Transcoder crashes when playing trailers

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
1

Server Version#: 1.15.2.793
Player Version#: 5.12 (iOS)

The trailers before movies stopped working recently. When it attempts to play the trailer it tries to start and then says “Playback was terminated by the server. Conversion failed. The transcoder process crashed.”

I get this error in the Plex App on my iPad and Galaxy S7 Edge phone as well as the Plex Media Player on my Windows 10 PC and Plex Web on a second Windows 10 PC.

The error in the Plex Media Server log file is:

[6472] DEBUG - Jobs: 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Plex\Plex Media Server\Plex Transcoder.exe' exit code for process 12400 is -1073741819 ()
[12752] DEBUG - Streaming Resource: Terminated session 0x9ee4210:EDDE0C77-4A8B-444E-85D3-DA7EB3BDB939 with reason Conversion failed. The transcoder process crashed.

Full detailed log available here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/oo9og1n8c37epy0/Plex_trailer_crash.log?dl=0

Would someone be able to provide some assistance in resolving this?

Thanks!

2

I have not been able to reproduce the crash using the same trailer as i can see in the log

Could you shut down Plex Media Server and do a repair of the installation - Windows Settings / Add or Remove Programs / Plex Media Server / and select Repair

and if problem persists, could you make the following registry edit and try again after PC restart and when you get the crash, look for dmp file for the Transcoder within
C:\Users\Media\AppData\Local\CrashDumps and zip and attach with the full logs zip

Regsistry Edit
Select HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting and below it create a Key named LocalDumps
Save and reboot

3

Hi @sa2000, sure thing I will try your suggestions. I won’t be able to for a few days but will post my results as soon as I get a chance. Thanks!

4

I too, am getting this error on trailer playback.
Server version 1.15.3.835
Running on Windows Server 2016 Standard with latest updates.
Using Plex Media Player for Windows 10 (with latest updates for both)

This issue began when i installed the latest server version this morning.
I have attempted the repair but the issue still persists.
Plex Transcoder.exe.2212.zip (816.1 KB)

5

Would need the corresponding debug Plex Media Server logs for these transcoder crashes

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Hi @sa2000, I tried a repair but that did not fix it. I also updated to the latest version but the problem still happens. I have followed your other instructions.

Dump File:

Log Files:

Thank you very much for looking in to this!

7

They’re right there in my comment.

8

where ? You post has only one attachment Plex Transcoder.exe.2212.zip and that zip just has 4 dmp files

image
image698×145 9.88 KB

For any of the crashes, i need the server log for the time the crash occurred and of course with server debug logging already enabled beforehand

https://support.plex.tv/articles/201643703-reporting-issues-with-plex-media-server/
https://support.plex.tv/articles/200250417-plex-media-server-log-files/

9

I literally followed the instructions you gave to the other poster. That’s what was in the folder that was asked for after making the logging alterations. I’m not sure what else you need or how to get it.

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The instructions were for how to get the dmp files and you have done that. The other users already knew how to get the server logs and provided them

So basically you make sure debug logging is enabled for the server
See https://support.plex.tv/articles/201643703-reporting-issues-with-plex-media-server/

Then when you get the transcoder crash, zip the dmp files (as you have done) and download the server logs zip
See
https://support.plex.tv/articles/200250417-plex-media-server-log-files/
and attach two zips - one for the dmp files and one for the logs

11

Thanks for the dumps and log files

I am still unable to crash the transcoder with same movie trailer and i tried with same version of Plex Media Server that you were running.
I presume the issue remains with the current version you are running 1.15.4.919-8E2884E4B ?

I notice that Per Session Temp Directories are being used. This happens if Plex Media Server is run through an RDP Session and the Group Policy for Remote Desktop Services is set to use different temp files directory for each session

The question is - would running Plex Media Server as normal application and not through RDP make the problem go away?

My second question is about the P: Drive - is it an internal HDD / SSD Drive or networked? And does the problem go away if the Transcoder Temp Directory is switched to default

And please in future - do not enable debug logging in-flight when reproducing the issue but to make sure debug logging is set before the server is launched so i can see debug log lines for the whole startup sequence of the server. So if enabling debug logging - restart the server after that and then reproduce a problem

12

Hi @sa2000,

Yes, it is still happening on 1.15.4.919.

I have done the following:

  • Enabled debug logging
  • Created and set the following registry key to 0 to disable per session temp directories as per this article: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services\PerSessionTempDir
  • Removed advanced Transcode Directory setting (set to blank)
  • Restarted server so Plex would start on server startup (not through RDP session). I did not log in via RDP at all
  • Started a movie from the Plex app on my iPad

The problem still happens. If it helps, when I go to a movie on my iPad and press the Trailer button for the movie the trailer for that movie plays fine. It’s only the pre-movie trailers that have this issue.

Here are the logs and dump file.

Thanks!

13

Hi @sa2000, here is some more information in case it helps. I had said that going to a movie and playing it’s trailer worked. However, it actually does not. The trailer will play for about 45 seconds and then crash (I will post the logs later). So it doesn’t crash right off the bat like the pre-roll trailers but it does eventually crash. Maybe it’s unrelated, but I noticed that the same trailer will direct play on iOS but is transcoded on Windows. The trailer is mp4 and AAC but is transcoded to mkv and OPUS Stereo on Plex Media Player on Windows. Can’t mp4 and AAC be direct played on Windows?

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