Best Plex player device? My LG E7 isnt upto it due to LG saving of 50p on a 100 Mbps Ethernet socket

jpaul said:
yes look at the tv codec specs isn't it limited at 60Mb/s, irrespective of media location (like i said for sony https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Efficiency_Video_Coding_tiers_and_levels) 4k discs raw can be ~ 100-128Mb/s

12ft&wall probably won't cut it .. anyway - 4-5ft was what the sony AC benchmarks had used.
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I did some experimenting with a 55GB file. Plex status reported it had a data rate of 112mb which instantly breaks the LG E7's ethernet port. It suttered more than once a second.

I noticed the atmos soundtrack was being transcode. I removed all audio, now the stuttering happened periodically at busy scenes (eg: glass shattering). Guess still down to the LG E7's ethernet port.

I shifted over to dedicate wifi 5GHhz. Little/no difference.


Ultimately, smaller files (eg: 25-50GB) with a lower data rate (eg: below 50mbps) all play fine, even with atmos being transcoded to 5.1. I just think it's a limitation of the TV/its networking?!
 
NeilFawcett said:
What size files roughly? 20-30GB files are fine for me...

It's when we get into the realm os 50GB that I get problems. And indeed, if I look at the Plex information in the status panel, I can see for example their data rate is listed as >100mbps, which of course is more than the TV can handle, which I guess is the issue!
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Just tested The Dark Knight Rises 4k rip, which is an 85GB file with a 74mbps bit rate and direct plays both audio and video from my Plex server.

John Wick 2 only buffers when I select the True HD 7.1 audio track and the Plex server has to transcode it. If I drop the audio to Dolby Digital 5.1 then the audio is direct played by the TV and doesn't buffer.

So as suggested maybe try changing the audio track to something the TV can direct play.
 
barmyllama said:
Just tested The Dark Knight Rises 4k rip, which is an 85GB file with a 74mbps bit rate and direct plays both audio and video from my Plex server.

John Wick 2 only buffers when I select the True HD 7.1 audio track and the Plex server has to transcode it. If I drop the audio to Dolby Digital 5.1 then the audio is direct played by the TV and doesn't buffer.

So as suggested maybe try changing the audio track to something the TV can direct play.
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Thanks for the test.

Well with a large test file I have I've removed the audio completely and tested it and stutters at some busy scenes.

But then in the plex servers status it reports its 112mbps which clearly should burst the Ethernet.

And I've tried that over 5ghz wifi with the same outcome.

These are 10bit HDR 4k tests for me...
 
Maybe a USB gigabit adapter would work? If not then an AC repeater would be my bet. I regularly stream UHD remuxes including TrueHD / Atmos tracks just fine over 802.11ac 5ghz. My Shield syncs at about 500mbps, but it is only 10 feet from the router in open space.
 
Chris1712 said:
Maybe a USB gigabit adapter would work? If not then an AC repeater would be my bet. I regularly stream UHD remuxes including TrueHD / Atmos tracks just fine over 802.11ac 5ghz. My Shield syncs at about 500mbps, but it is only 10 feet from the router in open space.
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The shield did / does have an issue with very large files over ethernet though, big thread on it on the nvdia forums but may have been fixed now.

I'd second moving the wireless router closer or sticking an access point on the ethernet cable to test. If that fails and you know someone with a Shield / Android box / Apple TV 4k ask to borrow it.
 
I don't have any issues with the Nvidia Shield and large files over Ethernet, so maybe it's no n issue anymore.

For me the Nvidia Shield is a better option for streaming from my Plex server than the TV app. Particularly as it's capable of playing Dolby Atmos tracks. The only downside is the lack of Dolby Vision.
 
I think I have two options:-
1) Just accept the limitation of the TV. eg: It cannot process/handle files (over Plex) larger than say 40GB.
2) Get a Vero 4K+ and use Plex on that.

At the moment I'll veer towards (1) if only because using the inbuilt app for Plex is so darn easy/convenient... Rather than having to turn on another device etc etc...

ps: Can't believe the only put a 100mbps ethernet socket on my TV... Let alone did the same to the 2018 models too! I assume the 2019 ones will end this daft trend!
 
I had this same issue with my B6 OLED, I find it staggering that they did this on a premium TV. Tried using wireless ac with XPlay, it was better than the ethernet but I still got random buffering and of course you lose HD audio codes.

I just bought an NVIDIA shield. Hooked up 1gbps ethernet, plugged into A/V receiver and have had no problems playing anything.
4K - Tick.
4K HDR - Tick.
Atmos - Tick
DTS:X - Tick
90GB 4K HDR remux - Tick.

Expensive but a great device.
 
MG42Maniac said:
I had this same issue with my B6 OLED, I find it staggering that they did this on a premium TV. I just bought an NVIDIA shield. Hooked up 1gbps ethernet, plugged into A/V receiver and have had no problems playing anything.
4K - Tick.
4K HDR - Tick.
Atmos - Tick
DTS:X - Tick
90GB 4K HDR remux - Tick.

Expensive but a great device.
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And even the 2018 units had this limitations (100mbps ethernet) too I believe.

I'll try and just carry on with sub 40GB files to keep the bandwidth within the limitations of the TV. If it proves an issue the Vero4K+ looks like a good unit...
 
NeilFawcett said:
And even the 2018 units had this limitations (100mbps ethernet) too I believe.

I'll try and just carry on with sub 40GB files to keep the bandwidth within the limitations of the TV. If it proves an issue the Vero4K+ looks like a good unit...
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The C9 also has a 100mbps ethernet port on it :p. It's annoying because eARC solves the HD audio problem, so you are just left with a crappy ethernet port from the 1990s!

The Shield also does game streaming if that is your thing, it is also well supported by NVIDIA. I think I paid about £160 inc £10 Steam voucher. The only chink in its armour is the lack of Dolby Vision playback.
 
MG42Maniac said:
The C9 also has a 100mbps ethernet port on it :p. It's annoying because eARC solves the HD audio problem, so you are just left with a crappy ethernet port from the 1990s!

The Shield also does game streaming if that is your thing, it is also well supported by NVIDIA. I think I paid about £160 inc £10 Steam voucher. The only chink in its armour is the lack of Dolby Vision playback.
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Well, that's just appalling!

I think the only device supporting Dolby Vision is the Apple TV. But (a) I hate Apple, and (b) I think you need to use their media client, not Plex on it.

ps: Even if they had gigabit device/socket you plugged into one of the USB sockets for £50 that would be OK IMHO!
 
Hands down the best media streaming box is the Vero 4k, it's not cheap but is Linux based (OSMC) has one of the best support communities there is with active and accessible devs.

Pros
  • Bare bones Linux based with Kodi over the top (Just add official Plex plugin and you're away)
  • Full HD audio and Atmos support
  • Full 4k support with HDR (HDR10 with dev builds for HLG and HDR10+, no Dolby Vision)
  • Correct colour space switching for content type (i.e. rec. 709 for non HDR material and rec. 2020 for HDR, no dodgy inaccurate colour mapping)
  • Gigabit Ethernet and wireless ac
  • Regular updates, fixes and patches.
  • Great support community and visibly active and accessible devs
Cons

  • Price
  • A little knowledge to get it running the way you want


I can't big up the little box enough. I gave up with all-in-one solution attempts ages ago when many of the Shield TVs issues became apparent that they were due to some hardware limitations and Android TVs development direction.
 
It's all a bit of a minefield, if only Apple would allow HD audio bitstream then we'd finally have a box that could do everything. I use a Shield for 90% of things but it's still annoying I have to cast Channel 4 / 5 catch up and also no HLG support for iPlayer.
 
Chris1712 said:
It's all a bit of a minefield, if only Apple would allow HD audio bitstream then we'd finally have a box that could do everything. I use a Shield for 90% of things but it's still annoying I have to cast Channel 4 / 5 catch up and also no HLG support for iPlayer.
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Hence why I'll limp along with Plex on the LG E7 if I can...
 
nVidia Shield here - hooked up to an external 4TB drive (and 3TB NAS) - works flawlessly 98% of the time - the other 2% is for the very rare message when Plex moans it doesn't have a fast enough connection to the Plex Server.... erm, itself! A quick closure of the film and re-opening it sorts the issue for another few months.
 
barmyllama said:
Just tested The Dark Knight Rises 4k rip, which is an 85GB file with a 74mbps bit rate and direct plays both audio and video from my Plex server.

John Wick 2 only buffers when I select the True HD 7.1 audio track and the Plex server has to transcode it. If I drop the audio to Dolby Digital 5.1 then the audio is direct played by the TV and doesn't buffer.

So as suggested maybe try changing the audio track to something the TV can direct play.
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How do you change the audio track in Plex? For some reason my LG C8 is playing the file with stereo audio rather than 5.1 or 7.1 transcoded to 5.1
 
Dan_P said:
How do you change the audio track in Plex? For some reason my LG C8 is playing the file with stereo audio rather than 5.1 or 7.1 transcoded to 5.1
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Select the movie, then click on the three dots next to the play icon and select audio track from the drop down menu before you start the film.

Or pause the film and click on the three bar graphic equaliser looking icon and change the audio track from the menu.
 
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