I have a Synology NAS that I host Plex on and play through Roku, iPhone and iPad. This setup has worked fine for a while but for some reason the last 5 or so movies I have added are recognized by Plex but won’t play. The files play perfectly on my laptop and I’ve removed some and added back yet it still doesn’t play. The codec of the new files is the same as many older files that still play fine (H264). Also, I created another ‘temp’ server on my laptop and it plays through Plex using that server. So it seems to be some issue with the Synology server.
Would appreciate any help! If I need to upload logs or something, let me know what I should do and I can.
Log files are attached. I name all my movies in the general format: [MOVIE NAME (RELEASE YEAR)] and then have the files within the folder saved similarly. For example: Star Wars Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
I actually think the Plex folder is gone. I believe there used to be a ‘Plex’ folder in the main Synology directory but don’t see it anymore. I do see a folder /homes/plex but it’s empty. Also, in the Transcoder settings there is nothing listed for ‘Transcoder temporary directory’ - not sure if that matters. Is there a way to have the proper folder structure rebuilt?
Just weird to me that aside from these 5 movies, everything else is still playing fine, including one movie I added to the same drive after.
Every time the Plex installer runs (to install updates),
If the Plex share is visible, it hides it to keep PMS itself protected from accidental corruption.
Settings - Server - Transcoder - Show Advanced will show you the hidden settings you’re looking for however,
what I see are Input/Output errors.
This can mean a few things.
Permission to share directory (which the installer also maintains) has been modified manually
There is a DSM problem
If the directory were missing, it would be recreated and permissions set.
Therefore, something must be blocking access -or- DSM itself has a problem with basic file locking (Linux kernel ) services.
When is the last time the NAS was restarted?
Has it been restarted since the last Plex update?
If the answer to both is yes, then we’ll remove the two codecs you have and force PMS to download fresh again … just in case.
I updated the server recently and have restarted the NAS multiple times since then. I was able to find the Plex folder (wasn’t visible). I see these two folders in the Codecs folder:
/volume1/Plex/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/Codecs/99c90e0-3095-linux-x86_64
/volume1/Plex/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server/Codecs/EasyAudioEncoder-652-linux-x86_64
I checked the permissions on those folders and there are two Plex users listed - one with Full Control, the other with Read/Write. The tmp_transcoding folder has those same permissions.
Should I delete the Codecs folders and then PMS will download fresh?
That information is super helpful. Now I understand the problem.
I’ve seen it on a few systems but given it only impacts a couple videos, I’m not going to worry about it for now. If it were every one that transcoded then we could address it and make it perfect again.
For now, let’s try the path of least resistance.
Control panel - Shared Folders - highlight Plex - EDIT
Permissions tab
Give your username R/W permission
OK
Now open File Station
Stop Plex ( Package Center )
Navigate Plex / Library / Application Support / Plex Media Server / Codecs
Open it
Look for the EasyAccessEncoder .
You might have a few.
Delete them
Now start Plex
Give it a moment to startup and download
Now play the video again.
If it plays then we’ve found it
If not, but others still do, then it must be a problem with the file(s)
I did that and the files still won’t play. I’ve attached the logs again. These files play fine when directly on my laptop or using my laptop as a Plex server.Plex Media Server Logs_2020-04-18_16-35-53.zip (4.3 MB)
Please go back to settings and remove anything there.
I ask this because what you don’t see is the directory structure above Plex,
namely /volume1/Plex/tmp_transcoding (this the default value I assign when it’s blank).
If this doesn’t fix it then there is another problem somewhere else which I don’t know if I can resolve without hands-on (which i can’t do from here in the forum)
Stop Plex
Open File Station
Left Panel - Right-Click Plex
Properties
Permissions
You’ll see the permissions for the Plex share as seen
You’ll see user plex listed.
On some systems, I’ve seen plex listed twice.
We’re going to fix that now and reset the permissions for the entire Plex share
Here we go.
Delete user(s) plex from the Permissions window.
Don’t delete any other usernames listed
Now click “Create”
Popup appears
In the Username box (at the top) is a selector.. Click it.
Scroll down the drop box and find Plex.. check the box
Tried that and got same issue. Logs attached. Assuming you’re out of ideas, is there any merit to un-installing and re-installing Plex? Thanks again for your help!
As an update in case anyone comes across this peculiar issue, I uninstalled and reinstalled Plex in Synology and now the movies work. Weird, but happy to have it solved!