Unable to play MP4 files on Xbox One, but they are fine on my phone, web browser and windows client

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
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Server Version#: 1.23.2.4656 (Public) and 1.23.3.4706 (Beta)
Player Version#: Unsure - XBox one latest App

I am currently unable to play any MP4 files in my Xbox One. The same file works fine from the thick client on my phone, on my laptop, or through the web browser. The error is listed below. Logs from the Xbox were set up in debug and pumped into the Server. Server logs are also set to debug, and they have been attached. NOTE that the error saying “Not enough CPU for conversion of this item” is not the actual root cause. I believe it’s the same error as I created here: Unable to play AVI files in either Web or Windows app interfaces; Mobile apps are OK - #12 by JuiceWSA @trumpy81 was helping me with that.

Plex Media Server Logs_2021-06-20_22-16-51.zip (4.3 MB)
Plex Media Server Logs_2021-06-20_22-00-43.zip (5.1 MB)

Summary

Jun 20, 2021 22:16:12.485 [13056] INFO - [Plex for Xbox] [specul8:ualbh08ue6ma9byx9j6camu3] videoStream: {
“id”: 623079,
“streamType”: 1,
“default”: true,
“codec”: “h264”,
“index”: 0,
“bitrate”: 2250,
“bitDepth”: 8,
“chromaLocation”: “left”,
“chromaSubsampling”: “4:2:0”,
“codedHeight”: 800,
“codedWidth”: 1920,
“colorPrimaries”: “bt709”,
“colorRange”: “tv”,
“colorSpace”: “bt709”,
“colorTrc”: “bt709”,
“frameRate”: 23.97599983215332,
“hasScalingMatrix”: false,
“height”: 800,
“level”: 41,
“profile”: “high”,
“refFrames”: 4,
“streamIdentifier”: “1”,
“width”: 1920,
“displayTitle”: “1080p (H.264)”,
“extendedDisplayTitle”: “1080p (H.264)”
}
Jun 20, 2021 22:16:12.485 [13056] INFO - [Plex for Xbox] [specul8:ualbh08ue6ma9byx9j6camu3] audioStream: {
“id”: 623080,
“streamType”: 2,
“selected”: true,
“default”: true,
“codec”: “aac”,
“index”: 1,
“channels”: 6,
“bitrate”: 384,
“audioChannelLayout”: “5.1”,
“profile”: “lc”,
“samplingRate”: 48000,
“streamIdentifier”: “2”,
“displayTitle”: “Unknown (AAC 5.1)”,
“extendedDisplayTitle”: “Unknown (AAC 5.1)”
}
Jun 20, 2021 22:16:12.485 [13056] INFO - [Plex for Xbox] [specul8:ualbh08ue6ma9byx9j6camu3] subtitleStream: none
Jun 20, 2021 22:16:12.485 [13056] WARN - [Plex for Xbox] [specul8:ualbh08ue6ma9byx9j6camu3] Failed to create and set current playable media item - General: Neither direct play nor conversion is available. Direct: App cannot direct play this item. No direct play video profile exists for protocol http, with container mp4, and video codec h264. Transcode: Not enough CPU for conversion of this item.
Jun 20, 2021 22:16:12.485 [13056] WARN - [Plex for Xbox] [specul8:ualbh08ue6ma9byx9j6camu3] [PlaybackSessionController] we failed to create a playable URL!
Jun 20, 2021 22:16:12.486 [13056] ERROR - [Plex for Xbox] [specul8:ualbh08ue6ma9byx9j6camu3] Playback error occurred. Reason: FailedToCreatePlayable, Failed to create a playable with the current play queue item! Message: General: Neither direct play nor conversion is available. Direct: App cannot direct play this item. No direct play video profile exists for protocol http, with container mp4, and video codec h264. Transcode: Not enough CPU for conversion of this item.
Jun 20, 2021 22:16:12.486 [13056] WARN - [Plex for Xbox] [specul8:ualbh08ue6ma9byx9j6camu3] [PlaybackSessionController] could not retry, reporting error
Jun 20, 2021 22:16:12.486 [13056] WARN - [Plex for Xbox] [specul8:ualbh08ue6ma9byx9j6camu3] [PlaybackMetrics] Player sent ready signal or closed but no player or playable provided!

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Hi @trumpy81 - The Xbox plays MKV files through Plex just fine. Both the Xbox and my laptop are running over WiFi to the same router. and my laptop plays the MP4 files just fine (along with MKV) through the Plex app, and through the Browser. My Xbox, the Laptop, and the router are in the same 6x6m room.

Xbox supports AAC audio (in fact, Plex transcodes some other audio formats - such as DTS - to AAC, before sending them to the Xbox). This feels like an error that’s higher up the error chain, and not the root cause.

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It looks like it’s trying to transcode down to 3000Mbps (which is correct, that’s what I had my “Limit Remote Stream Bitrate” set to). When I change that setting to “Original” (just now), the MP4 files start playing just fine. Seems like the bug is somewhere in the logic in this area, or in the automatic transcoding of the files (it may not be working in the current Windows Server version if it’s affected by this setting?)

image
image866×577 86.6 KB

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This also explains why it was working on my laptop - my laptop is VPN’d into my home network, so it would appear (to Plex at least) that it was a “local” client (whereas my Xbox - without a VPN connection - would appear as a remote client, and be affected by this setting).

Is it worth checking to see if the same errors were coming up in my other issue (linked above), and if so, maybe combine this info with the other info that you have supplied the developers to point them in the right direction?

7

AAC LC 5.1 <—often incompatible (like on my Roku in the past)
isn’t the same thing as
AAC 2.0 <— mostly compatible on everything - and what Plex transcodes to, in many cases.

In fact, at my house Xmedia Recode is most used to change AAC 5.1 to AC3 5.1 to remove all possibility of a transcode.

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Hey @trumpy81 - the issue is that by changing the one setting on the Plex server, the files started playing just fine on the Xbox. Please see the post above, with the screenshot indicating the changed setting. The issue is with the Plex Server not being able to transcode, when the bitrate is greater than the Maximum bitrate set in the server settings. It does not appear to have anything to do with the file, or the xbox, because as soon as you take the Plex server’s motivation to reduce the bitrate out of the equation, the file streams natively to the Xbox and plays fine.

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