Server Version#: 1.32.2.7100
Player Version#: 4.100.1
Apple TV 4K: Model A2843 (128 GB), running tvOS 16.4.1 (20L498); Plex version 8.19.1 (5988)
From my Windows 11 (x64) Edge browser app, I want to use ‘Select Player’ to fling to my Apple TV 4K. That device works fine with Plex, and I have no trouble streaming music to it. (Everything is on the same VLAN.) However, almost always, the Apple TV 4K does not show up when I click ‘Select Player’; I just get the ‘cast’ option. HOWEVER, occasionally (VERY occasionally) it does show up. I am at a loss to understand under what conditions this happens; please help. Should I expect this to work reliably? (Incidentally, I have tried both the local and the hosted version of the web app; the behavior was the same.)
In fact, my real goal is to use some software I am writing to interact with my Plex via the URL endpoints, and I can test those commands with Postman. When ‘Select Player’ does not find the Apple TV, the /clients endpoint returns a MediaContainer of size 0. When, once in a blue moon, ‘Select Player’ does find the Apple TV, the MediaContainer has size 1 and contains the information I am looking for, such as the machine identifier.
[EDIT]: To verify that it’s related to the Apple TV 4K, I put a Roku 3 on the local network. After signing out of Plex on that device and signing back in again, ‘Select Player’ found it, and continues to find it six hours later.
[EDIT]: I have found that if I sign out of the Plex app on the Apple TV 4K and sign back in again, ‘Select Player’ will find it, BUT ONLY for a period of one to less than three minutes after I type in the 4-digit code. Then it goes away and is not found again until I repeat the sign out - sign in procedure. The /clients endpoint echoes that behavior. This strongly points to an issue with the Plex app on the Apple TV 4K. Could an expert on that app please weigh in on this hypothesis?
The following is for historical interest.
To try to pin down this erratic behavior, I have tried various things (not necessarily in the order listed):
- Refreshing the Web App
- Killing the browser tab, then reopening Plex (right-clicking on the Plex icon under “Show hidden icons”).
- Restarting the Apple TV 4K
- Rebooting the PC
None of those worked.
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[EDIT]: The ‘Advertise as Player’ feature has been removed in recent versions for the Web app. Just in case that was relevant, I followed a Reddit user’s suggestion to roll back to PMS-1.27.2.5929 (player 4.76.1). That did not help.
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[EDIT]: The Apple TV 4K was paired with the software controller ‘Ultamation Module’ (for Crestron control). Just in case that was relevant (it’s not supposed to be), I removed that pairing. That did not help.
However, some combination of circumstances evidently did work, since ‘Select Player’ and /clients were able to find the Apple TV for a few hours yesterday. I’ll appreciate insights into what is happening (or not happening) here.
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[EDIT]: I should also note that that turning off the firewall does not help. (That it’s not a firewall issue is implied by the fact that it was able to briefly discover the Apple TV 4K a few days ago.)
I have attached a logging zip file. The actions I took to create the log were as follows: -
Enable logging
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Shut down and reopen Plex
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Click the ‘Select Player’ button (did not find the Apple TV)
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Disable logging
If someone needs more intimate details, I have the ability to provide Wireshark info; just let me know.
Thanks very much for your help.
—John
