Server Version#:1.40.0.7998
Player Version PC#:1.88.1.96
Player Version iOS devices#:8.32
In general I don’t have any issues playing files of varying formats, in some cases audio gets transcoded, but usually everything I have direct plays without issue. I run the Media server on my old PC(i5 8800k with no graphics card), with no real option to transcode video, which is fine and per design.
I have this one file, 4k, HEVC(Main 10), 23.976216 frame rate, 63060kbps, with EAC3 audio, it direct plays, but video is extremely stuttering, audio is not.
I’ve tried other files with the same specs-ish and they play just fine.
If I play that same file directly on the server with VLC, it plays just fine, if I play it on PC in the web interface, video is black and audio plays. I just installed infuse on my phone to test and it plays just fine with that app(direct play).
So what is going wrong with the different Plex players here and this single piece of media?
Do you need more info from the file - if so please tell me what and how to get it.
Like I mentioned, that same file plays perfectly fine in VLC on PC and I actually watched it last night on my apple tv via the infuse app, played perfectly smooth.
Just weird is all and obviously there is something Plex doesn’t do right or is “misunderstanding” about the file, but without knowing what that is, I can’t really figure it out going forward.
In general I don’t have any issues playing files of varying formats, in some cases audio gets transcoded, but usually everything I have direct plays without issue.
…
I have this one file…
Then the issue is with that one file.
Unless you share this one off strange file with the plex dev team. And they hardcode some fixes, for this one off strange file. What are you expecting from them.
There might be an issue with the file, but without any error code or anything I can’t really figure out what it is. As mentioned, it works on Infuse, VLC and Plex for Nvidia Shield Pro, but not Plex for Apple devices, nor PC.
Idk, if this is a known problem with some files have wrong details in their metadata or something, since Plex doesn’t interperate them the same across devices.
Right.
Classically, plex handles the media off to the OS’s player. On roku, hands off to roku’s engine. On apple, using old player, hands off to apples avplayer. Each device is going to be handled differently per OS/soc/platform etc. It’s pretty amazingly complicated.
If it’s only the Plex for Dekstop app which has issues with this file, it might just be that the heavy post-processing that happens in this player is simply too much for your computer when it happens at 4K at a high bitrate.
Go into the settings of Plex for Desktop and dial down the “Video Playback Quality”.
Another possiblity is that the file you have is ripped from a streaming service. Which can mean that it only has DoVi data in it, but no backwards-compatible HDR10 data.
And since Plex has no license to decode DoVi, it can only use HDR10 or regular SDR video data as the basis for a transcode.
Another thing you can try is to remux the file. There are quite a few files out there which are muxed in a way which is problematic for streaming.
If your file is a MKV file, just drag it into MKVtoolnixGUI and press “Start Muxing”.
If your file is a MP4 file, use any software which can apply “Optimization for Streaming” to an mp4. ffmpeg can do it. mp3tag can do it as well.
If that doesn’t change anything, try to turn it into a MKV file by doing the previous process of dragging it into MKVtoolnix.
Now take the resulting file and place it into your Plex library. Verify that a proper “Analyze” has been performed.
I have a Ryzen 9 5950 and a 3080ti, only NVME discs. I have a hard time thinking that I don’t have the hardware ressources to properly play this film…
Filename indicates that it’s a bluray rip. Dolbyvision mp4.
I did try the mkvtoolnix trick and the resulting mkv file had the same issues. Played in infuse and on Shield Pro, but not on desktop or Apple TV/iPhone/iPad with Plex native app.
Does the file play if you disable “Use Hardware decoding” in the player settings (you can see the checkbox in my above screenshot)?
And if that is the case, could you prepare a sample file?
(please verify that the sample file shows the same issue).
Please try reducing the “video playback quality” anyway. The higher-than-“Normal” levels do apply additional quality enhancement filters, which produce additional load, compared to simple playback in VLC etc.
