# Playback Error - Conversion failed. The transcoder failed to start up **URL:** \ **Category:** Plex Media Server\ **Tags:** server-windows\ **Created:** [April 12, 2020, 1:50pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/playback-error-conversion-failed-the-transcoder-failed-to-start-up/572882 "2020-04-12T13:50:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![plex\_parisi\_dk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ba0ec/32.png) [@plex\_parisi\_dk](https://forums.plex.tv/u/plex_parisi_dk)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2020, 1:50pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/playback-error-conversion-failed-the-transcoder-failed-to-start-up/572882/1 "2020-04-12T13:50:39Z")
Server Version#: 1.19.1.2645-ccb6eb67e Player Version#: Chrome browser Version 80.0.3987.163 (Official Build) (64-bit) Hi I’m hosting Plex on my Windows server 2016. On some TV-Shows Im getting the error: Playback Error - Conversion failed. The transcoder failed to start up. It happens on specific TV shows, but not on others. Not sure what the difference is. It fails for all users with the specific TV shows. The TV show has definitely been working at an earlier date on the same server. I’ve tried to google the issue but was unable to. Can anyone help me out? [Plex Media Server Logs\_2020-04-12\_15-15-55.zip](https://forums.plex.tv/uploads/short-url/cAJxN8QiRrgwQaSYCrfzW2LifD6.zip) (3.4 MB) ---
**Author:** ![plex\_parisi\_dk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ba0ec/32.png) [@plex\_parisi\_dk](https://forums.plex.tv/u/plex_parisi_dk)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 4:44pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/playback-error-conversion-failed-the-transcoder-failed-to-start-up/572882/3 "2020-04-14T16:44:29Z")
bump. ---
**Author:** ![Dire\_Kangaroo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/dire_kangaroo/32/106456_2.png) [@Dire\_Kangaroo](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Dire_Kangaroo)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 10:18pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/playback-error-conversion-failed-the-transcoder-failed-to-start-up/572882/4 "2020-04-14T22:18:52Z")
I have the same problem since the last update and have no idea how to fix it. Direct play is not a problem, but any device that needs to convert anything will get this Transcoder Failed error. ---
**Author:** ![hokierulz](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/hokierulz/32/309037_2.png) [@hokierulz](https://forums.plex.tv/u/hokierulz)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 11:45pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/playback-error-conversion-failed-the-transcoder-failed-to-start-up/572882/5 "2020-04-14T23:45:39Z")
Do you use subtitles? I ask because I’m seeing the errors associated with subtitles in the logs before the transcoder failure, which I put a snippet below. If you are, can you try it without subtitles just to see if we are on the right track? First a disclaimer that I don’t use subtitles, so I’m just observing what I see in the logs. Do you have multiple directory locations assigned for your TV Show library? I think what is happening is that for some reason, it is getting the audio/video (e.g. the .mkv) from F:\PlexMediaServer003\TV-Shows\(show specific folder), but then looking for the subtitle file (.srt) at D:\PlexMediaServer001\TV-Shows\(show specific folder) and isn’t finding the subtitle file. > **Log Snip** > > Apr 12, 2020 14:55:03.129 [4572] DEBUG - We’re going to try to auto-select a subtitle. > Apr 12, 2020 14:55:03.129 [4572] DEBUG - Subtitles: Found a candidate subtitle language [eng] for a foreign film > Apr 12, 2020 14:55:03.129 [4572] DEBUG - Subtitles: Found a candidate subtitle that matches our forced / language preference. [eng] [0]. Reason [Prefer sidecar] > Apr 12, 2020 14:55:03.129 [4572] DEBUG - Audio Stream: 25533, Subtitle Stream: 28604 > Apr 12, 2020 14:55:03.131 [4572] DEBUG - Found session GUID of n2m8et9sjugsrvnw87mublz6 in session start. > Apr 12, 2020 14:55:03.131 [4572] DEBUG - Cleaning directory for session n2m8et9sjugsrvnw87mublz6 () > Apr 12, 2020 14:55:03.132 [4572] DEBUG - Starting a transcode session n2m8et9sjugsrvnw87mublz6 at offset -1.0 (state=3) > Apr 12, 2020 14:55:03.134 [4572] DEBUG - [Universal] Using local file path instead of URL: F:\PlexMediaServer003\TV-Shows\Game of Thrones\Season 1\Game of Thrones - S01-E01 - Winter Is Coming - Dual Audio - BR-RMZ 1080p x264 AAC+DTS.mkv > Apr 12, 2020 14:55:03.134 [4572] DEBUG - HTTP requesting GET [http://127.0.0.1:32400/library/streams/28604?X-Plex-Token=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx](http://127.0.0.1:32400/library/streams/28604?X-Plex-Token=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) > Apr 12, 2020 14:55:03.140 [6248] DEBUG - Request: [127.0.0.1:63546 (Loopback)] GET /library/streams/28604 (10 live) GZIP Signed-in Token (xxx@xxxx.xx) > Apr 12, 2020 14:55:03.144 [6248] ERROR - Couldn’t find the file to stream: D:\PlexMediaServer001\TV-Shows\Game of Thrones\Season 1\Game of Thrones - S01-E01 - Winter Is Coming - Dual Audio - BR-RMZ 1080p x264 AAC+DTS.en.srt > Apr 12, 2020 14:55:03.144 [5896] DEBUG - Completed: [127.0.0.1:63546] 404 GET /library/streams/28604 (10 live) GZIP 4ms 331 bytes > Apr 12, 2020 14:55:03.144 [4572] DEBUG - HTTP 404 response from GET [http://127.0.0.1:32400/library/streams/28604?X-Plex-Token=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx](http://127.0.0.1:32400/library/streams/28604?X-Plex-Token=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) > Apr 12, 2020 14:55:03.145 [4572] ERROR - Error configuring transcoder: TPU: Failed to download sub-stream to temporary file > Apr 12, 2020 14:55:03.145 [4572] DEBUG - Streaming Resource: Terminated session 0x5b8dad8:1xqj0pvsswiyiqeyemo8fbxv with reason Conversion failed. The transcoder failed to start up. > Apr 12, 2020 14:55:03.145 [6060] DEBUG - Killing job. > Apr 12, 2020 14:55:03.145 [6060] DEBUG - Job was already killed, not killing again. > Apr 12, 2020 14:55:03.145 [6060] DEBUG - Stopping transcode session n2m8et9sjugsrvnw87mublz6 > Apr 12, 2020 14:55:03.145 [6264] DEBUG - Cleaning directory for session n2m8et9sjugsrvnw87mublz6 (C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server\Cache\Transcode\Sessions\plex-transcode-n2m8et9sjugsrvnw87mublz6-c9d5ebcf-4741-4796-b690-81c97a88e6cb) ---
**Author:** ![hokierulz](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/hokierulz/32/309037_2.png) [@hokierulz](https://forums.plex.tv/u/hokierulz)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 11:48pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/playback-error-conversion-failed-the-transcoder-failed-to-start-up/572882/6 "2020-04-14T23:48:40Z")
@Dire_Kangaroo: Debug level logs covering the time of a failure would help a great deal to determine what the problem is with the transcoder. Without them we are shooting in the dark. ---
**Author:** ![Dire\_Kangaroo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/dire_kangaroo/32/106456_2.png) [@Dire\_Kangaroo](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Dire_Kangaroo)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 9:17am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/playback-error-conversion-failed-the-transcoder-failed-to-start-up/572882/7 "2020-04-15T09:17:38Z")
@hokierulz Thank you for your response. It must indeed have something to do with the subtitles. Plex has no problem playing it without selecting any subtitles. It displays an external SRT, only it does not exist in the directory. When I try to delete it within Plex, I get a delete problem because the file does not exist. It remains selectable in the subtitle options. These are my log files [Plex Media Server Logs\_2020-04-15\_11-12-48.zip](https://forums.plex.tv/uploads/short-url/twnqzcohSzPuiQgNO0y3YwuXxIk.zip) (5.5 MB) ---
**Author:** ![hokierulz](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/hokierulz/32/309037_2.png) [@hokierulz](https://forums.plex.tv/u/hokierulz)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 1:29pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/playback-error-conversion-failed-the-transcoder-failed-to-start-up/572882/8 "2020-04-15T13:29:47Z")
Cool, at least it sounds like we are on the right track @Dire_Kangaroo ! I’m seeing (not exact but) similar errors in your logs as @plex_parisi_dk. @OttoKerner - I’ve seen you chip in on subtitle threads in the past so I’m pinging you hoping you may have insight or can help us direct to the right resource. We have two examples of logs with similar issues where Plex is looking for non-existent .srt files, it doesn’t find the .srt, and then the transcoder stops. ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 1:48pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/playback-error-conversion-failed-the-transcoder-failed-to-start-up/572882/9 "2020-04-15T13:48:58Z")
Trigger ‘Refresh Metadata’ for the entire show, please. Give it enough time. Then look if the non-existing external subtitles are still selectable. ---
**Author:** ![Dire\_Kangaroo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/dire_kangaroo/32/106456_2.png) [@Dire\_Kangaroo](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Dire_Kangaroo)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2020, 10:17am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/playback-error-conversion-failed-the-transcoder-failed-to-start-up/572882/10 "2020-04-16T10:17:36Z")
@OttoKerner @hokierulz Thank you for your response. I had my entire library refreshed, then waited a day and now all nonexistent external subtitles are gone. Everything works as it should, I no longer have playback problems. At first it seemed to do nothing. I tried to refresh my libraries a few times over a few hours, but got no result. The next day I wanted to try again but I was surprised to see that it had suddenly worked. I would like to thank you both for your help and quick responses! ---
**Author:** ![TBoneStaek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/76d3ee/32.png) [@TBoneStaek](https://forums.plex.tv/u/TBoneStaek)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2020, 2:57pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/playback-error-conversion-failed-the-transcoder-failed-to-start-up/572882/11 "2020-05-15T14:57:04Z")
Thank you! Refreshing the meta data solved the issue for me. I was pulling my hair out! ---
**Author:** ![Gudkarma](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/gudkarma/32/110413_2.png) [@Gudkarma](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Gudkarma)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2020, 9:34am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/playback-error-conversion-failed-the-transcoder-failed-to-start-up/572882/12 "2020-08-09T09:34:59Z")
Had the same problems with a certain TV show. Turned off subs and it worked. I will also try refreshing metadata. Thanks for the information. ---
**Author:** ![AltonV](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/altonv/32/84340_2.png) [@AltonV](https://forums.plex.tv/u/AltonV)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2020, 2:49pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/playback-error-conversion-failed-the-transcoder-failed-to-start-up/572882/14 "2020-09-25T14:49:30Z")
I recently encountered this. I think the problem was that the chosen external subtitle didn’t exist. A reload of the metadata solved it ---
**Author:** ![t1t0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@t1t0](https://forums.plex.tv/u/t1t0)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 9:02pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/playback-error-conversion-failed-the-transcoder-failed-to-start-up/572882/16 "2020-10-29T21:02:10Z")
I’m having the same problem. I was renaming subtitles files to .pt.srt insted of only .srt to not apperaring “unknown” here like this ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/0/a/0a0a34489aecbe0ac9059371c25ffb4ee1cd1f53.png) ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/c/2/c239cfccd01cdb8c626644f47ddd8489600ffcb7.png) . If i disabled the subtiles, yes i can play the video, but I already refresh all metadata and the movie metadata just now and the problem persists. You were saying that I must wait one day?! The file is there with that name how couldn’t find it?! Couldn’t find the file to stream: X-Men.Days.Of.Future.Past.2014.720p.WEBRip.AC3.x264-LEGi0N\X-Men.Days.Of.Future.Past.2014.720p.WEBRip.AC3.x264-LEGi0N.pt.srt ---
**Author:** ![SamanthaFish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@SamanthaFish](https://forums.plex.tv/u/SamanthaFish)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2020, 8:05pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/playback-error-conversion-failed-the-transcoder-failed-to-start-up/572882/17 "2020-12-29T20:05:27Z")
This worked, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![PalxRromBalc](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/palxrrombalc/32/230807_2.png) [@PalxRromBalc](https://forums.plex.tv/u/PalxRromBalc)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2021, 12:48am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/playback-error-conversion-failed-the-transcoder-failed-to-start-up/572882/18 "2021-03-23T00:48:31Z")
I got the same error when trying to play an Anime while the subtitles were on. The Refresh Metadata solution didn’t work for me, but after I went to the Subtitles menu, chose the “Upload…” option and drag and dropped the \*.srt file, it started working properly afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 12:49am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/playback-error-conversion-failed-the-transcoder-failed-to-start-up/572882/19 "2021-06-21T00:49:05Z")
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