# MKV files no longer playing
**URL:** https://forums.plex.tv/t/mkv-files-no-longer-playing/709991
**Category:** Plex Media Server
**Tags:** server-windows
**Created:** [April 17, 2021, 3:00pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/mkv-files-no-longer-playing/709991 "2021-04-17T15:00:14Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@resplendenteye\_yahoo\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/resplendenteye_yahoo_com)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2021, 3:00pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/mkv-files-no-longer-playing/709991/1 "2021-04-17T15:00:14Z")
Server Version#: 1.22.2.4282
Player Version#:
After years of having no problems playing .mkv files, they will no longer load! I can see the videos in Plex, but when I try to play them, they just load forever and never start. I have confirmed that the videos will play with other players, and videos that I have previously watched on Plex now won’t play anymore. Also, there is ample space for transcoding (60+GB).
---
### Author:  [@CostaHT](https://forums.plex.tv/u/CostaHT)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2021, 5:32pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/mkv-files-no-longer-playing/709991/2 "2021-04-17T17:32:41Z")
Debug logs so they can help you
---
### Author:  [@resplendenteye\_yahoo\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/resplendenteye_yahoo_com)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2021, 12:11pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/mkv-files-no-longer-playing/709991/3 "2021-04-18T12:11:15Z")
[Plex Media Server Logs\_2021-04-17\_09-10-20.zip](https://forums.plex.tv/uploads/short-url/j88pTOlZNkyfv74NWzWFy9pzLr4.zip) (1009.6 KB)
---
### Author:  [@resplendenteye\_yahoo\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/resplendenteye_yahoo_com)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2021, 12:55pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/mkv-files-no-longer-playing/709991/4 "2021-04-19T12:55:07Z")
I have also tried uninstalling and reinstalling the server app. No luck.
---
### Author:  [@Yggdrasil7557](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Yggdrasil7557)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2021, 1:00pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/mkv-files-no-longer-playing/709991/5 "2021-04-19T13:00:57Z")
I have also commented on this error - it has been going on for a while now, and I have had to generate mp4 versions of my entire library (started the process 4 days ago, halfway through now) just to watch stuff. I have tried everything I could think of and a few things I found on forums I couldnt think of, and it persists.
MKV is one of the best containers available, probably the best container format. to be forced to switch to mp4 is quite annoying.
---
### Author:  [@NateTheBrewer](https://forums.plex.tv/u/NateTheBrewer)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2021, 1:14pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/mkv-files-no-longer-playing/709991/6 "2021-04-19T13:14:30Z")
This is strange, my content is ONLY in MKV containers, and I’ve not seen this. I watch them daily. What OS is being run?
---
### Author:  [@Xhaka](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Xhaka)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2021, 1:24pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/mkv-files-no-longer-playing/709991/7 "2021-04-19T13:24:43Z")
The device used for playback being in lauded may be worth a mention too.
---
### Author:  [@Yggdrasil7557](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Yggdrasil7557)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2021, 2:00pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/mkv-files-no-longer-playing/709991/8 "2021-04-19T14:00:31Z")
I have a GTX 1080 ti, an intel i7 7700k, and 32 gb system ram. I am running plex on a NVME 1.2 ssd, the data is on a SATA 7200 rpm HDD which reads as good according to crystal disk. both drives have at least 50 gb free to prevent lack of temp storage issues.
all videos on my server which are mkv container are not playing. all videos except a small portion are MKV container. the videos are MKV with h265 NVENC codec for video and a variety of audio streams, including DTS, flac, aac, etc.
---
### Author:  [@resplendenteye\_yahoo\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/resplendenteye_yahoo_com)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2021, 2:44pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/mkv-files-no-longer-playing/709991/9 "2021-04-19T14:44:08Z")
I am running Windows 10. I have attempted playback on the PC running the server, as well as on a PS5, same results, .mkv files will not load, but .mp4 files have no issues. Most of my collection is in .mkv format, and like I said, I have been able to watch them with no problem for years, until now.
---
### Author:  [@NateTheBrewer](https://forums.plex.tv/u/NateTheBrewer)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2021, 3:06pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/mkv-files-no-longer-playing/709991/10 "2021-04-19T15:06:05Z")
All of my content is h264 encoded, I don’t have anything in h265. Do you have an h264 encoded file you could test with to see if the same issue occurs?
---
### Author:  [@NateTheBrewer](https://forums.plex.tv/u/NateTheBrewer)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2021, 3:16pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/mkv-files-no-longer-playing/709991/11 "2021-04-19T15:16:29Z")
Apparently, Microsoft dropped HEVC (h265) support from Windows 10 at a certain point. There are a lot of articles like the one below explaining how to install the video extension. They are geared towards playback / decoding, but it could be worth a try?
> **[HEVC Codec Download/Troubleshoot on Windows 10/VLC](https://www.videoproc.com/media-converter/hevc-codec-windows-10-vlc.htm)**
>
> This page will show you what HEVC codec is, how to download HEVC codec on Windows 10 free, how to fix HEVC video file playback error on VLC or Premiere Pro.
---
### Author:  [@resplendenteye\_yahoo\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/resplendenteye_yahoo_com)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2021, 4:02pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/mkv-files-no-longer-playing/709991/12 "2021-04-19T16:02:07Z")
The HEVC codec is installed on my system, and .264 files play fine.
---
### Author:  [@Yggdrasil7557](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Yggdrasil7557)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2021, 5:01pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/mkv-files-no-longer-playing/709991/13 "2021-04-19T17:01:21Z")
MKV with H.264 does actually work. however, I do see errors with plex playing h.265 not only on windows, but also my parents (who use apple tv for some stupid reason) can not stream h.265 mkv on their apple tv. I also see the error on opera, firefox, and chrome. when I play the video directly it works fine on windows 10.
also, mp4 with h.265 encoding works fine.
---
### Author:  [@resplendenteye\_yahoo\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/resplendenteye_yahoo_com)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2021, 9:31pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/mkv-files-no-longer-playing/709991/14 "2021-04-19T21:31:02Z")
I figured it out. It was no longer able to transcode the .mkv videos, I suspect, due to a Windows security update. I resolved the issue by running the server app as Administrator.
---
### Author:  [@Yggdrasil7557](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Yggdrasil7557)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2021, 1:44am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/mkv-files-no-longer-playing/709991/15 "2021-04-20T01:44:14Z")
tried that, it didnt work either. one thing I did also make sure I had hevc video extensions installed on my computer (the server/client are the same computer).
---
### Author:  [@BobSnot](https://forums.plex.tv/u/BobSnot)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2021, 1:51am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/mkv-files-no-longer-playing/709991/16 "2021-04-20T01:51:32Z")
1. Plex does not use external codecs, it uses its own so there is no need to install anything else for it
2. It’s trying to transcode the file, but something is interfering with the disk i/o
> Apr 17, 2021 09:09:36.662 [11984] ERROR - Couldn’t find the file to stream: C:\Users\Travis\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server\Cache\Transcode\Sessions\plex-transcode-wpmw8kuowksfp770ndz97p8w-a6bf2372-c9dd-4f27-9aef-e78be59391cf\init-stream1.m4s,C:\Users\Travis\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server\Cache\Transcode\Sessions\plex-transcode-wpmw8kuowksfp770ndz97p8w-a6bf2372-c9dd-4f27-9aef-e78be59391cf\chunk-stream1-00001.m4s
> Apr 17, 2021 09:09:36.665 [5292] ERROR - Couldn’t find the file to stream: C:\Users\Travis\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server\Cache\Transcode\Sessions\plex-transcode-wpmw8kuowksfp770ndz97p8w-a6bf2372-c9dd-4f27-9aef-e78be59391cf\init-stream0.m4s,C:\Users\Travis\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server\Cache\Transcode\Sessions\plex-transcode-wpmw8kuowksfp770ndz97p8w-a6bf2372-c9dd-4f27-9aef-e78be59391cf\chunk-stream0-00001.m4s
> Apr 17, 2021 09:09:37.822 [18008] ERROR - Couldn’t find the file to stream: C:\Users\Travis\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server\Cache\Transcode\Sessions\plex-transcode-wpmw8kuowksfp770ndz97p8w-a6bf2372-c9dd-4f27-9aef-e78be59391cf\init-stream0.m4s,C:\Users\Travis\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server\Cache\Transcode\Sessions\plex-transcode-wpmw8kuowksfp770ndz97p8w-a6bf2372-c9dd-4f27-9aef-e78be59391cf\chunk-stream0-00001.m4s
This is usually a permission error, does the plex user have access to this directory? is your A/V trying to block it etc?
> Apr 17, 2021 09:09:49.294 [6848] ERROR - Failed to delete session directory (boost::filesystem::remove: Access is denied: “C:\Users\Travis\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server\Cache\Transcode\Sessions\plex-transcode-wpmw8kuowksfp770ndz97p8w-a6bf2372-c9dd-4f27-9aef-e78be59391cf\chunk-stream1-00004.m4s.tmp”)
---
### Author:  [@BobSnot](https://forums.plex.tv/u/BobSnot)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2021, 1:51am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/mkv-files-no-longer-playing/709991/17 "2021-04-20T01:51:59Z")
post server logs showing the failed play attempt.
---
### Author:  [@Yggdrasil7557](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Yggdrasil7557)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2021, 1:59am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/mkv-files-no-longer-playing/709991/18 "2021-04-20T01:59:55Z")
[plex debug log (github.com)](https://gist.github.com/yggdrasil75/0d70cb05fcdd30773e09efb4748d7ac1)
[plex media server.1.log (github.com)](https://gist.github.com/yggdrasil75/5f7da8f1e208750d207ca4fe521bfe87)
---
### Author:  [@resplendenteye\_yahoo\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/resplendenteye_yahoo_com)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2021, 11:16am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/mkv-files-no-longer-playing/709991/19 "2021-04-20T11:16:35Z")
Thanks! Yeah, I was able to figure that out from the logs and fixed it by running the server as administrator. It is working well again.
---
### Author:  [@Yggdrasil7557](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Yggdrasil7557)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2021, 9:30pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/mkv-files-no-longer-playing/709991/20 "2021-04-21T21:30:52Z")
looked into the issue a bit more, all I could find in the logs is that according to plex the video has -1 frames listed, and plex thinks that the file is errored. vlc has no issue with it though. doesnt say the video is corrupt or anything. the error shows with all mkv containers and h265 codecs.
[Next page](https://forums.plex.tv/t/mkv-files-no-longer-playing/709991.md?page=2)