DTS-HD to Dobly Digital Issues - Shield TV / Sonos Beam / LG OLED

[schn0052 1]

So still having this issue, what I started doing is before I watch a 4K HVEC / DTS 7.1 movie I use FFMPEG to create a extra audio track that's AC3 5.1. I always watch the original first and I would say 60-70% of my 4K HVEC / DTS 7.1 movies this happens with Emby. Once it fails I switch to the  second copy I made with the AC3 5.1 audio track and it plays perfect.

[mike3231 2]

2 minutes ago, schn0052 said:

So still having this issue, what I started doing is before I watch a 4K HVEC / DTS 7.1 movie I use FFMPEG to create a extra audio track that's AC3 5.1. I always watch the original first and I would say 60-70% of my 4K HVEC / DTS 7.1 movies this happens with Emby. Once it fails I switch to the  second copy I made with the AC3 5.1 audio track and it plays perfect.

The other day I went through my library and I have 70 DTS:X / 7.1 movies. Only 30 of them had the weird artefact green screen issues. Is it every movie for you or just a select few too? I'll look into the FFMPEG thing but it makes it half tempting to just not attempt to get content with DTS:X for now. All the time I'm running the LG GX then it's not worth it as I don't think they'll add DTS support. At least Sonos has started to implement it. 

[schn0052 1]

Yeah its the same with me, its not all my movies only a select few that have no noticeable differences then the others.

[FreeBSD_Lover 13]

  

On 10/04/2022 at 22:46, Luke said:

Both of our android apps can be found on the download page of our website, in the apps section:

https://emby.media/download

We are working on getting them back into the store and will provide an update when this happens.

 

Sorry for all the questions Luke. So Emby client app was removed from Nividia Shield? Are you able to comment what happened?

 

[GrimReaper 3293]

8 minutes ago, FreeBSD_Lover said:

Sorry for all the questions Luke. So Emby client app was removed from Nividia Shield? Are you able to comment what happened?

 

 

[FreeBSD_Lover 13]

Thank you sir.

[mike3231 2]

@schn0052

I've managed to find a workaround for this solution by using a different player for now. Hopefully Emby can fix it in their app so we can go back to using the cleaner native option.

This can be done with KODI but I've used MrMC as it has a much easier setup and looks a bit more cleaner. The below audio settings work for KODI but adding Emby is a bit more faffy (Google it and you'll find a ton of vids and stuff) if you'd prefer to use that app.

I did my testing using MrMC Lite which is free but there is a paid version which you'd likely need but only costs £2.79/$2ish.

 

So the moment the app starts there is a "Media Sources" option and at the bottom there is an option to log in to Emby Server which requires username/password and the PIN as you'd expect just like the normal Emby app. Once done this adds the normal views you'd see within Emby out the box. 

 

You'll then need to go to "Settings" and then "System" and change the settings to "Expert" in the top left and then set the following within "Audio output" - leave everything as defaulted and just ensure the below are set:

 

Audio Channels: 2.0

Output Configuration: Optimized

Enable Passthrough: Checked

Dolby Digital (AC3) capable receiver: Checked

- Enable Dolby Digital (AC3) transcoding: Checked (This is the option we want/need but the option only appears if you set your Audio Channels to 2.0. Don't set them to anything else or the option disappears.)

Dolby Digital Plus (E-AC3) capable receiver: Checked

DTS capable receiver: Unchecked

TrueHD capable receiver: Checked

DTS-HD capable receiver: Unchecked

 

This should be it, any DTS content should convert to DD5.1 and all Dolby content should passthrough as normal. Have a play with the rest of the settings within appearance and what not to have it look how you like and see what you think  you can do all your testing with MrMC Lite. It only shows the first few films of your libraries so if you want to test certain films then start them on another device so they go into your "Continue Watching" and then you can select them within MrMC Lite. You may need to close the app and open again if you do that whilst the app is open.

[Luke 37066]

Can you try sideloading the latest version of our standard android app and let us know how that compares?

https://emby.media/emby-for-android.html

Thanks !

[mike3231 2]

6 hours ago, Luke said:

Can you try sideloading the latest version of our standard android app and let us know how that compares?

https://emby.media/emby-for-android.html

Thanks !

Hi @Luke,

Sorry, it's no different. The standard Android app doesn't appear to have the advanced options to tell it to transcode and convert unsupported audio. So it just plays unsupported audio in stereo.

Thanks, Mike

[schn0052 1]

I have pretty much moved to pre processing all of my files that have DTS 7.1 tracks to add a new audio track to all of them that is AC3 and 5.1. This allows Emby to play all of the files perfectly. It however takes a very long time to archive this with a large library.

@Luke, I imagine we are not the only people who have run into this problem. I would like to put the effort into helping the Emby Developers fix this bug but I have no idea next steps? Is there a way we can open a bug ticket and work with developer to fund root cause and to help them troubleshoot/test fixes?

[mike3231 2]

Still an issue with 2.0.77g

[Luke 37066]

Hi, we'll take another look at it. Thanks.

[schn0052 1]

Thanks @LukeI am also still encountering this. Anything you need me to test let me know!

[mike3231 2]

2.0.83g, still a problem.

Is this being checked?

[mike3231 2]

@schn0052 - to compare your setup to mine.. you mentioned you have the nVidia Shield TV Pro. Do you know which model? 2015, 2017 2019 etc.?

I have the 2019 Shield (Tube) TV which I found out not only has less memory and a lack of USB's like I originally knew but also runs 32bit rather than 64bit and doesn't play so well with ExoPlayer (apparently) which would explain why some apps play content fine in comparison as they don't use ExoPlayer. However, the ExoPlayer issues aren't present on the 2019 Shield TV Pro. Thus my question as to which model you have.

[Luke 37066]

@mike3231 are you still having an issue with this?

[schn0052 1]

I am also still having a problem with this.

@mike3231This occurs to me on my 2019 SHIELD TV Pro.

[mike3231 2]

@Lukeyes, still an issue with Android TV app. The Android (mobile) app doesn't have the feature option so only outputs unsupported audio in Stereo rather than converting to Dolby 5.1. To confirm, it's only when "Convert Unsupported Audio to Dolby Digital" is selected on Android TV and happens on certain DTS-X files. It also plays fine when using another player such as Kodi or MrMC. I'm not sure if those apps use ExoPlayer if that helps narrow down something within the Emby app.

[Luke 37066]

On 11/28/2022 at 1:52 AM, mike3231 said:

 The Android (mobile) app doesn't have the feature option so only outputs unsupported audio in Stereo rather than converting to Dolby 5.1

We'll be adding this option so stay tuned.

[schn0052 1]

I am also still having this issue, currently my workaround is to pre transcode the video file before playing it on Emby.

I would love to help resolve this issue but I dont know what to do at this point to help the DEV's.

[mike3231 2]

This is still an issue on the latest version of Emby for Android TV and Emby for Android still doesn't have the option available to convert unsupported audio to DD 5.1.

 

Is this still being actively looked into? 

[Luke 37066]

On 12/10/2023 at 4:56 AM, mike3231 said:

This is still an issue on the latest version of Emby for Android TV and Emby for Android still doesn't have the option available to convert unsupported audio to DD 5.1.

 

Is this still being actively looked into? 

@mike3231 HI, are you saying you don't get audio with Emby for Android?

[mike3231 2]

3 hours ago, Luke said:

@mike3231 HI, are you saying you don't get audio with Emby for Android?

No. Details below and attachments:

Emby for Android - The "Audio Output - Convert Unsupported Audio to Dolby Digital" option doesn't exist in the app, so the default behaviour is to convert to stereo and the video appears fine.

 

Emby for Android TV (preferred app)

If the "Audio Output - Convert Unsupported Audio to Dolby Digital" option is set then it does convert the audio succesfully, and you can see it transcoding the audio on the server and it appears on the audio receiver. (Sonos App in my case for the Sonos Arc) - please see attached photos. But the green artefacting and staggering video occurs which is the problem this whole thread is about. (See video attached) - If the "Audio Output" is set to auto or downmix to stereo then it plays in stereo, but the video appears fine.. this seems to be when the source content audio is DTS-HD and DTS:X.

 

The issue doesn't occur when using another player such as Kodi or MrMMC which leads to an issue with the Emby for Android TV app specifically.

 

I have managed to find a workaround which is by enabling "Match audio content resolution" in the nVidia shield settings.  It'll warn about processing Dolby audio but it is actually fine to ignore this. All Dolby audio processes successfully and anything else will play as Multi-channel PCM. 5.1 for DTS-HD, 7.1 for DTS:X. But I don't know how much better/worse this is in comparison to DD5.1 but there is definitely a volume impact. You do need to set the "Audio Output" option in the Emby for Android app to "Auto" for this to then work.

 

 

[Luke 37066]

On 12/26/2023 at 2:34 AM, mike3231 said:

No. Details below and attachments:

Emby for Android - The "Audio Output - Convert Unsupported Audio to Dolby Digital" option doesn't exist in the app, so the default behaviour is to convert to stereo and the video appears fine.

 

Emby for Android TV (preferred app)

If the "Audio Output - Convert Unsupported Audio to Dolby Digital" option is set then it does convert the audio succesfully, and you can see it transcoding the audio on the server and it appears on the audio receiver. (Sonos App in my case for the Sonos Arc) - please see attached photos. But the green artefacting and staggering video occurs which is the problem this whole thread is about. (See video attached) - If the "Audio Output" is set to auto or downmix to stereo then it plays in stereo, but the video appears fine.. this seems to be when the source content audio is DTS-HD and DTS:X.

 

The issue doesn't occur when using another player such as Kodi or MrMMC which leads to an issue with the Emby for Android TV app specifically.

 

I have managed to find a workaround which is by enabling "Match audio content resolution" in the nVidia shield settings.  It'll warn about processing Dolby audio but it is actually fine to ignore this. All Dolby audio processes successfully and anything else will play as Multi-channel PCM. 5.1 for DTS-HD, 7.1 for DTS:X. But I don't know how much better/worse this is in comparison to DD5.1 but there is definitely a volume impact. You do need to set the "Audio Output" option in the Emby for Android app to "Auto" for this to then work.

 

@mike3231I'd like to learn more about why the client-side conversion is only converting to stereo, and what part of the chain is responsible for that. Maybe we can prevent that from happening. 

Can you please try sideloading the latest build:

https://emby.media/emby-for-android.html

Then can you obtain an android app log by following the new instructions here:

Thanks.

 

 

[schn0052 1]

On 27/12/2023 at 19:28, Luke said:

@mike3231I'd like to learn more about why the client-side conversion is only converting to stereo, and what part of the chain is responsible for that. Maybe we can prevent that from happening. 

Can you please try sideloading the latest build:

https://emby.media/emby-for-android.html

Then can you obtain an android app log by following the new instructions here:

Thanks.

 

 

Hello @Luke,

 

I did further testing today with the side loaded Andriod App, Here are my results. I posted the copy of the log.

 

If the Emby Andriod TV app just played the video properly this would be perfect, its confusing to me why trans-coding the audio while direct playing the video breaks the video playback. This same video I tested with has a 5.1 Dolby Digital track as well and when I switch to that the video and sound are perfect and sonos plays the 5.1 DD. Most videos don't have this second track which is why it would be nice if this worked correctly.

Please let me know what I can do to help! I would just love for this to be solved.

TEST-1
================
Emby Android TV
-----------------
DTS-HD MA 7.1
-Emby:
--Video: Direct Play 4K HEVC HDR10
--Audio: Transcode: DTS-HD MA 7.1 -> (AC3 384)
-TV: Video is broken as seen in first post (Green artifacts)
-Sonos: Dolby Digital 5.1 (Sounds great)

Emby Android - Logs Collected (emby_android_1707682141485)
-----------------
DTS-HD MA 7.1
-Emby:
--Video: Direct Play 4K HEVC HDR10
--Audio: Direct Play DTS-HD MA 7.1
-Sonos: Dolby Digital 2.0
-TV: Video looks fantastic
-Notes: Sounds awful, I am confused as to what would be trans-coding the audio since Emby is not and my TV doesn't support DTS. I assume the shield is doing it or the sonos soundbar is failing back and trans-coding to 2.0, if that's event possible?

emby_android_1707682141485.txt