Server Version#:1.32.2.7100
Player Version#:9.21.3.16210
I always use external SRT subtitles when streaming because my wife is hearing impaired.
Relevant settings in Plex on FireTV are as follows:
Burn subtitles: Only image formats
Subtitle background: ON
Override included subtitle styling :ON
The issue is that sometimes subtitles are shown without background , which makes them difficult to read in some circumstances. I get the background about 60-70% of the time. I am not able to figure out what scenario causes the subtitles to be shown without background. In all cases I am using external SRT subtitle files. The videos being streamed are in the same format (mkv).
Does anyone have any suggestions what to look for?
I am answering my own question in case it helps anyone else.
I was able to determine circumstances that cause subtitles to appear without the black background despite that setting being turned on. I have set “Remote streaming quality” on the fireTV to 720p to reduce data usage due to internet data cap. It turns out that when streaming higher quality video from the server and transcoding it down to 720p, subtitle settings like “Subtitle background” and “Subtitle color” are not taken into account. I even tried changing “Burn subtitles” option to “Always” thinking it might make a difference but it did not. Strangely enough only “Subtitle size” option was applied with “Burn subtitle” option (no background and no color was applied). I think this is strange behavior and I don’t see it documented anywhere but at least I understand now how I can fix it.
