fix(vlc): add audio transcoding mode to fix 7.1 TrueHD playback

app/(auth)/player/direct-player.tsx

@@ -299,7 +299,11 @@ export default function page() {
             maxStreamingBitrate: bitrateValue,
             mediaSourceId: mediaSourceId,
             subtitleStreamIndex: subtitleIndex,
-            deviceProfile: generateDeviceProfile(),
+            deviceProfile: generateDeviceProfile({
+              platform: Platform.OS as "ios" | "android",
+              player: useVlcPlayer ? "vlc" : "ksplayer",
+              audioMode: settings.audioTranscodeMode,
+            }),
           });
           if (!res) return;
           const { mediaSource, sessionId, url } = res;

components/settings/AudioToggles.tsx

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import { useMemo } from "react";
 import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
 import { Platform, View, type ViewProps } from "react-native";
 import { Switch } from "react-native-gesture-handler";
-import { useSettings } from "@/utils/atoms/settings";
+import { AudioTranscodeMode, useSettings } from "@/utils/atoms/settings";
 import { Text } from "../common/Text";
 import { ListGroup } from "../list/ListGroup";
 import { ListItem } from "../list/ListItem";
@@ -54,6 +54,70 @@ export const AudioToggles: React.FC<Props> = ({ ...props }) => {
     ];
   }, [cultures, settings?.defaultAudioLanguage, t, updateSettings]);
 
+  const audioTranscodeModeLabels: Record<AudioTranscodeMode, string> = {
+    [AudioTranscodeMode.Auto]: t("home.settings.audio.transcode_mode.auto"),
+    [AudioTranscodeMode.ForceStereo]: t(
+      "home.settings.audio.transcode_mode.stereo",
+    ),
+    [AudioTranscodeMode.Allow51]: t("home.settings.audio.transcode_mode.5_1"),
+    [AudioTranscodeMode.AllowAll]: t(
+      "home.settings.audio.transcode_mode.passthrough",
+    ),
+  };
+
+  const audioTranscodeModeOptions = useMemo(
+    () => [
+      {
+        options: [
+          {
+            type: "radio" as const,
+            label: t("home.settings.audio.transcode_mode.auto"),
+            value: AudioTranscodeMode.Auto,
+            selected:
+              settings?.audioTranscodeMode === AudioTranscodeMode.Auto ||
+              !settings?.audioTranscodeMode,
+            onPress: () =>
+              updateSettings({ audioTranscodeMode: AudioTranscodeMode.Auto }),
+          },
+          {
+            type: "radio" as const,
+            label: t("home.settings.audio.transcode_mode.stereo"),
+            value: AudioTranscodeMode.ForceStereo,
+            selected:
+              settings?.audioTranscodeMode === AudioTranscodeMode.ForceStereo,
+            onPress: () =>
+              updateSettings({
+                audioTranscodeMode: AudioTranscodeMode.ForceStereo,
+              }),
+          },
+          {
+            type: "radio" as const,
+            label: t("home.settings.audio.transcode_mode.5_1"),
+            value: AudioTranscodeMode.Allow51,
+            selected:
+              settings?.audioTranscodeMode === AudioTranscodeMode.Allow51,
+            onPress: () =>
+              updateSettings({
+                audioTranscodeMode: AudioTranscodeMode.Allow51,
+              }),
+          },
+          {
+            type: "radio" as const,
+            label: t("home.settings.audio.transcode_mode.passthrough"),
+            value: AudioTranscodeMode.AllowAll,
+            selected:
+              settings?.audioTranscodeMode === AudioTranscodeMode.AllowAll,
+            onPress: () =>
+              updateSettings({
+                audioTranscodeMode: AudioTranscodeMode.AllowAll,
+              }),
+          },
+        ],
+      },
+    ],
+    [settings?.audioTranscodeMode, t, updateSettings],
+  );
+
   if (isTv) return null;
   if (!settings) return null;
 
@@ -98,6 +162,31 @@ export const AudioToggles: React.FC<Props> = ({ ...props }) => {
             title={t("home.settings.audio.language")}
           />
         </ListItem>
+        <ListItem
+          title={t("home.settings.audio.transcode_mode.title")}
+          subtitle={t("home.settings.audio.transcode_mode.description")}
+        >
+          <PlatformDropdown
+            groups={audioTranscodeModeOptions}
+            trigger={
+              <View className='flex flex-row items-center justify-between py-1.5 pl-3'>
+                <Text className='mr-1 text-[#8E8D91]'>
+                  {
+                    audioTranscodeModeLabels[
+                      settings?.audioTranscodeMode || AudioTranscodeMode.Auto
+                    ]
+                  }
+                </Text>
+                <Ionicons
+                  name='chevron-expand-sharp'
+                  size={18}
+                  color='#5A5960'
+                />
+              </View>
+            }
+            title={t("home.settings.audio.transcode_mode.title")}
+          />
+        </ListItem>
       </ListGroup>
     </View>
   );

providers/PlaySettingsProvider.tsx

@@ -5,8 +5,9 @@ import type {
 import { useAtomValue } from "jotai";
 import type React from "react";
 import { createContext, useCallback, useContext, useState } from "react";
+import { Platform } from "react-native";
 import type { Bitrate } from "@/components/BitrateSelector";
-import { settingsAtom } from "@/utils/atoms/settings";
+import { settingsAtom, VideoPlayerIOS } from "@/utils/atoms/settings";
 import { getStreamUrl } from "@/utils/jellyfin/media/getStreamUrl";
 import { generateDeviceProfile } from "@/utils/profiles/native";
 import { apiAtom, userAtom } from "./JellyfinProvider";
@@ -77,7 +78,19 @@ export const PlaySettingsProvider: React.FC<{ children: React.ReactNode }> = ({
       }
 
       try {
-        const native = generateDeviceProfile();
+        // Determine which player is being used:
+        // - Android always uses VLC
+        // - iOS uses user setting (VLC is default)
+        const useVlcPlayer =
+          Platform.OS === "android" ||
+          (Platform.OS === "ios" &&
+            settings.videoPlayerIOS === VideoPlayerIOS.VLC);
+
+        const native = generateDeviceProfile({
+          platform: Platform.OS as "ios" | "android",
+          player: useVlcPlayer ? "vlc" : "ksplayer",
+          audioMode: settings.audioTranscodeMode,
+        });
         const data = await getStreamUrl({
           api,
           deviceProfile: native,

translations/en.json

@@ -132,7 +132,15 @@
         "audio_language": "Audio Language",
         "audio_hint": "Choose a default audio language.",
         "none": "None",
-        "language": "Language"
+        "language": "Language",
+        "transcode_mode": {
+          "title": "Audio Transcoding",
+          "description": "Controls how surround audio (7.1, TrueHD, DTS-HD) is handled",
+          "auto": "Auto",
+          "stereo": "Force Stereo",
+          "5_1": "Allow 5.1",
+          "passthrough": "Passthrough"
+        }
       },
       "subtitles": {
         "subtitle_title": "Subtitles",

utils/atoms/settings.ts

@@ -140,6 +140,14 @@ export enum VideoPlayerIOS {
   VLC = "vlc",
 }
 
+// Audio transcoding mode - controls how surround audio is handled
+export enum AudioTranscodeMode {
+  Auto = "auto", // Platform/player defaults (recommended)
+  ForceStereo = "stereo", // Always transcode to stereo
+  Allow51 = "5.1", // Allow up to 5.1, transcode 7.1+
+  AllowAll = "passthrough", // Direct play all (for external DAC users)
+}
+
 export type Settings = {
   home?: Home | null;
   deviceProfile?: "Expo" | "Native" | "Old";
@@ -218,6 +226,8 @@ export type Settings = {
   audioMaxCacheSizeMB: number;
   // Music playback
   preferLocalAudio: boolean;
+  // Audio transcoding mode
+  audioTranscodeMode: AudioTranscodeMode;
 };
 
 export interface Lockable<T> {
@@ -316,6 +326,8 @@ export const defaultValues: Settings = {
   audioMaxCacheSizeMB: 500,
   // Music playback
   preferLocalAudio: true,
+  // Audio transcoding mode
+  audioTranscodeMode: AudioTranscodeMode.Auto,
 };
 
 const loadSettings = (): Partial<Settings> => {

utils/profiles/native.d.ts

@@ -4,4 +4,17 @@
  * file, You can obtain one at http://mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/.
  */
 
-export function generateDeviceProfile(): any;
+export type PlatformType = "ios" | "android";
+export type PlayerType = "vlc" | "ksplayer";
+export type AudioTranscodeModeType = "auto" | "stereo" | "5.1" | "passthrough";
+
+export interface ProfileOptions {
+  /** Target platform */
+  platform?: PlatformType;
+  /** Video player being used */
+  player?: PlayerType;
+  /** Audio transcoding mode */
+  audioMode?: AudioTranscodeModeType;
+}
+
+export function generateDeviceProfile(options?: ProfileOptions): any;

utils/profiles/native.js

@@ -7,12 +7,23 @@ import { Platform } from "react-native";
 import MediaTypes from "../../constants/MediaTypes";
 import { getSubtitleProfiles } from "./subtitles";
 
+/**
+ * @typedef {"ios" | "android"} PlatformType
+ * @typedef {"vlc" | "ksplayer"} PlayerType
+ * @typedef {"auto" | "stereo" | "5.1" | "passthrough"} AudioTranscodeModeType
+ *
+ * @typedef {Object} ProfileOptions
+ * @property {PlatformType} [platform] - Target platform
+ * @property {PlayerType} [player] - Video player being used
+ * @property {AudioTranscodeModeType} [audioMode] - Audio transcoding mode
+ */
+
 /**
  * Audio profiles for react-native-track-player based on platform capabilities.
  * iOS uses AVPlayer, Android uses ExoPlayer - each has different codec support.
  */
-const getAudioDirectPlayProfile = () => {
-  if (Platform.OS === "ios") {
+const getAudioDirectPlayProfile = (platform) => {
+  if (platform === "ios") {
     // iOS AVPlayer supported formats
     return {
       Type: MediaTypes.Audio,
@@ -29,8 +40,8 @@ const getAudioDirectPlayProfile = () => {
   };
 };
 
-const getAudioCodecProfile = () => {
-  if (Platform.OS === "ios") {
+const getAudioCodecProfile = (platform) => {
+  if (platform === "ios") {
     // iOS AVPlayer codec constraints
     return {
       Type: MediaTypes.Audio,
@@ -45,12 +56,99 @@ const getAudioCodecProfile = () => {
   };
 };
 
-export const generateDeviceProfile = () => {
+/**
+ * Gets the video audio codec configuration based on platform, player, and audio mode.
+ *
+ * Key insight: VLC handles AC3/EAC3/DTS downmixing fine.
+ * Only TrueHD and DTS-HD MA (lossless 7.1) cause issues on mobile devices
+ * because VLC's internal downmixing from 7.1 to stereo fails on some Android audio pipelines.
+ *
+ * @param {PlatformType} platform
+ * @param {PlayerType} player
+ * @param {AudioTranscodeModeType} audioMode
+ * @returns {{ directPlayCodec: string, maxAudioChannels: string }}
+ */
+const getVideoAudioCodecs = (platform, player, audioMode) => {
+  // Base codecs that work everywhere
+  const baseCodecs = "aac,mp3,flac,opus,vorbis";
+
+  // Surround codecs that VLC handles well (downmixes properly)
+  const surroundCodecs = "ac3,eac3,dts";
+
+  // Lossless HD codecs that cause issues with VLC's downmixing on mobile
+  const losslessHdCodecs = "truehd";
+
+  // Platform-specific codecs
+  const platformCodecs = platform === "ios" ? "alac,wma" : "wma";
+
+  // Handle explicit user settings first
+  switch (audioMode) {
+    case "stereo":
+      // Force stereo transcoding - only allow basic codecs
+      return {
+        directPlayCodec: `${baseCodecs},${platformCodecs}`,
+        maxAudioChannels: "2",
+      };
+
+    case "5.1":
+      // Allow up to 5.1 - include surround codecs but not lossless HD
+      return {
+        directPlayCodec: `${baseCodecs},${surroundCodecs},${platformCodecs}`,
+        maxAudioChannels: "6",
+      };
+
+    case "passthrough":
+      // Allow all codecs - for users with external DAC/receiver
+      return {
+        directPlayCodec: `${baseCodecs},${surroundCodecs},${losslessHdCodecs},${platformCodecs}`,
+        maxAudioChannels: "8",
+      };
+    default:
+      // Auto mode: platform and player-specific defaults
+      break;
+  }
+
+  // Auto mode logic based on platform and player
+  if (player === "ksplayer" && platform === "ios") {
+    // KSPlayer on iOS handles all codecs well, including TrueHD
+    return {
+      directPlayCodec: `${baseCodecs},${surroundCodecs},${losslessHdCodecs},${platformCodecs}`,
+      maxAudioChannels: "8",
+    };
+  }
+
+  // VLC on Android or iOS - don't include TrueHD (causes 7.1 downmix issues)
+  // DTS core is fine, VLC handles it well. Only lossless 7.1 formats are problematic.
+  return {
+    directPlayCodec: `${baseCodecs},${surroundCodecs},${platformCodecs}`,
+    maxAudioChannels: "6",
+  };
+};
+
+/**
+ * Generates a device profile for Jellyfin playback.
+ *
+ * @param {ProfileOptions} [options] - Profile configuration options
+ * @returns {Object} Jellyfin device profile
+ */
+export const generateDeviceProfile = (options = {}) => {
+  const platform = options.platform || Platform.OS;
+  const player = options.player || "vlc";
+  const audioMode = options.audioMode || "auto";
+
+  const { directPlayCodec, maxAudioChannels } = getVideoAudioCodecs(
+    platform,
+    player,
+    audioMode,
+  );
+
+  const playerName = player === "ksplayer" ? "KSPlayer" : "VLC Player";
+
   /**
    * Device profile for Native video player
    */
   const profile = {
-    Name: `1. MPV Player`,
+    Name: `1. ${playerName}`,
     MaxStaticBitrate: 999_999_999,
     MaxStreamingBitrate: 999_999_999,
     CodecProfiles: [
@@ -76,7 +174,7 @@ export const generateDeviceProfile = () => {
           },
         ],
       },
-      getAudioCodecProfile(),
+      getAudioCodecProfile(platform),
     ],
     DirectPlayProfiles: [
       {
@@ -84,9 +182,9 @@ export const generateDeviceProfile = () => {
         Container: "mp4,mkv,avi,mov,flv,ts,m2ts,webm,ogv,3gp,hls",
         VideoCodec:
           "h264,hevc,mpeg4,divx,xvid,wmv,vc1,vp8,vp9,av1,avi,mpeg,mpeg2video",
-        AudioCodec: "aac,ac3,eac3,mp3,flac,alac,opus,vorbis,wma,dts,truehd",
+        AudioCodec: directPlayCodec,
       },
-      getAudioDirectPlayProfile(),
+      getAudioDirectPlayProfile(platform),
     ],
     TranscodingProfiles: [
       {
@@ -96,6 +194,7 @@ export const generateDeviceProfile = () => {
         Container: "ts",
         VideoCodec: "h264, hevc",
         AudioCodec: "aac,mp3,ac3,dts",
+        MaxAudioChannels: maxAudioChannels,
       },
       {
         Type: MediaTypes.Audio,