Apple TV STILL can't play some mkvs

Plex Players Streaming Devices
,
1

Server Version#: 1.40.1.8227
Player Version#: 4.128.1

Several months ago I was having an issue when trying to play mkv files in Plex through my Apple TV box. The UI would just show the spinner forever, never playing the file. I found that I could get it to play if I converted the file to mp4. That wasn’t a very workable solution, so I decided to upgrade my old Synology NAS to a newer version that might support hardware encoding. I came here to ask for recommendations, and the recommendation was to buy a dedicated box just for Plex. So I bought a Geekom NUC (it13 i5), which has all the power I would need to transcode just about anything. After many weeks trying to get the NUC to work in my network envioronment, I finally got it working with the help of many, but mainly @ChuckPa. This past weekend I was playing some files and the issue is back. I am beyond frustrated, after having spent MANY hours and lots of money on this little project, and it can’t play a simple mkv file for me. I am asking for any help or tips you might have for figuring out why it’s doing this and how to fix it. I believe I have all I need to playback files with HW transcoding, it’s just not working on this particular device…

Thank you for your help!

2

There’s no such thing as a simple MKV file. Please provide the details of the file which you’re/they’re attempting to play (hover your mouse over the item’s poster, select the vertical ellipsis, and then Get Info).

Also provide more specific details for your server. What processor does it use? How much RAM does it have? Etc…

3

Please provide DEBUG server logs which capture the playback attempt and failure
in addition to the Media Info.

Best thing to capture for debugging purposes is an attempted playback using Plex/web (which puts maximum load on the server)

:wink: For me, a “simple” MKV is one with 2 tracks: 1080p H264 and AAC 2 channel audio.

4

I’d make a joke here, but it’d come across as ageist and not at all keeping with modern sensibilities. Plus, I’m old enough that it would apply to myself as well.

5

If I play it through Plex/web, it plays back fine, so how would that tell you what you need to know from the logs? Shouldn’t I play it from the Apple TV and then provide the logs? Unless I missed your meaning…

6

Ok, sounds good. I will provide the logs tonight after I get home from work and can try playing an mkv file.

Here are the details of the NUC:

Core i5-13500H
Intel® Iris® Xe graphics
32GB DDR4-3200 RAM
2.5gb ethernet port (network is set at 1gb)

I’ll post the logs later. Thanks guys!

7

@pshanew

Tin foil & Rabbit Ears? :thinking:

:rofl:

8

@eappell

Repeat both in the same log set if you can please.

It’ll provide a lot of insight

1 Like
9

Ok, here’s the log. I first played it on my Apple TV and it never started. Then I played it in Plex/web and it played fine. Thanks!
Plex Media Server Logs_2024-04-22_18-58-18.zip (5.1 MB)

10

Here’s the info on the mkv file:

image
image937×533 76.4 KB

11

Here’s the important details:

Apr 22, 2024 18:57:01.074 [125555397950264] DEBUG - [Req#b3/Transcode/DBB83E0B-EB2B-46BF-8FFE-FF3B04F3111C] Starting a transcode session DBB83E0B-EB2B-46BF-8FFE-FF3B04F3111C at offset -1.0 (state=3)
Apr 22, 2024 18:57:01.074 [125555397950264] DEBUG - [Req#b3/Transcode/DBB83E0B-EB2B-46BF-8FFE-FF3B04F3111C] TPU: hardware transcoding: enabled, but no hardware decode accelerator found
Apr 22, 2024 18:57:01.074 [125555397950264] DEBUG - [Req#b3/Transcode/DBB83E0B-EB2B-46BF-8FFE-FF3B04F3111C] [Universal] Using local file path instead of URL: /mnt/nas/video/movie/New/Knox Goes Away (2024)/Knox.Goes.Away.2023.1080p.WEBRip.x265-DH.mkv
Apr 22, 2024 18:57:01.074 [125555397950264] DEBUG - [Req#b3/Transcode/DBB83E0B-EB2B-46BF-8FFE-FF3B04F3111C] TPU: hardware transcoding: final decoder: , final encoder: 
Apr 22, 2024 18:57:01.074 [125555397950264] VERBOSE - [Req#b3/Transcode/DBB83E0B-EB2B-46BF-8FFE-FF3B04F3111C] Sufficient disk space: 95.75MB source file, 467.89GB capacity, 328GB available on "/var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/Cache/Transcode/Sessions"
Apr 22, 2024 18:57:01.074 [125555397950264] DEBUG - [Req#b3/Transcode/DBB83E0B-EB2B-46BF-8FFE-FF3B04F3111C/JobRunner] Job running: FFMPEG_EXTERNAL_LIBS='/var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application\ Support/Plex\ Media\ Server/Codecs/ad47460-4673-linux-x86_64/' X_PLEX_TOKEN=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx "/usr/lib/plexmediaserver/Plex Transcoder" -codec:0 hevc -noaccurate_seek -analyzeduration 20000000 -probesize 20000000 -i "/mnt/nas/video/movie/New/Knox Goes Away (2024)/Knox.Goes.Away.2023.1080p.WEBRip.x265-DH.mkv" -map 0:0 -metadata:s:0 language=eng -codec:0 copy -tag:0 hvc1 -map 0:1 -metadata:s:1 language=eng -codec:1 copy -segment_format mp4 -f ssegment -individual_header_trailer 0 -flags +global_header -segment_header_filename header -segment_time 10 -segment_start_number 0 -segment_copyts 1 -segment_time_delta 0.0625 -segment_list "http://127.0.0.1:32400/video/:/transcode/session/DBB83E0B-EB2B-46BF-8FFE-FF3B04F3111C/cb584b64-0959-42ec-8c41-40074dfcc614/manifest?X-Plex-Http-Pipeline=infinite" -segment_list_type csv -segment_list_size 5 -segment_list_separate_stream_times 1 -segment_list_unfinished 1 -segment_format_options movflags=frag_custom+dash+delay_moov+frag_discont:fragment_index=1:output_ts_offset=10 -max_delay 5000000 -avoid_negative_ts disabled -map_metadata -1 -map_chapters -1 "media-%05d.ts" -start_at_zero -copyts -vsync cfr -y -nostats -loglevel quiet -loglevel_plex error -progressurl http://127.0.0.1:32400/video/:/transcode/session/DBB83E0B-EB2B-46BF-8FFE-FF3B04F3111C/cb584b64-0959-42ec-8c41-40074dfcc614/progress
Apr 22, 2024 18:57:01.074 [125555397950264] DEBUG - [Req#b3/Transcode/DBB83E0B-EB2B-46BF-8FFE-FF3B04F3111C/JobRunner] In directory: "/var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/Cache/Transcode/Sessions/plex-transcode-DBB83E0B-EB2B-46BF-8FFE-FF3B04F3111C-cb584b64-0959-42ec-8c41-40074dfcc614"
  1. No Hardware found . This is concerning.
  • Apr 22, 2024 18:57:01.074 [125555397950264] DEBUG - [Req#b3/Transcode/DBB83E0B-EB2B-46BF-8FFE-FF3B04F3111C] TPU: hardware transcoding: enabled, but no hardware decode accelerator found
  1. Have you confirmed, with H.264, not HEVC videos, you can force transcodes and get HW assist ? I see no evidence of HW.
12

No, I haven’t. How do I confirm that? Here’s the machine I have (I upgraded the RAM to 32gb):

I ran it by these forums and several people said it would give me everything I need to transcode and decode… What are my next steps?

The other weird thing about this is that it plays fine on a FireTV, just not on my Apple TV box. If it were the NUC, wouldn’t that be an issue on any platform?

13

Create an “Other Videos” section.

Download this file and add it to that section.

Play the file in Plex/web and on AppleTV.

Provide the ZIP logs please.

I will need to unpack and test with my appletv but my thoughts are:

  1. Which AppleTV ? (some models are not as good)
  2. Network throughput
14

HEVC main10 is a strange decision for 1080p.
If it’s a very old AppleTV, the HD models, might not can do main10.

15

AppleTV 4K (2017)

Screenshot from 2024-04-23 13-16-03
Screenshot from 2024-04-23 13-16-03726×688 52.8 KB

Screenshot from 2024-04-23 13-18-17
Screenshot from 2024-04-23 13-18-17762×559 58.9 KB

This AppleTV 4K is connected via WiFi

16

Yes, that’s true, it is an Apple TV 4k, and it’s connected via wifi. Now that I have a switch nearby I could make it wired. I should say that it plays everything quick and speedy, except these files that it just won’t play at all. I use Youtube TV and it performs great through the ATV. So not sure throughput is going to make a difference, but I’ll be happy to switch it to wired tonight and test your file on playback.

17

The file you showed.

  1. HEVC
  2. BT709 ??? (that’s not standard for HEVC)
  3. 2.2 Mbps? That’s something re-encoded.

Not sure who/what did that video but I challenge its validity

How does my testfile play? (It will be very short)

1 Like
18

Full disclosure, I downloaded that video file, so not sure of the origin or intent of using those settings. I can tell you that it plays fine on a FireTV. I’ll try to go home at lunch and try out this file. Will post back here in a couple hours.

19

I played the file on both the Apple TV and in plex/web. Here are the logs.
Plex Media Server Logs_2024-04-23_12-22-40.zip (5.2 MB)

20

You have a bunch of things going on in there… WOW.

  1. EAE fails. Do you have the transcoder temp directory on a network device?
    If so – NO. The EAE requires local devices due to how Dolby EAE works.
Apr 23, 2024 03:22:55.002 [124977525279544] INFO - Compiler is - Clang 11.0.1 (https://plex.tv 9b997da8e5b47bdb4a9425b3a3b290be393b4b1f)
Apr 23, 2024 03:22:55.002 [124977525279544] INFO - /usr/lib/plexmediaserver/Plex Media Server
Apr 23, 2024 03:22:55.000 [124977384635192] ERROR - [Req#1e11/Transcode/a2be953b-0ade-4ad7-a726-9cf34012efb5/3be07651-4ccd-43dd-bd51-016294ddeb01] [eac3_eae @ 0x75e1f28fb0c0] EAE timeout! EAE not running, or wrong folder? Could not read '/tmp/pms-231dafc4-99ff-401a-98cb-781801fd3e2a/EasyAudioEncoder/Convert to WAV (to 8ch or less)/a2be953b-0ade-4ad7-a726-9cf34012efb5_693458-0-965.wav'
Apr 23, 2024 03:22:55.000 [124977516841784] DEBUG - Completed: [127.0.0.1:60354] 200 POST /video/:/transcode/session/a2be953b-0ade-4ad7-a726-9cf34012efb5/3be07651-4ccd-43dd-bd51-016294ddeb01/progress/log?level=0&message=%5Beac3_eae%20%40%200x75e1f28fb0c0%5D%20EAE%20timeout%21%20EAE%20not%20running%2C%20or%20wrong%20folder%3F%20Could%20not%20read%20%27%2Ftmp%2Fpms-231dafc4-99ff-401a-98cb-781801fd3e2a%2FEasyAudioEncoder%2FConvert%20to%20WAV%20%28to%208ch%20or%20less%29%2Fa2be953b-0ade-4ad7-a726-9cf34012efb5_693458-0-965.wav%27 (4 live) #1e11 0ms 195 bytes (pipelined: 2908) (range: bytes=0-) 
Apr 23, 2024 03:22:55.000 [124977384635192] DEBUG - Request: [127.0.0.1:60354 (Loopback)] POST /video/:/tran
  1. This usually happens when the MAX_USER_WATCHES table fills
127.0.0.1:32400 / Icy-MetaData => 1 / Range => bytes=0- / User-Agent => Lavf/LIBAVFORMAT_VERSION / X-Plex-Http-Pipeline => infinite / X-Plex-Token => xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Apr 23, 2024 03:23:05.000 [124977384635192] ERROR - [Req#1e18/Transcode/a2be953b-0ade-4ad7-a726-9cf34012efb5/3be07651-4ccd-43dd-bd51-016294ddeb01] [eac3_eae @ 0x75e1f28fb0c0] error reading output: -5 (I/O error)
Apr 23, 2024 03:23:05.001 [124977516841784] DEBUG - Completed: [127.0.0.1:60354] 200 POST /video/:/transcode/session/a2be953b-0ade-4ad7-a726-9cf34012efb5/3be07651-4ccd-43dd-bd51-016294ddeb01/progress/log?level=0&message=%5Beac3_eae%20%40%200x75e1f28fb0c0%5D%20error%20reading%20output%3A%20-5%20%28I%2FO%20error%29 (4 live) #1e18 0ms 195 bytes (pipelined: 2915) (range: bytes=0-)
  1. What is happening with your photos library?
    Most of your logs are filled with [Notify] and scanner activity.