Subtitles and Surround Sound 5.1 problem

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
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Server Version#:1.14.1.5488
Player Version#:

Hi,

I am having a problem with my subtitles and surround sound. All my movies are in the mkv format. I am watching it at home on my home theater system: Samsung smart TV, receiver, 5.1 surround sound speakers. When I turn on subtitles, I only get stereo sound. When I turn off subtitles, I get the full 5.1 surround sound. I have PMS running on my nuc windows 10 as the server and movies stored on my synology drive.

So do you know what’s going on?

Thanks!

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And which Plex app is doing the playback?
The one running directly on the TV? Which version is it?

How are TV and AV receiver connected?

Do you have a Plex server running on PC hardware in close proximity to the TV or the AVR?

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See this thread:

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The Samsung Plex app is doing the playback. The TV app version is 2.012 PMS 1.14.1.5488-cc260c476

The TV is connected via hdmi cable to the receiver.

The plex server is running on my nuc windows 10 pc. It is in the same room as the tv and receiver but just on the other side of the room. Yes it is in proximity of the TV/AVR.

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That thread was mine. They told me to post it in the windows-server area instead of the nas area.

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OK, this means your TV is not the very newest. The Plex app on it is unfortunately not maintained anymore since the developer is retiring due to health issues.

If you can make it so, that the NUC with plex server goes closer to the AVR, you could fashion yourself a worthy replacement. Which could be even more powerful and able to directly play more file formats than the Samsung app ever could.
All that at relatively low (or even zero) cost.

Connect the NUC to the AVR via HDMI. Then go from the AVR to the TV via HDMI.
(provided your AVR can do that. Otherwise you’ll have to make do with either an optical connection from TV > AVR [or the equivalent called ‘HDMI ARC’])

Now install Plex Media Player onto the NUC. It should be able to run it additionally to Plex Server.

The only thing left to decide is how to remote-control the player on the NUC.
The possibilities are depending a bit on the actual model of NUC have there. (particularly whether it already has a so-called “HDMI-CEC adapter” built in or not)
So, which model of NUC is it?

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Yes. It contained all the things @OttoKerner was asking. Just a shortcut so you don’t have to repeat everything.

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My TV is about two or three years old. Wait so if I were to buy a 2018 or 2019 smart tv, the subtitle and 5.1 surround sound would work?

So when moving the nuc next to the tv, you’re saying don’t use the TV app? Use the Plex player on the nuc instead?

My nuc is the nuc8i7beh.

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Probably not under all circumstances, because Samsung deactivated DTS bitstreaming in newer models.

Precisely.
The idea is that the NUC is much more powerful than the hardware in your TV and since it can directly play almost any media format, transcoding is much less needed. And it supports ‘bitstreaming’ DTS and also more modern formats to your AVR (provided the AVR is able to decode them. Do take a look into the sound formats compatibility list of your AVR.)

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I really prefer to use the tv app than the nuc to watch my movies. But I will give it a try and report back.

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I admit this solution requires some tinkering (particularly how to use the remote control of the TV to control the player on the NUC), but once you have done it, it blows almost any smart tv Plex app out of the water.

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What about the 4k appleTV? Would the plex app on the appleTV work better than the TV plex app?

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Maybe. I can’t really say, since I don’t have personal experience with the device. But it is not exactly cheap. The NUC is already there.

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I have both. I’ll try both options and let you know how it goes.

1 Like
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You might have to change the default settings in Plex Media Player to enable audio passthrough to your Marantz. See this post for more info (Your receiver will handle all the audio formats, so check all the boxes that begin with “Passthrough”):

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Problem solved. I installed the Plex Player on the Nuc and I do get sub and 5.1. But it’s not a great solution because I can’t conveniently control it with the TV remote. But guess what? The 4K AppleTV Plex app does the job. It’s a much more elegant solution. It plays both sub and 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound and I can control it with the appletv remote which I am happy about! So one problem down onto the next! :slight_smile: Thanks guys!

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There are ways to do it. But they require some tinkering.
But if you have found a solution with the ATV which suits you, go for it!

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I did. Thanks!

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Glad you have things working. Cheers.

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