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Roku Premiere+ profile issues/updates (AC3)

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Fr33dan

Serviio newbie

Posts: 5

Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2017 3:13 pm

Post Sun Aug 06, 2017 4:06 pm

Roku Premiere+ profile issues/updates (AC3)

Hi,

I was having some issues with transcoding to my Roku Premiere+ regarding the audio. After a long wild goose chase playing with my ffmpeg build process eventually I discovered that the Roku doesn't seem to handle AC-3 audio streams.

I don't know for certain but I suspect it may be related to this note in the Roku documentation I kept not scrolling down far enough to see:
Most Roku players will only pass-through Dolby Audio™ (AC3, E-AC3). To decode multi-channel surround sound, you must connect your Roku player via HDMI® or S/PDIF (optical) to a TV or A/V receiver capable of decoding Dolby Digital (AC3) or Dolby Digital Plus™ (E-AC3).

While I am running HDMI to the TV (the only option for this device) and SPDIF to my A/V receiver the receiver is old and may not support AC3. To make it function I had to update my profile to transcode to AAC:
  Code:
<Profile id="Roku4kMPApp" name="Roku 4K Media Player (2016+)" extendsProfileId="RokuMPApp">
   <!-- NOTE:
   -This profile does not restrict the audio to 2 channel stereo. If you are encountering audio issues, add forceStereo="true" to the
   targetContainer line after the targetACodec setting.
   -These Roku models should be able to play videos without requiring the maxVBitrate setting. You can experiment if desired.
   -Roku players do not support mepg2 video.
   -Every effort has been made to capture videos correctly. If you discover a file being transcoded unnecessarily, please report it
   in the Serviio forum in the Transcoding section.
      -->
   <Transcoding>
      <!-- transcode HD video unsupported by device, transcode audio regardless of codec -->
      <Video targetContainer="mpegts" targetVCodec="h264" targetACodec="aac" aBitrate="512">
         <Matches container="*" vCodec="vc1" />
      </Video>
      <!-- Remux h264 video stream, transcode audio only -->
      <Video targetContainer="mpegts" targetACodec="aac" aBitrate="512">
         <Matches container="*" vCodec="h264" aCodec="truehd" />
         <!-- if you have audio issues with DTS Master Audio, uncomment the following line to transcode DTS-MA to DD -->
         <!-- I don't know if I hae any DTS-HD files but I uncommented this to just in case given I've been having issues-->
         <Matches container="*" vCodec="h264" aCodec="dts-hd" />
         <!-- Had to add this because my files that had ac3 audio already also wouldn't play-->
         <Matches container="*" vCodec="h264" aCodec="ac3" />
      </Video>
      <!-- Transcode non-H.264 video or FLAC audio -->
      <Video targetContainer="mpegts" targetVCodec="h264" targetACodec="aac" >
         <Matches container="*" vCodec="wmv2"/>
         <Matches container="*" aCodec="flac"/>
         <Matches container="*" vCodec="mpeg1video"/>
         <Matches container="*" vCodec="mpeg2video" />
         <!-- transcode non-supported containers regardless of codec -->
         <Matches container="wtv"/>
         <Matches container="avi" />
         <Matches container="mpegvideo"/>
         <Matches container="mpeg"/>
      </Video>
      <!-- Remux audio and video streams - for DivX/Xvid in AVI/Matroska -->
      <Video targetContainer="mpegts">
         <Matches container="*" vCodec="mpeg4" aCodec="aac" />
         <Matches container="*" vCodec="msmpeg4" aCodec="aac" />
      </Video>
      <!-- if you have issues playing audio files, uncomment the following section to transcode MP3 -->
      <!-- <Audio targetContainer="mp3">
         <Matches container="*" />
      </Audio> -->
   </Transcoding>
   <OnlineTranscoding>
      <Video targetContainer="applehttp"> <!-- dont transcode to ac3 -->
         <Matches container="mp4" />
         <Matches container="flv" vCodec="h264" />
      </Video>
   </OnlineTranscoding>
   <GenericTranscoding>
      <Video targetContainer="mpegts" targetVCodec="h264" targetACodec="ac3" />
   </GenericTranscoding>
   <LimitImageResolution>false</LimitImageResolution>
</Profile>

There is already the note about trying forceStereo=true but I tried that without success before I made the switch to AAC. I then removed it afterword since it didn't seem necessary.

It's now working great for me and playing all my videos in all the various formats they are in. Given the comment I figured I should come here and share my experiences.
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atc98092

User avatar

DLNA master

Posts: 5205

Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2012 10:22 pm

Location: Washington (the state)

Post Mon Aug 07, 2017 5:32 am

Re: Roku Premiere+ profile issues/updates (AC3)

Actually, all Roku players handle AC3 just fine. When I was developing the Roku profiles, I did have some issues with 7.1 audio, but I believe that was resolved. The issue is if your receiving device can handle AC3. I think the problem could be that many TVs will not send 5.1 audio out the optical connection when it comes from an external device, such as a Roku. Since you are transcoding your audio to AAC (which is only 2 channel), it is passing through the optical connection. I would be amazed if you had an AVR with optical in that can't handle AC3. You might try sending the sound out of the TV speakers, instead of the optical out, to see if the TV will play the AC3 audio. It should, and that would pinpoint the optical out as the problem.

I tested these profiles with a small 720p Insignia Roku TV and a Roku 4, but would occasionally test with my Stick and Ultra as well. The Stick and TV both used the TV audio, while the 4 and Ultra are connected to Yamaha AVRs. Your Premiere+ is almost identical to my Ultra, so should play the same. I'm sorry you had to tweak them a little, but unfortunately it is impossible to test for all possible end configurations.

Where you added the line was a good place, as you are simply transmuxing the video and only transcoding the audio. This requires far less computer power to process. You did a good job resolving the issue.
Dan

LG NANO85 4K TV, Samsung JU7100 4K TV, Sony BDP-S3500, Sharp 4K Roku TV, Insignia Roku TV, Roku Ultra, Premiere and Stick, Nvidia Shield, Yamaha RX-V583 AVR.
Primary server: Intel i5-6400, 16 gig ram, Windows 10 Pro, 22 TB hard drive space | Test server Windows 10 Pro, AMD Phenom II X4 965, 8 gig ram

HOWTO: Enable debug logging HOWTO: Identify media file contents
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Fr33dan

Serviio newbie

Posts: 5

Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2017 3:13 pm

Post Mon Aug 07, 2017 10:49 pm

Re: Roku Premiere+ profile issues/updates (AC3)

Your idea to try the TV speakers seemed like a really good idea but I tried it and now I'm just confused.

I moved my profile to user-profiles.xml with a different name and id (leaving everything else the same) and reset my profiles.xml. Now the MKV with HEVC and AC3 that I thought wasn't working before is now playing fine before I turned on the TV speakers. I know the profile is reset because the Roku reports the container format and I can see that it is still in MKV and not being remuxed or transcoded. This is the same file that clued me into the AC-3 format issue in the first place.

Who knows what was faulty over the weekend. The reason I have the Roku is because the TV's smart functions crashed at the drop of a hat so it may be spotty and the receiver is almost 15 years old and obscure/less popular as there is no documentation anywhere online for it. Either device could be an issue to be honest. I've got my custom profile available in the option so I can switch if I have issues again. If I ever figure out for certain what was/is happening I'll let you know.
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atc98092

User avatar

DLNA master

Posts: 5205

Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2012 10:22 pm

Location: Washington (the state)

Post Tue Aug 08, 2017 12:17 am

Re: Roku Premiere+ profile issues/updates (AC3)

I appreciate the feedback, and glad it is resolved, for whatever reason. :D
Dan

LG NANO85 4K TV, Samsung JU7100 4K TV, Sony BDP-S3500, Sharp 4K Roku TV, Insignia Roku TV, Roku Ultra, Premiere and Stick, Nvidia Shield, Yamaha RX-V583 AVR.
Primary server: Intel i5-6400, 16 gig ram, Windows 10 Pro, 22 TB hard drive space | Test server Windows 10 Pro, AMD Phenom II X4 965, 8 gig ram

HOWTO: Enable debug logging HOWTO: Identify media file contents

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