Intel NUC7i7BNB will not hardware transcode with Plex- Handbrake and other apps do transcode

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
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Server Version#: Version 1.18.4.2171
Player Version#: Plex Web Version 4.12.3

Basically looking for help in determining how to fix the immediate crash that happens in Plex when I enable Hardware Transcoding. I’m aware of the other thread that @sa2000 has been working on with several other users and tried their suggestions- it did not work. Hardware transcoding (QuickSync) causing server crash

My GPU is an Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650 Adapter

How to reproduce:

  1. Enable Hardware Transcoding- either or both options.
  2. Restart services
  3. Start a sync or conversion
  4. Within 30 seconds to a few minutes Plex crashes- I see this via Plex Media Server Service alerting that Plex has stopped and will be restarted.
  5. Looking through the logs doesn’t tell me anything that I recognize. I see the sync/transcode request and then immediately afterwards a crash dump alert.

Attached to this request are an Intel Driver and Support Assistant output- I am running the current drivers for my NUC- tried the newer ones that @sa2000 referenced in the other thread- (26.20.100.7584) when they did not work I rolled back as the newer driver was not certified for my system- I had to “force” it in to test with.

Lastly my system is headless- I use RDP to interact with it. I also run Plex as a service using Plex Media Server Service 1.1.7.0

Please help me with next steps to either gather logs for additional troubleshooting, or additional steps to try to diagnose what I am seeing happen.

ThanksDetailed-System-Report.zip (2.8 KB)

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bump

Still need help getting this figured out.

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bump again…

Still need help getting this figured out.

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Running Plex as a service has never worked with Hardware Transcoding, adding RDP on top of it which also doesn’t work because of Microsoft’s security changes isn’t helping.

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I run Plex as a service to address the various stability issues (random crashes, stops, etc.) and I use RDP to administer the server when needed since its headless.

It’s easy enough for me to try running Plex not as a service and not RDP into it- but I think I’ve tried that in the recent past with no success.

Still looking for suggestions to debug this and see what the true problem is.

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I tried the suggestion @pl_5309 gave and it made no difference. What I did:

  1. Stopped my Plex Media Server Service instance
  2. Started Plex manually and confirmed it showed in System Tray
  3. Closed RDP session
  4. Logged into Plex Web GUI from another computer
  5. Enabled both Hardware Transcoding checkboxes on the Transcoder settings
  6. Chose a movie to sync that would require transcoding
  7. Watched and waited. Transcoding never started after waiting 10 mins.

This is one of the two problems I am seeing- either that transcoding never starts when HWT is enabled, or if it does start, it crashes Plex within 30-45 seconds. If running as a service, Plex Media Server Service will restart it, but it’ll crash again, and again, and again.

So I still need assistance with how to figure this out and how to resolve it.

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bump

Still looking for assistance troubleshooting this issue.

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From reading the other threads it looks like there is a DLL that would require a fix from Intel.

They require the full set of logs to investigate.

Your post implies that you will continue to run Plex as a Service and use RDP, both items which there is not currently a solution that coexists with using HW transcoding. I have read about a paid utility that others have had success with https://www.coretechnologies.com/products/AlwaysUp/

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Logs attached- I followed the directions and set debug logging only, along with enabling hardware transcoding. I then restarted my Plex Server, not running it as a service. I then set a file to sync to my Ipad (Heavy Rescue) using a resolution that would require a transcode. When I saw the Plex Icon disappear from my System Tray I knew it had crashed. I then started Plex and immediately gathered the logs.

I am now running Version 1.18.5.2309 as it is the newest public channel version.Plex Media Server Logs_2020-02-09_14-41-23.zip (1.1 MB)

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Looks like there still isn’t a fix? I’ve tried this again and still see the same results with the current version. I’ve also tried the suggestions to not use RDP- installed TightVNC and tried it- made no difference. Others had also suggested that since this is a headless server it may need a dummy monitor plug. I tried an HDMI dummy plug as well- no difference.

Still looking for assistance getting this resolved.

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TLDR: Fixed it.

How?

My overall problem has always been Plex Server stability. Either that the process crashed and couldn’t be automatically recovered or that the server itself crashed and had to be rebooted manually. That’s why I started using PMS Service- it fixed the service crash issue and the server crash issues are now a lot more rare.

My last big nagging issue was HW Transcoding- knew it worked with HandBrake, knew it was configured properly- never worked with Plex on the NUC from Day 1. Saw the other thread referenced initially, watched it with great interest, but didn’t have time until recently to really try digging into it. Working from home gave me that time.

The thing that no one mentioned clearly to me other than “…it won’t work the way you want.” was why- why is this not working.

It took a lot of digging but I found the why in another old thread that on the surface didn’t apply to me, but once I read it- made sense. The TLDR of it is that when running Plex as a service, services don’t have access to the Intel HW drivers, but interactively logged in processes do.

Others had also said that using RDP “may” cause issues as well. Again- not sure- once I got things working I haven’t played with RDP/ No RDP too much- I installed TightVNC and am done with it.

I also purchased a HDMI Dummy Plug. Again- not sure if it made a difference, but it’s there.

Uninstalled PMSService and reinstalled the latest Plex update without it and verified that Plex was running interactively.

Set Plex to use Hardware Transcoding, and stopped/restarted Plex to make sure settings took.
Accessed Server using TightVNC and started Task Manager, and watched the GPU% column.
Moved a TV Show Series into Plex and watched it transcode successfully via the GPU. Was shocked, please, and annoyed at the same time. Should have been much easier.

So last issue now that it’s all working- how to restart Plex automatically if it dies? I run Tautulli with my Plex server, and found a restart script someone else created, along with the steps to implement. I just finished implementing it tonight- so I believe I have my issues resolved.

Hope this helps others with NUCs- it can be done. It’s not obvious or easy- but it now works.

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