Plex

• NAS Compatibility [1]

Install

Plex Media Player on Linux

See https://knapsu.eu/plex/. Use flatpak. Dependency on KDE [2].

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists kdeapps --from https://distribute.kde.org/kdeapps.flatpakrepo
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists plex-media-player https://flatpak.knapsu.eu/plex-media-player.flatpakrepo
flatpak install plex-media-player tv.plex.PlexMediaPlayer

How-To

Fix film metadata / bad matching

• Go in server library.
• Select movie, then Fix match....

If movie has several versions available, and one of these is not correct:

• Select first split apart.

See also this post about upgrading the matching agent.

Use Plex add-on in Kodi

Advantage of using the Kodi add-on is that it has (currently) better direct play support (in particular AC3 audio).

To install Plex add-on in Kodi [3],[4]:

• Go to Kodi add-on menu
• Select Download, Videos Add-Ons.
• Select Plex.
• Install.

Some settings to consider:

• Make sure direct play is enabled.
• Make sure H365 is enabled if supported.
• Set plex add-on to autostart when Kodi starts (to avoid to navigate to that add-on every time).

Prevent transcode with AC3 / EAC3 audio on Nvidia Shield TV

Although the NVidia shield TV supports AC3 / EAC3 natively, it is transcoded by the support [5], [6]

To prevent that:

• Use Plex add-on in Kodi, instead of the Plex app on the shield.
• ???

More on DirectPlay:

• https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/f8eo85/plex_app_on_shield_tv_refuses_to_direct_play/

Naming convention

References [7]

Recommended folder structure:

   /Media
      /Movies
         movie content
      /Music
         music content
      /TV Shows
         television content

Basic Naming - separate folder

   /Movies
      /Avatar (2009)
         Avatar (2009).mkv
      /Batman Begins (2005)
         Batman Begins (2005).mp4
         Batman Begins (2005).en.srt
         poster.jpg

Basic Naming - standalone files (slower scanning)

   /Movies
      Avatar (2009).mkv
      Batman Begins (2005).mp4

Split across multiple files

Use MovieName (release year) – Split_Name.ext, where Split_Name is cdX, discX, diskX, dvdX, partX or ptX.

   /Movies
      /The Dark Knight (2008)
         The Dark Knight (2008) - pt1.mp4
         The Dark Knight (2008) - pt2.mp4

Subtitles

Must enable the local media assets scanner. Recommended formats are SRT, SMI, SSA (or ASS).

Use

• MovieName (Release Date).[Language_Code].ext or
• Movies/MovieName (Release Date).[Language_Code].ext
• Movies/MovieName (Release Date).[Language_Code].forced.ext

   /Movies
      Avatar (2009).mkv
      Avatar (2009).en.srt
   
   /Movies
      /Avatar (2009)
         Avatar (2009).mkv
         Avatar (2009).eng.ass

Troubleshooting

Issue with playing Lucy

• Trying to play Lucy (H265 HEVC AC3) on Shield TV -> can't play (error).
• Looking at the server log, we see there are errors in the transcoder.
• We also see that server says directplay is disabled

1382:Dec 20, 2020 00:42:18.545 [23009] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Lucy (2014): Direct Play is disabled
1383:Dec 20, 2020 00:42:18.545 [23009] DEBUG - [Transcode] MDE: Lucy (2014): media must be transcoded in order to use the hls protocol

• When forbidding transcoding on server, shield refuses to play as well (with another msg, but that basically says server tried to transcode but was refused to).
• It seems transcoding is forced with Shield Plex App because of AC3 audio / E-AC3 audio [8], [9].
• One solution is to use Plex addon on Kodi [10].

• Maybe another solution is to install Plex beta app from Plex.

• In Kodi addon:

• Select appropriate Plex Server.
• Make sure direct play is enabled (default).
• Enable H265 direct play (disabled by default).
• Optionally, set Plex addon to autostart (when kodi starts, so that to jump to Plex addon directly).

• ... Turns out that the audio track had a delay, so likely was corrupted in some way.

Rewind / FF issues

• Relevant issues: https://forums.plex.tv/t/fast-forward-and-rewind-will-result-in-infinite-loading-swirl-until-restarting-episode/215991/55

• At least have that issue on Chrome / Debian Buster, with ShieldTV embedded player.
• Trying fix:

• Trying the official player from https://plex.tv, click launch.
• Trying to enable Settings -> Plex Web -> Debug -> Use alternate streaming protocol for video playback. -> Much better!

Miscellaneous issues

• 'Enhanced' - French SRT subtitles not showing.
• 'Ghost in the Shell' - can only play french audio, without subtitle.
• 'Lucy' - Cannot play AC3 audio. Turns out there was an issue in that track anyway (delay).
• Keep transcoding AC3 media.

To Do

• Shield TV - Play with Shield audio passthrough settings. See if that enables the direct play of AC3.