Official Dolby Vision MKV spec support

[Cannikin]

Hello, kinda new to this part of techno world coz I just bought some related devices but I've been reading some topics already.

Plex on the Nvidia Shield supports DV in MKV files now! The latest release of Plex 8.8.0 (out today) makes it official. The MKV spec was updated for official DV support only a few weeks ago so it's unlikely that any MKV torrents you've downloaded are properly encoded.me

If you're downloading TS files you're in a better spot (the DV demo files from Dolby themselves are TS files so that format has been good to go for a while), however some of those still can't play properly in Plex—there are different DV "Profiles" and Plex is only supporting Profile 7 right now, which is the one used on UHD discs. According to this thread https://www.avsforum.com/threads/what-a ... t-58125494 streaming services like AppleTV and Netflix use Profile 5. The torrents you're getting may have been made from streams, in which case the Profile won't be compatible with Plex.

You can download samples of different Profiles here: https://www.makemkv.com/download/dvtest See which ones will play in your player of choice. If you want to know what Profile your torrents have, open the file with MediaInfo https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo and switch to the Tree View or Text View. Look at the "HDR format" line. You'll see something like:

Code: Select all

HDR format  : Dolby Vision, Version 1.0, dvhe.04.06, BL+EL+RPU, SDR compatible

dvhe.04 means Profile 4. You'll see dvhe.05 for Profile 5, etc.

Does that help? I'm getting near the limits of my own understanding of the subject but I can try to help answer any more questions! For me personally I'm ripping my own UHD discs with MakeMKV and everything that comes out is (as of today) playable on my Nvidia Shield with DV and DA working, so I'm happy!

[bobbymkV]

Argh, just need Nvidia to give us an update on the red push issue now.

[Decidueye]

I have a worse problem than that 'red push'. I have the Shield Pro 2019 as well and the latest Plex installed.

When I get DV playback on the Shield Pro / Plex, seems there are two ‘modes’. One is brighter than the other. And the dimmer one looks very dark. Not even HDR lvl, with Dynamic Tone Mapping off and everything Dynamic off.

My DV MP4 (created using DV MP4muxer method here), when direct played on the TV (I have an LG C9), still looks way brighter than the DV MKV (MakeMKV 1.15.3) on the Shield.

Summary of my findings:
1.) DV MP4 direct play vs. DV MKV Shield / Plex – DV MP4 looks a lot better and seems to be the legit one
2.) DV MP4 direct play vs HDR10 MKV direct play with Dynamic Tone Mapping On and everything Dynamic on high – DV MP4 still looks better (and more natural imo) but not by a lot now, subtle difference
3.) DV MKV Shield / Plex vs HDR10 MKV Shield / Plex (same file and setting as above) – HDR10 looks better
4.) DV MKV Shield / Plex vs HDR10 Mkv Shield / Plex Dynamic off everything – looks about the same

Anyone else have this issue? Is this Plex’s problem or my Shield’s?

Edit: It seems it's the Shield's fault. I watched Our Planet on Netflix with my TV and the Shield, and I can see the same issues aforementioned. TV playback is brighter and better than the Shield's. Could it be that my Shield is faulty?

[shawnc22]

I have a worse problem than that 'red push'. I have the Shield Pro 2019 as well and the latest Plex installed.

When I get DV playback on the Shield Pro / Plex, seems there are two ‘modes’. One is brighter than the other. And the dimmer one looks very dark. Not even HDR lvl, with Dynamic Tone Mapping off and everything Dynamic off.

My DV MP4 (created using DV MP4muxer method here), when direct played on the TV (I have an LG C9), still looks way brighter than the DV MKV (MakeMKV 1.15.3) on the Shield.

Summary of my findings:
1.) DV MP4 direct play vs. DV MKV Shield / Plex – DV MP4 looks a lot better and seems to be the legit one
2.) DV MP4 direct play vs HDR10 MKV direct play with Dynamic Tone Mapping On and everything Dynamic on high – DV MP4 still looks better (and more natural imo) but not by a lot now, subtle difference
3.) DV MKV Shield / Plex vs HDR10 MKV Shield / Plex (same file and setting as above) – HDR10 looks better
4.) DV MKV Shield / Plex vs HDR10 Mkv Shield / Plex Dynamic off everything – looks about the same

Anyone else have this issue? Is this Plex’s problem or my Shield’s?

Edit: It seems it's the Shield's fault. I watched Our Planet on Netflix with my TV and the Shield, and I can see the same issues aforementioned. TV playback is brighter and better than the Shield's. Could it be that my Shield is faulty?

Are you sure the Shield and TV are both on the same display profiles (Cinema Home, Cinema Dark, Technicolor, etc)?

[cipher]

Are you sure the Shield and TV are both on the same display profiles (Cinema Home, Cinema Dark, Technicolor, etc)?

Yep, this is the first place I would look. Also, make sure the settings on these profiles are the same as its likely you are using different inputs here (ie Netflix on TV vs Shield).

[Decidueye]

Are you sure the Shield and TV are both on the same display profiles (Cinema Home, Cinema Dark, Technicolor, etc)?

Yep, this is the first place I would look. Also, make sure the settings on these profiles are the same as its likely you are using different inputs here (ie Netflix on TV vs Shield).

Yes, forgot to mention I did check that picture settings are equal. I have HDMI ULTRA HD DEEP COLOR on. I have everything dynamic off, ai off, trumotion off, etc. during the tests. Both use Dolby Vision Standard mode.

The difference is especially obvious, in the case of Our Planet Ep1 on Netflix, on the Manakin scene (the one with the 'backflip with twist', around halfway the video).

Now, I tried to connect it to the soundbar directly, and it seems the issue is gone. Or at least the difference is very subtle now (I actually thought at first it was more of the same, but it seems indeed there is an improvement). Before when it was directly connected to the TV, it was obvious. (also to make sure I'm not just hallucinating, I connected the Shield back to my TV and I can still see the difference)

Also a bit off topic, but I noticed this on my TV (LG C9) HDMI Diagnostics, when the Shield is directly connected to the TV, this error shows up, (see attached image) regardless of what the Shield is doing. Also tried switching ports, no effect.



But when I switched the refresh rate (on Shield settings) to 23.976hz or connect the Shield directly to the soundbar (Samsung HW-Q90R), no such error is displayed. What does this mean?

[jerryfudd81]

Think I know the answer, but can BluRay's backed up to BDMV with versions of MakeMKV before DV support be loaded and processed into DV enabled mkv's or do you need to start over and go back to disc? The most time consuming thing was the backup not making the MKV from BDMV so would rather not have to start again if I can help it for DV support.

also despite being all DV profile 7 (confirmed with MediaInfo) some movies are hit and miss on triggering the 'Dolby Vision' flag on my LG B8 and Shield Pro. For example Despicable Me 2 is 50/50, Despicable Me about 1 in 10 and 3 just plays as HDR (as mentioned I did check MediaInfo). Is this because it's still early days?

[jeromemaporma]

Hello, kinda new to this part of techno world coz I just bought some related devices but I've been reading some topics already.

Plex on the Nvidia Shield supports DV in MKV files now! The latest release of Plex 8.8.0 (out today) makes it official. The MKV spec was updated for official DV support only a few weeks ago so it's unlikely that any MKV torrents you've downloaded are properly encoded.me

If you're downloading TS files you're in a better spot (the DV demo files from Dolby themselves are TS files so that format has been good to go for a while), however some of those still can't play properly in Plex—there are different DV "Profiles" and Plex is only supporting Profile 7 right now, which is the one used on UHD discs. According to this thread https://www.avsforum.com/threads/what-a ... t-58125494 streaming services like AppleTV and Netflix use Profile 5. The torrents you're getting may have been made from streams, in which case the Profile won't be compatible with Plex.

You can download samples of different Profiles here: https://www.makemkv.com/download/dvtest See which ones will play in your player of choice. If you want to know what Profile your torrents have, open the file with MediaInfo https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo and switch to the Tree View or Text View. Look at the "HDR format" line. You'll see something like:

Code: Select all

HDR format  : Dolby Vision, Version 1.0, dvhe.04.06, BL+EL+RPU, SDR compatible

dvhe.04 means Profile 4. You'll see dvhe.05 for Profile 5, etc.

Does that help? I'm getting near the limits of my own understanding of the subject but I can try to help answer any more questions! For me personally I'm ripping my own UHD discs with MakeMKV and everything that comes out is (as of today) playable on my Nvidia Shield with DV and DA working, so I'm happy!

Thanks for the info, really appreciate it. Still not into checking my files and re-ripping process but to tell you, I got it all from RARBG. Maybe you know if the available remux MKVs here are properly encoded?

Then forgot to mention that I also have net speed factor because here in PH we really don't have a quarrel with other SEA country's net speed(no pun intended) but now I have boosted reliable 50mbps download/100mbps upload speed. I saw some feedback about Plex with net issues like that they were not able to watch properly so I'm being hold back with this Plex way. You also know if my current net speed will do?

So apparently I'm also leaning towards locally/offline streaming that's why I'm still thinking of just getting a native UHD player. Given that the next gen consoles XBOX/PS has this, this is my main option and just waiting for its respective launch to confirm official support of Dolby/DTS in media streaming. For some like me that is considering this gaming + home theater setup, would like to share some research. Per speculations(where I go with), it's very unlikely that both won't have DV/DA support for video streaming because it has the streaming apps of Netflix etc. and it's really a wreck and an absurdity if it doesn't have the support. Particular to Sony, since this is a multi-billion dollar company, some think PS5 would have a UHD player at least the same of X700 or basically it is hardware-ready of Dolby/DTS for streaming and will just get updates in the future. This idea is made possible due to current gaming system of the "battle pass" and/or respective "plus" where companies get equal or even more sales than the console/game's sales themselves so some people think XBOX/PS would have a great UHD hardware because it's just some cost on the company's side and will surely attract home theater peeps to buy it for at least cost return or best, profit. We'll just wait and see for confirmation.

[Low Winter Sun]

Still no Plex 8.8.0 available on Google Play for my Nvidia Shield TV yet. Their 'staged' rollout is a real pain with it being distributed randomly.
It's almost as if they don't want people to update to the latest version.

Hello, kinda new to this part of techno world coz I just bought some related devices but I've been reading some topics already.

Plex on the Nvidia Shield supports DV in MKV files now! The latest release of Plex 8.8.0 (out today) makes it official. The MKV spec was updated for official DV support only a few weeks ago so it's unlikely that any MKV torrents you've downloaded are properly encoded.me

If you're downloading TS files you're in a better spot (the DV demo files from Dolby themselves are TS files so that format has been good to go for a while), however some of those still can't play properly in Plex—there are different DV "Profiles" and Plex is only supporting Profile 7 right now, which is the one used on UHD discs. According to this thread https://www.avsforum.com/threads/what-a ... t-58125494 streaming services like AppleTV and Netflix use Profile 5. The torrents you're getting may have been made from streams, in which case the Profile won't be compatible with Plex.

You can download samples of different Profiles here: https://www.makemkv.com/download/dvtest See which ones will play in your player of choice. If you want to know what Profile your torrents have, open the file with MediaInfo https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo and switch to the Tree View or Text View. Look at the "HDR format" line. You'll see something like:

Code: Select all

HDR format  : Dolby Vision, Version 1.0, dvhe.04.06, BL+EL+RPU, SDR compatible

dvhe.04 means Profile 4. You'll see dvhe.05 for Profile 5, etc.

Does that help? I'm getting near the limits of my own understanding of the subject but I can try to help answer any more questions! For me personally I'm ripping my own UHD discs with MakeMKV and everything that comes out is (as of today) playable on my Nvidia Shield with DV and DA working, so I'm happy!

[jerryfudd81]

Still no Plex 8.8.0 available on Google Play for my Nvidia Shield TV yet. Their 'staged' rollout is a real pain with it being distributed randomly.
It's almost as if they don't want people to update to the latest version.

Hello, kinda new to this part of techno world coz I just bought some related devices but I've been reading some topics already.

Plex on the Nvidia Shield supports DV in MKV files now! The latest release of Plex 8.8.0 (out today) makes it official. The MKV spec was updated for official DV support only a few weeks ago so it's unlikely that any MKV torrents you've downloaded are properly encoded.me

If you're downloading TS files you're in a better spot (the DV demo files from Dolby themselves are TS files so that format has been good to go for a while), however some of those still can't play properly in Plex—there are different DV "Profiles" and Plex is only supporting Profile 7 right now, which is the one used on UHD discs. According to this thread https://www.avsforum.com/threads/what-a ... t-58125494 streaming services like AppleTV and Netflix use Profile 5. The torrents you're getting may have been made from streams, in which case the Profile won't be compatible with Plex.

You can download samples of different Profiles here: https://www.makemkv.com/download/dvtest See which ones will play in your player of choice. If you want to know what Profile your torrents have, open the file with MediaInfo https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo and switch to the Tree View or Text View. Look at the "HDR format" line. You'll see something like:

Code: Select all

HDR format  : Dolby Vision, Version 1.0, dvhe.04.06, BL+EL+RPU, SDR compatible

dvhe.04 means Profile 4. You'll see dvhe.05 for Profile 5, etc.

Does that help? I'm getting near the limits of my own understanding of the subject but I can try to help answer any more questions! For me personally I'm ripping my own UHD discs with MakeMKV and everything that comes out is (as of today) playable on my Nvidia Shield with DV and DA working, so I'm happy!

The update to my Shield Pro installed today, wasn't aware it was coming didn't even realise till I was re-watching a title and the Dolby Vision flag popped up

If you are keen to get hold of it just download and install manually on the Shield https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-for-android/29115/362. I've done it a few times, good option for rolling back versions too.

Get the arm64v8a version as I recall, allow apps from unknown sources then use ES File Explorer to install.

[Mr_Orange]

Get the arm64v8a version as I recall

Correct.

[Cannikin]

Thanks for the info, really appreciate it. Still not into checking my files and re-ripping process but to tell you, I got it all from RARBG. Maybe you know if the available remux MKVs here are properly encoded?

Then forgot to mention that I also have net speed factor because here in PH we really don't have a quarrel with other SEA country's net speed(no pun intended) but now I have boosted reliable 50mbps download/100mbps upload speed. I saw some feedback about Plex with net issues like that they were not able to watch properly so I'm being hold back with this Plex way. You also know if my current net speed will do?

So if you made a backup from MakeMKV you can just re-rip from that with version 1.15.3 and you’ll get DV.

Network speed won’t matter for Plex—everything is played within your own network! You run Plex Server on a computer somewhere in the house and the. Plex Client is installed on a Shield or AppleTV or the actual TV itself. It will stream the movie from the Server through your home network. You’ll get best performance if you have a wired ethernet connection between Server and Client.

Your internet connection speed will only get involved if you want to stream something from Plex Server to your phone when you’re on the road, for example. You can also have friends and family sign up for Plex and then add them as users in Plex Server and now they can stream movies from your house to theirs! Your 100Mpbs connection will come in very handy here.

[jeromemaporma]

So if you made a backup from MakeMKV you can just re-rip from that with version 1.15.3 and you’ll get DV.

Network speed won’t matter for Plex—everything is played within your own network! You run Plex Server on a computer somewhere in the house and the. Plex Client is installed on a Shield or AppleTV or the actual TV itself. It will stream the movie from the Server through your home network. You’ll get best performance if you have a wired ethernet connection between Server and Client.

Your internet connection speed will only get involved if you want to stream something from Plex Server to your phone when you’re on the road, for example. You can also have friends and family sign up for Plex and then add them as users in Plex Server and now they can stream movies from your house to theirs! Your 100Mpbs connection will come in very handy here.

I didn't know this. Alright, if then next gen consoles really don't have DV, I'm going with Shield. Thank you very much!

[Menthe]

Is it possible to re-encode MKV with Dolby Vision to get a smaller file and still get Dolby Atmos + Dolby Vision?

[tazlord]

Is it possible to re-encode MKV with Dolby Vision to get a smaller file and still get Dolby Atmos + Dolby Vision?

Short Answer: Not with MakeMKV

Long Answer:
Other tools allow you to re-encode the base layer and then merge that resulting file with the extended layer (the Dolby Vision layer). There's some sort of strange misconception that the extended layer only works with the original bitstream of the base layer. This is not entirely true. I have created dual-layer Dolby Vision MP4 files with re-compressed base layers and they play back just fine with players that support dual-layer DV with all extended color data in tact. As for single-layer implementations of this, there's only 1 software title commercially available that I'm aware of that can do it. However, it's not "free".

On a side (personal) note, I think using single-layer DV files is extremely limiting. Once those files are created, the extended color information is "burned" into a single stream. Although there are plenty of players out there that can "cope" with that method, there is a higher possibility of a player not being able to play the file. This is in contrast to the dual-layer method, which was specifically designed with compatibility in mind.