I've been watching TV shows on my Apple TV 2 using PlexConnect with no problems for the last week or so. However, I just tried a 1080p movie, and the Apple TV keeps restarting itself whenever the movie gets to certain parts.
If I go into settings and change the Transcode Quality from 1080p 40.0Mbps to 720p 4.0Mbps then it plays the movie fine, anything higher than that and it will crash when it gets to certain parts (on of the parts is straight after one of the initial production logos appears on the screen at the start).
I understand that the ATV2 only does 720p, however I would have thought the PMS would transcode it to the best it can cope with. When set to 720p 4.0Mbps the picture quality is a lot worse than when it is playing set at 1080p 40.0Mbps.
I gave up with PlexConnect, and actually watched the rest of the movie via AirPlay on the AppleTV using the Plex app on my iPhone 5. The quality looked as good as when it was playing on the 1080p 40Mbps setting, and the ATV never crashed once, so it is able to play the file, just not via PlexConnect.
Your ATV model (2 or 3) and firmware version (found under the ATV settings > general > about > Apple TV software): ATV2 6.0.2
The DNS server set on the ATV (found under the ATV settings > general > network > DNS): 192.168.1.90
The local IP address of the device that PlexConnect is installed on: 192.168.1.8
The device and operating system (including version number) that PlexConnect is installed on: Synology DS410 / DSM 4.3
The device and operating system (including version number) that the Plex media server (PMS) is installed on: 2012iMac OS X 10.9.2
The Plex media server (PMS) version number you are running (do not put 'latest'): 0.9.8.18
The local IP address of the device that the Plex media server (PMS) is installed on: 192.168.1.2
The PlexConnect version number. If using Github source then a time and date of download (look at the creation date of the folder) and if you are using any non-standard setup e.g. Plexify or a fork: 0.3-2
The contents of your 'Settings.cfg' file (this is created at first clean shutdown of PlexConnect, using CTR+c): http://spdr.me/l9Lv
Detail on the media file if it is an issue related to playing a media file (in order to get the necessary information on a particular media file go into the Plex web interface, select the video file, when it brings up the page for the media file click on the "i" information button on the left hand side, it will then bring up a "media info" box, click on the "View XML" button, it will then open a browser window with the relevant information, copy this to http://www.pastebin.com and use the pastebin link to post the details; posting the information directly in the forum may mess up the formatting and generally takes up a lot of space): http://pastebin.com/PHDjcBbp
A detailed description of the issue (the clearer you can make this the better): (above)
Ensure you post your 'PlexConnect.log' file to pastebin and post the link ('PlexConnect.log' is located in your PlexConnect folder). If possible, follow these steps to create a "more detailed fresh" one: http://spdr.me/o6vP
Any ideas how this can be resolved so that I can watch 1080p files in the best quality possible on my ATV2 without it crashing?
Apple TV 2 has an extremely small memory size comming in at a mere 256mb compared to the atv3 @ 512mb. I have looked at many logs on my jailbroken atv2 and found out the culprit was not the apps but the limitation of the ios device itself rebooting due to the memory size. This has since caused me many frustrations and I hope this may help some users to debug these issues and clear things up. I have this issue when I run hd in what I call front-end apps like xbmc, infuse, and the old plex app for jailbroken apple tv’s. This is why is switched to plexconnect and mostly run 720p mp4 x264 files on my atv2.
So does that mean that the PMS doesn't tell the difference between an ATV2 and an ATV3? And therefore sends the ATV2 high bitrate 1080p video? - Which the ATV2 then (a) downsamples to 720p anyway, and (b) sometimes runs out of memory doing so, causing it to crash?
If there was a setting in PlexConnect to set the transcoder to 720p but with a higher bitrate than 4 Mpbs, wouldn't that solve this issue?
Currently their is only one profile for both ATV versions. It might be that the file has other issues but it is possible that the ATV3 would cope with it.
I've resolved this issue simply by creating a custom Transcode Quality setting, which keeps the quality at it's maximum (40.0Mbps 100%) but sets the resolution to 720p (as the ATV2 only does 720p), and the movie in question now plays perfectly!
Perhaps it would be worth having this option added as a default so that ATV2 users can enjoy their 1080p files without crashing?
Well, so far I have never experienced an ATV2 crash based on 1080 content. I wonder if there is something fishy with your file - which might get resolved by transcoding.
Did you ever try to force transcoding with not limiting the resolution - ie transcode to 1080?
Have you tried any files which have a bitrate of 9.6Mb or above though?
Interestingly, I just tried a force transcode, with the quality set to 1080p 40.0Mbps and it played fine, didn't crash. But when I set it to DirectPlay, it just refused to play the file full stop.
Just tried a completely different movie, also 1080p and a bitrate of 10Mb, and it too causes the AppleTV 2 to crash when it's set to Auto & 1080p 40.0Mbps.
Just tried a completely different movie, also 1080p and a bitrate of 10Mb, and it too causes the AppleTV 2 to crash when it's set to Auto & 1080p 40.0Mbps.
Had the same problem here. Bought a ATV3 and since then the problem is gone :-) (same PMS and PlexConnect as before)
Transcode lower, use 720p files, buy a new atv3 or get a refurb. Trust me i fought with my atv2 numerous times until I found plexconnect. It was the best solution it always needed. Its a losing battle the hardware just can support it. If there was a way I would of found It, i debugged the $hit out of it. Don’t waste your time trust me, its just not possible and you cannot upgrade the memory. I even looked into using some kind of page file using the storage space or something to give it more virtual memory, its just not possible at this time. I even worked with a couple outside plexconnect developers to try to figure it out, Im not the type to give up on anything but this just cannot be done.
The solution to me seems simple though. I added a custom transcode setting of 720p @ 40Mbps and everything played as it should. The issue is that the default 720p transcoder settings don't go above 4.0Mbps, so you have either put up with a lower bitrate giving a poorer quality, or crashing 1080p videos when set to 1080p 40Mpbs.
Adding a high bitrate 720p setting to the default transcoder settings makes sure everything play at it's best quality on the ATV2 and doesn't crash.
The solution to me seems simple though. I added a custom transcode setting of 720p @ 40Mbps and everything played as it should. The issue is that the default 720p transcoder settings don't go above 4.0Mbps, so you have either put up with a lower bitrate giving a poorer quality, or crashing 1080p videos when set to 1080p 40Mpbs.
Adding a high bitrate 720p setting to the default transcoder settings makes sure everything play at it's best quality on the ATV2 and doesn't crash.
We are aware of it and it is under discussion.
Yours is a possible solution but it would be better to have something transparent to the ATV2 users.
Can you set your ATV back to the usual settings and have a play about with the transcode advanced settings at the PMS end please, see if it makes a quality difference as well as any help with the crashing (maybe not expecting the latter but would like to check anyway)?
Setting the 720p / 40mbps custom transcode seems to have solved my ATV2 crashing as well on 1080p content. Was able to get through a 38GB MKV file with no problems and no stuttering.
