2 problematic media files

Dev Community Apps & Creations
1
 

  • ATV  3 and firmware version 6.0.2 (6646.81.1)

  • The DNS server set on the ATV to 192.168.2.11

  • The local IP address of the device that PlexConnect is installed on set to 192.18.2.11

  • The device and operating system that PlexConnect is installed on: Windows XP Professional version 2002 service pack 3

  • The device and operating system (including version number) that the Plex media server (PMS) is installed on: Windows XP Professional version 2002 service pack 3

  • The Plex media server (PMS) version number you are running: 0.9.8.18.290-11b7fdd

  • The local IP address of the device that the Plex media server (PMS) is installed on: 192.168.2.11

  • The PlexConnect version number: folder created Today, February 22, 2014, 2:15:28 PM

  • The contents of your 'Settings.cfg' file:
    [PlexConnect]
    enable_plexgdm = True
    ip_pms = 192.168.178.10
    port_pms = 32400enable_dnsserver = True
    port_dnsserver = 53
    ip_dnsmaster = 8.8.8.8
    prevent_atv_update = True
    enable_plexconnect_autodetect = True
    ip_plexconnect = 0.0.0.0
    hosttointercept = www.icloud.com
    port_webserver = 80
    enable_webserver_ssl = True
    port_ssl = 443
    certfile = ./assets/certificates/trailers.pem
    loglevel = Normal
    logpath = .

  • Detail on the media file if it is an issue related to playing a media file:
    http://goo.gl/gPQNBX - Media file info that will not play at all
    http://goo.gl/aIndq1 - Media file that plays with all black screen video and only audio

  • A detailed description of the issue: The problem with the first media file is the statement that the media is unavailable. Will play on Android app and PMS. The problem with the second media file is it plays in PlexConnect, but audio only and an all black screen. Will also play on Android app and PMS

  • 'PlexConnect.log' file *Please note that I have been unable to create a PlexConnect log file at the High setting as it takes far too much time (in excess of an hour). I am unsure why but I believe is has to do with the size of my library.

    http://goo.gl/LZwqny - PlexConnect log file of Media 1 
    http://goo.gl/z24CSw - PlexConnect log file of Media 2

2

Media file 1:- level 5.0, 16 reference frames
Media file 2:- profile high10

I’m guessing the aTV is trying to direct play these and doesn’t have a chance in hell :slight_smile: In fact to the best of my knowledge there is currently no hardware h.264 decoder that can handle high10, it has to be software decoded. Try setting Transcoder Action to “Transcode” and see if they play, if they do then see this thread:- https://forums.plex.tv/topic/98035-transcoding-issue/ in particular post number 12 where I supply a new aTV profile to help solve the issue.

3

Media file 1:- level 5.0, 16 reference frames
Media file 2:- profile high10

I'm guessing the aTV is trying to direct play these and doesn't have a chance in hell :) In fact to the best of my knowledge there is currently no hardware h.264 decoder that can handle high10, it has to be software decoded. Try setting Transcoder Action to "Transcode" and see if they play, if they do then see this thread:- https://forums.plex.tv/topic/98035-transcoding-issue/ in particular post number 12 where I supply a new aTV profile to help solve the issue.

So I took at look at some of the other 1080p and 720p files that I have gotten from the same source as those ones and can see the difference you've described. 

So the XML file you've given, I would like to clarify what it will do if I start using it. Currently, PlexConnect Transcode was set to Auto and these files only worked when I changed that as you suggested to Transcode. Personal preference has spoken up and the quality level of the visual degraded significantly to say other 1080p files that do work, but are set to say 4. If I download and use your XML and leave it at Transcode Auto, if it can Direct Play it will, but if it can't it will degrade the picture for the sake of properly playing the media?

4

Basically the new profile, which is now included in the latest plexpass version of PMS, will look at the media file and if the file contains more than 8 reference frames it will tell PMS to transcode the file instead of direct playing it. Of course one of the side effects is that any content with more than 8 reference frames that would of direct played ok will now transcode as well, so it’s kind of a trade off. The degradation in picture quality is going to depend on the Transcoder Quality setting you use, the default of “1080p 40.0Mbps” shouldn’t reduce the quality by much, if at all.

As for your second file, the one with the high10 profile, there isn’t much we can do about that, the aTV just wont play it and I’m not sure how the profile could be setup to weed out high10 content. I think this is the first time I’ve ever see a movie encoded using high10, it’s normally only used by people who encode anime.

5

...but Geoff listed MP4 file here, hasn't he? Without forcing a transcode - which will disable direct-stream-ability as well - PlexConnect would assume, aTV can direct-play.

I think, we have to add this decision making (like # reference frames, high-10) into XMLConverter, ATTRIB_MEDIAURL(). What exactly do we have to check on top of container, video/audiocodec?

6

Yes I know Geoff listed mp4 files, I did actually look at the information he provided, that’s why in my first post I said the files were being direct played on the aTV, and no we don’t need to add the decision making into PlexConnect, that’s what the device profile iOS-AppleTV.xml file is for. That file tells PMS which files to direct play and which to transcode. The updated profile now tells PMS to transcode any files that have a reference frame count over 8, the high10 profile can be added in the same way.

7

Basically the new profile, which is now included in the latest plexpass version of PMS, will look at the media file and if the file contains more than 8 reference frames it will tell PMS to transcode the file instead of direct playing it. Of course one of the side effects is that any content with more than 8 reference frames that would of direct played ok will now transcode as well, so it's kind of a trade off. The degradation in picture quality is going to depend on the Transcoder Quality setting you use, the default of "1080p 40.0Mbps" shouldn't reduce the quality by much, if at all.

As for your second file, the one with the high10 profile, there isn't much we can do about that, the aTV just wont play it and I'm not sure how the profile could be setup to weed out high10 content. I think this is the first time I've ever see a movie encoded using high10, it's normally only used by people who encode anime.

Thanks for the added detail to the information from the thread you pointed me towards, I really appreciate how you are always willing to draw some of this stuff out in crayon for me  :) . I will add the XML file. Should I change the PlexConnect Transcode setting back to Auto? The side effect makes sense, and to be honest the trade off of it working at a lower resolution but working is worth it (God knows we've all had situations where your ready to settle in with that new movie and BOOM it won't work). I do have the Transcoder Quality setting to 1080p 40.0 Mbps, and yet the quality was noticeably worse. 

I will look for a different version of the second one and let go of the problem the encoder created with a rip that almost no hardware can play. 

Thanks!

8

Should I change the PlexConnect Transcode setting back to Auto?


Yep, set it back to Auto. Also make sure to grab the latest commit, it now contains some logic to help transcode high10 files.
9

Yep, set it back to Auto. Also make sure to grab the latest commit, it now contains some logic to help transcode high10 files.

So weird thing resulted. I updated to the latest commit (11 hours old) and added that iOS xml file to the PMS. Setting Transcode to Auto would still not work, and now with the new commit the Transcode setting no longer works. To be fair it didn't totally work as it would play and then buffer buffer buffer. That however, I solely blame on my POS Windows server. Thanks very much guys, but I am giving in and just looking for different versions of these media files. 

10

I'm having buyer's remorse on adding that XML file to the PMS profiles. More files then ever are transcoding where there would be direct play. I have all but lost buffering now on my Apple TV and see a fairly clear loss in most 720p videos. The most tiresome change though is the pausing as the transcoding and streaming catch up. 

So, egg on my face for not saving a copy of the original XML file. Does anyone still have that?

11

iOS-AppleTV.xml (1.64 KB)

12

GD that was fast roidy, and thank you

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