AppleTV - HEVC with DTS is slow to remux, if at all, with MPV

[poctum 0]

Experiencing an issue when using AppleTV to play videos that require transcoding/remuxing. The source video has a DTS-HD MA audio track which will require transcoding to MP3 for the AppleTV and in the Emby Server logs I can see that it tries 115 or so times before finally transcoding the video. 

This is via local LAN with AppleTV set to 4K 120Mbps. If I set AppleTV Playback to 1080p 8Mbps, which is lower than the actual content, things work fine.
I don't know when this stopped working since I normally use an Nvidia Shield, which is not experiencing this issue.

I have tried switching between VAAPI and QSV with no change. 
I have disabled MPV in AppleTV which resolves this issue but causes stuttering issues.

This was commented on in this article, which may be the same issue: 

 

 

Devices Not Having Issue: 
iPad Pro
iPhone Pro
Nvidia Shield
Web Interface

File Properties:
Video
Title            1080p HEVC
Codec            HEVC
Profile        Main 10
Level            120
Resolution        1920x1080
Aspect Ratio    16:9
Interlaced        No
Framerate        25
Bitrate        11.7 mbps
Bit Depth        10 bit
Pixel Format    yuv420p10le
Reference Frames    1

Audio
Title            English DTS-HD MA stereo (Default)
Embedded Title    DTS-HD Master Audio / stereo
Language        English
Codec            DTS
Profile        DTS-HD MA
Layout        stereo
Channels        2 ch
Sample Rate        48,000 Hz
Bit Depth        16 bit
Default        Yes

Date Issue Started: Unknown, maybe the recent IOS Update or the Emby app update
I don't know when this stopped working since I normally use an Nvidia Shield, which is not experiencing this issue.

Server Properties:
OS: Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7700 CPU @ 3.60GHz (family: 0x6, model: 0x9e, stepping: 0x9)
Emby Version: 4.7.2.0 - tired rolling back to 4.7.0.60 with same results.

Log Files:
https://1drv.ms/u/s!An41EjTwRiXuhZg72j_OE61H4HVrXg?e=8tjneE

Timestamps:
Select Play on AppleTV:     2022-06-08 10:01:10.186
Server Finally Transcodes: 2022-06-08 10:01:39.528

 

 

[Luke 38109]

HI, are you still having an issue with this with the Emby for Apple TV 1.6.0 app update?

[poctum 0]

@Luke

AppleTV is 1.6.0 (1) and the issue still remains.
Server is 4.7.5.0

4K HEVC HDR with Dolby Digital plays without issue.

4K HEVC HDR TrueHD/DTS only plays if transcoded (forced lower bitrate than the media, which switches to Dolby Digital) or with MPV disabled.

Logs: https://1drv.ms/u/s!An41EjTwRiXuhZ8RpisX50WGSNgFOg?e=goIefb

[Luke 38109]

OK we're pushing out a 1.6.1 app update for another issue so please let me know if this helps with that. Thanks.

[Coscast 0]

Hi,

A quick question about this, because i just installed emby again to test alternatives to plex. This issue here really annoys me. Why does emby even have to transcode when plex direct plays the same file ?

This is a honest question, because i really want to get away from plex.

[Seanmac6 4]

2 hours ago, Coscast said:

Hi,

A quick question about this, because i just installed emby again to test alternatives to plex. This issue here really annoys me. Why does emby even have to transcode when plex direct plays the same file ?

This is a honest question, because i really want to get away from plex.

if you having yet i would recommend infuse firecore it is a good alternative for plex and emby and a great video player too until plex and emby update their video player to the apple tv native player infuse is what i will be using and don't get me started on jellyfin smh lol

[poctum 0]

AppleTV app 1.6.1 has resolved my issues. Thank you, @Luke. 

[ellisd4 59]

19 hours ago, poctum said:

AppleTV app 1.6.1 has resolved my issues. Thank you, @Luke. 

I can actually play HEVC content with MPV now too!  Before it just pretended to load. Super excited about this!  I don’t like remuxing my blu ray rips. However, when played Emby now gives the green artifacts (attached). Changing the audio track to stereo doesn’t fix it, but adding subtitles which forces transcoding works. The subtitles take up the whole screen.  Any thoughts? 
 

Edited July 10, 2022 by ellisdustin
Add mpv info

[Luke 38109]

Hi, what format subtitles is that?

[vdatanet 1565]

@ellisdustin

Can you post your ffmpeg log?

The server dashboard is not accurate, it's showing this:

But it's doing this:

09:01:16.464 Stream #0:0 -> #0:0 (copy)
09:01:16.464 Stream #0:2 -> #0:1 (dts (dca) -> ac3 (native))

I was excited to see direct playback of DTS (decoding at client side) but the dashboard was not correct.

[ellisd4 59]

6 hours ago, Luke said:

Hi, what format subtitles is that?

PGSSUB - BluRay Rip.   Thanks!

[ellisd4 59]

4 hours ago, vdatanet said:

@ellisdustin

Can you post your ffmpeg log?

The server dashboard is not accurate, it's showing this:

But it's doing this:

09:01:16.464 Stream #0:0 -> #0:0 (copy)
09:01:16.464 Stream #0:2 -> #0:1 (dts (dca) -> ac3 (native))

I was excited to see direct playback of DTS (decoding at client side) but the dashboard was not correct.

My ffmpeg log is attached along with Emby Server log.  

ffmpeg-directstream-ab3d9347-28c9-4948-a659-4a76da6cd5ca_1.txt embyserver (6).txt ffmpeg-transcode-75dcd2b7-9de9-4b04-9ae3-df20b703b045_1.txt

[Luke 38109]

On 7/11/2022 at 7:44 AM, ellisdustin said:

My ffmpeg log is attached along with Emby Server log.  

ffmpeg-directstream-ab3d9347-28c9-4948-a659-4a76da6cd5ca_1.txt 308.88 kB · 2 downloads embyserver (6).txt 3.8 MB · 0 downloads ffmpeg-transcode-75dcd2b7-9de9-4b04-9ae3-df20b703b045_1.txt 71.62 kB · 0 downloads

If you play the same content in the web app with the subtitles selected and the server transcoding, how does that compare?

[ellisd4 59]

19 hours ago, Luke said:

If you play the same content in the web app with the subtitles selected and the server transcoding, how does that compare?

Oddly enough, if I play in the web app, the subtitles are huge as well, but in iOS they look perfect.  However, in the web app I can force transcoding by adjusting the quality and the video plays fine without subs.  On Apple TV I cannot do that so the only way to force transcoding is adding in the subs. 

[Luke 38109]

On 7/14/2022 at 8:21 AM, ellisdustin said:

Oddly enough, if I play in the web app, the subtitles are huge as well, but in iOS they look perfect.  However, in the web app I can force transcoding by adjusting the quality and the video plays fine without subs.  On Apple TV I cannot do that so the only way to force transcoding is adding in the subs. 

hi @ellisdustin are you still having an issue with this?

[ellisd4 59]

15 minutes ago, Luke said:

hi @ellisdustin are you still having an issue with this?

Hey @Luke, 

Thanks for checking in.  I've temporarily switched back over to Plex until the Apple Silicon release is ready.  I jumped the gun and purchased the lifetime pass and switched all my users over without fully testing everything out (transcoding which only seems to be SW on my M1, apps, etc).  Unfortunately (I say this because the Apple Framework seems like a curse sometimes) my house is all Apple, including the streaming clients.  Once the Apple Silicon release is available, I'll reintroduce to the fam.    

Edited August 18, 2022 by ellisdustin
missing words