# Subtitles cause buffering for 4k content **URL:** \ **Category:** Plex Media Server\ **Tags:** server-windows, subtitles\ **Created:** [March 17, 2018, 7:57am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/subtitles-cause-buffering-for-4k-content/229282 "2018-03-17T07:57:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dean09199](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@Dean09199](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Dean09199)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 7:57am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/subtitles-cause-buffering-for-4k-content/229282/1 "2018-03-17T07:57:11Z")
Hi, after some research I figured out why 4k movies in my Samsung TV are paused & buffering every 10 seconds & cause of these problems are Subtitles! If I disable them, problem disappears, but enabling them causes buffering. This doesn’t relate to 1080p movies though. I’m asking Plex developers why this happens and if they can fix this issue? I use subtitles when watching movies in English all the time, as English isn’t native language and they help me. I don’t know if it will be helpful, but my TV is Samsung MU6100, Plex is installed in my PC which is quite powerful and both TV & PC are connected via cable in local area. ---
**Author:** ![jjrjr1](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/jjrjr1/32/10993_2.png) [@jjrjr1](https://forums.plex.tv/u/jjrjr1)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 8:16am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/subtitles-cause-buffering-for-4k-content/229282/2 "2018-03-17T08:16:37Z")
The issue is known. When adding subtitles to a video Plex will transcode the media. This implies your server is not powerful enough to transcode HVEC. ---
**Author:** ![JonasCisum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@JonasCisum](https://forums.plex.tv/u/JonasCisum)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 10:14am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/subtitles-cause-buffering-for-4k-content/229282/3 "2018-03-17T10:14:58Z")
I have the same issue. How can we know if our server is powerful enough to transcade HVEC, and what can we do about it, when it’s not powerful enough. ---
**Author:** ![Dean09199](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@Dean09199](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Dean09199)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 11:48am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/subtitles-cause-buffering-for-4k-content/229282/4 "2018-03-17T11:48:41Z")
CPU: Intel Core I7 3770k, 4.2GHz overclocked MOTHERBOARD: MSI Z77A-G45 Gaming GPU: Gigabyte GTX 1070 G1 Gaming 8GB RAM: 16GB G.Skill Trident X STORAGE: Crucial M500 SSD 120GB + 2TB HDD + 4TB HDD + 4TB HDD PSU: XFX PRO1050W Black Edition (80+ Gold) COOLER: Thermaltake water 2.0 (liquid cooling) CASE: Cooler Master HAF 912 Plus MONITOR: Philips 298P4 29" UltraWide KEYBOARD: Corsair Vengeance K70 MOUSE: Red Dragon Mammoth SPEAKERS: Microlab Solo7C OS: Windows 10 64bit This is where my Plex is installed. ---
**Author:** ![Xhaka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/b487fb/32.png) [@Xhaka](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Xhaka)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2018, 1:45pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/subtitles-cause-buffering-for-4k-content/229282/5 "2018-03-17T13:45:49Z")
> @JonasCisum said: > I have the same issue. How can we know if our server is powerful enough to transcade HVEC, and what can we do about it, when it’s not powerful enough. > @“[j.chutlashvili@gmail.com](mailto:j.chutlashvili@gmail.com)” said: > CPU: Intel Core I7 3770k, 4.2GHz overclocked > MOTHERBOARD: MSI Z77A-G45 Gaming > GPU: Gigabyte GTX 1070 G1 Gaming 8GB > RAM: 16GB G.Skill Trident X > STORAGE: Crucial M500 SSD 120GB + 2TB HDD + 4TB HDD + 4TB HDD > PSU: XFX PRO1050W Black Edition (80+ Gold) > COOLER: Thermaltake water 2.0 (liquid cooling) > CASE: Cooler Master HAF 912 Plus > MONITOR: Philips 298P4 29" UltraWide > KEYBOARD: Corsair Vengeance K70 > MOUSE: Red Dragon Mammoth > SPEAKERS: Microlab Solo7C > OS: Windows 10 64bit > > This is where my Plex is installed. Use external .srt subs and you should be fine. Also take a look at [https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/186575/release-sub-zero-2-5-0-2287-subtitles-done-right#latest](https://forums.plex.tv/discussion/186575/release-sub-zero-2-5-0-2287-subtitles-done-right#latest) I only have a need for foreign part audio in my case and the plug in just grabs them when relevant, names them accordingly and they direct play just fine. I don’t use the Plex app on my current Samsung however I did previously run Orca’s app on an earlier model without issues regarding direct playing with subs enabled. ---
**Author:** ![Dean09199](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@Dean09199](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Dean09199)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2018, 8:07pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/subtitles-cause-buffering-for-4k-content/229282/6 "2018-03-18T20:07:32Z")
I don’t know how to use external srt subs and also don’t know how to install that subzero plugin. Why developers can’t fix this problem and make it easy for users? ---
**Author:** ![pule-met](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbe5ce/32.png) [@pule-met](https://forums.plex.tv/u/pule-met)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 1:24am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/subtitles-cause-buffering-for-4k-content/229282/7 "2018-04-09T01:24:50Z")
I have the same problem, but symptoms are worse: If I’m playing 4k/HRD content from mkv files with embedded subtitles with setting “subtitles none” on my TV the TV shows 2016/HDR, however if I selected either embedded subtitles or external ones, the PKEX server immediately starts transcoding them to 1080/normal and shows subtitles on the screen. I does not matter if subtitles are embedded in to the track in mkv container or they are located as external files with any accepted extension (str in my case). I did not see any error in the plex server log files. ---
**Author:** ![Xhaka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/b487fb/32.png) [@Xhaka](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Xhaka)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 5:59pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/subtitles-cause-buffering-for-4k-content/229282/8 "2018-04-09T17:59:32Z")
Well regardless. Zero issues here with embedded PGS So maybe it’s down to all your clients. ![](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/uploads/default/original/3X/9/5/9543218218eeee8e61af5f2598efa2e2d49a28c2.png) ---
**Author:** ![bpenris](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/bpenris/32/83171_2.png) [@bpenris](https://forums.plex.tv/u/bpenris)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2018, 2:33pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/subtitles-cause-buffering-for-4k-content/229282/9 "2018-07-28T14:33:20Z")
I’m having similar issues with both PGS and SRT in HEVC source files; as soon as I enable a sub stream the stream is reencoded and no longer direct play or direct stream (a recent Tizen version on a 2017 model Samsung TV), but transcoded to H264. ---
**Author:** ![David13\_13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e95f7d/32.png) [@David13\_13](https://forums.plex.tv/u/David13_13)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2018, 1:12am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/subtitles-cause-buffering-for-4k-content/229282/10 "2018-11-24T01:12:31Z")
Hello, I’m having the same issue with Plex’s latest version. How is possible that this bug has not been fixed yet? It happens both with SRT and PSG subtitles… Please help! Thanks ---
**Author:** ![lerouemm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@lerouemm](https://forums.plex.tv/u/lerouemm)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2018, 11:45pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/subtitles-cause-buffering-for-4k-content/229282/11 "2018-12-26T23:45:35Z")
I would like to point out that I am having similar issues related specifically for PGS subtitles with 4K HEVC content. 4k HEVC Direct Play with PGS subtitles -\> works 4K HEVC with forced transcoding -\> works 4K HEVC with forced transcoding AND SRT subtitles -\> works 4K HEVC with forced transcoding AND PGS subtitles -\> constant buffering. Simply enabling subtitles drops my transcoding rate from 4.5 to 0.6. I remember reading on a different thread that it was related to PGS subtitle burning being a single threaded process. Hence the significant drop in transcode rate. So the issue isn’t that my processor isn’t powerful enough to transcode the movie, but it’s that one single core cannot burn the subtitles on the fly while transcoding is happening. ---
**Author:** ![tubaguy50035](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/tubaguy50035/32/85915_2.png) [@tubaguy50035](https://forums.plex.tv/u/tubaguy50035)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2018, 5:27am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/subtitles-cause-buffering-for-4k-content/229282/12 "2018-12-28T05:27:06Z")
Seeing the same thing for PGS vs SRT. I can burn SRT in 4k content just fine, but not PGS. Here’s a good thread explaining what’s going on: [Plex 4k transcoding "not powerful enough" only on some files](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-4k-transcoding-not-powerful-enough-only-on-some-files/215238) Basically comes down to plex not being able to utilize ffmpeg the same way you or I could via the CLI due to licensing. Hopefully Plex can negotiate better terms. ---
**Author:** ![bondibro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aca169/32.png) [@bondibro](https://forums.plex.tv/u/bondibro)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 10:35am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/subtitles-cause-buffering-for-4k-content/229282/13 "2019-06-23T10:35:41Z")
Same issues. I got 32 core processor and 128gb ram, so I know it ain’t my PC. When is this going to be fixed? ---
**Author:** ![josh\_balcom\_outlook\_com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5f8ce5/32.png) [@josh\_balcom\_outlook\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/josh_balcom_outlook_com)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2019, 3:09am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/subtitles-cause-buffering-for-4k-content/229282/14 "2019-08-05T03:09:06Z")
I am also having the same issue. Not my rig because I have a ryzen 2700x and it can handle multiple 4k transcodes at the same time and not buffer. ---
**Author:** ![theGeek57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e0b2c6/32.png) [@theGeek57](https://forums.plex.tv/u/theGeek57)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2019, 10:41pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/subtitles-cause-buffering-for-4k-content/229282/15 "2019-08-05T22:41:18Z")
It appears that you’re using Kodi - could that be why you don’t seem to have the same issue. It’s happening on my setup as well. ---
**Author:** ![ConsideringObsidian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@ConsideringObsidian](https://forums.plex.tv/u/ConsideringObsidian)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 7:36pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/subtitles-cause-buffering-for-4k-content/229282/16 "2019-09-25T19:36:44Z")
I have an AMD 2700X, 32GB of Samsung B-Die memory at DDR-3200, an RTX 2070, USB 3.1 enabled external storage drive, and this all buffers with Plex given full processing priority and hardware acceleration enabled for all cores. “It’s a known issue” isn’t a solution. I’ve paid for Plex Pass for years. And years. I’ve never posted because I’ve never had a problem with Plex across multiple platforms, multiple installs, multiple use cases, multiple builds. I finally upgraded to 4K this summer, and have been rapidly upgrading my library. I can’t convey how infuriating this is. I use subtitles for nearly everything. Why? It doesn’t matter. The subzero addon link no longer works, and frankly, shouldn’t be needed. There’s a clear breakage in this software when it comes to HVEC with subs requiring transcode. “Known issue” doesn’t mean anything other than “we know but don’t care enough.” Does the Plex team actually Google bugs? Like how many places this issue has been brought up? Dozens and dozens of Reddit threads, tons of threads here, Cord Cutter enthusiast sites, it’s incredible. And “known issue” is the only explanation. **Not. Good. Enough.** Existing threads: > [@4K Streaming Issues with subtitles](https://forums.plex.tv/t/4k-streaming-issues-with-subtitles/360399): > > I know there are some post regarding this issue, and did some searching but haven’t found much of a solution. If I didn’t search good enough or if there is a solution I overlooked I do apologize. That being said, I’m having the issue that some have mentioned of having frequent buffering with trying to stream 4K or high quality 1080p (20Mps) movies with subtitles turn on. This experience is the same regardless it is on a Roku TV or Plexweb. I have ruled out it being a bandwidth issue cause experi… > [@4K movie plays well with Direct Play, buffers with subtitle on](https://forums.plex.tv/t/4k-movie-plays-well-with-direct-play-buffers-with-subtitle-on/236388): > > Hi Guys, I have a movie that plays well with direct play, but as soon as I am enabling the subtitles (.srt) it changes to direct stream and buffers every few seconds. My NAS (synology ds918+) and the TV are on a gigabit ethernet network with Cat6 LAN cables. Any idea which type of subtitle should I use or what setting should I change? Thanks in advance, Ben > [@Getting a lot of buffering with 4K movie - anything I can do to help this?](https://forums.plex.tv/t/getting-a-lot-of-buffering-with-4k-movie-anything-i-can-do-to-help-this/317613): > > Server Version#:3.71.2 Player Version#:3.71.1 Hi all, Firstly, I’m completely new to Plex so please don’t assume any knowledge at my end. I’m really liking the look and ease of use of the software and have been playing around with it in order to see if I can get it working before copying all my DVDs etc in to it. I have a Synology DS216j but found that it didn’t have enough “ooompf” to add subtitles into a 4K movie so I installed the Plex server on my PC (i7-8700k / GTX 1080 Ti - although n… > [@4k videos keep buffering every few seconds](https://forums.plex.tv/t/4k-videos-keep-buffering-every-few-seconds/364829): > > Server Version#: Version 3.77.4 Player Version#: PS4 Pro Hello. I installed Plex server on my new Synology DS918+. On my wired LAN when playing 2160p .mkv videos from PS4 Pro 4K TV or from Windows Chrome browser, the video playback is barely possible because it keeps buffering. My router is ASUS rt-ac68u. 1080p videos are playing fine. I tried three different videos already, and they are all unplayable the same way. Any ideas or suggestions why 2160p videos keep buffering? > [@4k movies buffering for Plex Pass user](https://forums.plex.tv/t/4k-movies-buffering-for-plex-pass-user/446304): > > Server Version#: Version 1.16.4.1469 Player Version#: Plex for samsung 3.1.9.2 Tizen 5.0 [Plex Media Server Logs\_2019-08-15\_14-28-40.zip](https://forums.plex.tv/uploads/short-url/pYBkX3cLGUN0fQnwMzcGitlB6ab.zip) (4.1 MB) Hello, I need help on my Plex Media Server. I have 4k movies that are MKV format. When I import these on my libraries and start started to play using my Samsung TV model Q60, the video keeps on buffering every 5 seconds. My server is a ROG laptop i7 7th gen 24gb ram with 4 gb dedicated video card. When I view the info of video inside plex app these … > [@Subtitles Transcodes cause buffering on powerful system](https://forums.plex.tv/t/subtitles-transcodes-cause-buffering-on-powerful-system/185564): > > Hello all, Server hardware information is in my signature. I’ve never had performance issues in the past, and my system is more than capable of transcoding a stream with subtitles, multiple 1080 streams even at that. In this case, I’m attempting to watch a 22GB MKV with subtitles, but transcode it down to 4Mbps (720p) to be watched remotely. It’ll stop to buffer and I’ll receive an error that my system is not fast enough to convert. If I turn subtitles off, the video transcodes and plays perfec… > [@Direct play of 4K content with subtitles - Buffering](https://forums.plex.tv/t/direct-play-of-4k-content-with-subtitles-buffering/220791): > > Hi all, I currently have DeUHD to enable me to backup my 4K HDR10 movies which, when I play through my Samsung Smart TV plays flawlessly, the content plays through Direct Play and despite the files being circa 50Gb the playback is uninterrupted and flawless. Unless, they have a subtitle track. For instance, I have Spider-Man Homecoming which has some very brief subtitles near the beginning so I extracted them and added them to the MKV file (I tried both SRT and SUP) and when playing the file o… Blog about subtitles changes! One year ago! Which exacerbates the problem! [https://www.plex.tv/blog/subtitles-and-sunsets-big-improvements-little-housekeeping/](https://www.plex.tv/blog/subtitles-and-sunsets-big-improvements-little-housekeeping/) These are just here. Imagine how many more there are, from users who have been trying to get support in the last 30 months, elsewhere. We are way past ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![enhay\_126\_com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9d8465/32.png) [@enhay\_126\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/enhay_126_com)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 8:44am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/subtitles-cause-buffering-for-4k-content/229282/17 "2019-11-23T08:44:26Z")
i play 4k hevc movie with ass subtitle is tips me “your server is not powerful enough to transcode” so i change my cpu (g4560 with hd610) to (g5500 with uhd630) it still can`t work. then i buy emby and it work fine . ---
**Author:** ![Olivier\_286](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/olivier_286/32/316450_2.png) [@Olivier\_286](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Olivier_286)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2019, 1:22pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/subtitles-cause-buffering-for-4k-content/229282/18 "2019-12-26T13:22:01Z")
euhm hellooo? I got this problem too and I would like a fix! Looks like after a few years, it still isn’t fixed… This is very annoying! Fix it! hup hup! ---
**Author:** ![zeusl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a88e57/32.png) [@zeusl](https://forums.plex.tv/u/zeusl)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2020, 10:29am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/subtitles-cause-buffering-for-4k-content/229282/19 "2020-01-11T10:29:32Z")
I also have this problem… And like many others, English is not my native language so this should be pretty far up on the to-do list for subtitles to work … ---
**Author:** ![Vappsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/aeb1de/32.png) [@Vappsen](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Vappsen)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2020, 7:20pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/subtitles-cause-buffering-for-4k-content/229282/21 "2020-01-21T19:20:44Z")
Hi. I am new to Plex and have started using it, and my 1080p movies with PSG subtitles doesn’t work while streaming on my tv using Plex, but only works on my PC. It look like this have been a problem for ages, so I wonder, why is it so hard to fix this problem? Is there any sollution at the moment? It is very frustrating that a small thing like this should ruin the great experience that Plex has to offer. [Next page](https://forums.plex.tv/t/subtitles-cause-buffering-for-4k-content/229282.md?page=2)