Transcoding H264 to H264 on Vizio && what are the best Handbrake settings?

[derekcentrico]

I tried to direct play a MKV DTS-HD file and saw it transcoded as expected. Being that it was 4K, I tried it on both devices so I could note what audio and video codecs Plex “Now Playing” section showed being as being transcoded to.

I converted content that is 4K HDR (MKV container w/ HVEC DTS-HD) to H264 and AC3 / AAC to test casting to Vizio Smartcast and to Plex on Fire TV. I used Handbrake.

Plex properly used AC3 for a direct audio stream to the Vizio Smartcast. However, it is transcoding the video from H264 to H264.

FireTV is a direct play of the content without an issue.

Any idea how to stop the Vizio from requiring a transcoding of H264 into H264?

Additionally, below are my Handbrake settings. What is the optimal setting for Plex to be able to play directly to Vizio and Fire TV && to keep the BEST quality possible?

The relevant part of the XML for the encoded file is:

<Media videoResolution="4k" id="857028" duration="7991659" bitrate="16163" width="3840" height="1600" aspectRatio="2.35" audioChannels="6" audioCodec="ac3" videoCodec="h264" container="mp4" videoFrameRate="24p" optimizedForStreaming="1" has64bitOffsets="1" videoProfile="main">
<Part accessible="1" exists="1" id="857159" key="/library/parts/857159/1502536365/file.mp4" duration="7991659" file="/media/storage4/Videos/4K Movies/Patriots Day (2016) 4K AC3 AAC MP4.mp4" size="16146041505" container="mp4" has64bitOffsets="1" optimizedForStreaming="1" videoProfile="main">
<Stream id="1740693" streamType="1" default="1" codec="h264" index="0" bitrate="15149" bitDepth="8" chromaSubsampling="4:2:0" colorRange="tv" colorSpace="bt2020nc" frameRate="23.976" hasScalingMatrix="0" height="1600" level="51" profile="main" refFrames="4" streamIdentifier="1" width="3840"/>
<Stream id="1740694" streamType="2" selected="1" default="1" codec="ac3" index="1" channels="6" bitrate="512" language="English" languageCode="eng" audioChannelLayout="5.1(side)" samplingRate="48000" streamIdentifier="2"/>
<Stream id="1740695" streamType="2" codec="aac" index="2" channels="6" bitrate="502" language="English" languageCode="eng" audioChannelLayout="5.1" profile="lc" samplingRate="48000" streamIdentifier="3"/>
<Stream id="1740786" key="/library/streams/1740786" streamType="3" codec="srt" language="English" languageCode="eng"/>
<Stream id="1740787" key="/library/streams/1740787" streamType="3" codec="srt" language="Español" languageCode="spa"/>
</Part>

Here are my Handbrake settings:

THANK YOU!

[kegobeer-plex]

I would use JuiceWSA’s Handbrake guide to get great quality and somewhat smallish file sizes. We need the server logs to determine why the file is transcoded. Close Plex Server, wait one minute, restart it, wait two minutes, initiate playback on your TV of a file that gets transcoded, wait 30 seconds, then go to the Plex server settings -> help, click download logs, then attach that zip file to your next post, along with the name of the file you played.

https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200250417-Plex-Media-Server-Log-Files

[leelynds]

According to the XML of the file, the first audio track is AC3 (5.1), the second audio track is 6 channel (or 5.1) AAC

I would suggest you convert the original surround track to stereo AAC and set it as the first audio track, and then add the original AC3 track as the second track.

In my experience, 5.1 AAC audio is a bit of a problem on some clients, and starts a transcode session where both the video and audio are transcoded. Some clients will automatically select the best audio track, and if the device supports surround sound, that track will be used, or the first stereo track if surround is not supported.

[derekcentrico]

Please find the log attached. I played a file called “Patriots Day (2016) 4K AC3 AAC MP4.mp4.”