Server Version#: 1.40.4.8626-f67205e8e
Player Version#: 7.21.11 (Roku)
Plex transcoder fails with certain media with Roku client. I can make it fail consistently with MKV video with AAC 5.1 audio and ASS subs (Roku sub setting is Auto; doesn’t fail if set to burn image formats only). This Roku is on the same local network as the Plex server.
I also have two remote Roku users, also running the same client version, which cause a transcoder failure on all videos with AAC 5.1, whether they have ASS subs or not, and regardless of the subtitle burn setting. One of those users also has a 2018 Samsung and it also causes transcoder failures on the same media.
For whatever reason, the transcoder works fine when playing on the local Roku, with the exception of videos with ASS subs (and burn set to Auto).
The error message displayed by the client is “Playback Error. Playback has stopped due to multiple playback errors. Please check your connection and try again.” When I checked the logs I found a transcoder failure at the time the error message was displayed on the client.
The server transcoder is set to Auto, and as such it defaults to use my integrated graphics processor (UHD 630, running the latest Intel driver). If I switch the transcoder to use my external GPU (Nvidia 1050Ti), everything plays fine on all the above clients, particularly when transcoding.
I know this problem started sometime in mid-June, so I downgraded my Plex server to 1.40.3.8530-ac2fe9b3c, which I knew had been released prior to seeing these problems. That fixed it, specifically when using the UHD 630 for transcoding any media on Roku and Samsung.
My conclusion is that something in a Plex server release since 1.40.3.8530-ac2fe9b3c is causing transcoder failures in certain scenarios (FWIW, my bet is that 1.40.3.8555 is the culprit, if only because there is a transcoder update in the change log).
I know it’s happening on the Roku and that older Samsung client. I don’t know if it happens on any of my other clients because they never (recently, anyway) try to transcode anything.
I can reproduce the problem consistently. Server logs attached. I can get Roku client logs if needed.
