MKVs Suddenly Unplayable on Web Player, Fine On Other Players

Plex Players
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1

Server Version#: 1.32.4.7195
Player Version#: (plex web with same version)

I am running Plex off a MyCloud EX2 Ultra. As of yesterday, whenever I attempt to play any MKV file through the web player on a MacBook Air (M1/16 gig ram, late 2021), I get the message " Playback Error - This server is not powerful enough to convert video." However it doesn’t seem that this can be an issue with transcode power, as when I attempt to view the same files on any other device on my LAN - iOS, AppleTV, Roku, etc - playback works without issue. Only the web player is returning this error.

I cannot say with certainty at what point MKV playback stopped, but it appears to have been a problem at least as of version 1.32.4.7195.

Please advise. Thanks!

EDIT TO ADD: I just attempted to play an MKV file in the Plex app on the same computer, and it worked without issue. So whatever is happening here seems to be specific to the web player itself.

2

are those transcoding video?

an MKV is also just a container. the types of video/audio/subtitles codecs inside are generally more important info in deciding if something is transcoding or not.

3

I have transcoding turned off at the server level, so I wouldn’t expect it…but the larger point is that I wasn’t having this issue until just recently, and as far as I know I haven’t changed any settings that would impact it.

4

I would turn transcoding back on play the file and see why it needs transcode. If you turned off video transcoding then it is likely something to do with video stream/codec of file. A web browser cannot play very much natively

5

I unchecked “disable video stream transcoding” and tried again. I got a black screen for about 30 seconds, about 13 seconds of playback, and then it appeared to freeze, while I assume it was doing more transcoding. I’m not sure how to determine “why it needs to transcode”.

Again, this is only happening in the web player.

6

Not all players are created equal

Browsers are probably the least tolerant player when it comes to this type of thing

They can also be prone to certain kind of bugs that creep around when they’re updated

In the server dashboard you can view whatever video is playing and it will show you what’s being transcoded

Not always an exact reason but it will give you a good indication as to what the browser doesn’t seem to like

pDddMKNETOFK2Dz2dAzikgt2FBXL9RIjj29i8TPrd3U (2)

7

cool, learning new things!

Under Video it says:

Video

1080p (VP9)

1080P (H264)—Transcode

I guess this means it’s going from VP9 to H264. Never heard of VP9 before.

8

Another one says:

Video

480p (MPEG2VIDEO)

480P (H264)—Transcode

9

Are you using Safari? All browsers seem to be just different enough to be confusing with what they support.

The closest thing to a browser is probably the Plex for Mac app. That has much better overall support for different codecs and formats

Under apps and devices here
https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app

The only other option is to try Chrome, Firefox or convert the files

10

Sadly no - this is Firefox that’s having this issue. Last time I tried Chrome it had memory leaks like woah so I tend to stick with FF.

Just weird that it wasn’t an issue before.

11

Hmm, That NAS shows as not being able to transcode well at all. Plex NAS Compatibility - Google Sheets

Are these files you have played before in the web app?

12

I agree - that’s why I had transcoding turned off.

The VP9 file is a new one, in fairness. While the MPEG2 file is technically new, it was created from MakeMKV using it’s default settings, and I’ve played other files derived that way in the past without issue.

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