I’ve been using Plex for many years and have a decent 1080p Blu-ray library but I’m finally buying my first 4K/HDR TV (LG CX 65") and I want to rip new 4K + HDR (Dolby Vision/HDR10) + Dolby Atmos movies.
Which Plex clients can play Dolby Vision + Dolby Atmos? (LG WebOS, Nvidia Shield 2019, or Apple TV 4K)
What are the differences between those three clients?
Is the best (only?) format for Dolby Vision + Dolby Atmos MKV? (ie. MakeMKV 1.15.3)
For Dolby Vision and Atmos it will have to be the Shield.
What do the other clients (LG WebOS and Apple TV 4K) support?
Is the limitation due to the container (DV MKV vs MP4) ?
Dolby Vision support in Plex is a work in progress. There is no uniform support for the various DV profiles across all Plex clients. Search the thread linked below for “Dolby Vision” for details.
The only Plex client that plays 4K HDR video (HDR10 & DV) and passes TrueHD + Atmos (and dts-HD/dts:X) audio is the Nvidia Shield.
Other streaming devices (ATV, Roku, FireTV, etc) transcode/decode TrueHD and dts-HD to other formats such as AAC or PCM. Atmos and dts:X information is lost during the process.
Plex apps on smart TVs cannot pass TrueHD/dts-HD audio via HDMI-eARC due to TV manufacturer limitations.
If you purchase a Shield, strongly suggest you go with the 2019 Nvidia Shield Pro, not the “tube” model. The non-Pro tube model has problems with high-bit rate media, such as 4K HDR video with TrueHD audio. Search to forum with “Shield tube” or similar terms to see the reports.
See this thread for additional information:
Thanks so much for the information.
Can you help me understand the difference between single-layer and dual-layer Dolby Vision?
From what I understand, Dolby Vision has a Base Layer (BL) and an Enhancement Layer (EL [MEL or FEL]). To further complicate things, there are also Dolby Vision Profiles (4 - 5 is for single-layer and streaming, 7+ is used for Blu-rays).
I’m trying to rip my UHD movies using MakeMKV (1.15.3) and it appears to take all HDR/DV layers from the Blu-ray and place them into a single “TRACK”. Users on the MakeMKV forum told me it’s still “dual-layer” (BL+EL) but it’s now a single track?
I have not dug into the details. I’m basically waiting on the sidelines for now, until the kinks get (mostly) worked out.
Maybe somebody else can chime in with additional information.
Hi Sofakng,
Looks like things have moved along since I last looked into this, it’s now possible to rip DV into an MKV? (last I looked this wasn’t possible?)
I use the Nvidia Shield (for exactly the reasons that FordGuy61 notes) as plex server and client. Keen to check this out, but haven’t seen any luck with DV MKV rips?
Hey, newbie here trying to figure out how I initiate Do-Vi on Plex, I have the 2019 Shield Pro hooked up to an LG OLED, Netflix/Disney+ etc all play Do-Vi fine with the DV symbol showing top right of screen
But, when I play MKV’s through Plex (on Shield) it’s only picking up HDR, is there a setting within Plex that I need to change? I’ve updated the Plex app to latest version, Shield setting are good for Do-Vi/HDR, I just can’t seem to get Plex to play in Do-Vi 
I feel your pain. Have the same issue - can’t get DV to play at the moment no matter what the setting. Atmos is fine, HDR fine but no DV
I have an LG OLED B7 and it can play Dolby Vision files directly via the LG WebOS Plex App. I just tried it today, and Dolby Vision appears as it loads the file and everything displays correctly.
However, the B7 TV’s Plex App can’t handle Dolby TrueHD + Atmos, it’s limited to at most Dolby Digital Plus + Atmos of 5.1.2 (which is common on streaming apps, but rare on Blu-rays). Presumably this will not be an issue with newer TVs that implement eARC, but I’m not sure if that’s the case yet.
I also have an older 2017 Shield which can handle Dolby TrueHD + Atmos, but that can’t handle Dolby Vision. The newer 2019 Shield should be able to handle both, but seems the Plex app for it needs to catch up to add Dolby Vision support.
Just a heads up, using the Plex Preview app on my 2018 TCL 6 Series Roku TV with Dolby Vision, it’s able to play a test file just fine, and the Dolby Vision logo pops up instead of the usual HDR one I get.
Curious if I can get Dolby Vision UHD Bluray rips to work somehow.
2019 Shield owner here, DoVi on Plex triggers ~75% of the time. According to some Plex folks, this is due to the Shield’s DoVi decoder crashing and apparently the team is working with Nvidia on a fix.
I can usually force DoVi to trigger by switching the audio to a lossy track, then back to the lossless track after playback has started. Annoying but I’m sure will be fixed soon!
Hi! I just purchased a new 2019 shield pro. I’m very new to all this but am learning.
I actually read your post over the weekend and was motivated to give the shield pro a try.
Unfortunately, Dolby Vision is just not playing on any of my 4K mkvs. I’ve tried the following for troubleshooting:
Btw Dolby Vision plays on Netflix via shield on my C8 LG oled.
Nothing helped at all. Never once I could get Dolby Vision to play on either Aquaman or Joker.
I plan to give up and return the nvidia shield unless someone can tell me I’m doing something stupid and fix this issue.
As you can see by the posts in this thread, Dolby Vision support in Plex is still a work in progress for any client, not just the Shield.
The Shield is still a great Plex client, and the only option if you want TrueHD+Atmos audio and 4K HDR video (even if just HDR10 for now).
If the only reason you bought the Shield was for Dolby Vision in Plex then yeah, you might want to return it until all the kinks get worked out.
Thanks for responding!
My primary criteria was to have an alternative to having to get up from the couch and change discs “as long as there was zero compromise in PQ”.
Not having DV is a compromise, albeit a small one.
I’ll probably wait till mid Jan to see if there is an update and if not return it to Amazon. Good thing Amazon has extended returns during the holiday season.
I had never used Plex or Kodi or any such software earlier. I learnt a lot in the past two days. I found Plex to be a really good/innovative software and I can see very active development. There are some other issues too:
Are you doing an encode or full remux?
How big are your rips?
Not sure about those terms frankly! Just the default makemkv process. The 4K files are like 78GB and 58GB for aquaman and joker respectively.
Sounds like the files aren’t direct playing. This is a known issue with the 2019 Shield and DV MKVs. Again ymmv but DV triggers most of the time for me. Did you try switching audio tracks after you begin playback?
Other things to check: make sure you have frame rate and resolution switching turned on in Plex, and that your shield is set to automatically switch between 709 and 2020 color spaces.
How did you get yours to play on the B7? I have the same tv and cannot get the Plex webos on the LG to play my DV mkv files. Have the latest version of Plex and everything…
Support for all profiles is not something we can directly solve, as we’re reliant on the underlying device for what profiles it supports, which is why a Shield might be able to handle something your TV directly can’t handle
