Roku Ultra (2020) won't direct play my 4K TrueHD, only remux

[danlat1415 1]

I've just got a Roku Ultra 2020 (4800) with Dolby Vision and Atmos support.

 

When I run Emby on the Roku, I can't get it to direct play my 4K - 7.1 Atmos videos.

They keep stuttering and when I check, they're showing as 'REMUX' and not 'DIRECT'.

If I reduce the audio stream to 7.1 MA then it plays fine, so the issue is it's transcoding/remuxing 7.1 Atmos streams.

My TV and Sound System both fully support Dolby Vision, HDR, HDR+ and Dolby Atmos.

 

I also have a Plex server and I'm in the process of fully changing over Emby because I like that more.

When I switch over to the Plex app of the Roku, the same videos play perfectly fine and fully direct play, no transcoding or remuxing.

In the Plex app, I can set both Video and Audio streams as 'original playback' rather than transcode, but I can't seem to get the same in Emby.

It won't direct play my videos, unless I change the Audio of the video I'm trying to watch to something below Atmos.

 

In the Emby Roku app, the settings are very limited. I can set Video quality to 'auto detect' or upto 4K 110mbps.

But for any audio options, there are none. It just says to use the web app.

I've checked the web app, and I can't see anything as simple as direct play all context when on local network.

 

Please can you help me?

I've attached a log from the server when the video is played on the Roku.

ffmpeg-transcode-26c1ba7d-4f28-4100-bd68-7724a8acebe6_1.txt

Edited February 26, 2021 by danlat1415

[Luke 37259]

Hi there, can you please attach an example ffmpeg log from emby server? Thanks.

[danlat1415 1]

1 hour ago, Luke said:

Hi there, can you please attach an example ffmpeg log from emby server? Thanks.

Now attached

ffmpeg-transcode-26c1ba7d-4f28-4100-bd68-7724a8acebe6_1.txt

[ebr 14959]

Hi.  It isn't the Atmos, it is that the underlying audio is TrueHD - which isn't supported on the device.

This is a real problem in how these manufacturers report their "support" for this format.  The put a big check mark beside "Atmos" on their marketing materials and neglect to explain that it only applies to Dolby Digital Plus Atmos.

Most people never have a problem because all streaming media is delivered in that format but, when you rip media from discs, that is usually TrueHD.

[speechles 1929]

This is using Emby Server on Android OS 9 and trying to direct play it cannot because the Roku does not support 8 channel audio unless it is E-AC3. This means it has to direct stream copying the video stream and transcoding the audio from 8 channels into 6. Because it is Android OS 9 providing the transcoded audio you experience slower throughput than an actual HTPC could provide. That is the underlying problem.

 

[speechles 1929]

08:13:41.178   Stream #0:2 -> #0:1 (dts (dca) -> ac3 (native))
08:13:41.178   Stream #0:4 -> #1:0 (subrip (srt) -> webvtt (native))]

Not to mention the expense of including subtitles and convert srt->webvtt on top. It actually appears to be DTS-HD transcoded into AC3. That is processor heavy codec with DTS.

[danlat1415 1]

Thanks for looking into it.

It's just very strange that the exact same video on the same NAS drive plays perfectly in Plex on the Roku.

 

I have an Nvidia Shield TV setup as my temporary server, running both Plex server and Emby server (which is why it shows as Android 9). I don't want the system to transcode anything only direct play, which is why the Shield was ok to use for now.

 

It is very strange that the exact same video plays perfectly with TrueHD Atmos audio track on the Roku, yet the Emby player tried to transcode the audio.

The Roku is also set to passthrough audio to my stereo system rather than process it itself.

[roaku 797]

"the exact same video plays perfectly with TrueHD Atmos audio track on the Roku"

I wish this were true (for my own benefit :)) but I don't see how it can be.

There is no Roku that handles TrueHD, so something in your system must be giving it something else.

 

[danlat1415 1]

I was mistaken.

I have checked the playback settings in Plex, and whilst it plays the video and audio perfectly smooth - it is also transcoding the audio (see photo), but it seems the Plex Server on the shield is more efficient at transcoding than the Emby server on the Shield, making the video smooth on Plex but not on Emby.

Edited February 26, 2021 by danlat1415

[danlat1415 1]

At least I know what the definite issue is now, and I can go though my collection and amend the TrueHD audio tracks.

 

Is there any way change any settings in Emby to not play TrueHD audio tracks?

For example - there is a setting to select a default language track rather than playing the original.

If there isn't one, it would be good to have an option to ignore any TrueHD audio streams and select the next best one when streaming.

 

This would save me a lot of hassle, or having to amend the audio track on each video (although it does remember your selection) - but means have to do every video manually.

[ebr 14959]

58 minutes ago, danlat1415 said:

there is a setting to select a default language track rather than playing the original

I'm not sure what you are thinking is "the original" in terms of an audio track but there is a setting to always play the track marked as "default".

[danlat1415 1]

I mean that you get the option to set your own default language for audio streams (ie, English or French etc) rather than it playing the original main track.

For example, if you select French as the default, it will play the first French audio track (may be track number 3) by default on all media that have french tracks available, rather than the original first track which may be an Atmos English track.

 

So I wondered if there would be an option to do something similar with stream type rather than just language.

In the Audio settings area of the server, or in audio setting in an app (not in each separate video, but in the main settings area)

For example, having a list of track types (TrueHD, DTS-MA etc) and a tick box for each.

So the user can select what track types they want to allow, and the unticked ones are ignored.

So by unticking TrueHD for example, will play the next available track instead. This will prevent forced transcoding and allow direct play of compatible streams - and will probably be a significant benefit across all system types, not just the Roku.

Anyone who wants them all can select them all (allowing it to play direct if compatible and transcode if not) but anyone who wants to select what is compatible with their system can select whatever they want, meaning the system will only play compatible tracks for the selected list.

Edited February 26, 2021 by danlat1415

[ebr 14959]

Trying to make a decision based on the format of the track can be fraught with errors (there is no guarantee that the track is even the main audio - could be commentary, etc.).  Instead, we provide an option to always play the track marked within the file as "default" regardless of language.

So, if you turn that on, and then mark the track you want as default, then that is what will play.