Why does my Denon AVR-S670H play some DTS-HD MA tracks and not others?

[pronator]

When playing videos through the Plex app on my Roku Ultra, some streams that Plex identifies as DTS-HD MA play fine, and others get the No Audio Detected message ("There was no audio detected while allowing DTS-HD. Would you like to try again converting DTS-HD to a compatible format?). Transcoding to Dolby Digital Plus works, but it transcoding offends my sensibilities.

What should I look for in a video file to determine if my AVR can play it? Should I have paid extra for a 7.1 AVR with all the codecs even though I only ever will hook up 5.1 speakers?

When I use Plex "Get Info", the Media Info looks similar, codec: DCA, channels: 8. The Windows program MediaInfo identifies them as having different formats:
The playable one has Format: DTS ES XLL, Bit depth: 24 bits
The one with no audio has Format: DTS XLL, Bit depth: 16 bits

Equipment:
AVR: Denon AVR-S670H
Roku Ultra (4800X)

 

[lovinthehd]

Well if the avr can receive the bitstream to decode DTS HD-MA then the avr has the ability. What are the origin of the files you're playing particularly?

@panteragstk has a bit of Plex experience, maybe he can help. Probably @Trebdp83 too.

 

[isolar8001]

When playing videos through the Plex app on my Roku Ultra, some streams that Plex identifies as DTS-HD MA play fine, and others get the No Audio Detected message ("There was no audio detected while allowing DTS-HD. Would you like to try again converting DTS-HD to a compatible format?). Transcoding to Dolby Digital Plus works, but it transcoding offends my sensibilities.

What should I look for in a video file to determine if my AVR can play it? Should I have paid extra for a 7.1 AVR with all the codecs even though I only ever will hook up 5.1 speakers?

When I use Plex "Get Info", the Media Info looks similar, codec: DCA, channels: 8. The Windows program MediaInfo identifies them as having different formats:
The playable one has Format: DTS ES XLL, Bit depth: 24 bits
The one with no audio has Format: DTS XLL, Bit depth: 16 bits

Equipment:
AVR: Denon AVR-S670H
Roku Ultra (4800X)

The problem is your Roku....its converting your audio and does not support DTSX.
If you hate transcoding, buy a real file player like a Dune or Zidoo.

Roku audio.

AAC (.MKV, .MP4, .MOV); MP3 (.MP3, .MKV); WMA (.ASF, .WMA, .MKV); FLAC (.FLAC, .MKV); PCM (.WAV, .MKV, .MP4, .MOV); AC3/EAC3 (.MKV, .MP4, .MOV, .AC3); DTS (.MKV, .MP4, .MOV); ALAC (.MKV, .MP4, .MOV, .M4A); HEAAC (.MKV, .MP4, .MOV, .AAC); AC-4 with Atmos (.MKV, .MP4, .MOV, .AC4 ); DD+ (EAC3) with Atmos (.MKV, .MP4, .MOV)

 

[pronator]

The problem is your Roku....its converting your audio and does not support DTSX.

Inspecting the MKV files with MediaInfo, it doesn't look like DTS:X, but then again, I don't know how to decode the names "DTS ES XLL" or "DTS XLL". According to Roku streaming specs, it should be doing passthrough of DTS, and as I mentioned some streams work and other don't.

If you hate transcoding, buy a real file player like a Dune or Zidoo

Interesting, thanks! I know nothing about Dune or Zidoo. The Dune HD Premier 4K Pro seems like it will meet my needs, I'm going to read up on that. I use Plex, Max, Paramount+, Peacock apps, and sometimes Netflix.

 

[panteragstk]

Inspecting the MKV files with MediaInfo, it doesn't look like DTS:X, but then again, I don't know how to decode the names "DTS ES XLL" or "DTS XLL". According to Roku streaming specs, it should be doing passthrough of DTS, and as I mentioned some streams work and other don't.



Interesting, thanks! I know nothing about Dune or Zidoo. The Dune HD Premier 4K Pro seems like it will meet my needs, I'm going to read up on that. I use Plex, Max, Paramount+, Peacock apps, and sometimes Netflix.

Shield TV is your friend. It plays everything without issue. I've had issues with many other players on the market and the shield is the only one that consistently plays everything perfectly. If my shield has an issue with a file, it's always been the file.

 

[isolar8001]

Inspecting the MKV files with MediaInfo, it doesn't look like DTS:X, but then again, I don't know how to decode the names "DTS ES XLL" or "DTS XLL". According to Roku streaming specs, it should be doing passthrough of DTS, and as I mentioned some streams work and other don't.



Interesting, thanks! I know nothing about Dune or Zidoo. The Dune HD Premier 4K Pro seems like it will meet my needs, I'm going to read up on that. I use Plex, Max, Paramount+, Peacock apps, and sometimes Netflix.

DTS XLL is DTS-HD. Like this...

Audio #1
ID : 2
Format : DTS XLL
Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems
Commercial name : DTS-HD Master Audio
Codec ID : A_DTS
Duration : 1 h 48 min
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 4 213 kb/s
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel layout : C L R Ls Rs LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate : 93.750 FPS (512 SPF)
Bit depth : 24 bits
Compression mode : Lossless
Stream size : 3.20 GiB (10%)
Title : DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : No

The Roku will encode it down to DTS....not that that is really bad. Anything other than vanilla DTS (like DTS-X) will get encoded by the Roku.
If you want a file player that does streaming services, the Shield is a good choice like panteragstk just said.

Stay away from Dune's like the Premier...it's not a real Dune. (it's a Homatics box) and relies on a Dune "app"
But, the better Dunes aren't good for streaming.

Not fond of the Shield myself, but for your use case, it checks all the boxes.

 

[pronator]

The problem is your Roku

Bingo! This talk of Dunes and Shields made me run a test from the Plex app on my Google TV with eARC to the Denon AVR. It plays fine!! So thank you @isolar8001 for the major clue, and for the tip re: Dune Premier.

Thanks @panteragstk for the Nvidia shield tip. Is Nvidia less "evil" than Roku? "Evil," a word here which means "adding increasingly intrusive advertising and useless action buttons to a once clean and simple interface." I went so far as to take apart my Roku remote and replace the sponsored buttons with epoxy. (Oh dang I see Nvidia has a Netflix button smh)

I will struggle for now between Roku when it works and Google TV when it doesn't. If it makes me unhappy, looks like Shield might fit the bill.

 

[panteragstk]

Bingo! This talk of Dunes and Shields made me run a test from the Plex app on my Google TV with eARC to the Denon AVR. It plays fine!! So thank you @isolar8001 for the major clue, and for the tip re: Dune Premier.

Thanks @panteragstk for the Nvidia shield tip. Is Nvidia less "evil" than Roku? "Evil," a word here which means "adding increasingly intrusive advertising and useless action buttons to a once clean and simple interface." I went so far as to take apart my Roku remote and replace the sponsored buttons with epoxy. (Oh dang I see Nvidia has a Netflix button smh)

I will struggle for now between Roku when it works and Google TV when it doesn't. If it makes me unhappy, looks like Shield might fit the bill.

The best part about the Shield is that if the default launcher annoys you just use a different one. Simple as that.

 

[ban25]

Bingo! This talk of Dunes and Shields made me run a test from the Plex app on my Google TV with eARC to the Denon AVR. It plays fine!! So thank you @isolar8001 for the major clue, and for the tip re: Dune Premier.

Thanks @panteragstk for the Nvidia shield tip. Is Nvidia less "evil" than Roku? "Evil," a word here which means "adding increasingly intrusive advertising and useless action buttons to a once clean and simple interface." I went so far as to take apart my Roku remote and replace the sponsored buttons with epoxy. (Oh dang I see Nvidia has a Netflix button smh)

I will struggle for now between Roku when it works and Google TV when it doesn't. If it makes me unhappy, looks like Shield might fit the bill.

You can install a different, ad-free launcher on the Shield and use a free Play Store app to disable or re-assign the Netflix button on the remote. I've had a Shield TV Pro since 2018 and I bought a 2nd one earlier this year because, despite the fact that it's 5 years old and no replacement is on the horizon, it's still the best streamer on the market.

 

[pronator]

It appears from the Nvidia Shield FAQ that it can't be controlled by IR remotes like my old Harmony 650. Do you know if that's true or if the IR commands are simply limited? I was able to add an Nvidia Shield to the MyHarmony software, and I see commands like Back, DirectionUp, DirectionDown. So it looks like many commands are available.

 

[lovinthehd]

It appears from the Nvidia Shield FAQ that it can't be controlled by IR remotes like my old Harmony 650. Do you know if that's true or if the IR commands are simply limited? I was able to add an Nvidia Shield to the MyHarmony software, and I see commands like Back, DirectionUp, DirectionDown. So it looks like many commands are available.

Probably get the full suite if you had a Harmony Hub for the BT commands?

 

[panteragstk]

It appears from the Nvidia Shield FAQ that it can't be controlled by IR remotes like my old Harmony 650. Do you know if that's true or if the IR commands are simply limited? I was able to add an Nvidia Shield to the MyHarmony software, and I see commands like Back, DirectionUp, DirectionDown. So it looks like many commands are available.

Only the oldest shield TV came with IR. The rest don't. As @lovinthehd stated, you'd have to get a remote that has BT capabilities.

 

[lovinthehd]

Only the oldest shield TV came with IR. The rest don't. As @lovinthehd stated, you'd have to get a remote that has BT capabilities.

FWIW with my hub my 655 Logitech can do BT stuff. Haven't tried with one of my 650s....if I do I'll let you know.