Server Version#: latest linuxserver.io docker compose (1.28.0)
Player Version#: 1.50.1.3176-06a9352d
I run my Plex server off a Rpi4, using linuxserver.io’s docker compose file. I have no trouble streaming video of any format on my Windows 10 desktop using the Plex for Windows app.
However, when trying to stream using the Plex for Windows app on a laptop, also running windows 10, I encounter problems. I can stream 1080p h.264 content just fine, but when trying to stream 1080p HEVC or 1080p HEVC Main on the laptop, the Plex app will simply close. No crash report or non-responsivenes, and last night it would even play the first five or so seconds of whatever it was I was trying to stream. That is no longer the case today, it will simply load briefly, then close the app. Here are the laptop specs:
Another anomaly is that, after crashing, if I check my activity on my desktop, it tells me my laptop is still streaming the content, at least for a while.
I assume this has something to do with not having the proper codecs installed on the laptop, but I’m not sure where to go from there. Any help would be appreciated.
Solutions I have already attempted:
Restarting the laptop
Upgrading the Plex for Windows app to the latest version
Uninstalling and re-installing Plex for Windows app using the latest install from the plex.tv website
Independently installing an HEVC codec on the laptop, then re-starting it and attempting to stream the media again
Installing the latest version of Plex for HTPCs and attempting to stream off of that instead of the Plex for Windows app
NB: I initially mistakenly referred to the Plex for Windows app as the “PMP,” so there is some confusion early in the replies. This is my fault and I have edited the title and post to reflect what I am doing more accurately.
Thank you for the quick reply. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to do anything. I downloaded and installed the Plex Media Server, for which there was only a 32-bit version as far as I could tell, but it just opens up a web page that never loads. I also want to make sure I’m using the right terminology, because sometimes when I click that link it takes me to the page to download and install the server, and sometimes it takes me to the page to download and install the desktop app. Just to be clear: I am using the latest version of the desktop app, which I’ve been calling the PMP, but I’m not sure if that’s the right terminology.
Right, I believe I already have the latest version of Plex for Windows, is what I’m saying. I guess me calling it the “PMP” was wrong? I thought it was synonymous with the Plex for Windows app, should I edit my title?
Okay, I edited my title and post to reflect that I am using the Plex for Windows App, NOT the PMP
I downloaded and installed the latest version of Plex for HTPCs, but the same exact thing happened: h.264 1080p played just fine, HEVC crashed the app* after about seven seconds of streaming the media, and when I check my ‘activities’ bar on my desktop, it says my laptop is still streaming it (up to 1:23 at time of writing) even though it is not.
* and by “crashedthe app” I mean the app quits unexpectedly, there is no freeze, and no alert that the app has crashed. It simply closes itself and sends me to the desktop.
First thing to check is if the media file is valid, like does it play in like VLC?
Yes, the media file plays just fine in VLC on the laptop.
Second, and if it plays there, we need both PMS and Client logs in a zip, and in debug level
OK, will do, but first I’d like to know what information within them I should anonymize, where you want me to upload them, and how to acquire the logs (the info I found was on generating server logs, can’t find an article to generate client logs). I’m also not sure what you mean by “in debug level”
Also, are the clients set to original quality, and are you sure a transcode is not taking place here, since that will most likely fail on your server
Yes, I am sure the clients are streaming in original quality; when I check their activity through the Plex app it says “Direct Play”
Thank you, I’ve generated the logs and am ready to upload them, but first I would like to do a search-and-replace to take out any personally identifying information. Besides usernames, server name, and public-facing IP, is there anything else I should take out? And is there a preferred format? Can I replace them with ‘XXXXXXXXXXXXXX’ or ‘************’ or something like that?
Taking a bit of a random guess at the problem but it is seemingly crashing on the machine with the older GPU. It’s possible that the culprit is the hardware decoding (which is enabled by default). You may want to try disabling this to see if it makes a difference. If it does, you may want to investigate drivers to see if that’s where the problem lies.
Thank you for the reply. I’m pleased and a little confused to announce that this works - I was able to stream HEVC content on the laptop just fine after disabling hardware decoding (under Settings > Plex For Windows > Player). I did notice a little bit of audio popping here and there, but couldn’t get it consistent and it eventually stopped, so I’ll keep an eye on it and see what’s what with that, maybe open a new topic if it gets out of hand.
Anyhow, after confirming with a few different HEVC shows, I took a look at my display drivers - both the NVIDIA drivers and the integrated Intel display drivers were up to date. I wonder if the graphics card is just faulty; it is an older piece of tech and we’ve had problems with it in the past. Regardless, if anyone is going through the same thing I’ve been going through, it seems like disabling hardware decoding is the way to go. I just wonder if it’s that the graphics card is too weak, or if it’s faulty. I suspect it’s the latter, because I remember being able to use the laptop to stream these videos once before, and because there have been problems with the laptop not being able things it has handled fine in the past.
According to Nvidia NVDEC - Wikipedia the 840M doesn’t have hardware support for HEVC. My previous post was a guess and I was figuring that it was likely a GPU that had very early (and thus partial) support for HEVC but it doesn’t have even that. The thing is, it shouldn’t aborted hardware decoding very early in that case and fallen back to software decoding.
The thing is, it shouldn’t aborted hardware decoding very early in that case and fallen back to software decoding.
I’m assuming shouldn’t is a typo and should read should’ve? Because that would explain why we were able to watch it on the laptop for a time; perhaps it had been falling back to software decoding and for some reason stopped.
Dane22 shared your logs with me. MPV opened the hardware decoder for HEVC and it didn’t report an error. This seems like a driver bug to me. Assuming the above wikipedia article is correct and your hardware doesn’t support HEVC decode, the driver should’ve reported an error on opening the hardware decoder and thus allow MPV to fallback to software decoding.
Is it possible something is wrong with the physical card? I’ve re-downloaded the drivers and nothing seems to have changed, but like I said it’s an old laptop and we’ve had trouble with it playing things like streaming videos, games, etc. in the past.
