Play 4K HDR/UHD MKV on Shield TV via Plex
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Nvidia SHIELD TV isn’t just the only Streaming Media Player that’s a Plex media server; it’s also a Plex media player. This means it provides the best experience, with support for 4K Ultra HD resolution, 1080P video transcode hardware acceleration for the top media codecs, and a snappy 10-foot user interface. Have some 4K MKV files and wish to stream 4K UHD/HDR to Nvidia Shiled TV via Plex Media Server but have no ideal whether the Plex app can Nvidia Shield TV can perfectly handle the 4K MKV files, the following article will illustrate this issue for you with detailed information.
Can Plex app for Nvidia Shield TV handle 4K MKV video?
The good new is that as early as 2015, NVIDIA had announced the features saying that in addition to the 4K streaming support, the new Plex update also brings Dolby Digital Plus surround sound support, and support for the MKV file format. When you start Plex on your SHIELD device the next time, you’ll be prompted to upgrade.
Why Plex server crashes or not be able to transcode 4K MKV?
There are some users complain that the Plex Media Server crashes when playing some 4K MKV files on Nvidia Shiled TV or Nvidia Shiled TV 4K Direct Play shows “the server is not powerful enough to convert video…”.
It is well known that MKV is a container file format which can be encoded with various compression codec such as H.264, H.265, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, VC-1/WMV, etc. However, Nvidia Shiled TV Plex app only handle MKV file with H.264 or H.265 codec, if the MKV file are encoded with other incompatible codec, Plex will will needs to transcode the video. When content needs to be transcoded, the Plex server will also need to decode the video stream before transcoding it. The following video compression formats are supported for hardware decoding on the SHIELD:
– H.264
– H.265 (HEVC)
– MPEG 2
If the MKV files, are encoded with other codec like WMV/VC-1, MVC, etc, the Nvidia Shiled TV will reduce the performance in cases when transcoding is necessary. When in that condition, it would be much idea for you to find a third-party 4K video conversion app to perform the codec transcoding process.
Related article: Play 4K on Plex | Play 4K Blu-ray on LG 4K TV via Plex | Play 4K on Nvidia Shiled TV via Plex
Best tool to transcode 4K MKV for Nvidia Shiled TV Playing via Plex
Here, you can get the job easily done with our powerful 4K Video Converter – Pavtube Video Converter, which not only assists you to transcode 4K MKV to Nvdia Shield TV plex app readable 4K H.264 or H.265 file formats, but also assists you to compress 4K to 1080p if your computer media server is not powerful enough to handle 4K resolution video.
In addition, the program supports up to 30x H.264 codec encoding acceleration if you run your computer on Graphic card that supports Nvidia CUDA or AMD App technology and up to 30x H.265 codec encoding acceleration if you run your computer on Graphic cards that supports Nvidia NVENC technology.
Adjust output profile parameters
Click “Settings” on the main interface to open “Profile Settings” window, here, you can flexibly adjust the output profile parameters including video codec, resolution, bit rate, frame rate, audio codec, bit rate, sample rate, channels, etc as you like to get better output video and audio quality.
Step by Step to Transcode 4K MKV for Nvidia Shield TV Playing via Plex
Step 1: Load 4K MKV video into the program.
Download the free trial version of the program. Launch it on your computer. Click “File” menu and select “Add Video/Audio” or click the “Add Video” button on the top tool bar to import source 4K MKV video files into the program.
Step 2: Define the output format.
Clicking the Format bar, from its drop-down list, select Nvidia Shiled TV Plex app compatible 4K H.264 or H.265 format from “Common Video” main category.
Output 4K H.264
Output 4K H.265
If the Plex Media Server for your Nvidia Shiled TV is not powerful to handle 4K video playback, then it is essential for you to output Nvidia Shield TV playable HD file formats such as “H.264 HD Video(*.mp4)” under “HD Video” main category.
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Tips: Click “Settings” on the main interface to open “Profile Settings” window, here, you can flexibly adjust the output profile parameters including video codec, resolution, bit rate, frame rate, audio codec, bit rate, sample rate, channels, etc as you like to get better output video and audio quality.
Step 3: Begin the conversion process.
After all setting is completed, hit the “Convert” button at the right bottom of the main interface to begin the conversion process from 4K MKV to Nvidia Shiled TV Plex app compatible 4K or HD format.
When the conversion is finished, click “Open Output Folder” icon on the main interface to open the folder with generated files. Add converted files to Plex on your computer for streaming to Nvidia Shield TV.
