Android TV Plex Settings Guide

NVIDIA Shield - The Gold Standard

If you have an NVIDIA Shield (especially the Pro), you're using one of the best Plex devices available. It can Direct Play almost everything and even run a Plex server!

This guide covers Android TV devices including:

NVIDIA Shield TV & Shield TV Pro
Sony Bravia TVs (Android TV models)
TCL Android TVs
Hisense Android TVs
Xiaomi Mi Box
Other Android TV boxes

For Chromecast with Google TV, see the Google TV guide.

1 Open Plex Settings

First, let's get to the Plex settings:

Open Plex → Click your profile picture (top left) → Settings

2 Video Quality Settings

Settings → Video

Local Quality Maximum / Original

Full quality when on your home network - no compression.

Remote Quality Maximum / Original

Full quality even from outside your home.

Auto Adjust Quality OFF

No random quality drops - consistent picture quality.

3 Advanced Settings

Settings → Advanced

Allow Direct Play ON

The most important setting! Plays files without conversion.

Allow Direct Stream ON

Allows minor adjustments without re-encoding.

Why NVIDIA Shield is special

The Shield has excellent codec support (including TrueHD Atmos passthrough on the Pro model), meaning it can Direct Play almost any file format. Less transcoding = better quality and less strain on your server!

4 Audio Settings

Settings → Advanced

Allow Passthrough ON

Sends high-quality audio (Dolby Atmos, DTS:X) directly to your sound system.

NVIDIA Shield Pro Audio Advantage

The Shield TV Pro can passthrough TrueHD Atmos - the highest quality lossless audio format. Most other devices can't do this!

5 Android TV System Settings - Resolution

Now configure your device's system settings:

Android TV Settings → Device Preferences → Display & Sound → Resolution

(Path may vary slightly by device manufacturer)

Resolution 4K 60Hz (or highest available)

Use the highest resolution your TV supports.

6 Match Frame Rate Settings

Android TV Settings → Device Preferences → Display & Sound

Match content frame rate ON

Automatically matches your TV's refresh rate to the content.

For NVIDIA Shield specifically:

Settings → Device Preferences → Display & Sound → Match content color space

Also enable Match content color space for automatic HDR/SDR switching!

7 NVIDIA Shield Specific Settings

If you have an NVIDIA Shield, these extra settings help:

Settings → Device Preferences → Display & Sound

Dolby Vision ON (if TV supports it)

Enables Dolby Vision HDR for supported content.

Match content color space ON

Switches between SDR/HDR automatically.

Settings → Apps → Plex → Clear cache

If Plex acts weird, clearing cache can help without losing settings.

✓ Verify It's Working

Here's how to check if you're getting the best quality:

Start playing any movie or show in Plex
Press down or the info button during playback
Look for "Direct Play" in the playback information
If you see "Transcode," review your quality settings

Quick Reference - All Settings

✓ Local Quality: Maximum / Original
✓ Remote Quality: Maximum / Original
✓ Auto Adjust Quality: OFF
✓ Allow Direct Play: ON
✓ Allow Direct Stream: ON
✓ Audio Passthrough: ON
✓ Resolution: 4K 60Hz (system settings)
✓ Match frame rate: ON (system settings)
✓ Match color space: ON (Shield only)

? Troubleshooting

Buffering issues

NVIDIA Shield has ethernet - use it for best reliability
For built-in Android TVs, check your WiFi signal strength
Try lowering quality temporarily to isolate bandwidth issues

HDR not activating

Enable "Match content color space" in Shield settings
Check your TV's HDMI port supports HDR (may need to enable it)
Use a Premium High Speed HDMI cable

Audio cutting out or not working

Check audio passthrough settings
Make sure your soundbar/receiver supports the audio format
Try disabling passthrough temporarily to test