Issues with Playback

Plex Players Smart TVs
,
1

Server Version#: 1.29.2.6364
Player Version#: 5.49.3

I am having an issue when playing MKVs. I have ripped and downloaded many and never had any issues. However wit this specific series they intermittently play incorrectly.

As far as I can tell every episode is exactly the same outside of runtime. However, specific episodes will just play as a black screen with audio.

If I play these specific files in their original 2.1Mbps quality I have the issue. If I choose any other quality and therefore cause it to transcode it plays just fine.

The other thing that’s odd is that it plays just fine on my iPhone, iPad, and Mac. But when playing on my LG TV it’s black. If it were an issue with the TV then I would assume it would play none of them. If it were an issue with the file or the server I would think it wouldn’t play on any device. So at this point I’m completely lost and have no idea how to troubleshoot.

Edit: I have since learned that if I turn off transcoding I am still unable to play these affected videos. They give me the error “Not enough CPU for conversion of this item.”. However, the other episodes still play fine. Why is Plex trying to transcode this file when it is supposedly exactly the same?

2

If it can’t play file with out transcoding then you should get same error. It is unusual that is would just show black. Smart TVs in general are much more restrictive in what they can play natively. And often require video transcoding for any type of subtitles.

If you can share the Plex media info xml for a file that does not play we may be able to determine what is unsupported about it.

3

This is the XML data for the video that fails to play without transcoding.

This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it. The document tree is shown below.
<MediaContainer size="1" allowSync="1" identifier="com.plexapp.plugins.library" librarySectionID="2" librarySectionTitle="TV Shows" librarySectionUUID="61ec24a9-0916-4b14-84a0-53a4cd4123a5" mediaTagPrefix="/system/bundle/media/flags/" mediaTagVersion="1667296136">
<Video ratingKey="8060" key="/library/metadata/8060" parentRatingKey="8020" grandparentRatingKey="7991" guid="plex://episode/5d9c0e30ba6eb9001fbdd8cc" parentGuid="plex://season/602e5ebfea35e0002c22ad21" grandparentGuid="plex://show/5d9c0819ba6eb9001fb9bde2" type="episode" title="Invasive Procedures" grandparentKey="/library/metadata/7991" parentKey="/library/metadata/8020" librarySectionTitle="TV Shows" librarySectionID="2" librarySectionKey="/library/sections/2" grandparentTitle="Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" parentTitle="Season 2" contentRating="TV-PG" summary="A jealous Trill, who had waited his entire life to receive a symbiont but never had, decides to steal one. . .Dax's!" index="4" parentIndex="2" audienceRating="6.3" viewOffset="1481931" skipCount="1" lastViewedAt="1668124757" thumb="/library/metadata/8060/thumb/1667894497" art="/library/metadata/7991/art/1667759554" parentThumb="/library/metadata/8020/thumb/1667864215" grandparentThumb="/library/metadata/7991/thumb/1667759554" grandparentArt="/library/metadata/7991/art/1667759554" grandparentTheme="/library/metadata/7991/theme/1667759554" duration="2734528" originallyAvailableAt="1993-10-17" addedAt="1667864639" updatedAt="1667894497" audienceRatingImage="themoviedb://image.rating" chapterSource="media">
<Media id="17629" duration="2734528" bitrate="2143" width="704" height="480" aspectRatio="1.33" audioChannels="6" audioCodec="ac3" videoCodec="h264" videoResolution="480" container="mkv" videoFrameRate="NTSC" videoProfile="high">
<Part accessible="1" exists="1" id="17827" key="/library/parts/17827/1667963513/file.mkv" duration="2734528" file="/data/TV Shows/Star Trek Deep Space 9/Season 2/Star Trek Deep Space Nine s02e04 - Invasive Procedures NTSC DVD x264 DD5.1-JCH.mkv" size="733877195" container="mkv" deepAnalysisVersion="6" requiredBandwidths="2469,2360,2360,2360,2360,2360,2360,2360" videoProfile="high">
<Stream id="36493" streamType="1" default="1" codec="h264" index="0" bitrate="1695" language="English" languageTag="en" languageCode="eng" anamorphic="1" bitDepth="8" chromaLocation="left" chromaSubsampling="4:2:0" codedHeight="480" codedWidth="704" frameRate="29.970" hasScalingMatrix="0" height="480" level="40" pixelAspectRatio="10:11" profile="high" refFrames="16" requiredBandwidths="2021,1924,1924,1924,1924,1924,1924,1924" scanType="progressive" title="Star Trek Deep Space Nine s02e04 - Invasive Procedures NTSC DVD x264-JCH" width="704" displayTitle="480p (H.264)" extendedDisplayTitle="Star Trek Deep Space Nine s02e04 - Invasive Procedures NTSC DVD x264-JCH (480p H.264)"></Stream>
<Stream id="36494" streamType="2" selected="1" default="1" codec="ac3" index="1" channels="6" bitrate="448" language="English" languageTag="en" languageCode="eng" audioChannelLayout="5.1(side)" requiredBandwidths="448,448,448,448,448,448,448,448" samplingRate="48000" title="Main Feature AC3 5.1ch 448 kbps" displayTitle="English (AC3 5.1)" extendedDisplayTitle="Main Feature AC3 5.1ch 448 kbps (English 5.1)"></Stream>
<Stream id="36495" streamType="3" selected="1" codec="srt" index="2" bitrate="0" language="English" languageTag="en" languageCode="eng" requiredBandwidths="1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1" displayTitle="English (SRT)" extendedDisplayTitle="English (SRT)"></Stream>
</Part>
</Media>
<Director id="37251" filter="director=37251" tag="Les Landau"/>
<Writer id="37743" filter="writer=37743" tag="John Whelpley"/>
<Guid id="imdb://tt0708561"/>
<Guid id="tmdb://1005728"/>
<Guid id="tvdb://71970"/>
<Rating image="themoviedb://image.rating" value="6.3" type="audience"/>
<Role id="11967" filter="actor=11967" tag="John Glover" tagKey="5d776826103a2d001f563f62" role="Verad" thumb="https://metadata-static.plex.tv/8/people/88d53f25b31ecc603009cd87bd28afe3.jpg"/>
<Role id="37089" filter="actor=37089" tag="Megan Gallagher" tagKey="5d776829e6d55c002040b350" role="Mareel" thumb="https://metadata-static.plex.tv/people/5d776829e6d55c002040b350.jpg"/>
<Role id="36483" filter="actor=36483" tag="Tim Russ" tagKey="5d7768262e80df001ebdcdfc" role="T'Kar" thumb="https://metadata-static.plex.tv/people/5d7768262e80df001ebdcdfc.jpg"/>
<Role id="3760" filter="actor=3760" tag="Steve Rankin" tagKey="5d776827151a60001f24ab51" role="Yeto" thumb="https://metadata-static.plex.tv/people/5d776827151a60001f24ab51.jpg"/>
<Chapter id="37735" filter="thumb=37735" tag="Aliens In The Storm" index="1" startTimeOffset="0" endTimeOffset="361394" thumb="/library/media/17629/chapterImages/1"/>
<Chapter id="37736" filter="thumb=37736" tag="Allies" index="2" startTimeOffset="361394" endTimeOffset="763628" thumb="/library/media/17629/chapterImages/2"/>
<Chapter id="37737" filter="thumb=37737" tag="Unsuitable" index="3" startTimeOffset="763628" endTimeOffset="1073470" thumb="/library/media/17629/chapterImages/3"/>
<Chapter id="37738" filter="thumb=37738" tag="The Blending" index="4" startTimeOffset="1073470" endTimeOffset="1488350" thumb="/library/media/17629/chapterImages/4"/>
<Chapter id="37739" filter="thumb=37739" tag="Broken Bond" index="5" startTimeOffset="1488350" endTimeOffset="1830030" thumb="/library/media/17629/chapterImages/5"/>
<Chapter id="37740" filter="thumb=37740" tag="The Baiting" index="6" startTimeOffset="1830030" endTimeOffset="2186720" thumb="/library/media/17629/chapterImages/6"/>
<Chapter id="37741" filter="thumb=37741" tag="Save Them Both" index="7" startTimeOffset="2186720" endTimeOffset="2450810" thumb="/library/media/17629/chapterImages/7"/>
<Chapter id="37742" filter="thumb=37742" tag="Shared Memories" index="8" startTimeOffset="2450810" endTimeOffset="2734530" thumb="/library/media/17629/chapterImages/8"/>
<Marker id="12363" type="intro" startTimeOffset="156730" endTimeOffset="271212">
<Attributes id="12363"/>
</Marker>
<Extras size="0"></Extras>
<Related></Related>
</Video>
</MediaContainer>

This is the XML data for the video that plays correctly without needing transcoding.

This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it. The document tree is shown below.
<MediaContainer size="1" allowSync="1" identifier="com.plexapp.plugins.library" librarySectionID="2" librarySectionTitle="TV Shows" librarySectionUUID="61ec24a9-0916-4b14-84a0-53a4cd4123a5" mediaTagPrefix="/system/bundle/media/flags/" mediaTagVersion="1667296136">
<Video ratingKey="8049" key="/library/metadata/8049" parentRatingKey="8020" grandparentRatingKey="7991" guid="plex://episode/5d9c0e3008fddd001f2e0efa" parentGuid="plex://season/602e5ebfea35e0002c22ad21" grandparentGuid="plex://show/5d9c0819ba6eb9001fb9bde2" type="episode" title="The Siege (3)" titleSort="Siege (3)" grandparentKey="/library/metadata/7991" parentKey="/library/metadata/8020" librarySectionTitle="TV Shows" librarySectionID="2" librarySectionKey="/library/sections/2" grandparentTitle="Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" parentTitle="Season 2" contentRating="TV-PG" summary="As a "Circle"-led Bajoran military tries to occupy the station, a skeleton crew led by Sisko fight to reveal "The Circle's" big secret before they are forced to evacuate themselves. Meanwhile, Kira and Dax lead a mission to reveal the truth about "The Circle" on Bajor." index="3" parentIndex="2" audienceRating="7.2" viewCount="1" skipCount="4" lastViewedAt="1668119437" thumb="/library/metadata/8049/thumb/1667894516" art="/library/metadata/7991/art/1667759554" parentThumb="/library/metadata/8020/thumb/1667864215" grandparentThumb="/library/metadata/7991/thumb/1667759554" grandparentArt="/library/metadata/7991/art/1667759554" grandparentTheme="/library/metadata/7991/theme/1667759554" duration="2730336" originallyAvailableAt="1993-10-10" addedAt="1667864485" updatedAt="1667894516" audienceRatingImage="themoviedb://image.rating" chapterSource="media">
<Media id="17618" duration="2730336" bitrate="2145" width="704" height="480" aspectRatio="1.33" audioChannels="6" audioCodec="ac3" videoCodec="h264" videoResolution="480" container="mkv" videoFrameRate="NTSC" videoProfile="high">
<Part accessible="1" exists="1" id="17816" key="/library/parts/17816/1667963524/file.mkv" duration="2730336" file="/data/TV Shows/Star Trek Deep Space 9/Season 2/Star Trek Deep Space Nine s02e03 - The Siege NTSC DVD x264 DD5.1-JCH.mkv" size="733443009" container="mkv" deepAnalysisVersion="6" requiredBandwidths="2314,2179,2170,2170,2170,2170,2170,2170" videoProfile="high">
<Stream id="36460" streamType="1" default="1" codec="h264" index="0" bitrate="1697" language="English" languageTag="en" languageCode="eng" anamorphic="1" bitDepth="8" chromaLocation="left" chromaSubsampling="4:2:0" codedHeight="480" codedWidth="704" frameRate="29.970" hasScalingMatrix="0" height="480" level="40" pixelAspectRatio="10:11" profile="high" refFrames="16" requiredBandwidths="1866,1730,1723,1723,1723,1723,1723,1723" scanType="progressive" title="Star Trek Deep Space Nine s02e03 - The Siege NTSC DVD x264-JCH" width="704" displayTitle="480p (H.264)" extendedDisplayTitle="Star Trek Deep Space Nine s02e03 - The Siege NTSC DVD x264-JCH (480p H.264)"></Stream>
<Stream id="36461" streamType="2" selected="1" default="1" codec="ac3" index="1" channels="6" bitrate="448" language="English" languageTag="en" languageCode="eng" audioChannelLayout="5.1(side)" requiredBandwidths="448,448,448,448,448,448,448,448" samplingRate="48000" title="Main Feature AC3 5.1ch 448 kbps" displayTitle="English (AC3 5.1)" extendedDisplayTitle="Main Feature AC3 5.1ch 448 kbps (English 5.1)"></Stream>
<Stream id="36462" streamType="3" codec="srt" index="2" bitrate="0" language="English" languageTag="en" languageCode="eng" requiredBandwidths="1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1" displayTitle="English (SRT)" extendedDisplayTitle="English (SRT)"></Stream>
</Part>
</Media>
<Director id="37190" filter="director=37190" tag="Winrich Kolbe"/>
<Guid id="imdb://tt0708639"/>
<Guid id="tmdb://1005727"/>
<Guid id="tvdb://71969"/>
<Rating image="themoviedb://image.rating" value="7.2" type="audience"/>
<Role id="11983" filter="actor=11983" tag="Steven Weber" tagKey="5d776826eb5d26001f1dd4cc" role="Colonel Day" thumb="https://metadata-static.plex.tv/people/5d776826eb5d26001f1dd4cc.jpg"/>
<Role id="37066" filter="actor=37066" tag="Richard Beymer" tagKey="5d77682b6f4521001ea99e9e" role="Li Nalas" thumb="https://metadata-static.plex.tv/b/people/bb2bd31dea163b7518351c84866c54c7.jpg"/>
<Role id="37081" filter="actor=37081" tag="Stephen Macht" tagKey="5d77683054f42c001f8c3959" role="General Krim" thumb="https://metadata-static.plex.tv/people/5d77683054f42c001f8c3959.jpg"/>
<Role id="37590" filter="actor=37590" tag="Katrina Carlson" tagKey="5d776e1a7a53e9001e76cf32" role="Bajoran Officer"/>
<Role id="10665" filter="actor=10665" tag="Frank Langella" tagKey="5d776827999c64001ec2c8f2" role="Minister Jaro" thumb="https://metadata-static.plex.tv/2/people/295c38ffe0e804cc113827dee916f971.jpg"/>
<Role id="8660" filter="actor=8660" tag="Louise Fletcher" tagKey="5d77682585719b001f3a08a7" role="Vedek Winn" thumb="https://metadata-static.plex.tv/people/5d77682585719b001f3a08a7.jpg"/>
<Role id="37055" filter="actor=37055" tag="Philip Anglim" tagKey="5d7768476f4521001ea9fa32" role="Vedek Bareil"/>
<Role id="21289" filter="actor=21289" tag="Max Grodénchik" tagKey="5d776827151a60001f24ab44" role="Rom" thumb="https://metadata-static.plex.tv/people/5d776827151a60001f24ab44.jpg"/>
<Role id="11965" filter="actor=11965" tag="Aron Eisenberg" tagKey="5d7768526f4521001eaa199c" role="Nog" thumb="https://metadata-static.plex.tv/b/people/ba446639b35b4fa82bea691d053a1e6d.jpg"/>
<Role id="37196" filter="actor=37196" tag="Rosalind Chao" tagKey="5d7768337e9a3c0020c6c4ca" role="Keiko O'Brien" thumb="https://metadata-static.plex.tv/d/people/d1b018c3b2bc38434c93d4d922759a19.jpg"/>
<Role id="37054" filter="actor=37054" tag="Hana Hatae" tagKey="5d776bc6ad5437001f7a9aa5" role="Molly O'Brien"/>
<Chapter id="37582" filter="thumb=37582" tag="Blood Enemies" index="1" startTimeOffset="0" endTimeOffset="387420" thumb="/library/media/17618/chapterImages/1"/>
<Chapter id="37583" filter="thumb=37583" tag="For Personal Profit" index="2" startTimeOffset="387420" endTimeOffset="774539" thumb="/library/media/17618/chapterImages/2"/>
<Chapter id="37584" filter="thumb=37584" tag="We Are Bajorans" index="3" startTimeOffset="774539" endTimeOffset="948946" thumb="/library/media/17618/chapterImages/3"/>
<Chapter id="37585" filter="thumb=37585" tag="No Resistance" index="4" startTimeOffset="948946" endTimeOffset="1277940" thumb="/library/media/17618/chapterImages/4"/>
<Chapter id="37586" filter="thumb=37586" tag="Happy Hunting" index="5" startTimeOffset="1277940" endTimeOffset="1726620" thumb="/library/media/17618/chapterImages/5"/>
<Chapter id="37587" filter="thumb=37587" tag="Just One Problem" index="6" startTimeOffset="1726620" endTimeOffset="1969900" thumb="/library/media/17618/chapterImages/6"/>
<Chapter id="37588" filter="thumb=37588" tag="For The People" index="7" startTimeOffset="1969900" endTimeOffset="2305070" thumb="/library/media/17618/chapterImages/7"/>
<Chapter id="37589" filter="thumb=37589" tag="Broken Circle" index="8" startTimeOffset="2305070" endTimeOffset="2730340" thumb="/library/media/17618/chapterImages/8"/>
<Marker id="12363" type="intro" startTimeOffset="270626" endTimeOffset="385108">
<Attributes id="12363"/>
</Marker>
<Extras size="0"></Extras>
<Related></Related>
</Video>
</MediaContainer>
4

This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.