Plex HTPC crashes with some videos even after formatting the computer

Plex Players Desktop Players
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1

Hi,

I’ve been having an issue with the HTPC client. For some videos the client will crash the app and the computer. Oddly it seems to work okay with 4k hdr movies. The full 2ish hours movies will run fine but a half hour episode of an anime will crash several times. After formatting not sure where to go from here to try to get it to work. Happy to try to get logs of event viewer or debug files if it’ll help.

Thanks,

Software:
Windows 11
Happens with HDR on or off

Plex server version: 1.32.7.7621
Plex htpc client version: 1.52.1.4035-e0b6ca16
Platform version: 10.0.22631

Hardware:
Processor AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS w/ Radeon 780M Graphics 4.00 GHz
Installed RAM 64.0 GB (61.8 GB usable)
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

Troubleshooting:

  1. Formatted
  2. Video Playback quality tried with:
    CPU Hurt
    Low quality
    instant crash with ANGLE renderer
  3. Subtitles on and off.

Files:
Good playback
1

General
Unique ID                                : 192140575661371704494947462693179140093 (0x908CEDC72278CE9D748A0F5F06D8A7FD)
Complete name                            : Y:\Movies\Marvel\15 Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 (2017) 2160p.mkv
Format                                   : Matroska
Format version                           : Version 4
File size                                : 17.7 GiB
Duration                                 : 2 h 15 min
Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
Overall bit rate                         : 18.6 Mb/s
Frame rate                               : 23.976 FPS
Encoded date                             : 2020-12-15 21:53:10 UTC
Writing application                      : mkvmerge v51.0.0 ('I Wish') 64-bit
Writing library                          : libebml v1.4.0 + libmatroska v1.6.2

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : HEVC
Format/Info                              : High Efficiency Video Coding
Format profile                           : Main 10@L5.1@High
HDR format                               : SMPTE ST 2086, HDR10 compatible
Codec ID                                 : V_MPEGH/ISO/HEVC
Duration                                 : 2 h 15 min
Bit rate                                 : 10.4 Mb/s
Width                                    : 3 840 pixels
Height                                   : 1 604 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 2.39:1
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 23.976 (24000/1001) FPS
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0 (Type 2)
Bit depth                                : 10 bits
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.071
Stream size                              : 9.88 GiB (56%)
Writing library                          : x265 2.5+17-f8ae7afc1f61:[Windows][GCC 6.2.1][64 bit] 10bit
Encoding settings                        : cpuid=1173503 / frame-threads=2 / numa-pools=4 / wpp / no-pmode / no-pme / no-psnr / no-ssim / log-level=2 / input-csp=1 / input-res=3840x1604 / interlace=0 / total-frames=0 / level-idc=51 / high-tier=1 / uhd-bd=0 / ref=4 / no-allow-non-conformance / repeat-headers / annexb / aud / hrd / info / hash=0 / no-temporal-layers / no-open-gop / min-keyint=1 / keyint=24 / bframes=4 / b-adapt=2 / b-pyramid / bframe-bias=0 / rc-lookahead=25 / lookahead-slices=4 / scenecut=40 / no-intra-refresh / ctu=64 / min-cu-size=8 / rect / no-amp / max-tu-size=32 / tu-inter-depth=1 / tu-intra-depth=1 / limit-tu=0 / rdoq-level=2 / dynamic-rd=0.00 / no-ssim-rd / signhide / no-tskip / nr-intra=0 / nr-inter=0 / no-constrained-intra / no-strong-intra-smoothing / max-merge=3 / limit-refs=3 / limit-modes / me=3 / subme=3 / merange=57 / temporal-mvp / weightp / no-weightb / no-analyze-src-pics / deblock=-2:-2 / no-sao / no-sao-non-deblock / rd=4 / no-early-skip / rskip / no-fast-intra / no-tskip-fast / no-cu-lossless / no-b-intra / no-splitrd-skip / rdpenalty=0 / psy-rd=2.00 / psy-rdoq=1.00 / no-rd-refine / analysis-reuse-mode=0 / no-lossless / cbqpoffs=0 / crqpoffs=0 / rc=crf / crf=17.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpstep=4 / stats-write=0 / stats-read=0 / vbv-maxrate=160000 / vbv-bufsize=160000 / vbv-init=0.9 / crf-max=0.0 / crf-min=0.0 / ipratio=1.40 / pbratio=1.30 / aq-mode=1 / aq-strength=1.00 / cutree / zone-count=0 / no-strict-cbr / qg-size=32 / no-rc-grain / qpmax=69 / qpmin=0 / no-const-vbv / sar=1 / overscan=0 / videoformat=5 / range=0 / colorprim=9 / transfer=16 / colormatrix=9 / chromaloc=1 / chromaloc-top=2 / chromaloc-bottom=2 / display-window=0 / master-display=G(13250,34500)B(7500,3000)R(34000,16000)WP(15635,16450)L(10000000,50) / max-cll=0,0 / min-luma=0 / max-luma=1023 / log2-max-poc-lsb=8 / vui-timing-info / vui-hrd-info / slices=1 / opt-qp-pps / opt-ref-list-length-pps / no-multi-pass-opt-rps / scenecut-bias=0.05 / no-opt-cu-delta-qp / no-aq-motion / hdr / hdr-opt / no-dhdr10-opt / analysis-reuse-level=5 / scale-factor=0 / refine-intra=0 / refine-inter=0 / refine-mv=0 / no-limit-sao / ctu-info=0
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No
Color range                              : Limited
Color primaries                          : BT.2020
Transfer characteristics                 : PQ
Matrix coefficients                      : BT.2020 non-constant
Mastering display color primaries        : Display P3
Mastering display luminance              : min: 0.0050 cd/m2, max: 1000 cd/m2

Audio #1
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : MLP FBA 16-ch
Format/Info                              : Meridian Lossless Packing FBA with 16-channel presentation
Commercial name                          : Dolby TrueHD with Dolby Atmos
Codec ID                                 : A_TRUEHD
Duration                                 : 2 h 15 min
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 7 508 kb/s
Maximum bit rate                         : 11.3 Mb/s
Channel(s)                               : 8 channels
Channel layout                           : L R C LFE Ls Rs Lb Rb
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 1 200.000 FPS (40 SPF)
Compression mode                         : Lossless
Stream size                              : 7.12 GiB (40%)
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No
Number of dynamic objects                : 13
Bed channel count                        : 1 channel
Bed channel configuration                : LFE

Audio #2
ID                                       : 3
Format                                   : AC-3
Format/Info                              : Audio Coding 3
Commercial name                          : Dolby Digital
Codec ID                                 : A_AC3
Duration                                 : 2 h 15 min
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 640 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 6 channels
Channel layout                           : L R C LFE Ls Rs
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 31.250 FPS (1536 SPF)
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 622 MiB (3%)
Language                                 : English
Service kind                             : Complete Main
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text
ID                                       : 4
Format                                   : UTF-8
Codec ID                                 : S_TEXT/UTF8
Codec ID/Info                            : UTF-8 Plain Text
Duration                                 : 2 h 14 min
Bit rate                                 : 48 b/s
Frame rate                               : 0.201 FPS
Count of elements                        : 1622
Stream size                              : 47.6 KiB (0%)
Language                                 : Volapuk
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

Menu
00:00:00.000                             : en:0:00:00.000
00:09:56.178                             : en:0:09:56.178
00:15:10.117                             : en:0:15:10.117
00:22:14.082                             : en:0:22:14.082
00:32:33.701                             : en:0:32:33.701
00:36:52.126                             : en:0:36:52.126
00:42:29.171                             : en:0:42:29.171
00:48:03.463                             : en:0:48:03.463
00:53:18.904                             : en:0:53:18.904
00:58:45.939                             : en:0:58:45.939
01:05:52.239                             : en:1:05:52.239
01:11:12.434                             : en:1:11:12.434
01:18:43.593                             : en:1:18:43.593
01:23:55.321                             : en:1:23:55.321
01:30:24.752                             : en:1:30:24.752
01:39:36.178                             : en:1:39:36.178
01:47:06.211                             : en:1:47:06.211
01:54:21.604                             : en:1:54:21.604
01:58:53.709                             : en:1:58:53.709
02:07:13.459                             : en:2:07:13.459

Bad playback
1

General
Unique ID                                : 216228565894922603911879503443380785153 (0xA2AC1B639FC8C9C9B5ED5F0C2B2DD001)
Complete name                            : Y:\TV\Rurouni Kenshin\Season 1\S01E08 A New Battle! The Mysterious Beauty From Nowhere.mkv
Format                                   : Matroska
Format version                           : Version 2
File size                                : 255 MiB
Duration                                 : 23 min 11 s
Overall bit rate                         : 1 538 kb/s
Frame rate                               : 23.976 FPS
Movie name                               : Rurouni Kenshin
Encoded date                             : 2011-01-13 19:07:15 UTC
Writing application                      : mkvmerge v4.3.0 ('Escape from the Island') built on Sep  5 2010 10:30:51
Writing library                          : libebml v1.0.0 + libmatroska v1.0.0
Attachments                              : CronosPro-Bold.ttf / CronosPro-Semibold.ttf / CronosPro-SemiboldIt.ttf / impact.ttf

Video
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L3.2
Format settings                          : CABAC / 16 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames        : 16 frames
Codec ID                                 : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration                                 : 23 min 11 s
Bit rate                                 : 1 150 kb/s
Width                                    : 640 pixels
Height                                   : 480 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 4:3
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 23.976 (24000/1001) FPS
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.156
Stream size                              : 186 MiB (73%)
Writing library                          : x264 core 65 r998M 6768543
Encoding settings                        : cabac=1 / ref=16 / deblock=1:1:1 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=tesa / subme=9 / psy_rd=0.6:0.0 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=32 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=6 / nr=0 / decimate=0 / mbaff=0 / bframes=16 / b_pyramid=1 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / wpredb=0 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40(pre) / rc=2pass / bitrate=1150 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / pb_ratio=1.30 / aq=0
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

Audio #1
ID                                       : 3
Format                                   : AC-3
Format/Info                              : Audio Coding 3
Commercial name                          : Dolby Digital
Muxing mode                              : Header stripping
Codec ID                                 : A_AC3
Duration                                 : 23 min 11 s
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 192 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel layout                           : L R
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 31.250 FPS (1536 SPF)
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 31.9 MiB (12%)
Language                                 : English
Service kind                             : Complete Main
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

Audio #2
ID                                       : 4
Format                                   : AC-3
Format/Info                              : Audio Coding 3
Commercial name                          : Dolby Digital
Muxing mode                              : Header stripping
Codec ID                                 : A_AC3
Duration                                 : 23 min 11 s
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 192 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel layout                           : L R
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 31.250 FPS (1536 SPF)
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 31.9 MiB (12%)
Language                                 : Japanese
Service kind                             : Complete Main
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : ASS
Codec ID                                 : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info                            : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Compression mode                         : Lossless
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Menu
00:00:00.000                             : Opening
00:01:33.000                             : Start
00:11:30.000                             : Middle
00:21:33.000                             : Ending

2

General
Unique ID                                : 175080252157352960699254189983495619493 (0x83B73AE34031C46083D660BD05C403A5)
Complete name                            : Y:\TV\Pokemon\Season 3\S03E05 Illusion Confusion.mkv
Format                                   : Matroska
Format version                           : Version 4
File size                                : 807 MiB
Duration                                 : 22 min 42 s
Overall bit rate                         : 4 971 kb/s
Frame rate                               : 30.000 FPS
Movie name                               : Pokémon S03E05 - Illusion Confusion!
Encoded date                             : 2017-07-12 17:48:38 UTC
Writing application                      : mkvmerge v6.9.1 ('Blue Panther') 64bit built on Apr 18 2014 18:23:38
Writing library                          : libebml v1.3.0 + libmatroska v1.4.1 / Lavf57.75.100

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L3
Format settings                          : CABAC / 2 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames        : 2 frames
Codec ID                                 : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration                                 : 22 min 42 s
Nominal bit rate                         : 4 920 kb/s
Width                                    : 640 pixels
Height                                   : 480 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 4:3
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 30.000 FPS
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.534
Title                                    : English NTSC WEBRip 480p x264
Writing library                          : x264 core 115 r1995M 5a37283
Encoding settings                        : cabac=1 / ref=2 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=hex / subme=2 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=0 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=0 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=0 / threads=4 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=250 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=0 / weightp=1 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=10 / rc=2pass / mbtree=1 / bitrate=4920 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=5 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No
VARIANT_BITRATE                          : 5719125

Audio
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : AAC LC SBR
Format/Info                              : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity with Spectral Band Replication
Commercial name                          : HE-AAC
Format settings                          : Explicit
Codec ID                                 : A_AAC-2
Duration                                 : 22 min 42 s
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel layout                           : L R
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 23.438 FPS (2048 SPF)
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Title                                    : English NTSC WEBRip AAC 2.0
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

Text
ID                                       : 3
Format                                   : UTF-8
Codec ID                                 : S_TEXT/UTF8
Codec ID/Info                            : UTF-8 Plain Text
Title                                    : English Closed Captions
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

2311301607 plex debug.txt (50.7 KB)

2

I have also had problems on Windows 10. Sometimes, both the Plex HTPC and Plex for Windows clients (I use both) may crash during playback. They crash HARD, and even after force quitting something must remain, because restarting the apps won’t allow playback… In fact, when I try to play back any file after restarting the app, I see the last video frame from when Plex crashed, so something definitely remains in memory. I have to restart Windows to clean up the mess.

I’ve been unable to figure out any common thread among the crashes. It could be any kind of file.

The system is an i7-6700 with not much on it and I would expect it to be trouble-free. The problem has also persisted after a full Windows reinstall.

3

Have not had Plex HTPC crash ever as far as I can remember and I’ve used it from the start. I’ve had some video issues but all caused by my AVR and Windows setup.

All sorts of media.

Win 10 and now Win 11 Pro on an AMD 2700X with an equally ancient RX580X. A meagre 16GB ram.

Same HTPC version as you but server version is Version 1.32.8.7639.

If gbooker02 still works at Plex, he is the man to help you with this.

4

Can you please post the HTPC logs? https://support.plex.tv/articles/plex-htpc-logs/

1 Like
5

Hope these help.

Plex HTPC.1.log (448.3 KB)
Plex HTPC.2.log (477.3 KB)
Plex HTPC.3.log (3.1 MB)
Plex HTPC.4.log (303.2 KB)
Plex HTPC.log (1.4 MB)
Plex HTPC.5.log (320.4 KB)

6

Thanks. Okay from the logs I could not find something obvious. All I can see is that playback stops out of nowhere without a log entry. This could be an MPV-related issue.

Please try this:
Create a mpv log from Plex HTPC, to do so, go into C:\Users\YourUser\AppData\Local\Plex HTPC and create a file called mpv.conf. Inside the file paste log-file=“C:\Users\YourUser\AppData\Local\Plex HTPC\mpv-crash01.txt” save and close the editor. (Adjust your User to the one on your machine.)

Then try to play a file that causes Plex HTPC to crash, let it crash, and then share the mpv-crash01.txt + the Plex HTPC.log from that session.

7

There was already an mpv.conf file with some sample text. I removed that for just:
log-file=“C:\Users\chris\AppData\Local\Plex HTPC\mpv-crash01.txt”

It’s crashed a few times but I’m not seeing a mpv-crash01 file get output.

8

Make sure the mpv.conf is really a .conf. Windows does not show the extension by default. (Could be that the real extension is .md)

9

I have file extensions enabled. There’s both a .conf and a .md file there by default.

10

Okay, well then the mpv.conf should work and in any case, it would create a mpv log. Can you please share the Plex HTPC.log? (only that file is enough - so I can see if its picking up the mpv.conf)

11

Here’s the latest one.
Plex HTPC.log (448.7 KB)

12

Thanks, so its picking up the mpv.conf

Dec 02, 2023 23:42:49.802 [2488] DEBUG - [MPVEngine/mpv] cplayer: Setting option 'log-file' = '“C:\Users\chris\AppData\Local\Plex HTPC\mpv-crash01.txt”'

But the " are wrong => you have ” but it needs to be ".

The ouput of the log need to look like this =>
Dec 02, 2023 23:42:49.802 [2488] DEBUG - [MPVEngine/mpv] cplayer: Setting option 'log-file' = 'C:\Users\chris\AppData\Local\Plex HTPC\mpv-crash01.txt
The correct " are not shown.

13

Ahh I see. This is the only line I have in the mpv.conf file:
log-file=“C:\Users\chris\AppData\Local\Plex HTPC\mpv-crash01.txt”

I just made a temp folder at the root of C and changed it to:
log-file=C:\temp\mpv-crash01.txt

here’s a log after a crash.

mpv-crash01.txt (6.6 KB)

14

Thanks! This is very weird. Did you even start playback? The mpv log does not even indicate playback… Very sus. What could also try is a newer mpv.dll and upload a new mpv.log… if this does not yield anything, maybe Plex HTPC is the culprit…

Here is a manual for that.

15

Looks like those all show as libmpv-2.dll? I renamed it to mpv-2.dll. Anywho, crashed again.

Here are new logs.
mpv-crash01.txt (10.7 KB)
Plex HTPC.log (129.8 KB)

16

Ah, yes, forgot to mention this…

The log shows multiple internet connection errors. Do you have a different PC where you could try Plex HTPC? And again not even a single video stream was opened, so definitely not an mpv issue…

17

Those internet connections are it starting up. When it crashes it fully crashes the computer and then the logon task kicks off a bit faster than the wifi reconnecting. I’ve run it on my desktop and it seems okay.

18

What do you mean by this exactly? Do you mean you have to restart the computer? If so, you may have luck in disabling hardware decoding (hardware decoders are much less tolerant of out-of-spec streams and can cause issues at the driver/kernel level).

19

Turned off hardware decoding. Fully crashed, didn’t even make it through the theme song :sob:. I had to manually restart it. Can’t upload a video here but it sounds rough, like it makes a grinding sound until restarted. Keep in mind this is still happening even after formatting the computer.

20

A grinding sound - WTF. Are you sure the GPU (and/or fan) isn’t on it’s way out ?