Roku Won't Playback Certain H.264 / MKV (or MP4) Container Files when transcoding is needed

Plex Players Streaming Devices
1

Server Version#: 1.31.1.6733
Player Version#: 7.0.24
Hardware: i5-7500 using HW transcoding with iGPU.
OS: OMV 6.2 with Plex installed on the OS (not a Docker)

I had some friends report that they couldn’t play some files from my server on their Roku. The Roku will attempt to transcode, buffer up to 33% a few times and then give an error that the file could not be played back with an option to try again or stop. These will play back fine (transcoding or direct play) on other streaming devices (I.e. Android TV). Any ideas on how to fix this issue?

I was able to reproduce this issue at my home on a Roku and I found the following is needed to reproduce the issue:

  1. File encoded with H.264 Constrained Baseline (container doesn’t matter as both MKV and MP4 had the issue).
  2. Transcoding must be enabled. (Direct Play will work fine, but all remote connections require transcoding because of upload limitations)

Sample File Name with the issue: Unforgettable (2011) - S01E15 - The Following Sea.mkv
File Information:
Media

Duration 42:31
Bitrate 3375 kbps
Width 1280
Height 720
Aspect Ratio 1.78
Video Resolution 720p
Container MKV
Video Frame Rate NTSC
Audio Profile lc
Video Profile constrained baseline

Part

Duration 42:31
File Unforgettable (2011) - S01E15 - The Following Sea.mkv
Size 1.00 GB
Audio Profile lc
Container MKV
Video Profile constrained baseline

Codec H264
Bitrate 3375 kbps
Bit Depth 8
Chroma Location left
Chroma Subsampling 4:2:0
Coded Height 720
Coded Width 1280
Frame Rate 29.97 fps
Height 720
Level 3.1
Profile constrained baseline
Ref Frames 4
Scan Type progressive
Width 1280
Display Title 720p (H.264 Constrained Baseline)
Extended Display Title 720p (H.264 Constrained Baseline)

Codec AAC
Channels 2
Language English
Language Tag en
Audio Channel Layout stereo
Profile lc
Sampling Rate 44100 Hz
Display Title English (AAC Stereo)
Extended Display Title English (AAC Stereo)

I see this in the server log that looks pertinent. I can provide the full Plex Media Server.log file.

Mar 10, 2023 17:05:38.653 [0x7f917267eb38] ERROR - [Req#27f102/Transcode/a0ba9f5c-fb72-4b80-b176-badc5d1853c2-176/9a57b31b-f9bc-4e05-9cf4-06e82e0e8c71] Impossible to convert between the formats supported by the filter 'Parsed_hwupload_2' and the filter 'auto_scale_0'
Mar 10, 2023 17:05:38.653 [0x7f9172dd7b38] ERROR - [Req#27f103/Transcode/a0ba9f5c-fb72-4b80-b176-badc5d1853c2-176/9a57b31b-f9bc-4e05-9cf4-06e82e0e8c71] Error reinitializing filters!
Mar 10, 2023 17:05:38.654 [0x7f917267eb38] ERROR - [Req#27f104/Transcode/a0ba9f5c-fb72-4b80-b176-badc5d1853c2-176/9a57b31b-f9bc-4e05-9cf4-06e82e0e8c71] Failed to inject frame into filter network: Function not implemented
Mar 10, 2023 17:05:38.654 [0x7f9172dd7b38] ERROR - [Req#27f105/Transcode/a0ba9f5c-fb72-4b80-b176-badc5d1853c2-176/9a57b31b-f9bc-4e05-9cf4-06e82e0e8c71] Error while processing the decoded data for stream #0:0

Plex Media Server.Log.zip (743.4 KB)

2

Anyone have any ideas or other things for me to look at?

3

Does the file play when viewed by a client on the local LAN? Have you tried to remux the file with ffmpeg or mkvtoolsnix?

4

Yes, it was happening remotely, and I was able to duplicate it on the local LAN when forcing a transcode. It plays fine on other clients, direct play or transcode. Just the Roku with the issue.

I have remuxed the mp4 into an mkv container with MKVToolNix and it resolved the problem on some of the files, but not others. When viewing the file in MKVToolNix, it shows the file of type “Quicktime” but I don’t see that anywhere else (I.e. Plex info or VLC codec info), so I’m not sure if that is important or not.

5

You seem to be having the same issue as me. The latest update in the beta channel seemed to fix it for me.
My original post:
Roku has to retry multiple times to get MKVs to play - Plex Players / Streaming Devices - Plex Forum

1 Like
6

I did see this thread, but I’m using an Intel GPU, not NVIDIA, so I kind of moved on past it. I guess I’ll give it a try when that version comes out of beta and into stable.

I was having the same issue whether the container was MP4 or MKV and sometimes it would play, I never thought of trying multiple times. So maybe it related. Thanks for the reply!

1 Like
7

I had the same problem on my roku ultra at my gf’s house (they worked fine on the roku’s in my home where the pms is)

I disabled the option to “autoscan for new files” on the pms - and lo and behold the Roku Ultra at my gfs now plays that one file that wouldn’t play fine.

No idea why…

Dave

8

I can reproduce the issue on any Roku at any location (remote or local), so I don’t think that what you are seeing matches what I was seeing. Thanks for the idea, though.

9

Unfortunately the latest update (now out of beta) didn’t fix the issue for me. I’m not sure what it is about these files recorded with PlayOn that Plex+Roku doesn’t like. If I could figure it out, maybe I could do a conversion.

10

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