Issues playing only some files, no correlation between files that play and files that dont

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
1

Server Version#: 3.104.2
Player Version#: Unknown?

Ive been having trouble loading some of my media library with plex, I went through several files that work, and several that don’t, no patterns emerged, my main symptom is that you’ll click play for a given file and it will hang until it times out, not actually loading, I’ve got an XML example here of two files, the upper one plays fine, the lower one does not

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<MediaContainer size="1" allowSync="1" identifier="com.plexapp.plugins.library" librarySectionID="2" librarySectionTitle="Zinc TV Shows/Series" librarySectionUUID="66b2be95-d795-4161-ba9f-cd4d049dada8" mediaTagPrefix="/system/bundle/media/flags/" mediaTagVersion="1564739301">
<Video ratingKey="3595" key="/library/metadata/3595" parentRatingKey="3594" grandparentRatingKey="3593" guid="local://3595" parentGuid="local://3594" grandparentGuid="local://3593" librarySectionTitle="Zinc TV Shows/Series" librarySectionID="2" librarySectionKey="/library/sections/2" type="episode" title="Episode 1" grandparentKey="/library/metadata/3593" parentKey="/library/metadata/3594" grandparentTitle="Jojo&#39;s Bizarre Adventure" parentTitle="Season 1" summary="" index="1" parentIndex="1" thumb="/library/metadata/3595/thumb/1575512854" duration="1423360" addedAt="1575432727" updatedAt="1575512854" chapterSource="media">
<Media id="3896" duration="1423360" bitrate="1476" width="1920" height="1080" aspectRatio="1.78" audioChannels="2" audioCodec="aac" videoCodec="h264" videoResolution="1080" container="mp4" videoFrameRate="24p" optimizedForStreaming="1" audioProfile="lc" has64bitOffsets="0" videoProfile="high">
<Part accessible="1" exists="1" id="3964" key="/library/parts/3964/1572224121/file.mp4" duration="1423360" file="/zfsmovie/Shows/Jojo&#39;s Bizarre Adventure/Jojo&#39;s Bizarre Adventure S01E01.mp4" size="262663291" audioProfile="lc" container="mp4" deepAnalysisVersion="4" has64bitOffsets="0" optimizedForStreaming="1" requiredBandwidths="2786,2786,2786,2786,2786,2786,2786,2786" videoProfile="high">
<Stream id="10109" streamType="1" default="1" codec="h264" index="0" bitrate="1345" bitDepth="8" chromaLocation="left" chromaSubsampling="4:2:0" colorPrimaries="bt709" colorRange="tv" colorSpace="bt709" colorTrc="bt709" frameRate="23.976" hasScalingMatrix="0" height="1080" level="40" profile="high" refFrames="2" requiredBandwidths="2677,2677,2677,2677,2677,2677,2677,2677" streamIdentifier="1" width="1920" displayTitle="1080p (H.264)" />
<Stream id="10110" streamType="2" selected="1" default="1" codec="aac" index="1" channels="2" bitrate="131" profile="lc" requiredBandwidths="128,128,128,128,128,128,128,128" samplingRate="44100" streamIdentifier="2" displayTitle="Unknown (AAC Stereo)" />
</Part>
</Media>
<Media id="3902" duration="1423604" bitrate="2924" width="1280" height="720" aspectRatio="1.78" audioChannels="2" audioCodec="aac" videoCodec="h264" videoResolution="720" container="mkv" videoFrameRate="24p" audioProfile="lc" videoProfile="high 10">
<Part accessible="1" exists="1" id="3972" key="/library/parts/3972/1575434956/file.mkv" duration="1423604" file="/zfsmovie/Shows/Jojo&#39;s Bizarre Adventure/[DmonHiro] Jojo&#39;s Bizarre Adventure - 01 - Dio,The Invader (BD, 720p) [70472769].mkv" size="520280097" audioProfile="lc" container="mkv" deepAnalysisVersion="4" requiredBandwidths="5663,4687,4687,4687,4687,4687,4687,4687" videoProfile="high 10">
<Stream id="10131" streamType="1" default="1" codec="h264" index="0" bitrate="2924" bitDepth="10" chromaLocation="left" chromaSubsampling="4:2:0" frameRate="23.976" hasScalingMatrix="0" headerCompression="1" height="720" level="31" profile="high 10" refFrames="4" requiredBandwidths="5346,4417,4417,4417,4417,4417,4417,4417" scanType="progressive" width="1280" displayTitle="720p (H.264 High 10)" />
<Stream id="10132" streamType="2" selected="1" default="1" codec="aac" index="1" channels="2" language="&#26085;&#26412;&#35486;" languageCode="jpn" profile="lc" requiredBandwidths="320,320,320,320,320,320,320,320" samplingRate="48000" displayTitle="&#26085;&#26412;&#35486; (AAC Stereo)" />
<Stream id="10133" streamType="3" default="1" codec="ass" index="2" language="English" languageCode="eng" requiredBandwidths="1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1" displayTitle="English (ASS)" />
</Part>
</Media>
<Extras size="0">
</Extras>
</Video>
</MediaContainer>

Thanks so much for the help.

2

What client(s) are you using?

The lower video is 10-bit H.264. If the client does not support that format, then PMS will transcode the video. If your system cannot transcode in real time, you will experience buffering.

Play the second/lower video again, with subtitles disabled.

What is shown in the Plex Dashboard? Is the video transcoding? If needed, toggle the button on the right to show expanded information.

3

Web based clients and tv clients experince the same timeout error, and the dashboard says 0:00 on the timestamp and otherwise normal, like you’ve paused the video at 0:00, im attempting to load this video now and im getting a playback error. image
So i cant recheck…
I looked in the logs files from the troubleshoot section but nothing stood out.

4

Perhaps there’s an error with plex not having the software to decode these files? VLC plays all of these just fine.

5

Where do I find information about the client? I’ve tested a chromecast a tv and a few computers but Ive found no correlation as of yet, The template above in the first message asked “Player Version” Where would that be stored?

6

Let’s see if we can shortcut this a bit. Are the videos that will not play 10-bit H.264? Try playing them with subtitles disabled and AAC or AC3 audio.

Also, what version of PMS are you running (see Authorized Devices), and what is your system like - CPU & RAM.

Conjecture: Your clients cannot direct play 10-bit H.264 video, so the Plex server has to transcode it to 8-bit H.264. Your server is unable to perform the transcode for some reason, so you get the error message.

Test: Play one of the 8-bit H.264 videos that is OK. During playback, reduce the playback resolution (if 1080p then reduce to 720p or 480p, etc). Does the video play OK?

Reducing the resolution forces PMS to transcode the video. This tests if your system can transcode a known good video.

Look in Authorized Devices. This shows clients authorized to play media from your server.

Also, for SmartTV, stick/box devices (Roku, AppleTV, etc), you can view the version in the Plex app on the device. Usually somewhere in the app settings.

For TVs, look up the specifications for each make/model.

Example: I’ve an LG B7 OLED. The specification page tells me it supports HDR10 & Dolby Vision playback and AC3, EAC3, & dts audio.

For Rokus, etc, check the specs for each of those devices, just like for TVs.

Web browsers are easy. They don’t support anything. :grinning:

Seriously, browsers are very limited compared to other clients. None support HEVC video, and audio is limited as well.

If you are playing on Windows or Mac desktop/laptops, you use use the Plex for Windows/Mac or Plex Media Player client. They both handle video & audio formats that web browsers do not.

7

Hey thanks so much for the nice reply :3 I think I have some numbers
my plex media server is : 1.16.4.1469-6d5612c2f
My web browser client is: 3.104.2
And my tv is a Samsung with version: 4.15.2

My server is a Dell Poweredge 2950 with two Intel Xeon CPUs X5365 @ 3.00GHz
Im still getting a big red playback error so I cant test your resolution theory on the web interface.

Downloaded the windows version, it seems less buggy than the web version, but i still cant load the same files. Even if i drop the res and wait.

8

Thanks for the info.

Here’s what’s throwing me: I do not expect the file to direct play in a browser given their limitations (the video is Hi10P profile, 10 bit video). However, your server should be able to transcode it, since it is a 720p video.

Also, if the file was somehow corrupt or poorly encoded, transcoding can many times clean things up so the file will play (essentially re-encoding the file on the fly). This is why I was asking about the resolution change - to force a transcode.

One more idea: Force Plex to transcode all video. Test ability of PMS to transcode a known good file, then test ability to transcode the troublesome files. We’ll gather PMS logs as well.

If PMS cannot transcode a known good file, then it is probably a PMS issue. Pull logs & post to thread.

If PMS transcodes a known good file, but not the troublesome file, then points to an issue with the file. Pull & post logs. Next, look at options to modify / repair files, re-download, etc.

  1. Using app.plex.tv:

a) Settings -> Plex Web -> General
Select Show Advanced. Should make Debug choice available.

b) Force PMS to transcode media played with web browser
Settings -> Plex Web -> Debug
Debug Level = enabled
Direct Play = Off / unchecked
Direct Stream = Off / unchecked
Save changes

c) Set PMS to gather logs
Settings -> PMS Server -> General (still showing advanced settings)
Debug logging = on / checked
Verbose logging = off / unchecked
Save changes

  1. Play a known good file using app.plex.tv.

Play the first show for which you provided XML, as it is known good.
During playback, in another browser window, check playback on Dashboard. app.plex.tv -> Activity -> Dashboard -> Now Playing.
It should show both the video and audio are transcoding.

  1. Repeat #2 with the troublesome file.

Does it play? If so, what is shown on the Dashboard?

  1. Pull & post logs
  • After stopping playback, wait 1 - 2 minutes (with no other PMS activity),
  • Go to PMS Settings -> Troubleshooting, Select Download Logs.
  • Post the entire ZIP file to the thread. Just drag it into the compose window. It will insert at the cursor location.
  • The logs contain your e-mail address. I’ve never seen other personal info.
  1. Re-enable direct play & direct stream for playback via Plex Web (i.e. reset to pre-test settings).

Give things a try & post what happens.

Looking ahead, if PMS works OK but the files still do not play, it points to the files, or at least that they are incompatible with Plex.

You could try re-muxing the MKV file with MKVToolNix. It won’t modify the video or audio, but will clean up any issues with the MKV container.

You could try re-encoding them with Handbrake or similar tools, using the H.264 10-bit codec. Re-transcoding the video may clean up problems if the initial transcoder did something goofy.

Or, you could re-download them, possibly with a different resolution, from different location, etc.

9

Alright :3 awesome post, let’s get started.
I went into debug, disabled Direct play and Direct stream, saved.
I played a known video normally, (no convert) and it worked, another known to not work video, again, did not work, got that out of the way.
Then I selected convert automatically (and other resolutions) and on both the old and the new one, they don’t play, just hang up.
image
I gathered the logs, here they are. Plex Media Server Logs_2019-12-10_13-42-11.zip (2.2 MB)
And thanks for being so thorough in your response :3 I hope I can get this working, looks like for now, the transcoder is having issues with all files?
Thanks for suggesting tools! Ill look into those!

10

One more thing to try, if you’re up for it. :slight_smile:

Download the 720p, Hi10P sample from the Kodi Samples site. Section 3, #15, Hi10 Anime Samples

Both the 720p and 1080p played fine for me using Plex Web on my Windows PC. I’m running PMS on a DS918+. Its Celeron J3455 has lower PassMark scores than your Xeon X5365.

Playback with hardware accelerated disabled, using CPU for transcoding.

No idea why it shows 10 Gbps bandwidth in the status window. It is really around 1.5 Mbps. Also, the videos are only 1m30s, not 9+ & 20+ hours.

720p Hi10p 1080p Hi10p

MediaInfo Analysis

General
Complete name                            : M:\Plex\test videos\Underwater - 720p Hi10p.avi
Format                                   : AVI
Format/Info                              : Audio Video Interleave
File size                                : 17.2 MiB
Duration                                 : 9 h 10 min
Overall bit rate                         : 4 379 b/s

Video
ID                                       : 0
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High 10@L5
Format settings                          : CABAC / 16 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames        : 16 frames
Codec ID                                 : AVC1
Duration                                 : 1 min 29 s
Bit rate                                 : 1 442 kb/s
Width                                    : 1 280 pixels
Height                                   : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate                               : 23.976 (24000/1001) FPS
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 10 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.065
Stream size                              : 15.5 MiB (90%)
Writing library                          : x264 core 119 r2106+636 fcb18f7
Encoding settings                        : cabac=1 / ref=16 / deblock=1:1:1 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=10 / psy=1 / fade_compensate=0.80 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=24 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=12 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / fgo=0 / bframes=10 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=60 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=16.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=81 / qpstep=4 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:0.80
Color range                              : Limited
Color primaries                          : BT.709
Transfer characteristics                 : BT.709
Matrix coefficients                      : BT.709

Audio
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AAC LC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID                                 : FF-2
Duration                                 : 9 h 10 min
Source duration                          : 1 min 28 s
Bit rate                                 : 128 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel layout                           : L R
Sampling rate                            : 44.1 kHz
Frame rate                               : 43.066 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 1.36 MiB (8%)
Alignment                                : Aligned on interleaves
Interleave, duration                     : 23  ms (0.56 video frame)
11

Heres mine:

image
image365×457 67 KB
image
image373×451 64.9 KB

neither of them played, i notice they have very long times on the clock…
image
image623×803 116 KB

12

Thanks for all the info. Yeah, looks like something is strange with your ability to transcode.

I’ll look at the logs later this evening.

Hopefully others will scan them too.

13

Thanks so much, you guys are awesome, let me know how it goes, i took a peek a few dozen times earlier, nothing stood out to me but then again im not sure what im looking for :confused:

14

I looked through the logs, and I’ve no idea why things won’t transcode.

I do not see any obvious errors. Everything looks (to me) like it is playing OK, yet you still have nothing on-screen.

PMS 1.17.0.1709 did update to the current version of FFMPEG (Announcement). However, I’ve no idea if that would make any difference if you updated your system from 1.16.4.

Wish I could be of more help. Hopefully somebody else can look at the logs and figure out what is happening.

15

Thanks for looking, still not sure whats going on, i do hope i can get this fixed, i tried using handbrake and couldn’t get it to work, at least half my library is unplayable as of now :c

16

Forced an update but apparently i was already on the latest version :confused: oh well still not getting it to work. Tried with all three clients after reading another issue on trans coding said it was an issue only with firefox.

17

Yeah so now i have issues playing some files on some devices and other issues on others, it must the transcoder, i think im going to have to make a new issue or rename this one.

18

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