# Transcoding because subtitles maybe? **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussions\ **Tags:** server-synology, android-tv\ **Created:** [December 28, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-because-subtitles-maybe/671148 "2020-12-28T21:04:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Toldevar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ebca7d/32.png) [@Toldevar](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Toldevar)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-because-subtitles-maybe/671148/1 "2020-12-28T21:04:59Z")
Server: DS918+ (remote network) Client: Shield 2019 Hi. Im a bit puzzled as to why my HEVC isnt direct played. Both that and AAC audio is being transcoded. Shield should support both. I think it has to do with the softcoded subtitles. Ive used subtitle edit to extract them and save as .SRT. That doesnt fix it tho when i look in Plex Dash. It just adds the line: SRT External, Transcode (ASS) If i press “none” to subtitles, then video isnt transcoding, but the audio still is. I guess my questions are: - How do i avoid video transcoding with subtitles, when even an .SRT doesnt fix it? And why does that .SRT say “(ASS)”, isnt that a different format? - Why is my audio being transcoded? + As long as i can get video to directplay, i assume transcoding audio isnt that bad? ---
**Author:** ![Toldevar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ebca7d/32.png) [@Toldevar](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Toldevar)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 9:41pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-because-subtitles-maybe/671148/3 "2020-12-30T21:41:16Z")
Ive tried experimenting a bit: - No subtitles means only transcoding audio - Softcoded subtitles makes transcoding video - SRT seems to direct stream video now (didnt before) but it still shows subtitles as .ASS Still dont know why audio needs to be transcoded though, or why the .SRT says its .ASS? Ive attached a log.(File removed) Here is the XML It doesnt seem like the copy paste XML works so here is the file [xml.txt](https://forums.plex.tv/uploads/short-url/q9VMa68OrCgErWApVjp19CVmWSk.txt) (4.8 KB) ---
**Author:** ![Toldevar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ebca7d/32.png) [@Toldevar](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Toldevar)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 9:44pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-because-subtitles-maybe/671148/4 "2020-12-30T21:44:35Z")
Do you have any idea why this happens sometimes when trying to chromecast? ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/3/c/3cf409545f8682b4829d89a8b0ae54e5d7f15782.jpeg) It has happened on 2 of my phones in over a year. Android both of them. Only fixed by restarting entire phone. ---
**Author:** ![TeknoJunky](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/teknojunky/32/165055_2.png) [@TeknoJunky](https://forums.plex.tv/u/TeknoJunky)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 9:45pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-because-subtitles-maybe/671148/5 "2020-12-30T21:45:57Z")
how is your shield hooked up? shield \> tv ? or shield \> receiver \> tv ? if the aac is being transcoded, its probably because you have passthrough enabled and your receiver or tv doesn’t support that audio codec. you could disable pass through in the shield system (and/or plex advanced options, I forget) options, then the shield would decode it (to pcm) and pass that through to your tv/receiver. ---
**Author:** ![Toldevar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ebca7d/32.png) [@Toldevar](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Toldevar)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 9:48pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-because-subtitles-maybe/671148/6 "2020-12-30T21:48:06Z")
Hmm this area isnt my best but i have Shield connected to TV with HDMI, and a soundbar connected to TV using optical. I’ve been able to set it up so that the audio buttons on the Shield remote can control my soundbar, which is nice. What exactly does passthrough and what would the consequence be of disabling it? ---
**Author:** ![TeknoJunky](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/teknojunky/32/165055_2.png) [@TeknoJunky](https://forums.plex.tv/u/TeknoJunky)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 9:51pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-because-subtitles-maybe/671148/7 "2020-12-30T21:51:13Z")
passthrough sends the audio stream directly to the playback device, so neither plex or the shield would decode or modify it. with passthrough, the audio would be sent to the tv to decode, and if it doesn’t support aac (or dts or truehd, etc) then plex would transcode it to a compatible format. normally you would want pass through enabled, however since it sounds like the tv and/or soundbar don’t like aac, you might want to disable it so the shield can direct play it (no transcoding) and decode it before sending to tv/soundbar. ---
**Author:** ![Toldevar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ebca7d/32.png) [@Toldevar](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Toldevar)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 9:53pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-because-subtitles-maybe/671148/8 "2020-12-30T21:53:26Z")
Is that setting in the TV or the Shield? Ill see if i can find it. ---
**Author:** ![Toldevar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ebca7d/32.png) [@Toldevar](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Toldevar)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 10:02pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-because-subtitles-maybe/671148/10 "2020-12-30T22:02:27Z")
And here i thought it was marketed as a surround sound soundbar. I assume transcoding audio isnt that bad, and its mostly video you should avoid? Ive enabled the “Only Image formats” now. Dont know what it does, doesnt seem to change anything, still says it transcodes the subs and they’re .ass ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/3/6/36b89695194daab74142dd1eedb20594e74a812d.jpeg) EDIT: Shouldnt it be the Shield that supports .SRT and not my TV? Thought my TV mostly was a screen here, not doing any processing ---
**Author:** ![TeknoJunky](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/teknojunky/32/165055_2.png) [@TeknoJunky](https://forums.plex.tv/u/TeknoJunky)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 10:17pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-because-subtitles-maybe/671148/12 "2020-12-30T22:17:44Z")
you might want to check your tv settings to ensure the optical is set for surround/5.1 and not only stereo ? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2021, 10:20pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/transcoding-because-subtitles-maybe/671148/14 "2021-03-30T22:20:47Z")
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