Server Version#: 1.18.9.2571
Player Version#: Android (7.29.2.16071), Fire Stick Newest Version Available
I have been trying to use Plex mainly on a fire stick that I have at my in-laws but that fire stick is using OpenVPN to gain access to my home network through a OpenVPN Server running on my pfsense router, play back works at full quality and if I enable transcoding it defaults to the bitrate that the original file is. I i try to change the bitrate to anything other than Auto or Original Quality I simply receive the error “An error occurred while attempting to play this video. Please try restarting both the Plex Media Server and this app” both of which I have done with no luck so far. If i disable OpenVPN and run over open internet it works fine, I need OpenVPN for use with other apps running on the fire stick and due to the speed of the internet connection at my in-laws I need to lower the bitrate with transcoding to limit the buffering happening.
v7.30 was just released with many fixes (announcement). It usually takes several days for Amazon to publish a new update.
Depending on your or your in-laws comfort level, you could sideload the app to their FireStick. Use the FireOS Devices version.
Before sideloading, check the Max H.264 level in the FireStick Plex app settings. Some versions had a bug and set it to 1.0 (fixed in 7.30). It should be 5.1 or 5.2. Check & change if needed.
Also in the Plex app, try disabling the advanced/new video player if you see the option (settings -> advanced). It has caused issues for some users. Using the new player may be Plex Pass only right now. Not sure if you’ll see the option to disable.
The new player is not Plex Pass only, and will be the only player soon, so we’re trying to fix any issues we can track, rather than just have people disable it.
I understand you’re trying to get the kinks worked out of the new player.
FWIW, here’s how I assessed things:
From what I’ve seen on other threads, 7.30 is a solid release. The same cannot be said for 7.29.x.
The Firestick is at a remote site. Accessibility to site by @nlibby is unknown.
Plex was essentially unusable for the people at that site.
The technical ability of the people at that site is unknown.
Updates to the Amazon store generally lag the Google Play store by days if not weeks due to Amazon policies, so availability of v7.30 by “normal” update methods is unknown.
I wanted to provide a range of options instead of an incremental approach.
In hindsight, I probably should have asked if it was possible to get the client settings, client logs, etc. I definitely would have done so if the FireStick was not remote.
Instead, I jumped straight to “Do X to fix the problem.” It resulted in things working in short order (good for end user), but the root cause of the problem is unknown (not good for Plex developers).
So, thanks for the info and the feedback. I’ll try to be better about gathering diagnostic details in the future.
It’s fine for people to disable it as an interim solution, but we still want to get to the root cause, so that when that isn’t an option anymore, everything still works. I’ve been using 7.30 for a while, and it’s been rock solid for me, with some more exciting changes coming in 7.31 (or at least exciting for me).
