Plex Media Server

Announcements
1

Plex Media Server 0.9.7.16

 

Download instructions can be found here.

 
We've got an exciting new release for you today. Since we launched PlexSync, and enabled apps like Kepler and the Roku to use the new transcoder, we've heard a few complaints that the new transcoder was slower than the old one. Just recently we got a sample, ran some tests, and made some changes that should make the new transcoder much faster (like 2x to 3x faster) for both streaming and sync conversion. Please try this out, and let us know how it works for you, but I would also expect it to resolve a number of stuttering/buffering issues, because of the increased speed. What can I say, it's Thursday, I'm optimistic.

  • Fixed an issue where background color wasn't correct in the image transcoder (fixes section icons on Roku).
  • Large speedups for the new transcoder in many scenarios (sync, streaming, seeking).

Please let us know how it works for you!

30 Likes
2

Plex Media Server 0.9.7.18 (PlexPass only)


Another new preview release. More sync and transcoder fixes. We are working hard on getting that experimental transcoder into best possible shape, please continue to test the experimental transcoder and report any transcoding errors or oddities.


NEW:

  • Track whether H.264 has scaling matrixes during analysis, fixes playback failing on some High Profile files. Requires re-analysis.
  • Capture MKV header compression during media analysis.
  • (Transcoder) Support for burning TX3G subtitles.
  • (Transcoder) Improve media analysis for PCM audio files.
FIXES:
  • (Roku) Limit AAC to 256kbps, makes high bitrate files play.
  • (Sync) Fix an issue which could result in clients (like Kepler) not downloading image resources when syncing.
  • (Sync) Sync lists weren’t getting downloaded on startup.
  • (Sync) Fix sync breaking when items in single-item sync entries were deleted from the library.
  • (Windows) Fix when moving database to a UNC path.
  • Media analysis failed to capture MJPEG stream of chapter images.
  • Fix for bogus bitrate on Media elements.
  • Fix for new transcoder not working channels requiring headers.
  • (Transcoder) Another major speedup, up to 2x or so, should be faster than old transcoder in nearly all cases.
  • (Transcoder) Strip out metadata, fixes some files not playing when synced to Android devices.
  • (Transcoder) Fix for seeking with external VOBSUBs.
  • (Transcoder) Fix for resuming/seeking with external subtitles.
  • (Transcoder) Fix for PGS subs not working on Windows.
  • (Transcoder) Fix for audio never remuxing.
  • (Transcoder) Transcode choosing AC3 for stereo rather than AAC.
  • (Transcoder) Fix when transcoding DTS 5.1 to AAC 5.1.
3

Plex Media Server 0.9.7.18.485 (PlexPass only)

Download instructions can be found here.

No changes except fixing the transcoder on Linux. No need to download if you are not on a Linux build.

2 Likes
4

Plex Media Server 0.9.7.19.

(You think we rest on Easter Sunday? Think again.)

This release can be downloaded here.

  • FIX: Explicitly close HTTP connections, fixes some issues with Android and PlexSync (e.g. Kindle Fire HD).
  • FIX: Send back correct video size in HLS playlist, should fix (most) aspect ratio issues in Plex/Web.
  • FIX: (Linux) Don't crash if PID file is corrupt.
  • FIX: (Windows) Fix a possible issue running on older processors.
  • FIX: (Transcoder) More resiliency to corrupt H.264 streams.
  • FIX: (Transcoder) Fix some issues transcoding AVI files with H.264 video.
  • FIX: (Synology) Fixed startup issue.
5

Plex Media Server 0.9.7.20.

This release can be downloaded here.

This fixes a few issues which were inadvertently introduced in the last release:

  • FIX: An issue where resuming could lead to a black screen.
  • FIX: An issue where videos could end prematurely.
  • FIX: iOS audio now asks for AAC over MP3, improves quality in some cases.
1 Like
6

Plex Media Server 0.9.7.21
 
This release can be downloaded here.
 
This fixes ANOTHER issue which were inadvertently introduced in the 0.9.7.19. We apologize.

  • FIX: An issue where sync conversion or streaming could fail.
7

Plex Media Server 0.9.7.22
 
This release can be downloaded here.
 
This fixes more issues with the new transcoder, should resolve many of the issues seen in the last few releases. Big whoops.

  • FIX: (Transcoder) Fix an issue with audio stuttering on iOS when resuming.
  • FIX: (Transcoder) First generation Roku could have A/V sync issues.
  • FIX: An issue where video playback would fail on iOS with Universal transcoder.
  • FIX: An issue where some channels which used RTMP weren't playing using the Universal transcoder.
  • FIX: Under very heavy database loads, in some cases media server could hang.
  • FIX: (ARM-based NAS devices) Issue starting because of a missing component.
  • FIX: (ReadyNAS, QNAP) Fixed an issue with 100% CPU load, working around a compiler bug.
 
8

Plex Media Server 0.9.7.23 (PlexPass only)
 
This release can be downloaded here.

  • NEW: (API) Add a stack=0/1 to the /library/sections/X/recentlyAdded endpoint.
  • NEW: (API) Allow preferences to be read by shared users
  • NEW: Log files are now rotated and will not eat your harddrive
  • NEW: (Filter) Add a new filter field, mediaCount, helpful for finding duplicate items.
  • NEW: (Sync) Allow syncing in By Folder area.
  • FIX: (Transcoder) Fixed playback of some AVI and MP4 files where playback stopped or stuttered on iOS/Android
  • FIX: (Transcoder) Default to AAC for Safari playback
  • FIX: (Transcoder) GTV/Android Seek to the correct offset instead of half of it
  • FIX: (Transcoder) New transcoder failed on mono audio
  • FIX: (Transcoder) Some videos with MP3 audio failed to play on iOS
  • FIX: (Filter) Resolutions filter wasn't working with unwatched parameter
  • FIX: Fix a bug where flinging media from the new Android client didn't always work
  • FIX: (Sync) Retain language attributes on synced audio streams
  • FIX: (Windows) Add more logging when failing to move items to trash
2 Likes
9

Plex Media Server 0.9.7.23 (PlexPass only) UPDATED
 
This release can be downloaded here.

We've fixed the various issues with Linux reported in the last build (missing agent, scans failing, etc.). This was a packaging issue, and so none of the actual code changed, if you downloaded the earlier version of this release for other platforms.

10

Plex Media Server 0.9.7.24 (PlexPass only)
 
This release can be downloaded here.

Pretty large update to DLNA in this release, please bang on it and let us know how it works! Also, please beat up on Windows, we moved to new Visual Studio release and want to make sure everything is working well. Lastly, let us know if ARM-based NAS devices behave any better with the tweaks we've made.

N.B. Xbox 360 users will want to delete their photo cache, which is located here (specifically the PhotoTranscoder folder).

NEW:
  - Capture video bit depth, colorspace, and chroma subsampling during media analysis. Ensures Hi10P works across all devices.
  - Massive upgrade of DLNA to use the new universal transcoder, new unified profiles.
 
FIXES:
  - (Linux) Fix potential hang on fresh install.
  - (Sync) A crash when syncing channel content.
  - (DLNA) Support AC3 5.1 on the PS3.
  - (DLNA) Xbox wasn't showing posters/art in all cases.
  - Increase timeout when communicating agents, can help on slower machines.
  - Bump size of thread pool on ARM builds, may fix hangs/issues fetching metadata.
  - Transcoded FLAC tracks ended up truncated.
11

Plex Media Server 0.9.7.25 (PlexPass only)
 
This release can be downloaded here.

Thanks for the great reports, we've fixed two regressions in this release:

FIXES:
  - Transcode failures with iOS and Web clients.
  - (Windows) libcurl.dll deleted by Windows Installer on upgrades.
12

Plex Media Server 0.9.7.26 (PlexPass only)
 
This release can be downloaded here.

 
A few more bugfixes here, we should be closing in on a stable release pretty soon. Thanks for all the reports!
 
NEW:
  • Add on-the-fly media analysis, ensures analysis is up to date, fixes playback failures. You should never have to manually re-analyze your media again.
FIXES:
  • Another possible hang on fresh installs.
  • Black video when seeking/resuming using old transcoder.
  • [Win8] Failure upgrading.
1 Like
13

Plex Media Server 0.9.7.27 (PlexPass only)
 
This release can be downloaded here.

 
This release needs careful testing on all platforms (QNAP unavailable right now, I will work on that later in the week). We are in the process of making our automated build infrastructure even more awesome (more machines! faster machines!), which means that I would not be surprised if there are issues with some of the platforms/builds.
 
Please report any failures in the preview forum. Otherwise it's a nice batch of changes:
 
NEW:
  • Better support for servers which can only remux video, not transcode it.
  • Add default settings when using TheMovieDB as a primary agent.
  • Support for AC3 5.1 on ATV via AirPlay or PlexConnect. (enable in advanced settings)
  • Media analysis now captures VFR.
  • Add orientation attribute to videos and photos.
  • (API) Add skipSubtitles=1 on universal transcode endpoint for clients who can overlay them.
 
FIXES:
  • Offsets for /library/sections/X/firstCharacter were wrong in some cases, affecting alpha-scrolling on iOS.
  • Don't remux MPEG4 video in AVI, fixes issues with playing synced AVI files.
  • When on-the-fly media analysis was performed, we didn't check for existence of files when requested.
  • Fix a transcode session leak which could cause - in rare cases - multiple transcoders left around.
  • Improve video resolution computed, which is  used to show media flags.
  • (Transcoder) Fix for stuttering audio on iOS when resuming/seeking.
  • (Transcoder) Tweak for servers which are using chunked transfers.
  • (Transcoder) Failure for some channel content (e.g. Apple Movie Trailers).
  • (ReadyNAS) A few fixes.
  • (DLNA) Fixed Bravia profile.
  • (DLNA) Improvements to Panasonic Viera profile.
  • (DLNA) Move PS3 back to stereo until we figure out what's wrong with 5.1.
  • (Roku) An issue where requesting AC3 made the AC3 "stick" regardless if it was requested or not.
  • (Windows) Request SSE2 to run PMS.
  • (Windows) Support junctions when scanning.
  • Reanalyze music/photos on-the-fly as well.
 
1 Like
14

Plex Media Server 0.9.7.28 (PlexPass only)
 
This release can be downloaded from here (login information here).

We should be getting close to a public release at this point.

FIXES:

  - Crashes on Synology and other NAS platforms.
  - Simplify the movie agent default combination rules.
  - (Scanner) Pass down section root, helps the new .plexignore feature.
  - (API) Make sure stack=1 works for photo section's recentlyAdded endpoint.
  - (OS X) Build is signed.
15

Plex Media Server 0.9.8.0 (PlexPass only)
 
This release can be downloaded from here (login information here).

 
Lots of changes :) details here.
 
New:
  • Multiuser mode.
  • Now Playing.
  • Media index files.
  • Use new write ahead log in database, speeds up lots of things.
  • Tear out Bonjour.
  • Tear out the old Cocoa UI.
Fixes:
  • Don't let past timeline updates override future ones. Helps Plex/Sync.
  • Improved notifications for sync, makes Plex/Web activity view faster.
  • Fix titles in Plex/Web showing "item xxx" during a scan.
  • Improved granularity of transactions in database access.
16

Plex Media Server 0.9.8.1 (PlexPass only)
 
This release can be downloaded from here (login information here).

It adds back the QNAP build (sorry!) and should fix any issues which made 0.9.7.x run better (e.g. the On Deck issue). You'll probably want to recreate your BIF files (--index --force), or you can be clever and delete any big/tiny ones with "find" and then run a normal --index.

FIXES:
  - Transcoder failed with subtitles and interlaced video.
  - Big speedup for global recently added.
  - Massive (100x) speedup for On Deck (regression from 0.9.7)
  - Fixes for giant BIF files and empty BIF files.
  - Syncing music albums could fail if they needed media analysis.
  - Issue with SRT files not working on the Roku due to missing trailing blank line.
  - Restrict access properly for shared users on local network.
  - Issue with RTMP channels and the universal transcoder.
  - Fix the "Allowed networks" preference to work correctly with any networks.
  - (Windows) Installer wasn't always working around loopback issue on Windows 8.
17

Plex Media Server 0.9.8.2 (PlexPass only)
 
This release can be downloaded directly from here (login information here).

Lots of fixes in this one, and a couple of known issues: seeking on XBox360, and PS3 won't play some H.264 content remuxed. We're looking into fixing both of these issues shortly.

NEW:

  - Support for "subset" media index files via new interval=X parameter.
  - Photo transcoder endpoint performs rotation as needed.
 
FIXES:
  - Spaces in myPlex usernames and passwords now work.
  - Simplify the sorting options for artists.
  - Speed up retrieving recently viewed items by a factor of 2-3x.
  - Speed up retrieving recently viewed shows by a factor of 300x of the last version, 5x over earlier versions.
  - Fix for the media server losing agents after a bundle upgrade.
  - Photo filters were broken.
  - Allow native paging for children endpoints, will speed up photo sections.
  - Issue with On Deck for shows where multiple episodes air on the same date (e.g. Arrested Development).
  - Handle exception when checking for media existence/availability, fixing "pre-play" screen not showing up.
  - Fix errors parsing bundle dates, makes bundle upgrades from installation media work.
  - Fix the "allowed networks" preference (hopefully for the last time).
  - (Windows) Fix a few weird errors in the logs.
  - Connections weren't being closed properly for generic transcodes.
  - Fix an issue where 1080p files were reported as 720p (and so on).
  - Fix a few reported crashes in the media server and DLNA server.
  - Make sure we return ourself via /servers.
  - Tweaks to improve GDM discovery, especially when network interfaces change.
  - Improve the description when sorting on shoot date.
  - (DLNA) The icon wasn't transparent.
  - (DLNA) Better shutdown on OS X.
  - (DLNA) Support Direct Play of MP4s on XBox360.
  - (DLNA) Sometimes we set content length to 0 when we shouldn't.
  - (DLNA) A crash on start on Linux.
1 Like
18

Plex Media Server 0.9.8.3 (PlexPass only)
 
This release can be downloaded directly from here (login information here).

 
Hopefully getting close to a public release on this one. Thanks to everyone for all the reports and feedback!
 
FIXES:
  - More performance fixes for recently viewed shows and a few other places.
  - The recently added and recently released sections weren't multiuser enabled.
  - The global recently added/on deck didn't work for multiuser.
  - In certain cases, playback of a video which had multiple alternatives would fail, if one was recently removed.
  - A number of field-reported crashes.
  - Thumbnail rotation was incorrect in 0.9.8.2, it's now fixed.
  - When browsing for directories, return the user's home directory as a shortcut.
  - (Windows) Fix some cases where plug-ins failed to start.
  - (Windows) Remove some iTunes-related errors in the log if iTunes isn't installed.
  - (DLNA) PS3 can now play many more H.264 videos when remuxing.
  - (DLNA) PS3 can now play music.
  - (DLNA) PS3 can play 5.1 AAC.
  - (DLNA) The WD Live would fail playing WMV2 video.
  - (DLNA) XBox360 can now seek in a video.
  - (DLNA) Improved support for Bravia devices.
1 Like
19

Plex Media Server 0.9.8.4

This release can be downloaded directly from [here](http://plexapp.com/plexpass/plex-media-server.php?version=0.9.8.4.125) (login information [here](http://forums.plexapp.com/index.php/topic/64569-download-instructions/)).

Some nice fixes!

NEW:
 - Photo albums now use a random photo from the album as a thumbnail
 - Photo metadata now includes more EXIF-derived information
 - (API) Add /status/sessions/history/all endpoint.
 - (API) Removed videoResolution attribute from photos
 
FIXES:
 - Fix a number of user-reported crashes
 - Photo createdAt, originallyAvailableAt and year attributes are now set correctly from EXIF metadata
 - (Windows) Log cycling now works as expected
 - (Windows) Scanner now ignores paths in system PythonPath
 - (API) Serialize floating point numbers independently of locale
 - (DLNA) Sony Blu-Ray devices can now view photos from Plex Media Server
 - (DLNA) MpegtsM2tsMode profile settings flag wasn't working
 - (DLNA) Transcoded photo sizes are now handled correctly
 - (DLNA) Profiles now refer to photo metadata using part.X or media.X instead of photo.X
 - (DLNA) Fix hang when non-profile files were present in profile directories
 - (Linux) Be more selective exposing top-level directories in the web client
1 Like
20

Plex Media Server 0.9.8.5 (public)

This release can be downloaded directly from [here](http://plexapp.com/getplex/index.php?version=0.9.8.5.165).

Some important fixes. Please beat on it and see how it works for you :)

FIXES:
 - Recently viewed shows was returning incorrect information.
 - Scan subfolders in sorted order.
 - Get rid of some annoying errors in the log.
 - Sections that weren't shared could show up as shared.
 - Allow stream selection for shared users on the Roku.
 - Track view settings changes correctly from Plex Home Theater.
 - A handful of field-reported crashes.
1 Like