This server is not powerful enough to convert video

Plex Media Server
1

Server Version#: Version 1.20.0.3133
Player Version#: Computer, plextv ,XBOX1 , Samsung TV
FreeNas: FreeNAS-11.3-U4
plugin: plexmediaserver-plexpass

Plex has suddenly started returning the error “This server is not powerful enough to convert video.” no matter what type of video is selected. Or what device I try to play it on.

Tried

  • restarting plex
  • Updating Plex
  • Restarting Freenas
  • Cleaning bundles
  • Optimizing Database

Note I’m not trying to play 4k movies here.

I have had no issue playing any of my movies until the 28/07
I cannot even play a movie I had played the day before.

As a test I installed plexmediaserver-plexpass on another jail attached one of the media folders as attached in the first install.

Selected a movie from the first install and received “This server is not powerful enough to convert video” error.

Selected the same move from the new install remembering its the same folder the movie is in from the first install and it plays without issue.

Any movie I select irrespective of size or extension plays in the new install where as they all fail for the same error in the first install.

Now before anyone says just blow away the first install and remap all the folders then go to every device that access plex remap the new server and reorder all the folders again and say fixed.
What is to stop this from happening again.

What I hope is someone has had and found a fix for this and willing to share so I and anyone else with the same issue can resolve the Plex Fault in the first install and get on enjoying Plex.

Thanks in advance.

2

Is this enabled? Settings -> Transcoder.

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image826×136 31.4 KB

This checkbox would instantly cause that error if your content needs to be transcoded.

It also might be worth trying to get your content to play Direct, but that’s a second issue.

3

I thought they changed that so it gives an actual message now saying that transcoding is disabled on the server.

4

I don’t think so yet. I hope the messaging gets improved. It confuses users today.

I know a Fire stick got a lousy error message the other day, because I helped them fix it.

From the current desktop app:

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image904×416 14.5 KB

5

Thanks Volts I disabled that checkbox and they now play.

Interesting that I must of checked that weeks ago and took so long to affect the playback.

1 Like
6

Maybe the stuff you’ve been watching until now has been Direct Play or Stream capable.

Sometimes the client settings for Quality, especially, but also Direct Play and Direct Stream, get disabled.

If you know you have the bandwidth for it, enabling those can make playback faster and avoid the server doing unnecessary transcodes.

7

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