Playback fails on Apple TV HD (A8) but works fine on Apple TV 4K — Jellyfin / Synology RS217

Video Playback
1

Hi,

playback in Infuse works perfectly on my Apple TV 4K but completely fails on my Apple TV HD (A8 chip). Both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network, connected to the same Jellyfin server (media stored on a Synology RS217), and settings sync via iCloud. Playback through the Jellyfin web UI on my iPhone also works fine.

Since Infuse decodes locally without server-side transcoding, I suspect the A8 simply can’t handle certain codecs (HEVC, high-bitrate H.264, DTS audio). Is there a way to work around this for less capable hardware — or has anyone else run into this?

Thanks!

2

Most HEVC videos are going to be too heavy for the Apple TV HD to handle. For better native HEVC playback (and all 4K video playback) I would consider one of the newer Apple TV 4K models.

Alternatively, Infuse 8.5+ includes a set of transcoding options which you can try. This will allow the server to transcode the video into something the Apple TV HD would be able to handle.

Note: The transcoding abilities will be determined by the server hardware you are using, so how well this works can vary a bit.