They switched to a new backend player away from MPV because MPV was causing overheating and memory issues on the Apple TV, which in turn was believed to be the cause of the stuttering and playback issues that everyone has been having issues with.
However, this new experimental player introduced its own issues with audio sync, HDR playback, and LiveTV/MPEGTS that they’ve been working to clear up before releasing to the public.
Releasing an update that fixes the stutter but throws audio randomly out of sync or blows out the image doesn’t make sense. We’re seeing progress in the experimental beta, but unfortunately the new experimental player didn’t make it into the 8.44 public release as there are still cases where beta testers are experiencing issues.
I believe the TestFlight Beta forum is public, and you can follow progress there, and I recommend doing so, as the developers are active and engaged. I get that this is super frustrating, but it would also be frustrating for Plex to release the “fix” that breaks other basic functionality.
I don’t know if that was sarcasm or not… but I’ll just say that I really want this fixed too, and I’m just trying to be helpful to the community.
The testing beta is still open based on recent Plex Dev posts, so if you’d like to join and give some feedback on the new app, you can fill out their experimental beta request form. If you’ve already filled one out and haven’t heard back, please PM @Craig_Holliday to look into it.
it was not sarcasm. I just think it’s sad that a plex customer found the time to type a few sentences explaining the beta situation where paid plex employees could not.
And no, I don’t really want to follow the entire beta thread. I’m not interested in testing a major beta release with multiple bugs for them, I just want this specific issue fixed.
I have this issue with only selected episodes from ripped DVD content (Big Bang Theory). There are several episodes (always the same) that are stuck or show artifacts.
It works perfectly in the browser app.
In April it will have been 2 years since this issue was reported. In March the beta testing efforts will have been going on for a year without any fixes being deployed. I’ve engaged with the testing thread and they deleted any posts that ask critical questions. The key thing that is missing is an estimated date for shipping a fix. If someone could give a target date then we’ll all shut up until then. I’m a leader in an IT delivery shop and I can tell you first hand that this would not be tolerated in my organization. IT estimates and target dates are critical to IT delivery. They mitigate scope creep and ensure transparency with stakeholders.
Hopefully they will provide an update soon on current progress and a target date for a fix. However I won’t hold my breath.
There are too many users in the beta thread that are happy for the it to continue indefinitely and to address every minor flaw, while being incapable of acknowledging any flaw of the Plex team.
Almost two years later and the app is still broken. I’m up to version 8.45 which was released on 1/28/25 and the video still stutters and is unwatchable.
At this point just do a merger with infuse company and use their player and your server stuff, insane how I have to pay for subscription to infuse to have normal player on apple devices
The stuttering is caused by MPV player which is used by Plex there’s also a frame drop/skipping issue present caused again by MPV player again. The frame skipping issue is also present in Jellyfin so there’s no point in switching server programs.
The only solution to this issue is to use Infuse which plays Plex hosted videos using it’s own in house player.
Until the Plex team builds their own in house player I don’t see a fix to this issue anytime soon for now the Plex TVOS app is rendered useless by MPV.
The only thing to do right now is either make some noise about the issue on MPV Github GitHub · Where software is built or use Infuse Instead.
Chiming in - I too have this issue on appletv using both the public and beta versions of the app. Stutters every few seconds. Infuse does not have this issue.
Plex is literally the worst media center ever. I regret the plex pass lifetime subscription so much. I also have stuttering with the latest version of Plex. I own an Apple TV 4k Ethernet and every video is stuttering every few seconds. This is so ridiculus. I downloaded Infuse player and started a test license for pro version, connected my plex server with it and have zero playback issues. I want my money back, really…
