With 1.32.5 , due to the problem with the GeminiLake HW transcoding (not supported by Intel Compute Runtime / Intel Media Driver) you were getting software transcoding.
As of 1.32.7 and continuing with 1.32.8, we fixed this so you do get HW transcoding.
My first question is; May I see the media info?
My concern is:
Encoding (codec)
Bitrate
My next concern is output (playback) setting (bitrate / quality)
May I see DEBUG logs ZIP file which capture this problem?
My Dashboard shows hardware transcoding (HW) and when I enable it (Use hardware acceleration when available) my CPU usage drops noticeably which I thought indicated it was working.
I tested two files and saw the same light banding in both.
First file:
Media
Duration 2:03:56
Bitrate 2225 kbps
Width 1916
Height 816
Aspect Ratio 2.35
Video Resolution 1080p
Container MP4
Video Frame Rate 24p
Web Optimized No
Audio Profile lc
Video Profile main 10
Part
Duration 2:03:56
File .mp4
Size 1.93 GB
Audio Profile lc
Container MP4
Web Optimized No
Video Profile main 10
Codec HEVC
Bitrate 2001 kbps
Bit Depth 10
Chroma Location left
Chroma Subsampling 4:2:0
Codec ID hev1
Coded Height 816
Coded Width 1920
Color Range tv
Frame Rate 24 fps
Height 816
Level 4.0
Profile main 10
Ref Frames 1
Stream Identifier 1
Width 1916
Display Title 1080p (HEVC Main 10)
Extended Display Title 1080p (HEVC Main 10)
Codec AAC
Channels 2
Bitrate 224 kbps
Language English
Language Tag en
Audio Channel Layout stereo
Profile lc
Sampling Rate 48000 Hz
Stream Identifier 2
Display Title English (AAC Stereo)
Extended Display Title English (AAC Stereo)
Second file:
Media
Duration 29:06
Bitrate 1069 kbps
Width 1920
Height 1080
Aspect Ratio 1.78
Video Resolution 1080p
Container MKV
Video Frame Rate 24p
Video Profile main 10
Part
Duration 29:06
File .mkv
Size 223.22 MB
Container MKV
Video Profile main 10
Codec HEVC
Bitrate 813 kbps
Bit Depth 10
Chroma Location left
Chroma Subsampling 4:2:0
Coded Height 1088
Coded Width 1920
Color Range tv
Frame Rate 23.976 fps
Height 1080
Level 4.0
Profile main 10
Ref Frames 1
Scan Type progressive
Width 1920
Display Title 1080p (HEVC Main 10)
Extended Display Title 1080p (HEVC Main 10)
Codec EAC3
Channels 6
Bitrate 256 kbps
Language English
Language Tag en
Audio Channel Layout 5.1(side)
Sampling Rate 48000 Hz
Display Title English (EAC3 5.1)
Extended Display Title English (EAC3 5.1)
Codec ASS
Language English
Language Tag en
Title English
Display Title English (ASS)
Extended Display Title English (ASS)
In both cases I was transcoding down to 720 HD (High) 4 Mbps. My server’s upload isn’t fast enough to play full 1080 without buffering, but I tested it with the opening credits to the movie file > Convert (Maximum) and the banding was not present, it appeared when I set the quality down to 720. Plex Media Server Logs_2023-12-06_20-44-15.zip (82.7 KB)
For the above logs I started playing a file at full quality, saw no banding, set quality to 720 and the banding appeared.
I was able to test these files while local to the server so playing them at full quality wasn’t an issue. I did not notice any banding from either file, at full quality or 720p. My Dashboard does toggle the (hw) when I turn hardware transcoding on and off, and if I play a file without HW it spikes my CPU to near 100%, while with HW it drops to near zero.
I also went back to the files I originally saw banding on and the banding still appears, so it looks like it is something to do with those type of files. The question I have now is why does it happen with 1.32.8.7639 but not 1.32.5.7349?
Something I forgot to mention, a few weeks ago I also tried the workaround you mentioned in one of the troubleshooting threads:
But after moving the .so file and adding the i965 entry in Preferences.xml I saw the same kind of vertical light banding in another file. I took the entry back out of Preferences.xml and the artifacts went away.
So now it’s starting to look like an issue with these more modest quality files and i965?
Below are clips from my Dashboard showing the two test files being played in both PMS versions, as well as a CPU comparison between HW enabled and disabled, and debug logs:
