Server Version#: 1.32.8.7639
Player Version#: 10.6.0.5141
Got a new TV. Old TV was Roku, new is Google TV.
Signed myself up for Beta and installed Plex app.
Tested everything prior to installing. All worked great. So went ahead and pulled old TV and installed the new one in to place.
Now today suddenly all my TrueHD 7.1 is transcoding to Opus 7.1 and is not being detected by my AVR. It only detects and plays as Stereo. This is on the same titles I tested with just yesterday that previously worked and transcoded into EAC3 7.1 format which was properly detected and played back in surround.
Confirmed all settings are still correct, and I tested some titles that are not TrueHD and they seem to transcode (or direct play) correctly.
So why today is it now choosing to transcode to Opus instead of EAC3?
How do I fix it?
How do I force it to avoid Opus and use EAC3?
So after much fussing yesterday, it somehow decided to switch back to EAC3 and away I went. Iām not sure what resulted in the change as I was doing all manner of tests.
Well today again now Iāve gone to continue watching, and it has decided to go back to Opus, and I am again only getting stereo.
I am pretty frustrated at this point.
Is there a server setting, a player setting, a hidden setting, a config setting? Something that can block Opus, or set a priority or something? Or something consistent I can at least do to get it to transcode to EAC3 instead?
With the video playing, go check out your Plex Dashboard and see what it says as to why the media is being transcoded. It will provide some reason there. Most likely it will say that they client does not support TRUEHD. Check out this link for supported CODECs: ×××× × ×Ŗ×××Ŗ ×¢×××Ø Google Cast | Google for Developers
Try setting the āAudio Passthroughā on your plex client and see if that makes any difference: https://support.plex.tv/articles/audio-configuration/
Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately Iām beyond all of that already.
Yes, TrueHD is not supported by this client, which is why it transcodes. This part Iām already aware of and fine with. The issue is that sometimes it decides to transcode to EAC3, which works, and sometimes it decides to transcode to Opus, which does not work. So it is capable of doing what it needs to, itās just inconsistent and thatās what Iām trying to resolve.
Passthrough etc. are all set correctly on client and TV. HDMI cable is properly rated and reputable, and connected to eARC port for TV and AVR. Playback works for files that arenāt TrueHD, and it works randomly for TrueHD. Iām trying to get it so it works reliably for TrueHD.
Ahhh gotcha. Iāve had similar issues with my Hisense L9G projector that runs Google TV. Do you have an Xbox One X or something similar that you could try running Plex client on to see if you have the same behavior? It seems that device plays better all around than Google TV doesā¦
I have an Xbox, which direct plays everything as it should. However, I donāt want to have to turn on another device, nor use a controller just to Plex.
I had managed to find that thread myself in my searching, and yes, if I incorrectly set the passthrough to optical, it forces transcoding, but itās degraded transcoding: AC3 5.1 vs EAC3 7.1. So thatās not a solution.
Iāve done more searching, and it seems like Iām not alone in experiencing these issues, which seem to stem back at least a couple of years. Unfortunately, there seems to have been little to no official response or support from Plex regarding the matter, and nothing in the way of a suitable resolution that Iāve found so far.
What I have discovered, and am now researching, are XML based client profiles, which apparently can define supported codecs etc. Unfortunately the information regarding these seems to be piecemeal and sparse at best. There is a very old and now closed thread that @PlexInfo created all the way back in 2013 Writing profiles for DLNA devices that seemed to be the early basis for what exists behind the scenes now.
But they are perhaps what is going to be the best I can do to force a solution. Hopefully I can figure it out. Or find a working example that someone has successfully used, but most of them seem to be for the Shield.
Understandable! If you figure it out, please post your follow-up I donāt care much to fire up the Xbox either, but I always do when I want the ābest qualityā theater experience from Plex
Welp, feeling a bit overwhelmed and discouraged at this point. Between the guide and examples I think I have enough of a grasp on how it should look, even if I feel a bit out of my depth.
However, I havenāt had any success in tracking down what file formats are supported by my TV (some manufacturers list them, others do not) and I donāt want to break any existing functionality or make things worse. I just want to disable Opus.
I could start randomly trying other XML files that I have found, but that feels very trial and error and not something I really want to waste time on.
Try Jellyfin and Emby (have been meaning to anyway)
Hope a Plex update fixes things
Return this TV and go back to my old one, or get a different one (but Black Friday and Boxing Day are now over). Plus this TV is a definite upgrade, itās just this annoying issue.
Not really enthused about any to be honest. I just want Plex to consistently choose EAC3 and never Opus, instead of randomly one or the other
they say hate is a strong word, but I āHATEā when Plex insists on doing things their way for things that add no value; just frustration.
for years I kept 1080p, 720p and 540p files in one folder with multiple audios each (for some Movies/Shows). Plex always chose the right file; at some point Plex started converting the highest video and audio for all remote users. i tried working with a few employees to fix the issue, they really tried, but no success.
After 2 or 3 months I gave up and separated the Local (1080p) files from the remote (720p) and put on 1 audio file; either AC3 192 2.0 or AC3 384 5.1 (never both). Out of about 20 devices, none of them have an issue playing through any other player or directly. Introduce Plex and it wants to transcode EVERY FāCKING thing; when there is zero need. Enable direct play and the players crashā¦ grrrrr.
More frustrating is as users randomly use Shield or Soundbars and Plex wants to convert to OPUS, then its hit or miss audio on their end. The only work around is to stop and start until it decides to direct play the audio.
and I hope nobody says OPUS is the greatest thing since the reservoir condom, it serves me no purpose if most of the setups have an issue with it; and yes the issue is old hardware that work perfectly fine.
the cherry on top is when you leave Plex for a few months and the issue is fixed by updates but 2 new ones have been introduced.
It should only be choosing Opus for Dolby audio transcodes if EAC3 is unsupported, so its likely the detection isnt quite working or another bug exists where its choosing the wrong format.
You might be able to temporarily work around the problem, by picking Optical passthrough in the settings and enabling EAC3 in the codec selection.
Replicated the issue, fetched the logs and DMād them.
My app version is now showing as 10.7.0.5286 but the issue remains.
I only get AC3 and DTS as options if Optical is incorrectly selected as the passthrough. Which means it degrades the channels from 7.1 to 5.1. Better than stereo, sure, but not the full experience that is possible when it is working.
Tried Kodi, took a lot of fussing to even get a working Plex add-on installed and in the end couldnāt properly figure out passthrough or transcoding for TrueHD. So thatās off the table.
Jellyfin resulted in a slightly different issue. It direct played everything and I couldnāt determine how to get it to Direct Stream and transcode the audio. From posts I found seems like I am not alone there. End result was the same though, namely still only getting stereo at my AVR for TrueHD. So, also not looking like a viable solution or alternative.
On the plus side, now I finally have Jellyfin set up, so I can spend some time checking it out further.
Next up is trying Emby. Will see if that fares any better.
Emby was sadly also a bust. Had seen some reports that it had worked for others, but I cannot get it to work for me. Same issue whereby everything Direct Plays. Trying to force a Direct Stream results in a full transcode. Donāt want to pay for Premiere just to test, and canāt think of any reason why it would make a difference for this particular scenario.
I will experiment with different settings configurations in case there is a combination that works, but not holding out much hope.
So now I may have to roll the dice on client profile XML experimentation, despite not having any input on whether thereās even any point.
All round just quite the frustrating experience. The functionality and capability is there, but itās hit-and-miss as to when it wants to work vs when it doesnāt.
Correction to the above. It is possible to reliably get Direct Streaming with consistent codecs with Emby. There was a server side setting that I was unaware of that was also needed. Very helpful and prompt support over on the Emby forums I might add.
So I at least now have a reliable method to get it to transcode the TrueHD audio to a supported format - Emby. Unfortunately the Android TV app is 2 week trial only, but I think the unlock fee is only $5, which feels like itās worth it after all the time Iāve spent over the last 3 weeks getting nowhere with this.
So if anyone else is stuck dealing with annoying, inconsistent Opus issues, maybe give consider giving Emby a whirl. In this particular instance and use case, it really does seem like the grass is greener.
One last thing to note: I have been able to get reasonably consistent success in retaining EAC3 transcoding instead of Opus by changing my device power on order and therefore my HDMI handshake. I now do TV first and have it CEC my AVR, and this is fairly reliable in having it work. It will still occasionally revert for whatever reason, and then I find I have to do a complete system power off and try again, but at least it seems to get it back working.
Would be nice for a permanent fix or solution from Plex, but in the absence of that, if anyone else is experiencing the same: try either Emby or change your HDMI handshake.
My Roku TV (TCL) died and I wanted to replace it with a new model, but the only new ones were TCL Google TVs - I hated it!
I turned off the customizations and had the screen to only display the apps - and it was really slow. The Google TV UI was slow, Plex seemed quicker, but lacked many functions that Plex for Rolu had and I truly canāt live without them.
An example is hitting the down button while watching something and seeing the cast list.
I also experienced Plex on Google TV crashing frequently.
I ended up sending the TV back, bought a used Roku Ultra, and am using it with an old monitor Iām not currently using.
Waiting on Rokuās newly announced Pro televisionsā¦
Itās crazy that Google thought that bringing the deep layering of menus and settings from Android to a TV was a good idea. Havenāt Google engineers ever used an Apple TV or Roku before?
I use an Android phone and Iām used to it, but bringing that to a TV is lazy.
Iām curious about your thoughts on Roku and Google TV.
Initially I was feeling the same, I think perhaps because I was so used to Roku and I did feel like Google TV was a step backwards.
However, Iām now OK with Google TV. I enabled App Only Mode, made the suggested Developer Mode tweaks which improved the UI enough, and actually find it useful having access to the Play Store etc. that the Android ecosystem brings. There is the very occasional app crash, but itās so infrequent itās not really an issue. I havenāt found any deal breaking differences between the Plex app versions for my use, with the exception of the subject of this thread, namelyā¦
The biggest annoyance has been this damn Opus issue, and the lack of support from Plex.
I donāt care much to fire up the Xbox either, but I always do when I want the ābest qualityā theater experience from Plex 
