Yes. I actually haven't really used it in the past month or so because I've been using Kodi locally, but I put up with bugs for 3 years, at least. For example, subtitles just dying, and files refusing to play. It got so bad, I setup a home assistant script that used adb_command to force kill and restart the Plex app. I could say "hey Google, piece of trash" whenever subtitles fully just stopped working, or it hung randomly, or whatever. My blood pressure has gone down significantly since switching to Kodi, but I keep pms running for mobile and web.
Ngl I've had a CCwGTV since launch and haven't experienced any of this. In fact it's been the most stable Plex experience I've had other than the desktop app.
I've had heaps of issues with transcoding, possibly because some of my hardware is old, but since using tdarr to transcode my library to something the CCwGTV can play directly is mostly smooth sailing.
CCwGTV should direct play just about anything that's odd.
When I had transcoding issues it was down to bitrate or client device. CCwGTV can handle HEVC and OPUS audio with a subtitle track just fine (an Xbox would transcode OPUS audio and subtitles). I did have to get an ethernet adapter and stronger AC adapter in order to play high bitrate 4k but I've downgraded almost all of my 4K to 1080p anyway
Edit: depending on which model of GTV you have, you might not be able to play AV1 but that's fine because nobody is transcoding releases to AV1 yet
Thanks for your sympathy! It's not all bad, Kodi is awesome, and plex is great on Android Mobile and web. But yeah, the Android TV variant needs some love.
No it's not at all. I'm not sure what part of their config is causing this, but I specifically have people use either a CCwGTV, Fire Stick, or Apple TV for HEVC and none of the Chromecast users have had any complaints. I have subtitles turned on across the entire server too.
No why would I ever burn subs? I direct play either MKV or MP4 and overlay the subs. You just need the right client devices to direct play. One thing about the CC that is a definite issue is you can't cast from your phone, you have to use the actual Plex Android TV app. If you're playing high bitrate 4K, you might need an ethernet adapter and power supply with some more wattage
Edit: users are welcome to change their subtitle settings, but the default on my server is English subs if available.
You might burn subs because not burning them is buggy af. I'm using the native app, I don't ever cast. I have a 60W PSU, and a USB hub with builtin GbE and a fast 64GB thumb drive setup as Android system storage. And again, Kodi has zero trouble whatsoever on this device, even with very demanding workloads (an NFS client on a huge library, and also a TVheadend HTSP client for an ATSC tuner). And I don't ever even play 4k.
Idk man I've been using the Google TV Chromecast since 2020 and haven't had any issues with file formats or subtitles. And I'm using formats like OPUS that aren't supported on most devices. Subtitles are not "buggy AF", it all comes down to client-device support. Kodi is also a dogshit app tbh, I was using it as a workaround on the Xbox until I got a second CCwGTV so that neither TV had codec issues.
There are certain subtitle types that can be a problem depending on which video and audio codec you're trying to overlay them on. But again this is why I got a CCwGTV for that room. It hasn't had a single issue with subtitles of any form, even stylized (ASS subtitles) and old DVD files (VOB_SUB) work perfectly on it.
Edit: You should look into the advanced display on the dashboard and experiment with codecs, and different client devices and I'm sure you'll pinpoint it. Tautulli is an admin dashboard that displays the advanced stats by default and also has a nice mobile app for remote management.
Edit 2: also I'm not sure why you're using the USB for extra system storage. If you're just using the CCwGTV as a streaming device then the onboard storage is plenty. If you're using the external storage as a DVR though that makes sense I guess if you're recording with a low enough bitrate
I have also had the CCGTV since launch. Plex on it is indeed buggy AF. It's not that the subtitles aren't supported. They display just fine, and then stop mid-play, and the only way to get them back is to kill and restart the app. VOBSUB, SRT, doesn't matter. Whatever Kodi is, it's not an abject steaming pile of shit like the Plex app (that I actually paid for, unlike Kodi).
The Chromecast's internal storage is not enough. I also have termux, RDP client, and a few other apps installed, and it simply cannot handle all of them without external storage.
I have been through the codec game many times, and that part I had mostly gotten under control, except some Matroska files I have would not play unless you clicked on them and immediately seeked at least a few seconds into it; otherwise you'd get an error.
I really don't think you can help me. This is not configuration. It's simply buggy trash, and it's very unfortunate.
I've never experienced any of these bugs on any client device and most of mine are Android devices whether TV or mobile.
You're just dragging the app through the mud because your setup isn't working. Plex has it's issues but it's telemetry possibly leading to police asking for user info. Or perhaps how downloads don't work. Streams are rock solid though, both local and remote.
I'm not dragging anything through the mud. As I've said, I use Plex on web and Android Mobile all the time, and it's great. I just wish there was more QA on Android TV.