Hello,
Recently purchased plex premium. I am getting the following error when trying to play any .mkv files. I have confirmed the files are fine when playing with VLC. Log file attached. Please help…
Windows 10 64 bit
Plex Server Version Version 1.11.0.4633
Dec 27, 2017 18:16:51.547 [8948] DEBUG - HTTP 429 response from GET https://plex.tv/api/codecs/h264_decoder?build=windows-i386&deviceId=08a0ad52-5ce1-4499-abf3-394ac9d71858&oldestPreviousVersion=1.10.1.4602-f54242b6b&version=b077134-1269
Dec 27, 2017 18:16:51.547 [8948] ERROR - Codecs: Failed to download XML for codec ‘h264_decoder’
A 429 response means your server has tried to download the codec too many times, so it is unable to actually download it. There are safeguards in place to prevent a server from hammering the codec download repository.
Did you install Plex Server in a non-standard location?
Also, I have a pretty good idea your media isn’t named correctly. Have you reviewed the naming convention FAQ? The link is in my signature.
Also also, it’s not a good idea to keep files in your user files location - create a location outside of any user folders and keep your media inside that. Windows has some special security settings for those locations and it’s best to avoid that if possible.
@kegobeer-plex said:
Dec 27, 2017 18:16:51.547 [8948] DEBUG - HTTP 429 response from GET https://plex.tv/api/codecs/h264_decoder?build=windows-i386&deviceId=08a0ad52-5ce1-4499-abf3-394ac9d71858&oldestPreviousVersion=1.10.1.4602-f54242b6b&version=b077134-1269
Dec 27, 2017 18:16:51.547 [8948] ERROR - Codecs: Failed to download XML for codec ‘h264_decoder’A 429 response means your server has tried to download the codec too many times, so it is unable to actually download it. There are safeguards in place to prevent a server from hammering the codec download repository.
Did you install Plex Server in a non-standard location?
Also, I have a pretty good idea your media isn’t named correctly. Have you reviewed the naming convention FAQ? The link is in my signature.
Also also, it’s not a good idea to keep files in your user files location - create a location outside of any user folders and keep your media inside that. Windows has some special security settings for those locations and it’s best to avoid that if possible.
Hey kegobeer - thanks for the reply. I followed the default instructions for the Plex Server install so not sure how it would end up in a non-standard location. The .mkv files I’m trying to play are stored in their own folder on a external HD (have removed the /user files from the library). I followed the naming guide to rename a few of the files and am still getting the same error. Any other follow-up you can suggest? Really appreciate your response.
When you rename folders and files, you have to first remove them from the scanned location, scan the library (so Plex removes it from the database), rename the folders/files, clean the bundles and empty the trash (click the three dots next to Libraries for those options), then move the files back in and do another library scan. This procedure is called the Plex Dance.
Where did you get the files? Did you create them yourself? When you start the Plex Server, are you running it as an administrator, right click and run as administrator? If so, you should not do that.
The files were ripped from Blurays with MakeMKV.
I removed the library, moved the files into a newly created folder with a different name, did the Plex Dance, restarted Plex Server, then added the new library folder. Same issue, new logs attached.
I did a full wipe of Plex Server and re-installed. Still getting the same playback error, here are the log records that I believe reflect this issue:
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.635 [7836] DEBUG - Auth: authenticated user 1 as plxprem444
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.640 [7836] DEBUG - We’re going to try to auto-select an audio stream for account 1.
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.640 [7836] DEBUG - Selecting best audio stream for part ID 1 (autoselect: 0 language: en)
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.640 [7836] DEBUG - Audio Stream: 194, Subtitle Stream: -1
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.642 [7836] DEBUG - Codecs: testing aac_mf (encoder)
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.642 [7836] DEBUG - MDE: Selected protocol dash; container: mp4
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.643 [7836] DEBUG - MDE: analyzing media item 1
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.643 [7836] DEBUG - MDE: Atomic Blonde (2017): Direct Play is disabled
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.643 [7836] DEBUG - MDE: Atomic Blonde (2017): media must be transcoded in order to use the dash protocol
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.643 [7836] DEBUG - MDE: Atomic Blonde (2017): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/h264
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.643 [7836] DEBUG - MDE: Atomic Blonde (2017): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/h264/dca
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.643 [7836] DEBUG - MDE: Atomic Blonde (2017): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/h264/dca
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.643 [7836] DEBUG - MDE: Atomic Blonde (2017): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/h264/dca
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.644 [7836] DEBUG - Codecs: testing aac_mf (encoder)
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.645 [7836] DEBUG - MDE: Atomic Blonde (2017): selected media 0 / 1
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.646 [7836] DEBUG - Streaming Resource: Reached Decision id=2 codes=(General=1001,Direct play not available; Conversion OK. Direct Play=3000,App cannot direct play this item. Direct play is disabled. Transcode=1001,Direct play not available; Conversion OK.) media=(id=1 part=(id=1 decision=transcode container=mp4 protocol=dash streams=(Video=(id=193 decision=copy width=1920 height=1080) Audio=(id=194 decision=transcode bitrate=256 encoder=aac_mf channels=2 rate=48000))))
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.649 [11284] DEBUG - Completed: [127.0.0.1:59471] 200 GET /video/:/transcode/universal/decision?hasMDE=1&path=%2Flibrary%2Fmetadata%2F2&mediaIndex=0&partIndex=0&protocol=dash&fastSeek=1&directPlay=0&directStream=1&subtitleSize=100&audioBoost=100&location=lan&addDebugOverlay=0&autoAdjustQuality=1&directStreamAudio=1&session=9xdijw6vz4o5ajxvqqgj6hf9&subtitles=burn&Accept-Language=en (11 live) GZIP 15ms 3078 bytes (pipelined: 2)
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.692 [11284] DEBUG - Auth: authenticated user 1 as plxprem444
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.693 [6244] DEBUG - Request: [127.0.0.1:59471 (Loopback)] GET /status/sessions (11 live) GZIP Signed-in Token (plxprem444)
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.824 [11540] DEBUG - [Now] User is plxprem444 (ID: 1)
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.825 [11540] DEBUG - [Now] Device is Chrome (Plex Web (Chrome)).
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.825 [11540] DEBUG - [Now] Profile is Web
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.825 [11540] DEBUG - [Now] Updated play state for /library/metadata/2.
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.825 [11540] DEBUG - Statistics: (2yx75uwyvzbsaui5lzbg32bs) Reporting active playback in state 1 of type 1 (scrobble: 0) for account 1
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.825 [6244] DEBUG - [Now] Adding 1 sessions.
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.826 [11284] DEBUG - Completed: [127.0.0.1:59470] 200 GET /:/timeline?ratingKey=2&key=%2Flibrary%2Fmetadata%2F2&playQueueItemID=1&state=playing&hasMDE=1 (11 live) GZIP 375ms 638 bytes (pipelined: 1)
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.826 [11284] DEBUG - Completed: [127.0.0.1:59472] 200 GET /:/timeline?ratingKey=2&key=%2Flibrary%2Fmetadata%2F2&playQueueItemID=1&state=paused&hasMDE=1 (11 live) GZIP 374ms 638 bytes (pipelined: 1)
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.828 [11284] DEBUG - Auth: authenticated user 1 as plxprem444
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.828 [11284] DEBUG - Completed: [127.0.0.1:59471] 200 GET /status/sessions (11 live) GZIP 135ms 3311 bytes (pipelined: 3)
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.829 [7836] DEBUG - Request: [127.0.0.1:59470 (Loopback)] GET /video/:/transcode/universal/start.mpd?hasMDE=1&path=%2Flibrary%2Fmetadata%2F2&mediaIndex=0&partIndex=0&protocol=dash&fastSeek=1&directPlay=0&directStream=1&subtitleSize=100&audioBoost=100&location=lan&addDebugOverlay=0&autoAdjustQuality=1&directStreamAudio=1&session=9xdijw6vz4o5ajxvqqgj6hf9&subtitles=burn&Accept-Language=en (11 live) GZIP Signed-in Token (plxprem444)
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.829 [7836] DEBUG - Found session GUID of 9xdijw6vz4o5ajxvqqgj6hf9 in session start.
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.830 [7836] DEBUG - TranscodeUniversalRequest: using profile Web
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.831 [7836] DEBUG - Downloading document http://127.0.0.1:32400/library/metadata/2?checkFiles=1&includeBandwidths=1&offset=-1&X-Plex-Session-Identifier=f6i1alia41r6tygq4njy5tq2
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.831 [7836] DEBUG - Auth: authenticated user 1 as plxprem444
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.833 [6376] DEBUG - HTTP 429 response from GET https://plex.tv/api/codecs/h264_decoder?build=windows-i386&deviceId=e42073bd-b1ec-4c5a-a298-c1b223ab5c3e&oldestPreviousVersion=1.10.1.4602-f54242b6b&version=b077134-1269
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.833 [6376] ERROR - Codecs: Failed to download XML for codec ‘h264_decoder’
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.833 [6376] ERROR - Error configuring transcoder: Decoder install failed: h264
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.833 [6376] DEBUG - Streaming Resource: Terminated session 0AB4C9C8:f6i1alia41r6tygq4njy5tq2 with reason Conversion failed. A required codec could not be found or failed to install.
Dec 28, 2017 13:59:17.833 [3392] DEBUG - Killing job.
It appears to be a codec issue, any ideas on how to fix this?
Are you behind a VPN or in a shared network? That 429 error means Plex is getting multiple requests from you and is locking you out for an hour. After the hour is up, the block should be removed.
Just a normal home network. I’ve even tried doing a fresh install with my AV disabled.
I’ve tried with yet another movie file and am getting the same error:
Dec 29, 2017 10:16:46.723 [17456] DEBUG - MDE: Selected protocol dash; container: mp4
Dec 29, 2017 10:16:46.723 [17456] DEBUG - MDE: analyzing media item 197
Dec 29, 2017 10:16:46.724 [17456] DEBUG - MDE: Dune (1984): Direct Play is disabled
Dec 29, 2017 10:16:46.724 [17456] DEBUG - MDE: Dune (1984): media must be transcoded in order to use the dash protocol
Dec 29, 2017 10:16:46.724 [17456] DEBUG - MDE: Dune (1984): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/mpeg2video
Dec 29, 2017 10:16:46.724 [17456] DEBUG - MDE: Dune (1984): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/mpeg2video/ac3
Dec 29, 2017 10:16:46.724 [17456] DEBUG - MDE: Dune (1984): no direct play video profile exists for http/mkv/mpeg2video/ac3
Dec 29, 2017 10:16:46.724 [17456] DEBUG - MDE: Dune (1984): no remuxable profile found, so video stream will be transcoded
Dec 29, 2017 10:16:46.724 [17456] DEBUG - Scaled up video bitrate to 5649Kbps based on 1.500000x fudge factor.
Dec 29, 2017 10:16:46.725 [17456] DEBUG - Codecs: testing aac_mf (encoder)
Dec 29, 2017 10:16:46.725 [17456] DEBUG - MDE: Dune (1984): selected media 0 / 197
Dec 29, 2017 10:16:46.739 [17456] DEBUG - Streaming Resource: Adding session 0B8F8218:cttx50mc17hz9rhbj86vyqrr which is using transcoder slot. Used slots is now 1
Dec 29, 2017 10:16:46.740 [17456] DEBUG - Streaming Resource: Added session 0B8F8218:cttx50mc17hz9rhbj86vyqrr
Dec 29, 2017 10:16:46.740 [17456] DEBUG - Streaming Resource: Reached Decision id=70 codes=(General=1001,Direct play not available; Conversion OK. Direct Play=3000,App cannot direct play this item. Direct play is disabled. Transcode=1001,Direct play not available; Conversion OK.) media=(id=197 part=(id=197 decision=transcode container=mp4 protocol=dash streams=(Video=(id=445 decision=transcode bitrate=5649 encoder=libx264 width=720 height=540) Audio=(id=446 decision=transcode bitrate=256 encoder=aac_mf channels=2 rate=48000))))
Dec 29, 2017 10:16:46.740 [17456] DEBUG - Found session GUID of 6t9joxfvrzcws6olds6gf2l5 in session start.
Dec 29, 2017 10:16:46.740 [17456] DEBUG - Cleaning directory for session 6t9joxfvrzcws6olds6gf2l5 ()
Dec 29, 2017 10:16:46.741 [17456] DEBUG - Starting a transcode session 6t9joxfvrzcws6olds6gf2l5 at offset -1.0 (state=3)
Dec 29, 2017 10:16:46.743 [17456] INFO - CodecManager: obtaining decoder ‘mpeg2video’
Dec 29, 2017 10:16:46.743 [17456] DEBUG - HTTP requesting GET https://plex.tv/api/codecs/mpeg2video_decoder?build=windows-i386&deviceId=e42073bd-b1ec-4c5a-a298-c1b223ab5c3e&oldestPreviousVersion=1.10.1.4602-f54242b6b&version=b077134-1269
Dec 29, 2017 10:16:47.359 [17456] DEBUG - HTTP 429 response from GET https://plex.tv/api/codecs/mpeg2video_decoder?build=windows-i386&deviceId=e42073bd-b1ec-4c5a-a298-c1b223ab5c3e&oldestPreviousVersion=1.10.1.4602-f54242b6b&version=b077134-1269
Dec 29, 2017 10:16:47.359 [17456] ERROR - Codecs: Failed to download XML for codec ‘mpeg2video_decoder’
Dec 29, 2017 10:16:47.359 [17456] ERROR - Error configuring transcoder: Decoder install failed: mpeg2video
Is there anyone at plex support actually monitoring these threads? I’m going to chargeback my subscription if this cant at least be addressed directly by plex support.
You are in Plex support and @kegobeer-plex is trying to help you.
If you are looking for an employee to remote into your PC and fix this issue for you… It is not going to happen, nor has this been stated as a feature when purchasing or prior to purchasing your plex pass.
I am guessing here, but anti-virus? incorrectly configured firewall?
These would definitely cause issues with d/l (codecs)files.
Please disregard this thread, I found another media server that worked perfectly out of the box, no troubleshooting needed. I am extremely appreciative of @kegobeer-plex time and effort to help fix this. Nevertheless - it’s a Plex support issue and the fact that they don’t have a direct response mechanism for paying customers is telling enough.
