Server Version#: 1.24.2.4973
Player Version#: 5.23.1
(Is that even needed for this question?)
I’ll open with a caveat that I have yet to check any logs but since this is more informational and I doubt the server logs will answer my question (as it is app functionality related…) I’ll ask anyway.
For lower resolution content played to the Xbox One app, how does Plex upscale the content to the display resolution? Is it handled by the Plex app and, if so, what filter/method is used? If not, I gather it’s handled by the Xbox itself rather than the server as content is never upscaled on the fly.
The reason I bring this up is I was watching V (2009) earlier and started to watch on the Xbox (my platform of choice for media consumption). The episode is a 720p Blu-ray copy and it seemed to play alright for the most part, 12 dropped frames right at the beginning but otherwise, Direct Play from server to player. But I noticed that something wasn’t quite right with the video. Despite the direct play and no frame dropping (at least not according to the video stats), the video still seemed a little choppy, almost like tearing.
I know that the PC application is a little better at playing content so I switched to that. Both the Xbox and the PC are connected via HDMI to the same screen and both at 2160p. I continued the episode from where I had left it - I had played it for about 16 minutes before the choppiness got a little too much - and it played flawlessly on the PC. In fact, the visual quality was remarkably improved on the PC over the Xbox.
Since I know the PC application is better able to render and perform without platform constraints like the Xbox app, I just wondered how upscaling is done through the Xbox app and, possibly (although it’s a massive long shot, I know) how it could possibly be improved.
Note: I’ve used the term “upscale” quite liberally in this post knowing full well that this isn’t really upscaling, but I can’t think of a more appropriate term so it’ll have to do.
