I need help trying to diagnose my problem with my plex server. I’ve tried on two different computers, one running Windows 7, and one running Windows 10. They have run both wireless and LAN connected. Playback from these computers keeps buffering about every 30-60 seconds. Literally unwatchable. I have no idea where to start with tracking down the cause of the problem.
I have 2 other friends who have shared their servers with me. One of them plays fine, the other sometimes exhibits the same issues.
First, never run a server on wireless. That’s just asking for trouble. If the server has both a wireless & LAN connection, then disable the wireless, at least while troubleshooting.
Second, for troubleshooting purposes, turn off subtitles if enabled. Subtitles can cause issues, so leave them disabled for now.
Is the video transcoding during playback? During playback, check Status -> Now Playing via Plex Web. What does it show?
Please pull log files & post with your reply.
Via Plex Web, go to Settings -> General. Enable debug logging. Disable verbose logging. Save changes if necessary.
Play one of the videos that buffers for ~10 seconds, then stop playback.
Wait ~15 seconds, then pull the log files. Troubleshooting -> Download Logs. Attach the entire ZIP file.
I’m running version 3.77.4
The problem is happening while running the current version of the Plex app on Roku.
The server PC is currently wired (as is my preference) and wireless is disabled. The Roku, of course, is wifi.
No subtitles have been used. I’m not sure if there is a place to disable them completely server-wide, but none of the media I’m watching has subs.
As for transcoding, it says H264 to H264 and EAC3 to AAC
I played back the video and let it buffer twice. Here’s the logs.
The buffering is most likely due to the transcoding. Need to figure out why that is happening.
In the Plex app on the Roku, is there a setting for Local video quality? If so, is set to maximum or original or something similar (to indicate there is no limit)?
Also, any settings for Direct Play or Direct Stream? Both should be enabled.
I don’t have a Roku, so not sure what settings are available.
Not at home at the moment, but the video playback options do have local video quality settings. I’ve had a few times where the buffering would actually eventually kick me out with an error that recommends lowering that quality. I normally keep it defaulted at the option to play at the original quality. But I’ve tried lowering it too and it doesn’t seem to help much. The logs I sent last night would be after I had lowered the quality.
Also, yes there are settings in the server for direct stream and direct play. They had both been enabled. I think I’ve tried disabling those also to no effect. I don’t recall which way they are currently set as of the logs you received. And I don’t recall if there was a similar setting on the Roku end. I’ll have to check later.
