Any thoughts on this @BigWheel?
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So are you saying that no matter what the server, the Shield client can play subtitles without transcoding? How does that work?
Yes. And I would like to know what he meant.
What I don’t understand is how Android TV app on Shield and PMP can do that. From the quote above:
So if the Shield can’t do it when it’s acting as a server, how can it do it when its acting as a client? And if it can do it in software as a client, why can’t the Plex server do it in software before sending to the client?
Guys please don’t get into an argument.
To be clear I am not getting into a debate about why it does not support it. We don’t for that app, and say so in our support docs for what our smart tv app can support.
“Enabling subtitles of any type will require them to be transcoded (burned) into the video stream.” https://support.plex.tv/articles/203810286-what-media-formats-are-supported/
In the future this may change, I don’t have info to share about the future
You are welcome to ask for it in the feature suggestion area or whereever.
I don’t feel like I’m getting into an argument. I’m just trying to understand what is and is not possible. Could you explain what you meant in the above post?
The Shield is s device
Our Android TV app is a player on that device. Plex Media Player is a another player for HTPCs
The server doesn’t play anything. the server is a application that sends streams to player apps. If the player app can’t play it, or for reasons of network speed, the server will transcode it and send it to the player in the form the player can play.
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I understand all of that. What I don’t understand is what you meant when you said our Android TV app on Nvidia Shield can play PGS subs without transcoding. If it can do that, how does it do it?
As I have already said I am not getting into a debate about it.
I’m not asking you to get into a debate. I’m just asking you to explain what you meant. It’s a straightforward question. The article that you linked above states
Enabling subtitles of any type will require them to be transcoded (burned) into the video stream.
Yet, you’re stating that the Shield can play PGS subtitles without transcoding. How?
That article has absolutely nothing to do with the Shield or the Android TV player
That article is for our Smart TV app which is available on many brands of TVs. This topic is about what the smart tv player on samsungs can play.
The reason I quoted that article is because you quoted it when I asked you to explain why you said the Shield can play PGS without transcoding.
I started this thread to ask why Plex transcodes internal subtitles. You replied stating that the Nvidia Shield can play them without transcoding. That suggests that it would be a good idea for me to buy one.
Now I’m asking you to explain how it is that the Shield can play PGS subtitles without transcoding them. It’s a very simple question. The shield carries a warning that it can’t deal with PGS subtitles when it’s acting as a server. So how can it do it when it’s acting as a client? Whatever it’s doing as a client, surely it would do the same thing when it’s acting a server.
Just because something cannot hardware transcode does not mean it cannot regularly transcode.
The shield is a low powered device when compared with a real computer or some NAS. Transcoding takes more power than playback. That is all that note means. Don’t try play a bunch 60GB streams of Bluray quality remuxes at the on from a server on a Shield if transcoding is required for a player that can’t play them because transcoding is slow.
Well exactly. But you said that the Shield plays them without transcoding. That’s what this whole thread is about. I asked why Plex transcodes PGS subtitles, because that is causing me problems. You replied saying that the Nvidia shield can play them without transcoding.
I’m asking how it can do that. Because if it can do it, then it would solve my problems and I should buy one. But I’ve asked you lots of times now to explain how the Shield can play PGS subtitles without transcoding and you still haven’t answered.
I said the Android TV app on the Shield plays them. I said nothing about the Server on the shield. That “warning” you quoted is about the server.
I am not going to get into a technical discussion about the code differences between the Android TV player and the Samsung player. One can play subtitles, one cannot.
I guess i should have said “…without needing the server to transcode for it” in my original post if that helps
Agreed. Everyone is agreed on that’s what you said. You said the Android TV app on the Shield can play PGS subtitles without transcoding them. I’m asking you how it can do that.
i’m sorry I’m not getting to a technical discussions of how it can. It can. I do it all the time.
That’s what I don’t understand. If the server doesn’t transcode them and the player doesn’t transcode them. How are they played?
Why do you think something needs to be transcoded to play?
