Transcoding with Sony 2013/2014 TVs

Hello everyone...started using Serviio for a few days now and I'm really impressed. However I have some issues with my Sony KDL55W955 (2014 model - although will be getting a KDL55W905 as replacement soon - 2013 model, but I'm pretty sure the issue applies to both). I've searched around the forum for a bit and found some answers but I am still a bit confused here.

PART 1
So I am streaming content directly on the TV and then using the optical out to send audio to my AV receiver (which supports DTS/DTS-HD and Dolby/Dolby True-HD natively). I have been using the Sony Bravia TV (2013) profile on Serviio and it's all fine except that every MKV I try to play with DTS audio, gets downmixed to 2-channel PCM. Doesn't happen with Dolby, that is passed multi-channel fine. Funny thing is, the downmix occurs at the TV output, because when playback starts I do get a DTS Surround logo on the screen but the TV doesn't pass it through. I find it weird because this TV supposedly supports DTS, but why would you only support 'reading' it and not being capable to pass it through via optical?! Is this really the problem here or am I doing something wrong? And if this would've been a limitation, is there a reason why DTS is not being transcoded to AC3 by default in the profile (which does work via optical as multi-channel)?


PART 2
I assumed it is a limitation of the TV so I did some research on how I can get the DTS transcoded into AC3, and added the following line in the profile, within one of the transcoding rules (last line of code related to DCA):

  Code:

<Video targetContainer="mpegts" targetVCodec="mpeg2video" targetACodec="ac3" DAR="16:9" forceInheritance="true">
            <Matches container="mpegts" vCodec="vc1" />
            <Matches container="flv" />
            <!-- example: flv/vp6/mp3 -->
            <Matches container="wtv" />
            <Matches container="ogg" />
            <Matches container="rm" />
            <!--Matches container="3gp" vCodec="mpeg4" /-->
            <!--Matches container="3gp" vCodec="h263" /-->
            <!-- digital camera video formats -->
            <Matches container="avi" vCodec="mjpeg" />
            <Matches container="mp4" vCodec="mjpeg" />
            <Matches container="asf" vCodec="vc1" aCodec="wmapro" />
            <Matches container="avi" vCodec="dvvideo" />
            <Matches container="mp4" vCodec="dvvideo" />
      <Matches container="matroska" aCodec="dca"/>
         </Video>

That worked so I managed to get multi-channel Dolby instead of DTS via transcoding. I then noticed that ALL of the target containers when doing transcoding with this profile were MPEGTS. The Sony codec support list (http://docs.esupport.sony.com/imanual/NA/2013/XBR55-65X900A/uc_uen/codeclist.html#4) says DTS is not supported via MPEGTS and only via MKV. Is this causing the first part of the problem? And why MPEGTS if the 2013 Sony line-up support MKV (just cuious)?

IF I need to keep transcoding DTS audio to AC3 to get the full multi-channel signal sent to my AV, did I add the transcoding rule in the best place, am I doing it efficiently? What if I only want to transcode the audio? Is that possible? Because at the minute I'm pretty sure the whole file is transcoded (temp file is over 15GB) plus it puts unnecessary strain on the PC.

I guess bottom line would be I would really like to be able to pass the surround DTS to my AV via the TV's optical, and if the TV can't do it (although again it's smart enough to know it is receiving surround DTS), I just want to convert to AC3 as efficiently as possible without losing any quality.

I don't have any suggestions for you, but I find this pretty interesting because I have the same issue, except that it's with the Sony BDP-S5100 Blu-ray Player.

The details of my issue can be seen here...

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1450585/offic ... s5100/2700

I have not found a solution. I think it's a bug in the player's firmware.

Maybe something similar going on with your TV.

[DenyAll]

only support 'reading' it and not being capable to pass it through via optical

Aye, that be the problem captain. Serviio is serving the file natively to your TV (which sees it as DTS, hence the logo), and your TV is downmixing to stereo PCM. Seems to be a long standing problem: http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic. ... &t=1125601 and viewtopic.php?f=11&t=1890&start=20#p17819.

The Sony codec support list ... says DTS is not supported via MPEGTS and only via MKV. Is this causing the first part of the problem?

No, in the first part Serviio is serving the file natively as an MKV file. Its only after you made the profile change that the file gets converted to a ts container. As for the manual... they are not always complete in this respect. Often (but not always) the container type is largely irrelevant to the capabilities ie. if it can decode the video and the container then it will often work although that combination is not listed in the manual.

And why MPEGTS if the 2013 Sony line-up support MKV (just cuious)?

Because we cannot transcode to MKV on the fly.

did I add the transcoding rule in the best place

Maybe At the moment you are transcoding both audio and video (therefore with slight quality loss in each - probably un-noticable but there none-the-less; and with high CPU usage due to the video transcode). You could try remuxing (copying) the video as-is by adding the line:

  Code:

<Matches container="*" vCodec="h264" aCodec="dca" />
        under the existing line
<Matches container="*" vCodec="h264" aCodec="truehd" />

The reason for the maybe... if you experience problems with aspect ratio (ie. any films with greater than 16:9 aspect appear to be stretched to fill the screen) then you will need to revert back to what you had.

<Edit>Also there is another option... often MKV files have multiple audio tracks, one being DTS and another being AC3. The best approach imho is to use something like MKVtoolnix to remux the file, swapping the order so that AC-3 is the first audio track. This is a fast process and a once-off. From then on your file will be streamed natively and you will enjoy all the advantages of natively playing MKVs (chapters, better seeking, etc). A further also... if there is no AC3 track you can create one from your DTS track - MKVtoolnix cannot do this though, so you'd need to use something like Handbrake or imo better for this task, XMedia Recode.

[atc98092]

Based on many articles I have read (Home Theater, Sound & Vision), most TVs down-convert their optical out. That is a common complaint when they are testing soundbar speaker systems.

However, my Panasonic ST30 plasma will pass AC-3 to my receiver. I haven't paid attention to my movies with DTS, but I can certainly give it a try. This is one reason I've stuck with my Sony Blu-ray players, since they will pass the HD audio bitstream. I just wish I could figure out how to do it consistantly. Some of my videos will play the HD audio, others it comes out the lossy core audio, and still others will either play no audio or lock up the player. Been too lazy to investigate

Thank you all for your replies. So...

At the moment you are transcoding both audio and video (therefore with slight quality loss in each - probably un-noticable but there none-the-less; and with high CPU usage due to the video transcode). You could try remuxing (copying) the video as-is by adding the line:

  Code:

<Matches container="*" vCodec="h264" aCodec="dca" />
        under the existing line
<Matches container="*" vCodec="h264" aCodec="truehd" />

Not sure what is at the top of this rule (not at home right now), but if I remember well the target container for these rules was still MPEGTS? Doesn't that mean there will still be a video conversion?

EDIT: I just realised the target bit only specifies the container and not a video codec, which means no video conversion. So that's a bit clearer now...

Also there is another option... often MKV files have multiple audio tracks, one being DTS and another being AC3. The best approach imho is to use something like MKVtoolnix to remux the file, swapping the order so that AC-3 is the first audio track.

I think I might be able to select the audio track directly on the TV, but I'm not sure, will have to check.

A further also... if there is no AC3 track you can create one from your DTS track - MKVtoolnix cannot do this though, so you'd need to use something like Handbrake or imo better for this task, XMedia Recode.

Isn't this what Serviio is supposed to do? Or are you actually referring strictly to those files that might have issues with aspect ratio and if I don't wnat to transcode both video and audio?

However, my Panasonic ST30 plasma will pass AC-3 to my receiver.

My TV also passes multi-channel Dolby to my AV via optical, it's the DTS that is the pain here, that gets down-mixed to 2-channel PCM. I agree that a lot of devices will refuse playing DTS altogether, down-mixed or otherwise.

Based on many articles I have read (Home Theater, Sound & Vision), most TVs down-convert their optical out. That is a common complaint when they are testing soundbar speaker systems.

I don't have any suggestions for you, but I find this pretty interesting because I have the same issue, except that it's with the Sony BDP-S5100 Blu-ray Player.

Is there any device on this planet that will pass-through multi-channel Dolby, DTS, True-HD and DTS-HD (the last two only via HDMI out obviously) when streaming DLNA content? TVs I guess are out of question, and I'm not going to replace my TV just because of that, but maybe something like a Blu-Ray player? I've heard Samsung BDP-F6500 is quite good at that although I did not find concrete information. Presumably Samsung does the best job at supporting these features, even with their TV range.

The PS4 would be great cause I'm planning to get it and then I'd hit two birds at once (bluray player + new gen console) but at the minute it doesn't even support DLNA and the future doesn't sound bright

[atc98092]

Is there any device on this planet that will pass-through multi-channel Dolby, DTS, True-HD and DTS-HD (the last two only via HDMI out obviously) when streaming DLNA content? TVs I guess are out of question, and I'm not going to replace my TV just because of that, but maybe something like a Blu-Ray player? I've heard Samsung BDP-F6500 is quite good at that although I did not find concrete information. Presumably Samsung does the best job at supporting these features, even with their TV range.

As far as the HD audio, no such luck. I just did a quick web search and found that most TVs will only output 2 channel LPCM via the HDMI ARC connection, although there are some that will pass DD. Again, no word on DTS. Since the HDTV standard (at least in the US) is for AC-3 sound, I doubt that any TVs have a DTS decoder. And it sounds like there are possibly legal issues why the audio bitstream can't be sent back out. doesn't make it right or reasonable, but that's what happens when lawyers get involved.

I think my TV is to old to support DTS audio, so it's likely not possible for me to test it here. The TV doesn't support native playback for any of my files anyway, so I'm stuck with transcoding. Sorry.

Í have a Bravia model 2012 and it does not read avi files. Is there a way for the software serviio convert and send in mp4?

[NX3]

Select bravia 2012 US in profile and your avi will play.

Sent from my HTC One mini using Tapatalk

thanks worked perfectly.
Is there a way to select áudio when the file arives with 2 to 3 áudio types?
Is there a way also to change the size and color of the fonts?

[Illico]

Is there a way to select áudio when the file arives with 2 to 3 áudio types?

No.

Is there a way also to change the size and color of the fonts?

Use ASS/SSA subtitle format...viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2396#p88533