Fire TV Playback Stopping?

Plex Players Streaming Devices
,
1

Server Version#: 1.18.8.2527
Player Version#: 7.29.2.16071

hi, I am getting constant stoppages of playback where I need to stop and start playing the file again on a Fire TV Stick, I’ve checked the logs and I’m getting these errors:

03-22 19:14:33.566 i: Fetching [method:GET] https://192.168.7.1:32400/:/timeline?bandwidth=434341&bufferedTime=137&duration=4867693&guid=com.plexapp.agents.imdb%3A%2F%2Ftt1483025%3Flang%3Den&key=%2Flibrary%2Fmetadata%2F518740&playbackTime=616780&playQueueItemID=448380&ratingKey=518740&state=playing&time=3597974&token=...nPhF&X-Plex-Client-Identifier=478fd52366bc474a-com-plexapp-android&X-Plex-Token=...nPhF
03-22 19:14:43.569 i: Fetching [method:GET] https://192.168.7.1:32400/:/timeline?bandwidth=556734&bufferedTime=135&duration=4867693&guid=com.plexapp.agents.imdb%3A%2F%2Ftt1483025%3Flang%3Den&key=%2Flibrary%2Fmetadata%2F518740&playbackTime=626780&playQueueItemID=448380&ratingKey=518740&state=playing&time=3607971&token=...nPhF&X-Plex-Client-Identifier=478fd52366bc474a-com-plexapp-android&X-Plex-Token=...nPhF
03-22 19:14:48.779 i: [FFmpeg] [ERROR] [tls @ 0x63f263c0] Error in the pull function.
03-22 19:14:48.779 i: [FFmpeg] [WARN] [https @ 0x78b092c0] Will reconnect at 3637359692 in 0 second(s), error=I/O error.
03-22 19:14:49.065 i: [FFmpeg] [WARN] [https @ 0x78b092c0] HTTP error 503 Service Unavailable
03-22 19:14:49.079 i: [FFmpeg] [WARN] [https @ 0x78b092c0] Will reconnect at 3637359692 in 1 second(s), error=I/O error.
03-22 19:14:49.080 i: [FFmpeg] [ERROR] [tls @ 0x63f263c0] The specified session has been invalidated for some reason.
03-22 19:14:50.294 i: [FFmpeg] [WARN] [https @ 0x78b092c0] HTTP error 503 Service Unavailable
03-22 19:14:50.310 i: [FFmpeg] [ERROR] [tls @ 0x63f263c0] The specified session has been invalidated for some reason.
03-22 19:14:50.311 i: [FFmpeg] [WARN] [https @ 0x78b092c0] Will reconnect at 3637359692 in 3 second(s), error=I/O error.
03-22 19:14:53.494 i: [FFmpeg] [WARN] [https @ 0x78b092c0] HTTP error 503 Service Unavailable
03-22 19:14:53.511 i: [FFmpeg] [WARN] [https @ 0x78b092c0] Will reconnect at 3637359692 in 7 second(s), error=I/O error.
03-22 19:14:53.512 i: [FFmpeg] [ERROR] [tls @ 0x63f263c0] The specified session has been invalidated for some reason.

I’ve tried the following to fix:

Turning off the enhanced player
reducing the video quality
setting the quality to Automatic
swapping the WiFi from 2.5Ghz to 5Ghz

Would anyone have any idea on what this issue is?

Thanks

1 Like
2

The same has been driving me nuts for the last few days. I have about 30 users that stream from my server and everyone using an Amazon device, either FireTV or Stick, is experiencing the same problem. The users on other platforms have had no issues.

It appears to be a bug in how the app builds the buffer. The problem exists with all streams, movies and TV Shows. The selection spins up fine and plays without issue until it abruptly stops with the “connection to the server is too slow” error message, though I know the connection is just fine. It will resume quickly and pick up where it stopped, but continue to play only to stop again at close to the same interval. In a longer movie, after restarting and resuming a few times, it throws a new playback error asking to reboot both the server and the app. At this point I’d have to clear the cache in the Amazon app settings and start from the beginning without resume and ff to where it stopped, and continue cycle to finish the movie. Very annoying!

The amount of time it plays before stopping varies between streams, but seems to be pretty consistent intervals within the same stream. For example, the movie I was watching last night would stop roughly every 19 minutes. This varies between streams with intervals of anywhere between 5 and 20 minutes. This leads me to suspect it is occurring once playback buffer has reached a certain number of bytes, which would obviously vary in playbaaack time between streams based on size and bit rate.

I don’t know the exact cause of the issue, but I have replicated it across multiple Fire TV devices. I have also solved the problem by uninstalling Plex and installing an older version. The issue does not occur with this version and I have confirmed this on three devices so far. I used version 6.12.0.3239, the link for which I obtained from another thread in this forum. Other previous versions may also work as this just started happening a few days ago, but I have not tried any others yet.

Uninstall the current first, then side load the older version. Apps2Fire works well if you have an android mobile device handy that can connect to the same network. The Downloader app available for download on the Amazon device is another relatively easy way to side load apps. There are several ways to side load, ask Google and pick your favorite.

https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/plex-inc/plex/plex-6-12-0-3239-release/plex-6-12-0-3239-2-android-apk-download/

Hopefully the team figures this out and fixes it, but until then, this rollback should get you going again. Hope this helps a lot of you on Fire TV devices! Stream on and stay healthy!!

2 Likes
3

I will give this a go, thanks a bunch! You stay safe too.

1 Like
4

Happy to share. Surprised to not see more recent posts on this here. Please post back on whether it works for you or not.

5

Just saw this.
I have a bunch of family that uses my Plex server with Firesticks.
Same problem. Sometimes the video will not even start.

I personally think it is either 1080p and/or the audio codec that is causing the problem.

Here’s hoping they get it fixed.

Cheers

6

Edit: I seem to have fixed my problem by removing the value I had in “terminat session paused for longer than” option. I had it set to 15 minutes and after removing that input I was able to play a full 2 hour movie with no issue on both fire sticks.

I cant get anything to play off my Fire sticks either.
I have two in the LAN and they both have the same errors. I get several seconds of the same [FFmpeg][ERROR] and then the crash.

03-22 23:30:01.705 i: [FFmpeg] [ERROR] Demuxer encountered error whilst reading frame: Invalid data found when processing input.
03-22 23:30:06.705 i: [FFmpeg] [ERROR] [mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2 @ 0xb9a9f480] stream 0, offset 0x295de8a7: partial file

03-22 23:30:06.706 i: [FFmpeg] [ERROR] Demuxer encountered error whilst reading frame: Invalid data found when processing input.
03-22 23:30:06.706 e: [FF] Error occurred during demuxing, ending input.
03-22 23:30:07.593 i: [PlaybackTimeBehaviour] Time: 1214146 IsStarted: true
03-22 23:30:07.597 i: Fetching [method:GET] https ://192.168.1.151:32400/:/timeline?audioStreamID=3997&bufferedTime=11812&duration=8502187&guid=com.plexapp.agents.imdb%3A%2F%2Ftt0304141%3Flang%3Den&key=%2Flibrary%2Fmetadata%2F68&playbackTime=1214147&playQueueItemID=17921&ratingKey=68&state=playing&time=3164550&token=…mQiK&X-Plex-Client-Identifier=6f901141f3727d0-com-plexapp-android&X-Plex-Token=…mQiK
03-22 23:30:07.989 i: [AugmentedContentHelper] Trying to load augmented content without an augmentation key
03-22 23:30:11.708 e: [FF] Error occurred during demuxing, ending input.
03-22 23:30:11.708 i: [FFmpeg] [ERROR] [mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2 @ 0xb9a9f480] stream 1, offset 0x295df323: partial file

03-22 23:30:11.709 i: [FFmpeg] [ERROR] Demuxer encountered error whilst reading frame: Invalid data found when processing input.
03-22 23:30:16.709 i: [FFmpeg] [ERROR] [mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2 @ 0xb9a9f480] stream 1, offset 0x295df4d4: partial file

03-22 23:30:16.721 i: [FFmpeg] [ERROR] Demuxer encountered error whilst reading frame: Invalid data found when processing input.
03-22 23:30:16.727 e: [FF] Error occurred during demuxing, ending input.
03-22 23:30:17.599 i: [PlaybackTimeBehaviour] Time: 1224150 IsStarted: true
03-22 23:30:17.602 i: Fetching [method:GET] https ://192.168.1.151:32400/:/timeline?audioStreamID=3997&bufferedTime=1928&duration=8502187&guid=com.plexapp.agents.imdb%3A%2F%2Ftt0304141%3Flang%3Den&key=%2Flibrary%2Fmetadata%2F68&playbackTime=1224150&playQueueItemID=17921&ratingKey=68&state=playing&time=3174434&token=…mQiK&X-Plex-Client-Identifier=6f901141f3727d0-com-plexapp-android&X-Plex-Token=…mQiK
03-22 23:30:18.528 i: [AugmentedContentHelper] Trying to load augmented content without an augmentation key
03-22 23:30:19.178 e: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] playerFailed [1233.16, 3176.18, window=0]
03-22 23:30:19.179 e: An exception occurred: com.google.android.exoplayer2.i: [Demux]com.plexapp.plex.ff.data.FFException: Error occurred whilst demuxing.
03-22 23:30:19.195 e: Stacktrace: com.google.android.exoplayer2.i: [Demux]com.plexapp.plex.ff.data.FFException: Error occurred whilst demuxing.
at com.google.android.exoplayer2.o.handleMessage(SourceFile:386)
at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:98)
at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:135)
at android.os.HandlerThread.run(HandlerThread.java:61)
Caused by: [Demux]com.plexapp.plex.ff.data.FFException: Error occurred whilst demuxing.
at com.plexapp.plex.ff.FFDemuxer.demux(SourceFile:281)
at com.plexapp.plex.ff.source.FFLoadable.load(SourceFile:89)
at com.google.android.exoplayer2.g.al.run(SourceFile:381)
at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1112)
at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:587)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:818)

03-22 23:30:19.219 e: [Player][ExoPlayer] Playback error detected
03-22 23:30:19.220 e: An exception occurred: com.google.android.exoplayer2.i: [Demux]com.plexapp.plex.ff.data.FFException: Error occurred whilst demuxing.
03-22 23:30:19.221 e: Stacktrace: com.google.android.exoplayer2.i: [Demux]com.plexapp.plex.ff.data.FFException: Error occurred whilst demuxing.
at com.google.android.exoplayer2.o.handleMessage(SourceFile:386)
at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:98)
at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:135)
at android.os.HandlerThread.run(HandlerThread.java:61)
Caused by: [Demux]com.plexapp.plex.ff.data.FFException: Error occurred whilst demuxing.
at com.plexapp.plex.ff.FFDemuxer.demux(SourceFile:281)
at com.plexapp.plex.ff.source.FFLoadable.load(SourceFile:89)
at com.google.android.exoplayer2.g.al.run(SourceFile:381)
at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1112)
at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:587)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:818)

03-22 23:30:19.330 i: [Player][Timeline] Handling player error
03-22 23:30:19.331 i: [Player][Timeline] Playback stopped (error: true)
03-22 23:30:19.340 i: [PlaybackTimeBehaviour] Time: 1225893 IsStarted: true
03-22 23:30:19.349 i: Fetching [method:GET] https://192.168.1.151:32400/:/timeline?audioStreamID=3997&bufferedTime=316&duration=8502187&guid=com.plexapp.agents.imdb%3A%2F%2Ftt0304141%3Flang%3Den&key=%2Flibrary%2Fmetadata%2F68&playbackTime=1225893&playQueueItemID=17921&ratingKey=68&state=stopped&time=3176046&token=...mQiK&X-Plex-Client-Identifier=6f901141f3727d0-com-plexapp-android&X-Plex-Token=...mQiK
03-22 23:30:19.350 i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] droppedFrames [1233.33, 3176.18, window=0, 44]
03-22 23:30:19.357 i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] decoderDisabled [1233.34, 3176.18, window=0, video]
03-22 23:30:19.359 i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] decoderDisabled [1233.34, 3176.18, window=0, audio]
03-22 23:30:19.422 i: [Player][Timeline] Player error not known by server, reporting original player error (or a playback interrupted one)
03-22 23:30:19.423 i: [Player] Error reported: UnknownError (null)
03-22 23:30:19.424 i: [Player][Timeline] Playback stopped (error: false)
03-22 23:30:19.427 i: [PlaybackTimeBehaviour] Time: 1225980 IsStarted: true
03-22 23:30:19.433 i: Fetching [method:GET] https ://192.168.1.151:32400/:/timeline?audioStreamID=3997&bufferedTime=183&duration=8502187&guid=com.plexapp.agents.imdb%3A%2F%2Ftt0304141%3Flang%3Den&key=%2Flibrary%2Fmetadata%2F68&playbackTime=1225980&playQueueItemID=17921&ratingKey=68&state=stopped&time=3176179&token=…mQiK&X-Plex-Client-Identifier=6f901141f3727d0-com-plexapp-android&X-Plex-Token=…mQiK
03-22 23:30:19.502 i: [TranscodeSession] Stopping…
03-22 23:30:19.503 i: [TranscodeSession] Session already stopped.
03-22 23:30:19.526 i: [Player][Error] Displaying player error…
03-22 23:30:19.934 i: [FF][MediaPeriod] Releasing.
03-22 23:30:19.935 i: [FF] Loading canceled (released: true)
03-22 23:30:20.070 i: [FF] Releasing demuxer.
03-22 23:30:20.197 i: [FFmpeg] [INFO] Demuxer closing.
03-22 23:30:20.226 i: [FFmpeg] [INFO] [Cache] Close requested, terminating.
03-22 23:30:20.226 i: [FFmpeg] [INFO] [Cache] Terminating thread.
03-22 23:30:20.240 i: [FFmpeg] [INFO] [Cache] Cache has been closed, interrupting AVIO …
03-22 23:30:20.343 i: [FFmpeg] [INFO] [Cache] Close requested, terminating.
03-22 23:30:20.344 i: [FFmpeg] [INFO] Demuxer pipeline terminated.
03-22 23:30:20.344 i: [FFmpeg] [INFO] Demuxer has been successfully closed.
03-22 23:30:20.362 i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] loading [1234.35, 3176.18, window=0, false]
03-22 23:30:20.363 i: [ExoPlayer][EventLogger] state [1234.35, 3176.18, window=0, true, IDLE]

7

Any one from Plex that can give us an ETA on a fix, updated release that doesn’t have this issue. Everyone is experiencing it that use Fire TV’s

1 Like
8

So this seems to do the trick, thanks!

9

Having same issue here. Removed the variable from “Terminate Sessions Paused for Longer Than” will see if it works.

10

Not really an option for me. I have too many remote users and they’re all home with kids now. If I let everyone pause indefinitely they’d eat up my resources. I make them restart and resume if they need to break for that long in the middle of a stream.

The rollback has worked since implemented on every fire tv device thus far, my own and a few remote devices. Hoping for a fix in the next release but for now I’m not really missing anything using the older version.

11

Removing the variable in Terminate Sessions Paused for Longer Than and savings makes it go to 0 (zero) I am still getting the issue baout every 15-25 mins like clock work? Anyone else have an idea? I hate to remove the version and go back, as I am sure that once my media rescans again I will have to go in and fix everything once again. Like things it can’t find and putting Movies in the correct order that they were played etc, I am OCD like that LOL

12

Rolling back the client app won’t affect your library at all. In fact, neither will rolling back the server if you do it right, but you don’t need to worry about that here.

13

Yeah I read it wrong, was talking about rolling back my plex server - So is this the only fix, will the Plex Player on the Fire TV ever get an update to fix this. I to have way to many users streaming and known of them will be able to sideload the older version of the player

14

I don’t know if it’s the only fix, I just know it is what worked for me and my other users on Fire TV devices. I also have no idea if/when Plex will address the issue, but I hope they do and imagine they will eventually. I’m sure they’re experiencing a huge influx of users and activity right now.

Fortunately, most of my users are not using Fire TV devices. The ones that are all had the same problem, and changing the version solved it for each of them. I sent them the link to the older version with instructions using the Downloader app from the Amazon App Store and the Fire tv remote app for their phone so they could copy and paste the link instead of having to “type” it all out with the Fire tv remote (phone) app. A couple of them I had to walk through it over the phone. All of my users are friends and family, so not a huge issue for me. It only takes a few minutes.

Edit: If you’re using Downloader, you have to select Browser from the menu in the left, delete the google url, and paste (or type) the apk link url. Then navigate down to the orange Install APK button. It will fail with a forbidden error if you try to enter the URL on the home page.

1 Like
15

I am having the same issue, on both Fire TV devices and MiBox 3 running Android TV 8.0. after reading the comments, I remembered that I had recently turned on the “treminate…pasued…” Function. So I’m going to change that and see what happens.

17

I’m not sure whether my issue is the same but I think since an update maybe during playback plex just hangs. You have to return to the plex library and start the movie (it does return to the same point) and then it’ll play for a bit then just stop again. It’s not buffering or anything just literally freezing.

18

I installed the latest app version which Is not yet available by amazon store update. (version 7.30.1.16475)
…Using download app on FireTV.
Everything works fine now.

19

Will try that. Thank you

20

Only the broken version was available even going out there to pull via the Downloader application.

When will PLEX make the 7.30.xxxx available in Amazon store to fix this?

It also seems that all FireTV devices ONLY do direct stream/play now, no transcoding is working. Is that what others seeing?

21

Yeah mark me down as similar, Fire TV (2nd gen rectangle box from 2016) watching the last Star Wars, 21 minutes and the stream stopped with the message to restart the app and the server, restarting the app would not get the stream running again but rebooting the Fire TV box would allow me to resume playing, 42 minutes, same again. Seven reboots for getting through one movie :o Running the latest available update to the PLEX app on the Fire device.