Server Version#: 1.19.3.2852-219a9974e
Player Version#: 4.34.2
New to Plex, so I apologize if my information is incomplete. I’ll do my best to explain the issue I’m encountering:
I’m running Plex on a NAS - Synology DS1019+
I want Plex to automatically recognize forced subs that I have named properly and placed in the appropriate media folders. These files are for foreign language only parts of shows or movies, for instance: when a character in Game of Thrones is speaking Dothraki. I do not want full subs for the entire episode, just for the Dothraki parts, so I have sought out and downloaded the appropriate subtitle files in .SRT format for each episode.
I have named them using the same naming scheme as the episodes, followed by .eng.forced (and then obviously the normal file extension.) My preferred subtitle settings for each user account as well as the server itself are properly set to “Shown with foreign audio” and “Prefer forced subtitles”.
Luckily, when I place the forced subtitle files into their proper locations in my media folders, Plex DOES recognize them and automatically selects “English Forced External SRT” as the default subtitle option. All is working as expected.
However, when I attempt to play a file with the forced subtitle selected, I automatically receive a “Transcoder failed” error message and the file will not play. Please keep in mind, that if no subtitle is selected, the episode plays perfectly. If any other external SRT file is selected (like a full subtitle from OpenSubtitles.org), the show plays perfectly and all subs play without issue.
Now, here’s the part that is confusing to me: if I remove all of the forced subtitle files from my media folders, and instead choose to manually upload that exact same forced SRT file into the web player interface from the episode’s information page, then the file plays just fine and the foreign-only subtitle behaves as normal.
The file is being played with transcoding (hw) because it is a 1080p HEVC file, but like I said they play without issue as long as there is either no subtitle, or a manually selected srt file. The only time the file refuses to open is when the forced subtitle is automatically selected.
Why is it that when Plex is automatically selecting the forced subtitle file for me, that it suddenly can’t transcode it anymore? Clearly the srt file works, the file works, and they can play simultaneously without issue.
I have already attempted to change all of my transcoder settings (turning on hardware acceleration, turning it off, choosing for subtitles to burn “Automatic” “Always” and “Only Image Formats”. I’ve also attempted to play this file in the web player, on my android app, and on an Xbox One; but they all encounter the same “Transcoder failed to start” error.
I did my best to scour this community and the Plex subreddit prior to posting this, and many people have encountered different issues with subtitle transcoding but I could not find this exact scenario. I’m hoping that this issue can be rectified with my settings instead of having to manually select subtitles for each and every episode and movie, because that could get old real quick.
Any help is greatly appreciated!
