Server Version#: 1.32.4.7195
Player Version#: All devices
I have a very strange problem where if I play the original quality of the file on any device, it stutters. However, if I choose, for example, the second-highest (original quality is the highest) quality (20 Mbps 4k 1080p), then it fixes itself. If I try to play the file through VLC on the media server, the file plays just fine.
I have enabled the debug logs; however, I’m not sure which file I should upload or look at. In the meantime, I have just looked at the console output, which hasn’t really given me any hints about the issue. I’m currently using a Samsung TV to test it, and it’s using Direct Stream.
The media server is connected to Ethernet, and so is the TV. However, I am encountering the same issues on other devices that are connected via WiFi. The specs of the machine are an i7-8700k and an Nvidia 2080. I noticed that I didn’t have sufficient storage on the machine, so I set up two libraries – one on an internal SSD and the other on an external HDD, which is relatively slow. Initially, I thought the issue might be due to the slow HDD, but interestingly, I am experiencing the same problem even when playing a video stored on an NVMe SSD.
I read through their solution, and it appears they resolved the issue by converting their video files from MP4 to MKV and then back to MP4(?). However, in my case, all of my files are already in MKV format. My workflow involves using Makemkv to create the MKV files, and then I use Filebot to change the file names to match the Plex format. I don’t use Handbrake or anything else.
I attempted to use MKVToolNix to re-container the MKV files (MKV to MKV), but unfortunately, either I made a mistake during the process, or it simply did not work as expected.
I noticed that the first significant dip at the 1 minute 40 seconds mark coincided with the occurrence of the first stutter. There was a short recovery, but then another stutter occurred around the “now” timestamp. However, I also observed that not every dip in the graph correlates with a stutter.
Since I can’t directly post the XML file here, I have taken a screenshot of it instead. Please let me know if there is a specific part of the XML that you need that is not visible in the screenshot, and I’ll be glad to provide it in my reply.
Do you mean that I would then need to convert from MKV to MP4? If so, which tool can I use for that? As mentioned previously, to my knowledge, MKVToolNix can handle MP4 to MKV conversion, but what about the other way around?
It appears that the solution fixed the issue for that particular file. However, when I tested on a different file, it would only play for 5 seconds and then stop unless I change the quality setting which is still the issue when running the file through mkvtoolnix.
But I don’t really understand how and even why changing the audio track would fix that issue for that file to be honest. Could you explain how changing that fixed one of the issues?
Try disabling the subtitles. Or convert them into the text-based SRT format.
In general, these files appear to be “raw” Bluray rips.
The video decoder hardware of regular streaming sticks and “smart” TVs is usually only developed and tested with internet video streaming service material. Which all are using files which are optimised to use far lower bitrates. That’s why the issues vanish when you allow your server to transcode.
Interesting, that seems to have fixed that problem. However, I had already used MKVToolNix on that file before, and you’re saying that some devices have issues with “raw” rips. Should I modify my workflow to address this? Currently, the subtitles are in PGS format, but you suggested using SRT instead. How can I make this change on already existing subtitles?
I guess I would need to change the whole library then to fix this, any way to do this in batch?
I hear there are also certain websites which already have SRT versions of some subtitles available. Whether these are fitting to your video files is a different matter though.
Much appreciated! But does this mean that the main cause of the stuttering issues was the subtitles? Since I primarily use “raw” Blu-rays, would it be beneficial to use some other tool to prevent similar issues in the future? For instance, ffmpeg/handbrake/tdarr?
Additionally, would I need to change AC3 as the first track on every movie that uses TrueHD?
That depends on what you primary Plex client is.
The Sammies may not like TrueHD very well.
Either you think of switching to AC3 manually before playback start, or you change the order after ripping.
I can’t tell with certainty. I’d say keep on testing more, different files. First test if something is stuttering: disable PGS and VOBSUB subtitles.
If this already helps, you know what to do when you rip your next video.
I did some more testing, and it seems that some devices just don’t support TrueHD audio. Changing the audio track to something like AC3 resolves that issue. Thank you again for your help.
However, for the other video that stops after 5 seconds when the subtitles are enabled, replacing the current PGS subtitles with SRT ones did not fix the problem. But interestingly, if I enable SRT subtitles and change the quality, the video works just fine. It’s not ideal to have to force a transcode to get the video to play with subtitles smoothly. If I use the option to always burn in subtitles on the TV then the video plays, not sure if this is the best solution, nor am I sure what it actually does.
