Various playback issues on Sony Bravia (Android TV) client

Plex Players Smart TVs
1

Hi folks,

I wonder if anyone could help. Recently, we’ve been having a number of issues with Plex on our Sony TV - issues that did not occur before (we’ve had the TV for about a year).

Specifics:

  • Video frozen on start
    • Videos sometimes start with the video frozen but the audio playing. We need to fast-forward 30 seconds, then back 10 seconds three times, and it then plays correctly
  • Buttons not working
    • Apparently at random, the pause/forward/back buttons just stop working. They’re still working at the TV’s OS level - but Plex seems to ignore them until force-quit and relaunched
  • Marking watched/unwatched behaviour inconsistent
    • Sometimes, watching the first few seconds of a file will mark it as watched
    • Sometimes, it won’t - and marking it as watched manually not only doesn’t mark it as watched, but actually marks it unwatched if it’s partially watched
  • Not remembering playback position
    • When having to exit Plex (to the TV’s OS screen) in order to ‘pause’ a video (because the remote buttons have stopped working), Plex will often restart the video from the start when going back to the file, instead of from the last played position

Taken together, these bugs are pretty annoying. They seem to be relatively recent additions - the only one that we can remember having been present for more than a couple of months is the frozen video on start.

From what I can tell browsing forums, these seem to be a known collection of bugs - mostly, if not entirely, restricted to the Android TV build. To confirm, none of these issues are present when watching the same videos on iPadOS or Plex Web. They also occur with many different filetypes and resolutions.

Could someone please give me some sort of indication as to when these will be fixed? It feels like the Android TV client is just not getting any attention. We’re nearing the point of abandoning Plex, as these bugs are making it such an irritating experience. We recently bought a lifetime PlexPass, as well, which makes it all the more irritating.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or info,

James

Environment:

Server: Hosted Linux box with plenty of resources; Plex server 1.25.4.5468
Client: Plex for Android (TV) 8.29.0.30433
TV: Sony Bravia KD55XH9005 (2020) LED HDR 4K Ultra HD Smart Android TV

Server Version#: 1.25.4.5468
Player Version#: 8.29.0.30433

1 Like
2

Hello? Any staff monitoring this forum? There doesn’t seem to be any way to contact any sort of support resource for Plex, other than these forums - but if staff don’t reply, even to lifetime Plex Pass users, that’s extremely disappointing. I don’t think I’m being unreasonable here.

3

Try others Plex clients

5

Appreciate the suggestion - an older one may well be more stable. I think the Sony Android TV is fairly locked down, though …

6

I also have started having issues with my Sony Bravia (Android TV). Within the last couple of months, live TV started stuttering. Works fine on any other device except my Bravia. It’s about every other second the audio just cuts out. Makes watching TV impossibly annoying. Works fine on my Android phone or on my Windows PC. It only happens on my Sony TV and only started happening within the last couple of months.

7

And have you been able to raise any sort of acknowledgement or support from the Plex team, on any medium?

8

Well, reading through these forums, it appears that they have made it pretty hard to get a hold of them. So, I put it in here. I’m afraid to hound them and get blacklisted or something. I just wish there was an easier way.

9

It certainly does - which I feel is quite user hostile, to be honest. I don’t mind forum-based support, as long as it’s monitored by staff - but that seems to be very hit and miss here.

At the end of the day, Plex is a commercial organisation - and they really do have a duty to their customers. Especially those that support them by purchasing the premium offering. Sadly, it appears they disagree.

10

Well, I’m giving up hope of getting any sort of actual support here.

11

This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.