# What do you guys use for Plex ripping?



## Skybolt (Mar 17, 2016)

I have always used Handbrake with the "High Profile" selected and left it at that. When converting Video_TS folder video to MP4 or MKV. 

As it turns out Tivo doesn't like AAC audio files these days (New Bug?), and since I am new to Tivo, I have to ask, are there "Better" settings that have always worked for you guys?

All of my MP4 files are encoded with AAC, but if I switch to MP3 they work, but no AC3 that way


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## spaldingclan (Aug 22, 2012)

I use the Appletv3 profile and change the audio output to match the input...so DTS to DTS or AC3 to AC3...this is for Bluray or DVD...I never have to have my plex server convert if i do this...direct stream always


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## shupp872 (Jan 1, 2014)

I use MakeMKV to rip only the main movie and highest level English Multichannel audio (usually DTS-HD) with DTS Core included.

No reencoding with Handbrake. No reduction of quality, saves time, but consumes HDD space.

Then Plex will transcode when needed (for the Roamios / Minis) to 8 mbps, and it will transcode the DTS to AC3 multichannel sound.

On the Bolt, it will direct stream the video at the original bitrate, and transcode the audio to AC3. 

If I were you, i would try to keep the original audio and let Plex transcode what it needs to for Tivo, versus re-encoding the file (upon creation of the file) to some different that may or may not work with the TiVo.

Spaldinclan, the TiVo cannot play or passthrough DTS, so I am curious how you manage to hear the audio if Plex isn't transcoding it for you on the fly?


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## spaldingclan (Aug 22, 2012)

sorry, I was only talking about the video...I get that it changes the audio


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## Skybolt (Mar 17, 2016)

shupp872 said:


> I use MakeMKV to rip only the main movie and highest level English Multichannel audio (usually DTS-HD) with DTS Core included.
> 
> No reencoding with Handbrake. No reduction of quality, saves time, but consumes HDD space. ...


Yeah, I have no issues when using MakeMKV. It's just all of my 12TB's of files need to be re-made into MKV's and that is so much time, ugh!

Handbrake at least will queue the jobs ... But I get it and you are correct, that is the best way to go. I just wish MakeMKV would support multiple jobs ...


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## Chuck_IV (Jan 1, 2002)

shupp872 said:


> Then Plex will transcode when needed (for the Roamios / Minis) to 8 mbps, and it will transcode the DTS to AC3 multichannel sound.
> 
> On the Bolt, it will direct stream the video at the original bitrate, and transcode the audio to AC3.


With the latest version of Plex on the Roamio, it should be able to direct stream just as the Bolt does I thought.

This is what I don't understand with Plex. Why does it insist on transcoding some files and not others, even with direct play.

For instance Back to the Future Blu-ray gets transcoded, while Avatar does not for me.

I also hate the fact you lose out on high def audio with Plex which is why I only use Plex on the minis and use my WD Live SMP and Popcorn Hour players on the main TVs.


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## jmpage2 (Jan 21, 2004)

shupp872 said:


> I use MakeMKV to rip only the main movie and highest level English Multichannel audio (usually DTS-HD) with DTS Core included.
> 
> No reencoding with Handbrake. No reduction of quality, saves time, but consumes HDD space.
> 
> ...


I do almost the exact same thing... how are you getting Plex to transcode the audio to AC3? Whenever I transcode something to one of the TiVos it only comes through in Stereo if it's not already in AC3.


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## shupp872 (Jan 1, 2014)

The latest version on the Roamio will allow you to select the 'original' bitrate and resolution but Plex is not given access to enough memory to handle the higher bitrates and it will choke out / studder.

As for the transcoding requirement, it has more to do with the device playing the file than anything else.

This page gives a good rundown of when Plex will need to transcode and when it won't: https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/articles/200250387-Streaming-Media-Direct-Play-and-Direct-Stream

My guess is that your Back to the Future may be an odd video codec, like VC1 or non H264. Where Avatar is probably H264. Or maybe the container isn't something that the TiVo can handle natively.

I agree with you on the High Def audio complaint. But unfortunately it is a hardware limitation of the TiVo (it cannot pass anything higher than Dolby Digital Plus), and has nothing to do with Plex. Other Plex clients can pass high def audio without problems. If I want to watch a full quality movie with full quality high definition audio I will watch it on my Dune player.


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## shupp872 (Jan 1, 2014)

jmpage2 said:


> I do almost the exact same thing... how are you getting Plex to transcode the audio to AC3? Whenever I transcode something to one of the TiVos it only comes through in Stereo if it's not already in AC3.


So assuming you already have 'Enable AC3' checked on the Tivo Plex settings dialog...if you are running the latest version of PMS, you will have to edit the Opera TV.xml profile on the server. For some reason, in some of the last few updates they changed the profile for Opera to convert all audio to AAC. So I opened that xml and replaced all the AAC with AC3. Saved it, restarted the PMS service (or application) on the server. Now all audio is converted to Dolby Digital 5.1 on all my TiVos.


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## jmpage2 (Jan 21, 2004)

shupp872 said:


> So assuming you already have 'Enable AC3' checked on the Tivo Plex settings dialog...if you are running the latest version of PMS, you will have to edit the Opera TV.xml profile on the server.  For some reason, in some of the last few updates they changed the profile for Opera to convert all audio to AAC. So I opened that xml and replaced all the AAC with AC3. Saved it, restarted the PMS service (or application) on the server. Now all audio is converted to Dolby Digital 5.1 on all my TiVos.


Interesting... thanks for the tip, so if I do this then only the TiVos that have the AC3 box ticked would get the AC3 transcode, right? I only have one TiVo connected to an AVR where AC3 would be of benefit, all of the other ones are just direct connected to TVs via HDMI.


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## shupp872 (Jan 1, 2014)

jmpage2 said:


> Interesting... thanks for the tip, so if I do this then only the TiVos that have the AC3 box ticked would get the AC3 transcode, right? I only have one TiVo connected to an AVR where AC3 would be of benefit, all of the other ones are just direct connected to TVs via HDMI.


If you make the changes to the xml file and if your original file is something like DTS, I believe the Plex server will still transcode to AC3 regardless of the AC3 checkbox in Plex. I think the AC3 checkbox will only tell the Plex app to pass the AC3 bitstream out of the Plex app to the TiVo hardware versus decoding it internally. So either way there will be transcoding on the server side.

I am not 100% sure in that case, but my guess is that for the TiVos connected directly to the TV, there probably isn't any harm in checking or unchecking the AC3 box. The server will still transcode the DTS to AC3, and the TV will output stereo.

Honestly I check enable AC3 on all the TiVos that are directly connected to TVs because the TVs can handle being passed the Dolby Digital signal, and the tv will convert it to stereo. I would rather pass the bitstream as far along the device chain as possible to the end point.


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## jmpage2 (Jan 21, 2004)

shupp872 said:


> If you make the changes to the xml file and if your original file is something like DTS, I believe the Plex server will still transcode to AC3 regardless of the AC3 checkbox in Plex. I think the AC3 checkbox will only tell the Plex app to pass the AC3 bitstream out of the Plex app to the TiVo hardware versus decoding it internally. So either way there will be transcoding on the server side.
> 
> I am not 100% sure in that case, but my guess is that for the TiVos connected directly to the TV, there probably isn't any harm in checking or unchecking the AC3 box. The server will still transcode the DTS to AC3, and the TV will output stereo.
> 
> Honestly I check enable AC3 on all the TiVos because the TVs can handle being fed the Dolby Digital signal, and the tv will convert it to stereo. I would rather pass the bitstream as far along the device chain as possible to the end point.


Interesting. I will make a backup of the XML file in any event, thanks so much for the tip!

:up::up::up:


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## jmpage2 (Jan 21, 2004)

shupp872 said:


> If you make the changes to the xml file and if your original file is something like DTS, I believe the Plex server will still transcode to AC3 regardless of the AC3 checkbox in Plex. I think the AC3 checkbox will only tell the Plex app to pass the AC3 bitstream out of the Plex app to the TiVo hardware versus decoding it internally. So either way there will be transcoding on the server side.
> 
> I am not 100% sure in that case, but my guess is that for the TiVos connected directly to the TV, there probably isn't any harm in checking or unchecking the AC3 box. The server will still transcode the DTS to AC3, and the TV will output stereo.
> 
> Honestly I check enable AC3 on all the TiVos that are directly connected to TVs because the TVs can handle being passed the Dolby Digital signal, and the tv will convert it to stereo. I would rather pass the bitstream as far along the device chain as possible to the end point.


Okay, so I enabled this and delightedly found that my PCM and True-HD tracks converted to AC3 and seemed to work wonderfully.

Then I tried playing a movie with a DTS track and it started stuttering pretty badly. I tried a second one and same thing. These movies are both compressed with handbrake and the "AppleTV3" profile and are in MKV containers.

I will restart Plex with the default Opera config and see if they play properly again. It seems that the old Roamio box just might not have the chops for some of this stuff.


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## shupp872 (Jan 1, 2014)

jmpage2 said:


> I will restart Plex with the default Opera config and see if they play properly again. It seems that the old Roamio box just might not have the chops for some of this stuff.


Is the TiVo set to 'original' or have you set a max for the files? I can't imagine why only the change to a file with DTS would cause stuttering.

Most of the files I play on my Roamio are straight bluray rips in full quality with DTS sound. They play fine with the transcode to AC3, but set the bitrate limit on the Roamio to 1080p/8 mbps. If I try original quality they are unplayable as they stutter horrible.

Another thought is: what H.264 profile the files are, and what the TiVo is set up for as max in the Plex app. I think the default is 4, but most of the rips I have done are 4.1. I have increased the max profile to 5 just to be safe.

Did you happen to check what audio the AVR was getting when you were getting the DTS stutter?


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## jmpage2 (Jan 21, 2004)

Okay, interestingly turning off "direct play" and "direct stream" seems to have fixed it. Also, if I manually set the resolution to 720P that would also fix it. Looks like the Roamio just doesn't have the chops for much but I'm thrilled it appears to be working.


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## jmpage2 (Jan 21, 2004)

shupp872 said:


> Is the TiVo set to 'original' or have you set a max for the files? I can't imagine why only the change to a file with DTS would cause stuttering.
> 
> Most of the files I play on my Roamio are straight bluray rips in full quality with DTS sound. They play fine with the transcode to AC3, but set the bitrate limit on the Roamio to 1080p/8 mbps. If I try original quality they are unplayable as they stutter horrible.
> 
> ...


Most of my files are full original BD rips with original HD audio tracks, but some of the stuff for my son or wife I re-encode to 1080P with handbrake.

I had set the Roamio to 1080P/8mbps cap which did have this working right up until I turned on the DTS->AC3 transcode... not sure why that would cause the Roamio any extra trouble but it did break it again. Turning off direct play and direct stream seems to have fixed it but I will have to play more.


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## Skybolt (Mar 17, 2016)

Very strange but turning off all mentioned above and editing the xml files to AC3 etc and nothing works with files encoded with aac audio. Files created with mp3 audio or by MakeMKV work perfectly.

I am not quite sure why my results are so differant??? 

Having to re-rip everything with MakeMKV is not going to be fun and will take fever ...


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## jmpage2 (Jan 21, 2004)

My suspicion is that the flavor of AAC that Handbrake produces with the default profile is incompatible with TiVo. Do the files play okay with other clients like if you use Plex on an Android or iOS device?

I'm extremely careful about how I rip my media. I always rip to MKV, and I always either leave the audio alone (original audio track) or at WORST I transcode it initially to AC3.

I never ever try to rip to AAC/FLAC/XYZ codec. They are all too poorly supported with the huge variety of media players out there.

You might be able to write a batch job that will re-encode all of your files audio tracks to AC3... I believe both MKVToolnix and Handbrake support scripting and batch jobs. Then just turn it on and walk away.


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## Skybolt (Mar 17, 2016)

jmpage2 said:


> My suspicion is that the flavor of AAC that Handbrake produces with the default profile is incompatible with TiVo. Do the files play okay with other clients like if you use Plex on an Android or iOS device?


I'd have to agree with you because they do play fine else where.



> I never ever try to rip to AAC/FLAC/XYZ codec. They are all too poorly supported with the huge variety of media players out there.


Well I can't disagree with you here either, although I've never had an issue, I am going to change to your worst case rip.



> You might be able to write a batch job that will re-encode all of your files audio tracks to AC3... I believe both MKVToolnix and Handbrake support scripting and batch jobs. Then just turn it on and walk away.


Yeah, the only issue with HB is that it will re-encode all over again I believe. But I am going to give that a try and see how things come out.

Thanks for your reply.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

You might check your files that contain aac audio. Tivo only supports 2 channel aac. Not 5.1 or 6 channel surround sound. For 5.1, only ac3 is supported.

It may have changed recently but for some time when the Roamio was my main home theater box, only h.264 up to level 4.1 was supported by the tivo. Not 5. Level 5 is supported on the bolt but not sure if the Roamio was updated to allow the higher processing requirements.

If you want to store files on your server that are optimized for direct streaming to the tivo, go with a web optimized (imsa) mp4 file, h.264 level 4.1 video and ac3 5.1 audio at no more than 640kbps. These will direct stream to and play on the tivo natively and without any transcoding or remuxing on the fly. They will be pretty widely compatible with other devices as well.


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## jjswew (Apr 8, 2018)

I used TuneFab DVD Ripper for helping me with ripping DVD to Plex Media for playing, thus, I can just watch it without import and export the DVD to the DVD rooms.


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