Which Emby App on Fire TV Stick 4K? Unable to Play HDR/DV

[Dizzy49 99]

My parents gave my daughter a nice 1080p TV for her bedroom.  I pulled out a new Fire Stick 4K I picked up a year or so ago for her to use on it.  I saw that there were two Emby apps available, I think one was Emby for AndroidTV, and the other one may have just been Emby.  I installed the plain Emby version, and I am not sure if that was the correct one.

When I tried to play any video with HDR or Dolby Vision it would not play and I'd get the error "Too many Errors".  4k files without HDR or DV will play fine.

I went into the app settings and thought that maybe I needed to force conversion since the TV is only 1080p, so I went into the Playback settings and was going to set to the highest 1080p available, but all I saw were Mbps with no resolution next to them (my phone displays "1080p - 4Mbps" in the same area).

So, I am wondering if I installed the right version, and that might be my issue.

Another point, if a 4k video with HDR is transcoded down to 1080p, how is the HDR handled?  The TV doesn't support HDR, and I don't want everything to look really dark on it because of it.

 

Thanks!

[GrimReaper 4739]

21 minutes ago, Dizzy49 said:

one was Emby for AndroidTV, and the other one may have just been Emby.  I installed the plain Emby version, and I am not sure if that was the correct one.

There's no "correct" version, both AndroidTV and standard (or Universal) Android apps work on AndroidTV devices - you'll find members on both sides of the fence here, as to which one is "better" (I fall into the AndroidTV app camp), though latter is bound to supersede former eventually (much to the chagrin of number of users). For the time being, just pick one that you fancy/that appeals to you more. You can also run them side-by-side, they won't interfere.

21 minutes ago, Dizzy49 said:

Another point, if a 4k video with HDR is transcoded down to 1080p, how is the HDR handled?

It is tonemapped server-side during transcoding. 

Edit: If you want to keep up with the changes/feature-parity for Universal app:

 

Edited August 26, 2024 by GrimReaper
Link

[Dizzy49 99]

Would LOVE parity across all the aps.  I use Emby Theater on my PC, web version on my work laptop, version on the Amazon, on our LG TV, and my parent's Samsung TV, and my cell phone and Steam Deck too!  There are just sometimes very small differences that drive me crazy.

[GrimReaper 4739]

14 hours ago, Dizzy49 said:

Would LOVE parity across all the aps.

There are just sometimes very small differences that drive me crazy.

You'll find a lot related discussions around the forum, with users advocating for or against same - personally, I'm not inclined towards it and I like the distinction different apps bring; not all features are possible/feasible on all platforms and I believe that no platform should be crippled on account that something is not achievable on some other, i.e. app development should play to platforms' strength, not on finding lowest possible denominator that'll work across all of them. 

And I hate unified design that Emby is so aggressively pushing into every app, I don't want same experience sitting in front of my PC and consuming my media in front of a TV; I can suffer through Web app UI as I CSS-ed the sh*t out of it, but I detest seeing same web wrapper/quasi-Apple design on my TV. Though I understand there are users with contrary views, and that is fully legit. 

But, those are all personal stances, I'm just a regular user as you are and have zero input on design language, we'll see what the future brings. Currently, it doesn't look bright as far as I am concerned (or it looks too bright, depends how you look at it). 

[Dizzy49 99]

7 minutes ago, GrimReaper said:

You'll find a lot related discussions around the forum, with users advocating for or against same - personally, I'm not inclined towards it and I like the distinction different apps bring; not all features are possible/feasible on all platforms and I believe that no platform should be crippled on account that something is not achievable on some other, i.e. app development should play to platforms' strength, not on finding lowest possible denominator that'll work across all of them. 

And I hate unified design that Emby is so aggressively pushing into every app, I don't want same experience sitting in front of my PC and consuming my media in front of a TV; I can suffer through Web app UI as I CSS-ed the sh*t out of it, but I detest seeing same web wrapper/quasi-Apple design on my TV. Though I understand there are users with contrary views, and that is fully legit. 

But, those are all personal stances, I'm just a regular user as you are and have zero input on design language, we'll see what the future brings. Currently, it doesn't look bright as far as I am concerned (or it looks too bright, depends how you look at it). 

Yeah, I can agree with some of your concerns.  For me it's consistency.  When I press the Right arrow key, it should move Right.  Not, right in one app, Play in another app, and Settings in yet another.  On the Web app I like that I can Heart or mark an entire series watched  with a simple click.  On Emby Theater you have to go into the series to do that.  But on Emby Theater I can adjust how many things it displays on Continue Watching etc but on the Web App I can't (or haven't figured out how to).

As a programmer I can understand the desire to go to a more unified approach, it makes it a hell of a lot easier to manage from a development prospective.

Emby's biggest issue for me has been the Downloading.  It's been hit or miss, or just plain broken for years and it's treated as though it's not a "core feature" so it's not a high priority.

 

Any idea why we can't get any of the HDR or Dolby Vision videos to play on my daughter's TV?

[GrimReaper 4739]

7 minutes ago, Dizzy49 said:

Any idea why we can't get any of the HDR or Dolby Vision videos to play on my daughter's TV?

Sorry, was more focused towards "different apps" part of your query: as for playback issues, are those items trying to DirectPlay? If you force transcode, how does it compare? You can also post server and ffmpeg logs, if any.

Edit: Is that TV HDR-capable of is it SDR display only? 

Edit2: Scratch that, just saw it at the very end of your post. 

Edited August 27, 2024 by GrimReaper
Append

[Dizzy49 99]

9 hours ago, GrimReaper said:

Sorry, was more focused towards "different apps" part of your query: as for playback issues, are those items trying to DirectPlay? If you force transcode, how does it compare? You can also post server and ffmpeg logs, if any.

It isn't transcoding.  I tried setting the max bitrate to 8mbps in the app, but it still won't transcode.

[GrimReaper 4739]

4 hours ago, Dizzy49 said:

It isn't transcoding.

It isn't transcoding in as it doesn't even attempt to transcode or it does try but fails? Were there any ffmpeg logs created? 

4 hours ago, Dizzy49 said:

I tried setting the max bitrate to 8mbps in the app, but it still won't transcode.

What is the item bitrate? 

For clarification, 4K HDR item should never attempt to DirectPlay on 1080p SDR display, it should transcode (and tonemap) by default, so maybe there's wrong player capabilities reported to/by the app, but without logs it's pure speculation. 

Another possibility is that it does try to transcode but server is not up to the task/underpowered hence it is failing, but - not knowing any particulars of your setup - that's just throwing some theories around, as said, without logs it's impossible to say. 

[Dizzy49 99]

25 minutes ago, GrimReaper said:

It isn't transcoding in as it doesn't even attempt to transcode or it does try but fails? Were there any ffmpeg logs created? 

What is the item bitrate? 

For clarification, 4K HDR item should never attempt to DirectPlay on 1080p SDR display, it should transcode (and tonemap) by default, so maybe there's wrong player capabilities reported to/by the app, but without logs it's pure speculation. 

Another possibility is that it does try to transcode but server is not up to the task/underpowered hence it is failing, but - not knowing any particulars of your setup - that's just throwing some theories around, as said, without logs it's impossible to say. 

I'll have to figure out how to get the logs out of the container.  As for my setup, it's a beast, it's in my signature, and I have a RTX 4060 8GB solely dedicated to Emby, so I would rule that one out.

The video is 25Mbps Dolby Vision/HDR10.  When I watch the server I can see her trying to play it, and it says Direct Play for both Audio and Video.  The fire stick itself can handle it, it's a Fire Stick 4k, but the output device cannot.  It did not appear to be trying to transcode, but after I dig out logs we can figure out for sure.

[GrimReaper 4739]

39 minutes ago, Dizzy49 said:

I'll have to figure out how to get the logs out of the container

In your Web app: Settings>Logs tab in the sidebar>download desired log(s). 

40 minutes ago, Dizzy49 said:

As for my setup, it's a beast, it's in my signature, and I have a RTX 4060 8GB solely dedicated to Emby, so I would rule that one out.

Sure, if your GPU was passed through properly, post hardware detection log. 

41 minutes ago, Dizzy49 said:

The video is 25Mbps

In that case setting quality to 8 Mbps should've triggered transcoding and ffmpeg log for that session should've been created. 

 

[rbjtech 5284]

Ensure you have set the FireTV itself to 1080p output and no HDR.     Emby 'may' acknowledge this and then do what it needs to do (downscale+tonemapping) but from memory, it ignores the 'display output' preferences - and simply reads that the FireTV is 4K HDR capable, which it obviously is.

I've actually just bought a normal FireTV (1080p) for a 1080p TV - so I can let you know how it behaves for 4K/HDR video - on that device, emby should transcode it without having to do anything.

[Dizzy49 99]

6 hours ago, rbjtech said:

Ensure you have set the FireTV itself to 1080p output and no HDR.     Emby 'may' acknowledge this and then do what it needs to do (downscale+tonemapping) but from memory, it ignores the 'display output' preferences - and simply reads that the FireTV is 4K HDR capable, which it obviously is.

That might be the issue right there.  How/where do I set the output in the Firestick?

[Dizzy49 99]

@rbjtech @GrimReaper

Made some progress.  Found the Display settings on the Fire Stick and set to 1080p/60.  For HDR my options were only  "Always On" or "Adaptive".  We tried several that didn't work and they are working now.  However, we found a video that is 1080p Dolby Vision @ 7k, so it is trying to Direct Play it and it's not working

I attached two logs.  With the transcode log it looks like its only doing software transcode.  Where can I find the hardware detection?  I have Hardware Acceleration enabled on the server.
Any suggestions to settings?

The other log contains the file that we tried to play.  In the logs it looks like it is doing something with it like 15 times.

embyserver (1).txtffmpeg-transcode.txt

Edited August 30, 2024 by seanbuff
removed PII

[rbjtech 5284]

I believe linux still has some tonemapping issues in h/w but as I don't use linux, I'm not 100% sure.

The reason it is not tonemapping in s/w though is because it is disabled - according to the ffmpeg log ?

Info    Check successful - selecting 'Automatic software decoder'
Info    Tone Mapping would be desired, but software tone mapping is disabled

 

[GrimReaper 4739]

8 hours ago, Dizzy49 said:

Where can I find the hardware detection?

Same place as the other logs. 

Log Files

8 hours ago, Dizzy49 said:

I have Hardware Acceleration enabled on the server.
Any suggestions to settings?

Change "Yes" to "Advanced" and post a screenshot of that. 

Edit: @sa2000

Log Files KB article is missing a screenshot with marked icons when accessing logs through Web UI as referred to in:

Quote

• Click the icon in the red box below to open the log file in a new tab.
• Click the icon in the yellow box to download the log file. This is useful when you need to upload the log file for support

Also, Paths section as in:

Quote

The physical location of log files is displayed on the dashboard main page in the Paths section.

is no more, Paths are now located under three-dot menu next to the server name>Get Server Info. 

Edited August 29, 2024 by GrimReaper
Append

[Dizzy49 99]

@GrimReaper

I didn't have a hardware detection log, I had to restart the server to generate one.  I just saw a whole lot of errors  
I double checked the app on TrueNAS and it wasn't passing the video card through   I swear it was before, but I also remember it looking different.  Maybe I am just losing my mind!
I fixed it and restarted the server and now I see it in the hardware log.
Now it looks like the transcoding and tone mapping is working!

ToneMap_Transcode_before.txtToneMap_Transcode_after.txt

hardware_detection.txt

I had the "Internet Quality" set to "Auto" for playback in my browser and it was transcoding and applying the tone mapping.
If I set it to 4k - 80 Mbps it doesn't apply Tone Mapping.
Is there a way to apply Tone Mapping for devices w/o HDR without artificially forcing it?  I'd like to watch my 4k content IN 4k on my PC, but I don't have HDR.

Transcode_No_ToneMapping.txt

Here is the same video when I set to Auto.  25Mbps to 4Mbps, but don't know if that's at 4k, 1080p or 720p

 

It looks like it's taking it down to 1080p @ 4Mbps

 

Quote

 

>>>>>> Video Processing Steps for [0:0]: H.265 (HEVC)

Step HW-Context Format SW-Format Size Next

HEVC >> CUDA cuda yuv420p10 3840x2076 >> scale_cuda

scale_cuda >> CUDA cuda yuv420p10 1920x1038 >> setsar

setsar >> CUDA cuda yuv420p10 1920x1038 >> setparams

setparams >> CUDA cuda yuv420p10 1920x1038 >> tonemap_cuda

tonemap_cuda >> CUDA cuda yuv420p 1920x1038 >> setparams

setparams >> CUDA cuda yuv420p 1920x1038 >>

 

 

I have Emby Theater set to Auto for everything and it just Direct Plays everything

Edited August 30, 2024 by seanbuff
removed PII

[GrimReaper 4739]

1 hour ago, Dizzy49 said:

didn't have a hardware detection log, I had to restart the server to generate one.  I just saw a whole lot of errors  
I double checked the app on TrueNAS and it wasn't passing the video card through   I swear it was before, but I also remember it looking different.  Maybe I am just losing my mind!
I fixed it and restarted the server and now I see it in the hardware log.
Now it looks like the transcoding and tone mapping is working!

ToneMap_Transcode_before.txt 100 kB · 1 download hardware_detection.txt 271.73 kB · 1 download ToneMap_Transcode_after.txt 740 kB · 1 download

It sure is. Well done.

1 hour ago, Dizzy49 said:

I had the "Internet Quality" set to "Auto" for playback in my browser and it was transcoding and applying the tone mapping.
If I set it to 4k - 80 Mbps it doesn't apply Tone Mapping.
Is there a way to apply Tone Mapping for devices w/o HDR without artificially forcing it?  I'd like to watch my 4k content IN 4k on my PC, but I don't have HDR.

Transcode_No_ToneMapping.txt 320 kB · 1 download

That item is not Transcoding but DirectStreaming as only audio track needed converting:

Quote

>>>>>>  Processing Plan
        Name                                        CanDoInHW  WillDoInHW  Reason                                                 
        Copy video stream                        >> False      False       Software Codec                                          
        VideoInput                               >> False      False       Not a hardware decoder                                  
        VideoOutput                              >> False      False       Not a hardware encoder                                  
        Copy video stream                        >> False      False       Software Codec                                          

>>>>>>  Video Processing Steps for [0:0]: H.265 (HEVC)
        Step                    HW-Context   Format       SW-Format           Size   Next
        HEVC                 >> -            yuv420p10    yuv420p10      3840x2076 >> 

23:40:43.638   Stream #0:0 -> #0:0 (copy)
23:40:43.638   Stream #0:1 -> #0:1 (eac3 (native) -> mp3 (libmp3lame))
23:40:43.638   Stream #0:2 -> #1:0 (subrip (srt) -> webvtt (native))
23:40:43.638   Stream #0:3 -> #2:0 (subrip (srt) -> webvtt (native))
23:40:43.638   Stream #0:4 -> #3:0 (subrip (srt) -> webvtt (native))

As video track is untouched/unaltered, no Tonemap is occuring. 

Direct Play vs Direct Streaming vs Transcoding

If you don't have a HDR display attached, I would assume that's some Windows setting making it seem like you do and wrong capabilities being passed to the player.

I'm not familiar with Brave browser, but since it is based on Chromium, I suppose you could disable hardware accelleration in browser system settings which should trigger full transcode (+tonemapping). Note that that will apply on all natively unsupported codecs, so you might see increase in transcoded sessions in general, depending on your library content. 

Alternatively, you could use Emby Theater and see how does that compare, @generiqmight have a hint or two there. 

1 hour ago, Dizzy49 said:

 

I'd assume that screenshot was taken before you've fixed your GPU issues as you should have it listed there now? 

[Guest]

Using Theater for desktop, the server will have almost no involvement, pretty much only if there is a network bandwidth issue. The one setting I will always recommend is video output  = gpu-next 

[Dizzy49 99]

8 hours ago, GrimReaper said:

If you don't have a HDR display attached, I would assume that's some Windows setting making it seem like you do and wrong capabilities being passed to the player.

I'm not familiar with Brave browser, but since it is based on Chromium, I suppose you could disable hardware accelleration in browser system settings which should trigger full transcode (+tonemapping). Note that that will apply on all natively unsupported codecs, so you might see increase in transcoded sessions in general, depending on your library content. 

I disabled hardware acceleration in Brave and ended up with this:

 

8 hours ago, GrimReaper said:

Alternatively, you could use Emby Theater and see how does that compare, @generiqmight have a hint or two there. 

Emby Theater direct plays everything if I set the quality to Auto.  The only way to force a transcode is by limiting the quality.
A lot of my video is 4k 18-30Mbps, so having the lowest 4k option of 40Mbps doesn't help much
I looked in the App Settings in Playback and Video and didn't see anything where I could turn HDR on/off or anything.
Hardware Acceleration and Output Range are both set to Auto, and Video Output is set to gpu-next. @generiq I know I changed it to gpu-next a while back, don't remember why

8 hours ago, GrimReaper said:

I'd assume that screenshot was taken before you've fixed your GPU issues as you should have it listed there now? 

Odd, I deleted that image because I was figuring things out as I was typing up the reply.  Happens a lot when I post to stackexchange, as I detail what's going on I end up figuring out the answer.
Yes, it was before I figured out the hardware issue.

[GrimReaper 4739]

8 minutes ago, Dizzy49 said:

I looked in the App Settings in Playback and Video and didn't see anything where I could turn HDR on/off or anything.

There's no in-app setting, as said:

8 hours ago, GrimReaper said:

If you don't have a HDR display attached, I would assume that's some Windows setting making it seem like you do and wrong capabilities being passed to the player.

What do you have under HD Color section in your Windows Display settings (right-click on Desktop>Display settings or Start>Settings>System>Display)? 

Edited August 30, 2024 by GrimReaper

[Dizzy49 99]

21 minutes ago, GrimReaper said:

What do you have under HD Color section in your Windows Display settings (right-click on Desktop>Display settings or Start>Settings>System>Display)? 

I keep the HDR off most the time because Windows HDR is terrible, and I am usually watching things while I work and trying to work in SQL with HDR makes my eyes bleed.

[GrimReaper 4739]

2 minutes ago, Dizzy49 said:

I keep the HDR off most the time

Then I'm out of ideas, something is making server think you have HDR-capable display connected as it is trying to DirectPlay those items both in Brave and in Emby Theater. Maybe @softworkzmight offer some insight. 

[softworkz 5066]

It's something for @Luketo answer. I don't think we're taking local HDR enablement into account for the DirectPlay decision (yet).

[Luke 42077]

Hi, yes this is something that we need to look at improving. Thanks for reporting.

[sa2000 674]

On 29/08/2024 at 09:47, GrimReaper said:

Log Files KB article is missing a screenshot with marked icons when accessing logs through Web UI as referred to in:

Quote

• Click the icon in the red box below to open the log file in a new tab.
• Click the icon in the yellow box to download the log file. This is useful when you need to upload the log file for support

Also, Paths section as in:

Quote

The physical location of log files is displayed on the dashboard main page in the Paths section.

is no more, Paths are now located under three-dot menu next to the server name>Get Server Info. 

This has been done. The Log Files article has been updated. Apologies for missing your original August ping on this