5.1 file - amp identifies DTS sound - and plays fine - file size around 5giga
Well, it’s definitely direct playing, which means your problem is likely bandwidth related, however, if you’re playing it hardwired on a 100Mbit connection, you shouldn’t have bandwidth problems… Wireless, there can be plenty of things wrong, but hardwired should correct that… If you’ve tried both, I am at a loss… the only other thing I can think of is the TV’s processor is struggling to decode fast enough… If that’s the case, you could try clearing out the Cache in your Android settings on the tv… clear out any unnecessary data…
Thank you again,
I will try cleaning cache etc as tried both wired and wifi and have the same problem - I also downloaded test files and anything above 10/12mbps struggles to play…
This is why i thought if i cannot get my Sony to work to use a standalone player inbetween the TV and server - I checked in research the shield seems to be the best but comes at a cost or another one half the price called Vero 4k+
well, if you don’t care about HD Audio (Dolby or DTS HD) you can get a Firestick TV 4K… That’s what I use besides my TV’s native player, and it works very well… It’s only $50 (Just got one on sale the other day for $35)
I already have a chromecast ultra to quickly stream files - however with more quality stuff coming out - it is nice to listen to great sound from the AV amp
I think i need a device that will handle the sound as I am happy with 1080p and super sound.
So far the only two with gigabyte ethernet and good opinion is Shield and Vero
Cache cleaned did not help unfortunately… I guess its as you said and my concerns - the Internet Adpater of the TV I have is not good enough - even just now had a warning from Plex connection not good enough.
(PS - I have rebooted both my modems and computer to start fresh - and did not help… 600 internet connection is a lot in my opinion and the TV just cannot take it
Well, if your Plex server and your tv are both on the same network, it’s not even usingthe 600mbit… It’s using your router (likely gigabit)… I don’t think it’s your network, I honestly think it’s the tv not being able to decode fast enough… Which is odd, cause mine decodes just fine… And I think mine is an older model than yours… Xbr55x850c
Wait… One more question… Is your Plex server hard wired, or wireless?
When i was doing speed test on the TV quite extensively using different tests there and there - both wired and wifi was stable and never exceeding 80Mbps
Not sure what I would have to do for the processing problems or how to check it out lol
Server is Hardwired - speed tests max 600 both way.
Now TV is hard wired and did a shut down reboot on TV
Checked CPU performance in Plex and settings hardly using 25%
RAM is total at 55%
I do not think it is coming from my PC - I hope not as all seems running well.
Maybe - are you able to share your main settings from the plex server? maybe i have something added or checked that i shouldn’t maybe?
