Suddenly unable to play most files on iOS devices

[robinadr]

Server Version#: 1.18.9.2578
Player Version#: 6.10

Hello,

Just about a week ago I suddenly stopped being able to DirectPlay most movies. In fact, a movie that I had just watched a few weeks ago perfectly fine has stopped working as well. My symptoms mostly fit this thread, which makes me wonder if a bug was reintroduced:

All of the sudden problems with playback on iOS devices.

I was on my way to Office watching Plex as usually and all of the sudden playback stopped. I’ve tried few times to resume it but without success. So grabbed the logs and this is what I see: Jan 08, 2018 07:52:05.130 [0x11ccc1000] WARN - Transcode runner appears to have died. Jan 08, 2018 07:52:05.130 [0x119e04000] WARN - Transcode runner appears to have died. Jan 08, 2018 07:52:05.130 [0x11cbbb000] WARN - Transcode runner appears to have died. Jan 08, 2018 07:52:05.131 [0x11c17a000] WARN - Tr…

I’ve had the same issue on iOS and iPadOS. Nothing changed AT ALL on the server or clients other than updating the Plex software as updates came out. I’ve attached my log but the primary error is as such:

ClientProfileExtra: video transcode target already exists for streaming hls

I’m able to Chromecast from my iPhone no problem, but playing in the app results in the above. Thanks.

Debug logs: Plex Media Server Logs_2020-04-05_13-15-11.zip (372.8 KB)

[staceygti]

I had this happen recently and I am no expert I just keep trying things until it works. I just switched computers but I did not clone I re-installed and re-scanned my entire library. This started yesterday for me, but I hadn’t updated the apps (Ipad & iPhone) or the server (Windows 10 Pro PC).

Anyhow, I believe it was one of my folders I had added to the TV category. I purchased a 10TB hard drive for my video and a 6TB for my audiobooks. I had things somewhat scattered so I moved to orgranize so the audiobooks are on one drive and video all on the other. But I never deleted the folder from the settings. I spent an hour trying different things, uninstalling, updating etc… Was just about to use REVO to uninstall when I thought of the moving of files (I always force the library to update after so I did not think it could be the issue). I removed that drive and my issues stopped. When I was moving the files I realized I had started to do this months ago (they were already copied over) so I had a ton of dupes but on different drives. as soon as I removed the folder my issues disappeared. I was convinced it was the server update but I was wrong.

Also, the movie folder had not been moved and I could play those and anything that did not have a duplicate. It just took me a while to figure that out. Uninstalling Plex probably would have fixed it. I un-installed it on the devices but not the computer.

[taylorjamesbarr]

I’m having very similar issues - again only on iOS. All other players work fine.

[besbese]

Any news on his iOS issue? Having a similar problem playing videos on iOS devices. Android devices work fine.

[robinadr]

Nope. I still have the same issue and all the replies I’ve gotten are what you see in this thread.

[tubagruv]

I used to watch on my iPhone all the time, no issues. Now I get the spinning dial on even the lowest-quality videos, and watch pages of the same “video transcode target already exist” error scroll by in the console.

This even happens for the “Optimized for mobile” transcodes that Plex did already, stored in the “Versions For Plex” folders along with the original movies. Movies still play on the TV with no issue. I get much better playback on my phone through the web app, which makes NO sense at all.

[besbese]

Have you checked server resource use when attempting to stream to iOS device? I see a huge spike in CPU usage. Even leaving the spinner running for 30+ minutes, in the hopes that the server is actively transcoding and I might eventually get a buffer, nothing.

[xiphosm3]

I am having the same issues and same CPU hit when trying to stream from IOS.

However, when I stream from the web browser on my iOS devices, it works perfectly.

Menus load, tv shows load, and I can watch everything just fine. It’s only the mobile app that has issues

[tubagruv]

The spike is only temporary for me. After the initial spike, the CPU goes quiet. The app stops talking to the server completely. Spinning dial, 1% CPU, no video. Back to the web app.

[robinadr]

I see other threads from people reporting the same issue… wish someone from the dev or support team would chime in.

[besbese]

Never thought of trying to access through safari… that’s definitely my next step.

[tubagruv]

Safari is the only option for me now. The app is virtually useless, unless you enjoy watching a spinning dial. The server also insists on transcoding x264 in an mp4 container. When did Direct Play stop being an option?