# Can’t transcode any EAC3 codec **URL:** \ **Category:** Plex Media Server\ **Tags:** server-linux, server-docker\ **Created:** [April 13, 2026, 8:00pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-t-transcode-any-eac3-codec/937967 "2026-04-13T20:00:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![\_Simo01](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/_simo01/32/249949_2.png) [@\_Simo01](https://forums.plex.tv/u/_Simo01)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2026, 8:00pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-t-transcode-any-eac3-codec/937967/1 "2026-04-13T20:00:16Z")
Hi! I’ve noticed since the latest update that when any device attempts to play a file with an EAC3 track, transcoding fails immediately. It is not isolated to specific devices and has only started occurring in the last few weeks. Transcoding video and other audio tracks works fine. If I try to create an optimised version of the movie, then it works; it’s not working only when I try to stream. Is anyone else having this issue? Server Version#: Version 1.43.1.10611 Player Version#: Version 4.159.0 I’m using the Docker version of Plex on TrueNAS Scale, and I’ve also tried with a normal Docker container with Dockge. I’ve already tried to delete the codec folder, to increase the max\_user\_watches and max\_user\_instances. - fs.inotify.max\_user\_watches 2097152 - fs.inotify.max\_user\_instances 32768 ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/6/2/d/62dc72a8e152cd7bc49ea06e15351c293f20683d.png) [server log.txt](https://forums.plex.tv/uploads/short-url/mvaAL83YtRxJruFoZOyg1ve4Zf6.txt) (30.4 KB) ---
**Author:** ![N47H4N](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/50afbb/32.png) [@N47H4N](https://forums.plex.tv/u/N47H4N)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2026, 5:59pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-t-transcode-any-eac3-codec/937967/2 "2026-04-17T17:59:41Z")
I’ve the exact same issue since the latest update. I’m on the same server version as you… Let me know if you find a solution.. ---
**Author:** ![shondreas](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/shondreas/32/260048_2.png) [@shondreas](https://forums.plex.tv/u/shondreas)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 2:21am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-t-transcode-any-eac3-codec/937967/3 "2026-05-01T02:21:27Z")
It is more helpful to upload the [server logs](https://support.plex.tv/articles/200250417-plex-media-server-log-files/) zip file instead of a snippet because it helps people have a fuller picture of what is going on. ---
**Author:** ![\_Simo01](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/_simo01/32/249949_2.png) [@\_Simo01](https://forums.plex.tv/u/_Simo01)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2026, 2:18pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-t-transcode-any-eac3-codec/937967/4 "2026-05-01T14:18:16Z")
[Plex Media Server Logs\_2026-05-01\_16-09-34.zip](https://forums.plex.tv/uploads/short-url/fx7qekfnPWo68Okqkrbu3EBso69.zip) (4.9 MB) I’ve added the ZIP file with the [server logs.](https://support.plex.tv/articles/200250417-plex-media-server-log-files/) This is issue is still present, I dont know how to fix ---
**Author:** ![shondreas](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/shondreas/32/260048_2.png) [@shondreas](https://forums.plex.tv/u/shondreas)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2026, 8:33pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-t-transcode-any-eac3-codec/937967/5 "2026-05-02T20:33:01Z")
Take a look through [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/f6hqcz/for_anyone_experiencing_issues_playing_back/) and try some of the suggestions listed (or linked to a forum post) to see if these help to solve your problem. Outside of that the only thing I would suggest is to create a copy of this file with an added audipo track using ffmpeg (such as AAC) if that is a route you need to take let me know and I can give you an example terminal command to use. ---
**Author:** ![\_Simo01](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/_simo01/32/249949_2.png) [@\_Simo01](https://forums.plex.tv/u/_Simo01)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2026, 2:36pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-t-transcode-any-eac3-codec/937967/6 "2026-05-03T14:36:54Z")
Yeah, I tried everything listed there; unfortunately, nothing fixed the issue. So I’m happy to try what you said with ffmpeg ---
**Author:** ![shondreas](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/shondreas/32/260048_2.png) [@shondreas](https://forums.plex.tv/u/shondreas)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 4:39pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-t-transcode-any-eac3-codec/937967/7 "2026-05-04T16:39:37Z")
Here is what I use to add another audio stream to a video file: `ffmpeg -i NAME_OF_VIDEO_FILE -map 0 -c copy -map 0:a:0 -c:a:1 aac NAME_OF_NEW_VIDEO_FILE` This will end up copying the first audio stream into a new codec as the second audio stream. Then you should be able to choose this one before you play it. Now, this will make a copy of your whole video file so I always delete the original one once I make sure the new video file’s second audio streams plays correctly. ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 5:38pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-t-transcode-any-eac3-codec/937967/8 "2026-05-04T17:38:52Z")
I’m not a Linux expert, but some time ago I’ve compiled this list for issues related to Dolby audio codecs: [TrueHD audio transcoding BUG = error not enough space - #2 by OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/t/truehd-audio-transcoding-bug-error-not-enough-space/859530/2) ---
**Author:** ![\_Simo01](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/_simo01/32/249949_2.png) [@\_Simo01](https://forums.plex.tv/u/_Simo01)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 7:36am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-t-transcode-any-eac3-codec/937967/9 "2026-05-26T07:36:58Z")
I tried same error: [Req#532fd1/Transcode/e69091d9-c3b8-47a7-85f1-ba040b90ad3f/6f253d95-b707-4873-b66f-54aa4e73fab7] [eac3\_eae @ 0x7f5103a05640] Cannot group in blocks of 6! Also, I tried opening the file with VLC on windows, and it’s all fine. ---
**Author:** ![hi\_phi](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/hi_phi/32/349091_2.png) [@hi\_phi](https://forums.plex.tv/u/hi_phi)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2026, 11:19pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-t-transcode-any-eac3-codec/937967/10 "2026-05-26T23:19:01Z")
My server is also on Linux (Ubuntu LTS) and I can’t launch content if the selected audio track is TrueHD and/or Atmos. (I tried on my Pixel 9a.) ---
**Author:** ![FordGuy61](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/22d042/32.png) [@FordGuy61](https://forums.plex.tv/u/FordGuy61)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 2:30am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-t-transcode-any-eac3-codec/937967/11 "2026-05-27T02:30:19Z")
> [@hi\_phi](#): > > I tried on my Pixel 9a There is a known problem with the Android mobile app failing to play TrueHD audio. Playback fails and a “Error Occurred, Decoder: Init failed” message is displayed. Plex is aware of the issue. It is unknown when a fix will be available. As a workaround, select an alternate audio track, such as AC3, if one is available (Blu-ray discs with TrueHD also have an AC3 track). ---
**Author:** ![hi\_phi](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/hi_phi/32/349091_2.png) [@hi\_phi](https://forums.plex.tv/u/hi_phi)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2026, 2:39am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-t-transcode-any-eac3-codec/937967/12 "2026-05-27T02:39:51Z")
Thanks a lot! ---
**Author:** ![\_Simo01](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/_simo01/32/249949_2.png) [@\_Simo01](https://forums.plex.tv/u/_Simo01)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2026, 6:20am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-t-transcode-any-eac3-codec/937967/13 "2026-08-16T06:20:52Z")
Still unresolved, dont know what to do. ---
**Author:** ![nx6](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/nx6/32/103992_2.png) [@nx6](https://forums.plex.tv/u/nx6)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2026, 10:23pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-t-transcode-any-eac3-codec/937967/14 "2026-08-16T22:23:08Z")
There have been no announced changes to libraries (i.e. schema changes to the DB) that would prevent you from rolling back. So you should be able to redeploy with an earlier version of Plex. ---
**Author:** ![forlife](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/forlife/32/14534_2.png) [@forlife](https://forums.plex.tv/u/forlife)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 6:52am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-t-transcode-any-eac3-codec/937967/15 "2026-09-29T06:52:43Z")
do you know which plex version doesn’t have this issue? ---
**Author:** ![FordGuy61](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/22d042/32.png) [@FordGuy61](https://forums.plex.tv/u/FordGuy61)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 7:09am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-t-transcode-any-eac3-codec/937967/16 "2026-09-29T07:09:10Z")
@hi_phi TrueHD on Pixel phones should be fixed. The video should play and the audio transcode to a supported format (AAC on my Pixel 6a). The fix was in either 2026.17 or 2026.18 (don’t remember which). The current release is [2026.19](https://forums.plex.tv/t/plex-for-mobile-tvs-android-mobile-ios-android-tv-tvos-fire-tv/909610/58). ---
**Author:** ![FordGuy61](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/22d042/32.png) [@FordGuy61](https://forums.plex.tv/u/FordGuy61)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 7:19am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-t-transcode-any-eac3-codec/937967/17 "2026-09-29T07:19:21Z")
> [@forlife](#): > > do you know which plex version doesn’t have this issue? Can you provide additional details? Is the problem with a specific file, client, etc. What version of PMS are you currently running and on what platform? FWIW, I’ve PMS 1.43.4.10903 on Ubuntu 26.04 bare metal. I’ve not had any trouble transcoding EAC3. ---
**Author:** ![forlife](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/forlife/32/14534_2.png) [@forlife](https://forums.plex.tv/u/forlife)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 7:57am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-t-transcode-any-eac3-codec/937967/18 "2026-09-29T07:57:13Z")
I’m running plex Version 1.43.4.10903 inside docker in unraid. The issue is some files don’t play at all. They have the EAC3 5.1 codec and they show the same error in the logs, “Cannot group in blocks of 6”. If I change the audio track to another that doesn’t have the same codec, it does work. But obviously it’s not the best solution. I’m also concerned many other files I haven’t found also have this issue. I’m testing primarily in plex web (Version 4.160.0), but ios has the same issue. ---
**Author:** ![nx6](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/nx6/32/103992_2.png) [@nx6](https://forums.plex.tv/u/nx6)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 8:04am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-t-transcode-any-eac3-codec/937967/19 "2026-09-29T08:04:02Z")
> [@forlife](#): > > do you know which plex version doesn’t have this issue? No. Also I heard some mutterings from elsewhere on the forum that this new version _does_ have unannounced database changes, so you can only roll back if you have a backup you can restore or snapshotting of your server environment. ---
**Author:** ![hi\_phi](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/hi_phi/32/349091_2.png) [@hi\_phi](https://forums.plex.tv/u/hi_phi)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 2:22pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/can-t-transcode-any-eac3-codec/937967/20 "2026-09-29T14:22:49Z")
I can confirm on #android-mobile… I think it transcodes to opus.