NVidia shield intermittent HDR problems with Emby

May 29, 2019

I have been in the process of updating select titles in my collection to 4k-HEVC HDR encodes with Atmos/DTX-X etc.

After obtaining many videos that fit this description I have been testing them out. Some of them trigger HDR on my LG C8 OLED TV. Others don't.

I went to investigate this a bit more today. In the example described below I am referring to the Batman - Dark Knight Trilogy. For the files I currently have, Batman Begins does not (except on one occasion) enable the HDR mode on my TV, while both the Dark Knight and the Dark Knight Rises do.

I was discussing online with some people regarding these specific files who have similar setups and everyone started thinking it was my software. I had another user test the Batman Begins file with his setup who also has an LG OLED (B8 instead of C8) and he was able to get the HDR flag showing. Main difference is he was using Plex.

So I went ahead and configured Plex for testing. After some initial troubleshooting because I haven't touched Plex in forever, I was able to get the file playing and it immediately triggered HDR mode.

I then went back to Emby and played the same file and the first time (and only the first time) HDR mode turned on. Dark Knight and Dark Knight Rises also did. But, since the very first attempt, Batman Begins now refuses to trigger HDR mode once again. There are many other files which exhibit this behavior. But, due to troubleshooting with Plex, I restarted my Synology, and also restarted Emby server prior to some of this testing. So have a pretty clean log of all of this happening, which I will attach.

I would definitely like to figure out what is going on here. Since I really like Emby way more than Plex. But also want to be able to experience HDR with my new TV because I thoroughly enjoy it.

I am unable to determine what the reason is for Emby to not properly pass HDR information. But it triggers HDR every single time on Plex. So clearly, the problem has something to do with Emby.

I have double checked and Emby states the file is direct playing so theoretically it shouldn't be involved. But somehow, it is impacting my TV's ability to detect HDR.

Help please!

Edited May 29, 2019 by moviefan