Conversion failed. The transcoder exited due to an error

Plex Media Server NAS & Devices
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105

Silly question but how do I get beta version ? For Nvidia shield?

106

See section on {review Releases here https://support.plex.tv/articles/221099648-limitations-when-running-plex-media-server-on-nvidia-shield/

107

Hi there,

So I just updated to beta version and rebooted and same issue sadly.

The transcoder was unable to process this media.

What can i send to troubleshoot?
Thx

108

to start looking into the problem, have debug logging enabled, reproduce the problem and then note down the time of the error and capture the logs and attach the zip with the info concerning the error / time

See
https://support.plex.tv/articles/201643703-reporting-issues-with-plex-media-server/
https://support.plex.tv/articles/200250417-plex-media-server-log-files/

109

Iā€™m experiencing the same issue, tried the beta still the same.

Will probably gather logs and everything and send them to you directly via PM

110

Thanks for the logs. It could well be the low memory issue. The transcoder job for the sync item stated at 12:55:17 on the 14th - using hardware transcoding codecs
hardware transcoding: final decoder: mediacodecndk, final encoder: mediacodecndk.

A few minutes later the process was killed off

Dec 14, 2018 13:03:47.217 [6954] DEBUG - Jobs: '/data/user/0/com.plexapp.mediaserver.smb/Resources/Plex Transcoder' exit code for process 10317 is -9 (signal: Killed)

To confirm if it is the same issue - the low memory problem, would need a clip created from the media file to try and reproduce it with adb and logcat capture from the shield
The file was
'/storage/DS1512/Downloads/Movies/Current_Movies/Goosebumps 2 Haunted Halloween (2018)BR-RipAC3/Goosebumps 2 Haunted Halloween_2018_BR-Rip_AC3_.mkv'
You could use tools like mkvtoolnix to extract the first 500 Mb from the file and then add it to the library and confirm that it fails the same way and make that file available to reproduce the error

111

Iā€™m having the same issue, even though it was supposed to be fixed in September. Is there a regression somewhere in the latest server releases?
Iā€™m on server version 1.14.1.5488 on my Nvidia Shield TV.

Symptoms:

  • Shield crashing (not responsive) after not even 20 mins of playing a media file. This only happens if it is transcoding. Direct play is fine. Iā€™m playing the media file in the plex client on the same Nvidia Shield btw.
  • Sync in the Android app doesnā€™t work. After a few minutes of syncing it stops and reports a generic error message in the android app. Iā€™m syncing from my Shield TV server of course. This also only happens when it is transcoding. Syncing the original is fine as well.

As it stands now, we cannot transcode on the Nvidia Shield TV - something we explicitly bought the device for.

2 Likes
112

Turning off HW transcoding in the Plex server settings fixes the above problems, but thatā€™s really not a permanent solution. So this really seems like the issue talked about in this thread before September.

113

Is there anything I can do to help, Plex team? I guess you already know the symptoms. Your fix from September is either not enough or has regressed in the latest versions.

114

Iā€™m experiencing the same issue as well. Iā€™m willing to help provide more data, but would need assistance.

115

The September 2018 fixed an issue with memory use within the Plex Media Server transcoder. There is still a memory issue when hardware transcoding and this is being looked into by the nVidia Shield team. I would not mind getting more recent logs and sample files that bring on the problem - ideally a file no more than 1Gb in size - using tools such as mkvtoolnix to extract the first 500Mb or more of the file. It needs to be long enough to actually bring the problem on when hardware transcoding and logs from the server and the client app.

https://support.plex.tv/articles/201643703-reporting-issues-with-plex-media-server/
https://support.plex.tv/articles/200250417-plex-media-server-log-files/
https://support.plex.tv/articles/201035968-generating-sample-files-from-media/
https://support.plex.tv/articles/201573117-android-android-tv-fire-tv-logs/

116

Iā€™m also experiencing the same issue. Movies will begin to transcode fine but then the plex server seems to either reboot or just hangs as a perpetual buffering. Optimized versions fail with an error message.

117

Having this issue as well: Conversion failed. The transcoder exited due to an error.

Have never seen this before and used Plex for many years.

Currently running Plex in Docker, latest version on Ubuntu 18.04
I get the error when attempting to watch movies, never see it with TV shows.

Not sure where to start, canā€™t see anything obvious in the logs but not sure Iā€™m even looking at the right logs. Any help would be appreciated.

118

To start suggest ensure debug logging enabled. reproduce the error. note down the time. download the logs and attach the zip here with indication of time of error.

See first 2 links in my post above yours

119

Is this on nVidia Shield as server? There are memory issues leading to crash or abort of transcoding with hardware acceleration.

Please get logs of the server with debug logging enabled and indication as to when the issue arose

See
https://support.plex.tv/articles/201643703-reporting-issues-with-plex-media-server/
https://support.plex.tv/articles/200250417-plex-media-server-log-files/

120

Failures due to suspected memory shortage need to be replicated using adb to get logcat and memory usage by processes to go with the server logs and then can be investigated

121

Thanks. Here are the logs. I tried a few movies and most got the same error - a couple did play however. (One being Bohemian Rhapsody) The logs start around 13:25 which is when I started testing.

I should add this issue seemed to pop up after I upgraded the processor in my server and turned on hardware transcoding. I have subsequently turned off HW transcoding but it hasnā€™t seemed to make a difference. Older movies that have been on the server for some time play fine.

And the most important part - this is all attempting to watch on Apple TV 4 (non 4k) If watched on the Plex app they all work fine.Plex Media Server.zip (162.8 KB)

122

Hi

I have the same issue I think on my nVidia Shield media server. When playing movies on the shield (with external HDD connected through USB3) after 5-15min of playback the movie starts to lag, the remote gets unresponsive. If I catch it early at the first signs of issue after 30s the remote exits the movie and I can start again for 5-15 min.
Whatā€™s strange is that there seem to be enough bufferā€¦

I donā€™t use the plex server outside my linked shield should I turn off Hardware Transcoding, whatā€™s the problem with deactivating this, lower image quality?

This is running me nuts, Iā€™ve been using plex without much problems but this is super annoyingā€¦

THanks!

123

I am also getting the Conversion failed. The transcoder exited error due when attempting to use Opensubtitles. Movies play when I set subtitles to NONE but I donā€™t know what is going on, lol.

ā€‹

124

I too am effected by this issue. Transcodes start using HW, then switch to SW, which then brings the Shield to itā€™s knees. This is completely anecdotal but I think the randoms switch from HW to SW might have to do with other tasks running on the shield and if the PMS transcode is to a remote user. I notice if Iā€™m streaming something on Netflix or Amazon Video and some remote users starts to watch a transcoded stream I can tell immediately because the stream becomes choppy and the Shield becomes unresponsive. However, if Iā€™m streaming something over the LAN instead of remotely I donā€™t see the Netflix or Amazon video stream effected or does the Shield become unresponsive.

Iā€™m running PMS 1.14.1.5490.