I’ve had issue after issue with Plex playing 4k content over the past few months. First it started with the WebOS TV App getting errors when trying to play content so I switched to my Chromecast Ultra which worked for a short period of time. Now neither work, the Chromecast will stream 4k content for anywhere from a second to a few minutes, then randomly drop out back to the plex cast screen as though it had just been connected. This is occurring over Ethernet (though CC Ultra’s ethernet adaptor is on 100Mbit) and wireless. The video plays fine on my computer (ethernet) when browsing to the share so it doesn’t appear to be a bandwidth issue.
NAS is wired back to the router (Google WiFi, which very recently replaced my R7000 which also had the above mentioned issues), everything is gigabit. / Cat5e.
Verbose logs from Plex attached
Plex Version: 1.12.3.4973 (current)
Synology DS915+, DSM version 6.1.6-15266 Update 1 (current)
3x4TB WD Red drives in SHR
I just enabled DLNA and managed to start a stream on my TV using its Photo / Video’s app. Video playback was fine though it would not play audio.
@xardoniak said:
I’ve had issue after issue with Plex playing 4k content over the past few months. First it started with the WebOS TV App getting errors when trying to play content so I switched to my Chromecast Ultra which worked for a short period of time. Now neither work, the Chromecast will stream 4k content for anywhere from a second to a few minutes, then randomly drop out back to the plex cast screen as though it had just been connected. This is occurring over Ethernet (though CC Ultra’s ethernet adaptor is on 100Mbit) and wireless. The video plays fine on my computer (ethernet) when browsing to the share so it doesn’t appear to be a bandwidth issue.
NAS is wired back to the router (Google WiFi, which very recently replaced my R7000 which also had the above mentioned issues), everything is gigabit. / Cat5e.
Verbose logs from Plex attached
Plex Version: 1.12.3.4973 (current)
Synology DS915+, DSM version 6.1.6-15266 Update 1 (current)
3x4TB WD Red drives in SHR
You have installed the 32 bit version of Plex (perhaps from the recent Synology pushed update).
Apr 21, 2018 15:17:50.687 [0xf3111b40] INFO - Plex Media Server v1.12.3.4973-215c28d86 - synology DiskStation i686 - build: linux-synology-i686 synology - GMT 10:00
Apr 21, 2018 15:17:50.687 [0xf3111b40] INFO - Linux version: 4.4.15+ (#15266 SMP PREEMPT Mon Mar 26 15:09:23 CST 2018), language: en-US
Apr 21, 2018 15:17:50.687 [0xf3111b40] INFO - Processor Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU J3455 @ 1.50GHz
Please uninstall the package in Package Center.
Go do plex.tv/downloads and download the 64-bit version for DSM 6+
Perform a manual installation.
This will restore your HW transcoding capability.
@ChuckPA said:
@xardoniak said:
I’ve had issue after issue with Plex playing 4k content over the past few months. First it started with the WebOS TV App getting errors when trying to play content so I switched to my Chromecast Ultra which worked for a short period of time. Now neither work, the Chromecast will stream 4k content for anywhere from a second to a few minutes, then randomly drop out back to the plex cast screen as though it had just been connected. This is occurring over Ethernet (though CC Ultra’s ethernet adaptor is on 100Mbit) and wireless. The video plays fine on my computer (ethernet) when browsing to the share so it doesn’t appear to be a bandwidth issue.
NAS is wired back to the router (Google WiFi, which very recently replaced my R7000 which also had the above mentioned issues), everything is gigabit. / Cat5e.
Verbose logs from Plex attached
Plex Version: 1.12.3.4973 (current)
Synology DS915+, DSM version 6.1.6-15266 Update 1 (current)
3x4TB WD Red drives in SHR
You have installed the 32 bit version of Plex (perhaps from the recent Synology pushed update).
Apr 21, 2018 15:17:50.687 [0xf3111b40] INFO - Plex Media Server v1.12.3.4973-215c28d86 - synology DiskStation i686 - build: linux-synology-i686 synology - GMT 10:00
Apr 21, 2018 15:17:50.687 [0xf3111b40] INFO - Linux version: 4.4.15+ (#15266 SMP PREEMPT Mon Mar 26 15:09:23 CST 2018), language: en-US
Apr 21, 2018 15:17:50.687 [0xf3111b40] INFO - Processor Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU J3455 @ 1.50GHz
Please uninstall the package in Package Center.
Go do plex.tv/downloads and download the 64-bit version for DSM 6+
Perform a manual installation.
This will restore your HW transcoding capability.
Hey mate!
Thanks for the quick response, installing now!
Hey mate, it definitely has improved performance (stream lasts a lot longer) but it seems to be dropping out at the same point (about 2:10 in) on this one particular movie.
I’ve tried playing the movie on my PC (audio doesn’t work though) and I am able to get past the 2:10 area where it falls over on the Chromecast. I’ve attched the info section on the movie from Plex, if that helps.
Still not playing on the WebOS app but I’d guess that’s a separate issue.
I have tested the same movie on both wired and wireless with the same Chromecast Ultra. Plex app version 6.16.4271, Samsung S8. 64b server version is 1.12.3.4973
Further to the above, I have a dynamic playlist that has all my 4k content listed.
I tried a separate movie and saw the same issue (stops playing after a minute or 2) and then it went onto the next movie in the list. In the web browser, it states the movie is waiting on converting… Direct play for video, converting for audio.
Would you mind recreating the example without verbose logging? Debug only please.
Verbose logging, when using the default logging, reduces the retention window to about 2 minutes plus it complicates reading them because it’s outputting detailed info about every block sent out.
What I can see is it having trouble keeping up performance wise. I can’t see the issue because of the verbosity.
I do see
Apr 21, 2018 17:51:03.736 [0x7fa43df7d700] VERBOSE - It took 0.0 sec to serialize a list with 0 elements.
Apr 21, 2018 17:51:03.736 [0x7fa451911700] DEBUG - Completed: [127.0.0.1:49660] 206 PUT /video/:/transcode/session/wrmutjmj0hl7ubdtmd5tatdy/f180782a-bee8-4955-9e14-f034f8b779b2/progress?progress=0.0&size=-22&remaining=13431&vdec_packets=73&vdec_sw_ok=66&speed=0.4&vdec_hw_status=0 (15 live) 1ms 326 bytes
Apr 21, 2018 17:51:03.812 [0x7fa451911700] VERBOSE - [TranscodeOutputStream] Waiting 100ms for more data...
Apr 21, 2018 17:51:03.913 [0x7fa451911700] VERBOSE - [TranscodeOutputStream] Waiting 100ms for more data...
Apr 21, 2018 17:51:04.013 [0x7fa451911700] VERBOSE - [TranscodeOutputStream] Waiting 100ms for more data...
Apr 21, 2018 17:51:04.113 [0x7fa451911700] VERBOSE - [TranscodeOutputStream] Waiting 100ms for more data...
This tells me it’s outputting at 40% of real-time playback requirement (speed=0.4) . PGS (image based) subtitles will do this every time on a Synology because subtitles must be done by the CPU (image merging isn’t a function of the CPU’s transcoding ASIC)
@ChuckPA said:
Would you mind recreating the example without verbose logging? Debug only please.
Verbose logging, when using the default logging, reduces the retention window to about 2 minutes plus it complicates reading them because it’s outputting detailed info about every block sent out.
What I can see is it having trouble keeping up performance wise. I can’t see the issue because of the verbosity.
I do see
Apr 21, 2018 17:51:03.736 [0x7fa43df7d700] VERBOSE - It took 0.0 sec to serialize a list with 0 elements.
Apr 21, 2018 17:51:03.736 [0x7fa451911700] DEBUG - Completed: [127.0.0.1:49660] 206 PUT /video/:/transcode/session/wrmutjmj0hl7ubdtmd5tatdy/f180782a-bee8-4955-9e14-f034f8b779b2/progress?progress=0.0&size=-22&remaining=13431&vdec_packets=73&vdec_sw_ok=66&speed=0.4&vdec_hw_status=0 (15 live) 1ms 326 bytes
Apr 21, 2018 17:51:03.812 [0x7fa451911700] VERBOSE - [TranscodeOutputStream] Waiting 100ms for more data...
Apr 21, 2018 17:51:03.913 [0x7fa451911700] VERBOSE - [TranscodeOutputStream] Waiting 100ms for more data...
Apr 21, 2018 17:51:04.013 [0x7fa451911700] VERBOSE - [TranscodeOutputStream] Waiting 100ms for more data...
Apr 21, 2018 17:51:04.113 [0x7fa451911700] VERBOSE - [TranscodeOutputStream] Waiting 100ms for more data...
This tells me it’s outputting at 40% of real-time playback requirement (speed=0.4) . PGS (image based) subtitles will do this every time on a Synology because subtitles must be done by the CPU (image merging isn’t a function of the CPU’s transcoding ASIC)
Hey mate,
Logs attached, thanks heaps.
Thanks for the logs. I can see much more clearly.
I also see that your source file is full of different languages and subtitles. Do you need all them?
I ask because PGS subtitles, being images, are the hardest for any processor (no hardware acceleration of them).
The J3455 really struggles with them because, in spite of its great GPU/ASIC, still has only a modest CPU.
Would you consider, using a tool like mkvtoolnix, to remove the unused/unneeded streams by remuxing only (the key)?
This will leave all the other streams untouched (no re-encoding whatsoever) and remove that which isn’t needed.
It will allow you to also remove problematic audio streams which don’t play on all players.
@ChuckPA said:
Thanks for the logs. I can see much more clearly.
I also see that your source file is full of different languages and subtitles. Do you need all them?
I ask because PGS subtitles, being images, are the hardest for any processor (no hardware acceleration of them).
The J3455 really struggles with them because, in spite of its great GPU/ASIC, still has only a modest CPU.
Would you consider, using a tool like mkvtoolnix, to remove the unused/unneeded streams by remuxing only (the key)?
This will leave all the other streams untouched (no re-encoding whatsoever) and remove that which isn’t needed.
It will allow you to also remove problematic audio streams which don’t play on all players.
Hey mate,
I think I’ve done it right though Plex still seems to think the subtitles and other tracks are there…
I removed all subtitles and all audio channels apart from 7.1 and the file size has shrunk but it still stops playing after 2 minutes. Logs attached.
Any thoughts?
I’ve just tried playing it from my computer and noticed that it is trying to convert the file to 4k instead of direct play - this doesn’t sound right to me?
movie quality
another set of logs if that helps…
After cleaning out the file, did you right-click and Analyze it again? That will make PMS check it again and update what it knows about it. Any streams you removed will no longer be listed.
As for which tool? MKVToolnix only. The studio painstakingly determined how much data is needed for the best experience. Who am I to say only a fraction is needed. I personally would rather have a smaller library of highest quality rips than a very large library of mediocre rips.
It’s not trying to convert. It’s telling you it has selected the original bitrate (68 Mbps) which happens to be “Maximum”. If it’s converting 4K -> 4K, there is something else forcing it. Typically HEVC -> H.264 is seen . Also commonly seen is Video - Direct Stream , Audio - Convert (due to player limitation).
@ChuckPA said:
After cleaning out the file, did you right-click and Analyze it again? That will make PMS check it again and update what it knows about it. Any streams you removed will no longer be listed.
As for which tool? MKVToolnix only. The studio painstakingly determined how much data is needed for the best experience. Who am I to say only a fraction is needed. I personally would rather have a smaller library of highest quality rips than a very large library of mediocre rips.
It’s not trying to convert. It’s telling you it has selected the original bitrate (68 Mbps) which happens to be “Maximum”. If it’s converting 4K → 4K, there is something else forcing it. Typically HEVC → H.264 is seen . Also commonly seen is Video - Direct Stream , Audio - Convert (due to player limitation).
I’ve just analysed it and it has updated, so that’s all good!
Yep, used MKVtoolnix for it.
Could it be HEVC > H.264? Does the CC Ultra profile support HEVC?
I do not know what a ChromeCast Ultra supports. Google is your friend
@ChuckPA said:
I do not know what a ChromeCast Ultra supports. Google is your friend
Did a quick google and it looks like the normal version doesn’t but the ultra does Google Cast এর জন্য সমর্থিত মিডিয়া | Google for Developers
Does Plex still share the same config file for both CCs? I wonder if there’s something in there that can be changed? Thoughts?
