Embedded MKV subtitles show 15–20s delay on first playback through PKC #2218

Help yourself

• I did try to restart Kodi
• I checked the PKC FAQ
• I reset the Kodi database via PKC Settings → Advanced → Reset the database
• I checked existing issues on GitHub

Describe the bug

When playing any video through PlexKodiConnect, subtitles do not appear immediately.
There is a consistent 15–20 second delay before the first subtitle line appears.

Important detail:
This delay only happens on the first playback attempt of a file.

If I:

• Stop playback
• Return to the episode menu
• Start playback again

…then subtitles appear instantly with no delay.

So far, this behavior has been observed with:

• Embedded styled subtitles (MKV container)
• Multiple files and episodes

I am not yet sure whether the delay returns after a long time (e.g., hours or next day), but during testing it consistently happens only on the first playback.

Video playback itself starts instantly and plays smoothly.
Only the subtitles are delayed.

To Reproduce

1. Open any episode or movie through PKC
2. Start playback
3. Observe that subtitles do not appear until ~15–20 seconds into the video
4. Stop playback
5. Start the same file again
6. Subtitles now appear immediately

Expected behavior

Subtitles should appear immediately when the first subtitle line is reached, even on the first playback attempt.

Kodi Log File

kodi.log

Additional notes

• Happens only on first playback (same file)
• Second playback is always instant (same file)
• Happens with embedded styled subs in MKV
• “Sync playback to display” is OFF
• “Adjust refresh rate” tested ON and OFF
• Passthrough audio tested ON and OFF
• No global subtitle delay (offset = 0.0s)
• Fresh Kodi install
• Fresh PKC database
• Hardware decoding works correctly
• Video starts instantly — only subtitles are delayed