Samsung Tizen - Direct Play 4K HDR?

[jpichie 7]

Hello,

I just purchased a Samsung QN55Q80CAFXZC

It is completely up to date on updates.

I installed the newest version of the Emby App from the Samsung App Store.

Is it possible to direct play 4K HDR HEVC files from my Emby Server? I have been having issues playing certain files and I am not sure why.

My emby server currently has a GTX 640, but I am getting an RTX 3050 today.

I am trying to avoid transcoding if possible, would really like to direct play these 4K files.

Thanks

[FrostByte 5051]

5 minutes ago, jpichie said:

 

Is it possible to direct play 4K HDR HEVC files from my Emby Server? I have been having issues playing certain files and I am not sure why.

 

Yes, as long as your TV supports all the codecs within your MKV files it will direct play.  If not, then it will need to be transcoded.

Take a look at the charts in your user's manual for audio, video codec, and subtitles.  They should look something like the one in the link below.

https://developer.samsung.com/smarttv/develop/specifications/media-specifications/2023-tv-video-specifications.html

You will notice things like TrueHD, DTS, PGS subs, etc are not listed and will need to be transcoded.

[jpichie 7]

10 minutes ago, FrostByte said:

Yes, as long as your TV supports all the codecs within your MKV files it will direct play.  If not, then it will need to be transcoded.

Take a look at the charts in your user's manual for audio, video codec, and subtitles.  They should look something like the one in the link below.

https://developer.samsung.com/smarttv/develop/specifications/media-specifications/2023-tv-video-specifications.html

You will notice things like TrueHD, DTS, PGS subs, etc are not listed and will need to be transcoded.

Ok, is it possible to direct play the video and transcode just the Audio on the fly? or would everything need transcoding?
I am trying to keep the quality as high as possible.

[FrostByte 5051]

I never have an issue with the video needing transcoded with my 4K remuxes.  HD audio and PGS subtitles sourced from UHD are the issue.

For best playback experience when using the Tizen app you should select an alternate track before clicking Play.  Sometimes you can get buffering even just transcoding HD audio or PGS subs.  The higher the bitrate the bigger the issue can be.  Also, Emby transcodes all audio to AC3 384kbps and most alternate audio tracks are probably better than that.  Always choose srt/ass over PGS subs.  PGS subs are often worse than HD audio to convert.

A lot of people who want to keep HD audio and PGS subs look at plugging something like a nVidia Shield to the HDMI input on their soundbar, etc.  Samsung TVs don't have the needed decoder to even passthrough. 

[jpichie 7]

Can you explain your 4K Remuxes?

Generally I am getting 2160p HEVC 10bit files with either DD5.1, AAC, although some are AAC 7.1. These are in an MKV container.

These should work?

I will be testing when I get home tonight and monitoring the Emby Server logs.

Also, I am using Emby from the Samsung store, should I be running the newer version from USB?

Thanks

[Luke 37085]

15 minutes ago, jpichie said:

Can you explain your 4K Remuxes?

Generally I am getting 2160p HEVC 10bit files with either DD5.1, AAC, although some are AAC 7.1. These are in an MKV container.

These should work?

I will be testing when I get home tonight and monitoring the Emby Server logs.

Also, I am using Emby from the Samsung store, should I be running the newer version from USB?

Thanks

If you're happy with the store version you can use that. If you want the latest version to resolve issues and try newer features then that is available.

[FrostByte 5051]

6 minutes ago, jpichie said:

Can you explain your 4K Remuxes?

Generally I am getting 2160p HEVC 10bit files with either DD5.1, AAC, although some are AAC 7.1. These are in an MKV container.

These should work?

I will be testing when I get home tonight and monitoring the Emby Server logs.

Also, I am using Emby from the Samsung store, should I be running the newer version from USB?

Thanks

Yes, all those audio codecs should be supported by your TV according to the chart I'm looking at.

My remuxed movies are created using mkvtoolnix from UHD.  The picture, audio, subtitles, etc tracks are exactly as they are on UHD and mkvtoolnix just puts them into a MKV container.  Quality should be just like if played from UHD, but files are a lot bigger than something that has been reencoded and compressed.

If you aren't having any problems with the version from the store then you can just wait until it's updated with the version available on usb.  Check to see the release notes to see if there is something you can't live without until the store app is updated.

If you have issues check SFN to see if it's transcoding and why.  Then post server/transcode logs.

[jpichie 7]

Would my server be transcoding if I do not have Emby Premiere?

also, what is SFN?

[Luke 37085]

25 minutes ago, jpichie said:

Would my server be transcoding if I do not have Emby Premiere?

 

Whether you have Emby Premiere or not does not affect whether you will see transcoding or not.

SFN is the stats feature in the video player.

[FrostByte 5051]

Click the cog wheel looking icon on the OSD, then SFN and a little box should be shown in the corner of the screen of details on what's happening.

Edited November 22, 2023 by FrostByte

[SamES 891]

ffmpeg/transcode logs from the server will be the most useful at this stage if you can please share them

[jpichie 7]

Thank you everyone for your answers. SFN was helpful last night with my testing.

For some reason all the videos started playing, HEVC 10bit, HDR10, a mix of audios, everything...

I was able to confirm with SFN that is was all direct play as well.

thanks!