Unable to direct play hevc with latest Chromecast

Plex Players Streaming Devices
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1

Server Version#: Synology 1.20.2.3402
Player Version#: Plex for Android TV 8.7.2.20952

4K HDR HEVC video files on the new Chromecast with Google TV are requiring transcoding and not directly playing back. The Shield TV/ Fire Stick 4k were able to direct play these files. I’ve set the local/remote quality to ‘Maximum’. The TV is a 1080p SDR display.

Here is a snippet from the log:

Oct 07, 2020 09:25:28.264 [0x7eff153be700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API nvdec
Oct 07, 2020 09:25:28.265 [0x7eff153be700] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Cannot load libcuda.so.1
Oct 07, 2020 09:25:28.265 [0x7eff153be700] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Could not dynamically load CUDA
Oct 07, 2020 09:25:28.265 [0x7eff153be700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: opening hw device failed - probably not supported by this system, error: Unknown error occurred
Oct 07, 2020 09:25:28.265 [0x7eff153be700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Scaled up video bitrate to 154660Kbps based on 4.500000x fudge factor.
Oct 07, 2020 09:25:28.265 [0x7eff153be700] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Selected protocol hls; container: mkv
Oct 07, 2020 09:25:28.265 [0x7eff153be700] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: analyzing media item 12316
Oct 07, 2020 09:25:28.265 [0x7eff153be700] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Beetlejuice (1988): Direct Play is disabled
Oct 07, 2020 09:25:28.265 [0x7eff153be700] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Beetlejuice (1988): media must be transcoded in order to use the hls protocol
Oct 07, 2020 09:25:28.265 [0x7eff153be700] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Beetlejuice (1988): selected audio stream is not the first audio stream and direct play stream selection is not enabled
Oct 07, 2020 09:25:28.265 [0x7eff153be700] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Beetlejuice (1988): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/hevc
Oct 07, 2020 09:25:28.265 [0x7eff153be700] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Beetlejuice (1988): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/hevc/truehd
Oct 07, 2020 09:25:28.265 [0x7eff153be700] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Beetlejuice (1988): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/hevc/dca
Oct 07, 2020 09:25:28.265 [0x7eff153be700] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Beetlejuice (1988): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/hevc/ac3
Oct 07, 2020 09:25:28.265 [0x7eff153be700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Beetlejuice - video.colorTrc limitation applies: smpte2084 != bt709|bt470m|smpte240m|smpte170m|bt470bg|bt2020-10 [list]
Oct 07, 2020 09:25:28.265 [0x7eff153be700] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Beetlejuice (1988): no remuxable profile found, so video stream will be transcoded
Oct 07, 2020 09:25:28.265 [0x7eff153be700] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Cannot direct stream video stream due to profile or setting limitations
1 Like
2

Try picking the first audio track and see if that direct plays. If not, please provide the entire log and the XML for that file.

3

I tried the first audio track. I’ve also tried multiple other video files both with DTS and DD, they all are requiring transcoding on the new Chromecast but work fine on Shield/FireTV.
Here is the log and XML:

Request: [10.0.0.43:35312 (Subnet)] GET /video/:/transcode/universal/decision?audioBoost=100&autoAdjustQuality=0&directPlay=0&directStream=1&directStreamAudio=1&fastSeek=1&hasMDE=1&location=lan&maxVideoBitrate=200000&mediaBufferSize=157248&mediaIndex=0&partIndex=0&path=%2Flibrary%2Fmetadata%2F6727&protocol=*&session=a0f7bce4b05dfc2d-com-plexapp-android&subtitleSize=100&videoBitrate=200000&videoQuality=100&videoResolution=3840x2160 (8 live) GZIP Signed-in Token (****)
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.907 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Found session GUID of a0f7bce4b05dfc2d-com-plexapp-android in session start.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.908 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] TranscodeUniversalRequest: using augmented profile Android
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.909 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Downloading document http://127.0.0.1:32400/library/metadata/6727?includeBandwidths=1&offset=-1&X-Plex-Incomplete-Segments=1&X-Plex-Session-Identifier=a0f7bce4b05dfc2d-com-plexapp-android
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.909 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Auth: authenticated user 1 as ****
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.924 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Audio Stream: 37152, Subtitle Stream: -1
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.928 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing h264_vaapi (encoder)
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.929 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API vaapi
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.932 [0x7f42a0567700] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - libva: /volume1/@appstore/Plex Media Server/lib/dri/iHD_drv_video.so init failed
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.933 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x32315659 -> yuv420p.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.933 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x30323449 -> yuv420p.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.933 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x3231564e -> nv12.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.933 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x32595559 -> yuyv422.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.933 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x59565955 -> uyvy422.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.933 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x48323234 -> yuv422p.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.933 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x58424752 -> rgb0.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.933 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x58524742 -> bgr0.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.933 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x30313050 -> p010le.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.933 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Created surface 0x4000000.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.933 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Direct mapping possible.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.933 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Driver supports RC modes CQP, CBR, VBR.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.933 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Driver does not support ICQ RC mode.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.933 [0x7f42a0567700] WARN - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - No quality level set; using default (20).
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.933 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Using nv12 as format of reconstructed frames.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.933 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Created surface 0x4000001.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.933 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Direct mapping possible.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.934 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Using fixed QP = 20 / 20 / 24 for IDR- / P- / B-frames.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.935 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing hevc (decoder) with hwdevice vaapi
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.935 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API vaapi
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - libva: /volume1/@appstore/Plex Media Server/lib/dri/iHD_drv_video.so init failed
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x32315659 -> yuv420p.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x30323449 -> yuv420p.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x3231564e -> nv12.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x32595559 -> yuyv422.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x59565955 -> uyvy422.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x48323234 -> yuv422p.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x58424752 -> rgb0.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x58524742 -> bgr0.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x30313050 -> p010le.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: Testing with profile 'Main 10'
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - nal_unit_type: 32(VPS), nuh_layer_id: 0, temporal_id: 0
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - nal_unit_type: 33(SPS), nuh_layer_id: 0, temporal_id: 0
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - nal_unit_type: 34(PPS), nuh_layer_id: 0, temporal_id: 0
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - nal_unit_type: 20(IDR_N_LP), nuh_layer_id: 0, temporal_id: 0
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Decoding VPS
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Main 10 profile bitstream
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Decoding SPS
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Main 10 profile bitstream
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Decoding VUI
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Decoding PPS
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format vaapi_vld chosen by get_format().
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format vaapi_vld requires hwaccel initialisation.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Failed setup for format vaapi_vld: hwaccel initialisation returned error.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format vaapi_vld not usable, retrying get_format() without it.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.936 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format yuv420p10le chosen by get_format().
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.937 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Decoded frame with POC 0.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.937 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: 10-bit HEVC test returned software frame
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.938 [0x7f42a0567700] WARN - [Transcode] Codecs: avcodec_open2 returned -95 for decoder 'hevc'
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.938 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing hevc (decoder) with hwdevice nvdec
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.938 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API nvdec
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.938 [0x7f42a0567700] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Cannot load libcuda.so.1
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.938 [0x7f42a0567700] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Could not dynamically load CUDA
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.938 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: opening hw device failed - probably not supported by this system, error: Unknown error occurred
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.938 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Scaled up video bitrate to 154660Kbps based on 4.500000x fudge factor.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.939 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Selected protocol hls; container: mkv
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.939 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: analyzing media item 12316
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.939 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Beetlejuice (1988): Direct Play is disabled
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.939 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Beetlejuice (1988): media must be transcoded in order to use the hls protocol
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.939 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Beetlejuice (1988): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/hevc
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.939 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Beetlejuice (1988): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/hevc/truehd
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.939 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Beetlejuice (1988): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/hevc/dca
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.939 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Beetlejuice (1988): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/hevc/ac3
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.939 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Beetlejuice - video.colorTrc limitation applies: smpte2084 != bt709|bt470m|smpte240m|smpte170m|bt470bg|bt2020-10 [list]
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.939 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Beetlejuice (1988): no remuxable profile found, so video stream will be transcoded
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.939 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Cannot direct stream video stream due to profile or setting limitations
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.940 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing hevc (decoder) with hwdevice vaapi
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.940 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API vaapi
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.940 [0x7f42a0567700] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - libva: /volume1/@appstore/Plex Media Server/lib/dri/iHD_drv_video.so init failed
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.940 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x32315659 -> yuv420p.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.940 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x30323449 -> yuv420p.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.940 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x3231564e -> nv12.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.940 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x32595559 -> yuyv422.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.940 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x59565955 -> uyvy422.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.940 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x48323234 -> yuv422p.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.940 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x58424752 -> rgb0.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.940 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x58524742 -> bgr0.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.940 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format 0x30313050 -> p010le.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.940 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: Testing with profile 'Main 10'
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.941 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - nal_unit_type: 32(VPS), nuh_layer_id: 0, temporal_id: 0
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.941 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - nal_unit_type: 33(SPS), nuh_layer_id: 0, temporal_id: 0
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.941 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - nal_unit_type: 34(PPS), nuh_layer_id: 0, temporal_id: 0
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.941 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - nal_unit_type: 20(IDR_N_LP), nuh_layer_id: 0, temporal_id: 0
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.941 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Decoding VPS
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.941 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Main 10 profile bitstream
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.941 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Decoding SPS
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.941 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Main 10 profile bitstream
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.941 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Decoding VUI
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.941 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Decoding PPS
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.941 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format vaapi_vld chosen by get_format().
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.941 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format vaapi_vld requires hwaccel initialisation.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.941 [0x7f42a0567700] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Failed setup for format vaapi_vld: hwaccel initialisation returned error.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.941 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format vaapi_vld not usable, retrying get_format() without it.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.941 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Format yuv420p10le chosen by get_format().
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.941 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Decoded frame with POC 0.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.941 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: 10-bit HEVC test returned software frame
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.942 [0x7f42a0567700] WARN - [Transcode] Codecs: avcodec_open2 returned -95 for decoder 'hevc'
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.942 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: testing hevc (decoder) with hwdevice nvdec
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.942 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: testing API nvdec
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.942 [0x7f42a0567700] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Cannot load libcuda.so.1
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.942 [0x7f42a0567700] ERROR - [Transcode] [FFMPEG] - Could not dynamically load CUDA
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.942 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Codecs: hardware transcoding: opening hw device failed - probably not supported by this system, error: Unknown error occurred
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.942 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Scaled up video bitrate to 154660Kbps based on 4.500000x fudge factor.
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.943 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Cannot direct stream audio stream due to codec truehd when profile only allows aac
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.943 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Beetlejuice (1988): selected media 0 / 12316
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.943 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Streaming Resource: Adding session 0x7f424c3f6ef0:a0f7bce4b05dfc2d-com-plexapp-android which is using transcoder slot.  Used slots is now 1
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.943 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Streaming Resource: Added session 0x7f424c3f6ef0:a0f7bce4b05dfc2d-com-plexapp-android
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.943 [0x7f42a0567700] DEBUG - [Transcode] Streaming Resource: Reached Decision id=6727 codes=(General=1001,Direct play not available; Conversion OK. Direct Play=3000,App cannot direct play this item. Direct play is disabled. Transcode=1001,Direct play not available; Conversion OK.) media=(id=12316 part=(id=12445 decision=transcode container=mkv protocol=hls streams=(Video=(id=37151 decision=transcode bitrate=154660 encoder=h264_vaapi width=3840 height=2076) Audio=(id=37152 decision=transcode bitrate=774 encoder=aac channels=6 rate=48000))))
Oct 07, 2020 14:24:34.947 [0x7f42b9db1700] DEBUG - Completed: [10.0.0.43:35312] 200 GET /video/:/transcode/universal/decision?audioBoost=100&autoAdjustQuality=0&directPlay=0&directStream=1&directStreamAudio=1&fastSeek=1&hasMDE=1&location=lan&maxVideoBitrate=200000&mediaBufferSize=157248&mediaIndex=0&partIndex=0&path=%2Flibrary%2Fmetadata%2F6727&protocol=*&session=a0f7bce4b05dfc2d-com-plexapp-android&subtitleSize=100&videoBitrate=200000&videoQuality=100&videoResolution=3840x2160 (8 live) GZIP 40ms 3183 bytes (pipelined: 9)

<SessionReport version="2" startTime="0" startTimestamp="Oct 07, 2020 14:24:35.320" key="/library/metadata/6727" session="a0f7bce4b05dfc2d-com-plexapp-android" transcode="a0f7bce4b05dfc2d-com-plexapp-android">
<User id="1" thumb="https://plex.tv/users/" title="*" />
<Player address="10.0.0.43" device="Chromecast" machineIdentifier="a0f7bce4b05dfc2d-com-plexapp-android" model="" platform="Android" platformVersion="10" product="Plex for Android (TV)" remotePublicAddress="*.*.*.*" state="" title="" vendor="" version="8.7.2.20952" local="1" relayed="0" secure="0" userID="1" />
<Variants>
<Variant id="b93c6ddf-f354-4e7c-b523-2fd3ca54d856" targetBitrate="163206" context="streaming" sourceVideoCodec="hevc" sourceAudioCodec="truehd" videoDecision="transcode" audioDecision="transcode" protocol="hls" container="mkv" videoCodec="h264" audioCodec="aac" audioChannels="6" transcodeHwRequested="1" transcodeHwEncoding="vaapi" transcodeHwEncodingTitle="Intel (VA API)" transcodeHwFullPipeline="0">
<Media id="12316" videoProfile="main 10" audioChannels="6" audioCodec="aac" bitrate="155434" container="mkv" duration="5525460" height="2076" protocol="hls" videoCodec="h264" videoFrameRate="24p" videoResolution="4K" width="3840" selected="1">
<Part deepAnalysisVersion="4" hasThumbnail="1" id="12445" requiredBandwidths="2147483647,2147483647,2147483647,2147483647,2147483647,2147483647,2147483647,2147483647" videoProfile="main 10" bitrate="155434" container="mkv" duration="5525460" height="2076" protocol="hls" width="3840" decision="transcode" selected="1">
<Stream bitrate="154660" codec="h264" colorPrimaries="bt2020" default="1" displayTitle="4K (HEVC Main 10 HDR)" extendedDisplayTitle="Beetlejuice.1988.2160p.UHD(4K HEVC Main 10 HDR)" frameRate="23.975999999999999" height="2076" id="37151" language="English" languageCode="eng" requiredBandwidths="68206,65570,58430,50928,47204,43987,38922,36407" streamType="1" width="3840" decision="transcode" location="segments-av" />
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4

Wrong XML file. Investigate Media Information and Formats | Plex Support

And for logs please provide them as a text file.

You can’t compare. The Chromecast has very codec capabilities compared to these.

The issue could also be that the Google casting profile needs an update. I don’t think anything’s been done to actively support this new device.

5

Here is the contents of the logs and XML:
Plex_movie.xml.txt (55.3 KB) Plex Media Server.log (173.5 KB)

6

Is there a way to manually update the profile for the new device? No DTS tracks will play at all currently. I don’t know if this is even on development radar but currently the Plex client isn’t very usable.

7

You log shows that you’ve chosen the TrueHD audio track. The CC doesn’t support TrueHD audio. 4K HEVC is only supported when the file is direct played. Since the audio can’t be direct played, it has to be transcoded. Now since it’s not direct playing anymore, the 4K hevc can’t be used and has to be transcoded to h264.

Your second audio track is DTS-HD MA. The Chromecast doesn’t support that either.

No. The CC doesn’t support DTS audio. it should be transcoding that. If not, I’ll need PMS logs to see what’s going on.

1 Like
8

I’ve tried with AAC and DD 5.1 tracks and the logs are pretty similar, it still tries to transcode the video.

From the support page, it should be able to transcode audio, but leave the video alone:

Partially-Transcoded Direct Stream

You might have a file that has a stream-compatible video track, but an audio track that needs transcoding. For example, your playback device cannot handle DTS tracks, but works with AC3. In this case:

The Audio track will be transcoded from the standard DTS core audio track to AC3;
The original Video track will not be touched; and
The transcoded audio track is sent with the unaltered video track to your device.

https://support.plex.tv/articles/200250387-streaming-media-direct-play-and-direct-stream/

9

That depends on the device. Some devices do not support the same codecs when direct streaming. If this was h264, there wouldn’t be a problem. You could transcode the audio and not touch the video, but that’s not always the case with hevc or 4K.

Your earlier logs indicated that direct play is only possible with the first audio track. This cold be a limitation when playing 4k hevc (I’m not sure), but it is highly possible. Also, unless it’s changed from the older devices, DD 5.1 is only supported as passthrough, which means the device the CC is connected to must also support DD 5.1, otherwise PMS has to transcode to another 5.1 codec or to drop it to 2 channel.

If you have another video you feel should not need transcoding then please play that file and get me the PMS log and xml for that video.

10

Can I ask why things work differently w/r/t partial transcoding for H.264 and H.265? Something to do with remuxing/containers/streaming? Something else?

11

When direct played, the file is sent as is. When not direct playing, the file is remuxed or transcoded into smaller files. The client plays back each file in sequence. Codec support is not always the same with these 2 methods. It’s up to the device what is supported.

12

Attached are server logs after attempting to play 4 different items all with DTS tracks. Each one failed after 5 seconds or so with “An error ocurred while attempting to play this video”

Plex Media Server Logs_2020-10-08_10-30-53.zip (2.4 MB)

13

The video was playing for 5 seconds then stopped or only a spinner for 5 seconds?

14

Your logs don’t show the playback attempts. It looks like you didn’t have debug logging enabled before and only turned it on before pulling the logs. That setting is not retroactive. You’ll need to recreate the issue with that setting enabled, so it gets logged, then you’ll need to send me new logs. Just playback 1 file.

15

Only a spinner for 5 seconds, video never plays.

16

I see the playback attempts in the logs I sent. In Plex Media Server log. Line 27277 is a transcode attempt for the first movie I tried. Time stamp Oct 08, 2020 10:29:16.807

1 Like
17

I was able to grab a log from the chromecast Android client using Network Logging. Attached here.

logging.txt (1.1 MB)

18

(Oh I follow. It’s not specifically about H.264 or H.265, but the ENTIRE combination of what’s supported end-to-end. Thanks.)

19

Ah. The new Google TV device actually runs the Plex app. I thought you were just casting to it. No wonder I couldn’t find the casting information. I’ll have to recheck your logs. I’ll get back to you.

20

Yes it’s a Google TV interface so it’s running the latest Android google client.