Server Version#: 1.25.6.5577
Player Version#: 8.30.1.31022 (b7faf36f)
Hi,
I have a 16GB 2017 NVIDIA Shield TV running Shield Android TV SW Version 9.0.1(33.1.0.283). It’s connected directly to a TV which is not at all advanced (it’s a Samsung T32E310EX) via HDMI. In particular the TV does not support Atmos as far as I understand.
I have several 4K HDR HEVC video file with EAC3 Atmos 5.1 audio. I am aware that this is a heavy video file, but I would expect the Shield to play this video without transcoding, only transcoding the audio. However, with or without subtitles the video appears to transcode:
Video: Transcode (HEVC (HW) - H264 (HW))
Audio: Transcode (EAC3 - OPUS)
Transcode Reason: E-AC-3 audio is not supported by the device
My QNAP server cannot cope with this transcoding, and thus I cannot play the video.
Using Kodi on the same Shield Android TV, the video and audio plays without issue. Using Plex on a different NVIDIA Shield connected to a LG C1 OLED via HDMI (and then a onto an amplifier via optical connection) the sound works OK. The TV receives Atmos and passes it on to the amplifier as Dolby Digital.
I have tried to resolve this with various settings within Plex and the Shield audio output settings but I do not appear to be able to. Is this a limitation or feature of plex that I need to adjust some setting for?
I have now found several video files like this, and it appears it’s actually a video problem, rather than an audio problem. However, I cannot solve it still. It is not clear to me why some files are transcoded, and others are not. I am on the same local network, and, regardless, do not have any bandwidth restrictions.
Some excerpts from a log:
Feb 24, 2022 11:29:40.411 [0x7efcdf80ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: 10-bit HEVC test succeeded
Feb 24, 2022 11:29:40.414 [0x7efcdf80ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Selected protocol hls; container: mkv
Feb 24, 2022 11:29:40.414 [0x7efcdf80ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: analyzing media item 37103
Feb 24, 2022 11:29:40.414 [0x7efcdf80ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: My video File (The year): Direct Play is disabled
Feb 24, 2022 11:29:40.414 [0x7efcdf80ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: My video File (The year): media must be transcoded in order to use the hls protocol
Feb 24, 2022 11:29:40.414 [0x7efcdf80ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: My video File (The year): selected audio stream is not the first audio stream and direct play stream selection is not enabled
Feb 24, 2022 11:29:40.414 [0x7efcdf80ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: My video File (The year): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/hevc
Feb 24, 2022 11:29:40.414 [0x7efcdf80ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: My video File (The year): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/hevc/eac3
Feb 24, 2022 11:29:40.414 [0x7efcdf80ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: My video File (The year): selected sidecar subtitle stream cannot be direct played
Feb 24, 2022 11:29:40.414 [0x7efcdf80ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: My video File (The year): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/hevc/truehd
Feb 24, 2022 11:29:40.414 [0x7efcdf80ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: My video File (The year): selected sidecar subtitle stream cannot be direct played
Feb 24, 2022 11:29:40.414 [0x7efcdf80ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: My video File (The year): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/hevc/ac3
Feb 24, 2022 11:29:40.414 [0x7efcdf80ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: My video File (The year): selected sidecar subtitle stream cannot be direct played
Feb 24, 2022 11:29:40.414 [0x7efcdf80ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: My video File (The year): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/hevc/ac3
Feb 24, 2022 11:29:40.414 [0x7efcdf80ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: My video File (The year): selected sidecar subtitle stream cannot be direct played
Feb 24, 2022 11:29:40.414 [0x7efcdf80ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] My video File - video.colorTrc limitation applies: smpte2084 != bt709|bt470m|smpte240m|smpte170m|bt470bg|bt2020-10 [list]
Feb 24, 2022 11:29:40.415 [0x7efcdf80ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: My video File (The year): no remuxable profile found, so video stream will be transcoded
Feb 24, 2022 11:29:40.415 [0x7efcdf80ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Cannot direct stream video stream due to profile or setting limitations
Feb 24, 2022 11:29:40.415 [0x7efcdf80ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing hevc (decoder) with hwdevice vaapi
Feb 24, 2022 11:29:40.415 [0x7efcdf80ab38] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API vaapi
Looking up the Samsung, it doesn’t appear to support HDR. This is indicated in your log snippet by the line that mentions the video.colorTrc limitation.
first, you may want to read the entire thread @ Plex, 4k, transcoding, and you, yes it is long, but contains a lot of questions and answers and wisdom from many users.
second, since your tv cannot play HD (or EAC3/DD+) audio, the audio will be transcoded.
if the audio is transcoding, and you have subtitles enabled, then that can cause video to be transcoded (in order to keep audio/video/subs in sync).
you can switch to an ac3/dd/dts audio track, or change your shield/plex settings to not pass through, so that the shield can decode the audio to PCM so the tv can play it.
this should appear as all direct play on your pms dashboard.
pms > shield decodes audio > sends audio to tv
you won’t get hd audio or truehd/atmos though.
for best results, you really want a 4k/atmos compatible AV receiver or soundbar.
then you should leave shield/plex pass through enabled, and the shield plugged into the AVR/soundbar (NOT the tv).
then it would be
pms > shield > hdmi > AVR > hdmi > tv
and you would get the full 4k + truehd/atmos experience.
Yep, looks like the main issue here is the HDR content. It’s strange as some HDR content works OK (PQ encoding seems to not be a bother for direct play?)
I don’t know enough about it; so I’ll read up on the thread that TeknoJunky linked.
