Fire TV Server is not powerful enough to convert

General Discussions
1

I am having issues getting media to play to my Fire Stick. I have the most recent version of Plex server running on my Drobo 5N. I have the latest Plex app on the Fire Stick. My media I convert using Handbrake in Apple TV format 1080p60 Surround Sound. I also have an Apple TV 4th Gen (non 4k). That device plays the content without issue. I also can play via my iOS devices and MacBook.

Each time I try to watch on my Plex Fire Stick App I get an error about the it can’t convert the movie. I am not sure why it wants to do that. I am wondering is there a setting I haven’t toggled or have toggled another. I would rather not have to buy 2 Apple TV 4th Gen’s to get Plex to work on my other televisions.

2

For whatever it’s worth, I gave up on FireTv and bit the bullet and got an Nvidia shield. I had many problems with both my FireTv, more so with the latest versions of both the stick and pendant, not so much with the second gen FireTv (full size). A well known fact, the current FireTV actually is a downgrade in the CPU power department, something that boggles the mind. Who, at Amazon decided one day; “it’s ok, we don’t need as much CPU power as the previous 2 year old device”?

The current gen FireTv (pendant) and both gens of fire stick are just not powerful enough. I had sound out of sync, no deinterlacing in the sticks, and frequent, random pausing or stuttering. Using a wired network adapter for the stick made some of those problems better, but in the end, it was just too much hassle.

My advice, splurge and get the Nvidia shield, you’ll come to enjoy watching your media again.

Art

3

@raysinboise

The problem is the Handbrake preset you are using.

The AppleTV1080p60 transcodes video to H264, 60fps, High@4.2. This is supported by the AppleTV v4 (tech specs), but not by any version of the Amazon Fire TV stick/box/tv.

The Amazon Fire TV Stick supports H264, 30fps, High@4.0. See AFTV Specs

Therefore, PMS is most likely transcoding your videos when you are using the AFTV stick. Video transcoding is very CPU intensive. If the CPU in your Drobo is not powerful enough you will see buffering, pausing, or error messages like what you are experiencing.

Most DVDs & Blu-rays have video at 24 fps (at least in US). The video on most Blu-rays is H264, High@4.1 (some have VC1 video). Increasing the frame rate from 24fps to 60fps doesn’t buy you anything. Neither does increasing the profile and level. All it really does is buy you compatibility headaches.

For Blu-ray discs (1080p), suggest you use AppleTV 1080p30 preset, change framerate to “Same as source” instead of 30 FPS, and Constant Quality to between 20 - 22.

For DVDs (480i/p), suggest using the AppleTV 3 preset, change framerate to “Same as source” and Constant Quality to 18 - 20.

If you are loading the videos into iTunes, then have Handbrake create files with the m4v extension. If you are not using iTunes, then choose the mp4 extension. There is no difference between the two. You can rename .m4v files to .mp4 and visa-versa. iTunes likes movies to end with m4v. If you load movie_name.mp4 into iTunes, it will still work, but iTunes will ignore chapter markers. Plex does not seem to care. It has never given me problems with movies ending in m4v.

Note: If you have high framerate media, above 30fps, then choose 30fps instead as “same as source.”

You also need to pay attention to audio compatibility. Transcoding audio is not nearly as CPU intensive as transcoding video, but it does hit the CPU.

For maximum compatibility, have one audio track with AAC codec, 320kbps max (AppleTV limit), and Dolby Pro Logic II mixdown (or mono/stereo if source is mono/stereo instead of 5.1).

For the second audio track, choose AC3 passthrough if the movie has a native AC3 5.1/2.0/etc audio track. If it does not, then choose AC3 codec, 640kbps, 5.1 mixdown (or mono/stereo if AC3 1.0/2.0 source).

The resulting file will play nicely with iTunes, Plex, AppleTV gen 4, and Amazon Fire TVs. You can also load it on recent iPhones, iPads, and Android phones & tablets.

You’ll have a movie with H264 High@4.0 video at 30fps or less, AAC audio for non-surround sound devices, and AC3 audio for home theater & devices that support AC3 audio.

4

Not all movies over time have been converted with the 1080p60s preset. I have been converting over many years and even 720p conversions aren’t playing.

5

Lastly thanks for the feedback, but it doesn’t explain why the App on both Firesticks played content up until about a month ago. Also a newly purchased 4K FireTV ran into the same issue.

6

Do you get far enough to play a movie before the “cannot convert” message shows up? If so, what does the on-screen status show? Is the movie transcoding? Press the bottom of the navigation ring on the AFTV remote while a movie is playing to pull up the display.

Here’s an example when I play a movie with VC1 video on my AFTV Gen2:

You can also look at Status → Now Playing in Plex Web (https://app.plex.tv/desktop) or the Plex Media Player application. It will show if something is transcoding, but does not give the reason.

Also, please attach the XML for one of the problematic movies. Pull up a movie listing in Plex Web, click on the three dots in upper right corner, then choose Get Info. This opens the Media Info window. Click View XML, save the file, and attach to next posting.

7

Two more questions:

What version of the Plex app is on the FireTV sticks?

What are your Video Quality settings in the Plex app on the Fire Stick?

8

I deactivated the h264 level in the settings. Now it works