Server Version#: 1.32.0.6973-a787c5a8e
Player Version#: 1.38.2.3738-02a27646
System Information:
Processor: Intel(R) Core™ i5-7500T CPU @ 2.70GHz 2.71 GHz
Installed RAM: 16.0 GB (15.9 GB usable)
Edition: Windows 10 Home
Version: 22H2
OS build: 19045.2846 Plex HTPC.log (258.5 KB)
Ever since the last Windows HTPC update, controls have either been very laggy or not working at all. As examples:
When initially launching Plex, I can’t use the arrow keys to navigate. It’s only after I select something with the mouse cursor that I can start using the arrow keys.
After starting to play any video, all controls either become completely unresponsive or are extremely laggy. Arrow keys don’t respond, you can still move the mouse cursor but can’t click on anything, hitting space bar to pause doesn’t work, hitting esc doesn’t bring you back to menu, etc.
If you allow a video to finish, it doesn’t exit to the menu or play the next video. It just stays on a black screen and is unresponsive. No keys work, the mouse cursor is still visible but doesn’t interact with anything on screen.
I installed the non-HTPC version of the player to test and it works fine. Prior to the last update on April 21, 2023, everything was working flawlessly.
I worked around it by uninstalling completely, reinstalling an older build and disabling updates to the player but I’d like to get the most recent version fixed if possible. Anyone know next steps?
I’m on the latest version and do not have these issues, however, just so everyone is clear, Plex HTPC is and always has been designed to be used with a remote, not a mouse.
Plex Windows HTPC has worked fine with a wireless keyboard/mouse combo connected to a Windows PC since the beginning of its release. The issue isn’t with the mouse, it’s with software not responding to the keyboard (or remote). Most Windows PCs don’t have a remote, and when you can find one, it’s basically a wireless keyboard/mouse in a smaller chassis.
The control method isn’t really the issue here though so those points are rather moot.
The issue is with the video playback not responding or ending correctly when a video finishes or a request to pause/fast forward is given.
If we take just the black screen issue at the end of a video playback as an example there is no input given or needed. The video should stop when it has finished but, instead, a black screen is shown for a prolonged period of time. I have left it at that screen for testing and it does eventually complete but takes upwards of 15 minutes to do so.
If you force-quit the application when the black screen is showing, and then re-open it, the last video you watched is shown as only being part way through. It is almost as if the video timecode is being misinterpreted by the application and the reason for the delay is that it waits to respond until it catches up.
Outside of videos playing, all controls work fine. If you manage to pause a video (which can take a long time to respond also) the controls work to start it again without issue.
If it is of any help in narrowing this issue down, all of my videos are in an .mp4 container and are encoded with HEVC/x265 and with stereo audio only.
This sounds like a “focus” issue.
Are you starting software automatically? If so, is it possible that one of these apps is actually starting after Plex HTPC is launched? If this is the case, then Plex HTPC doesn’t have the input focus and doesn’t react to keyboard input.
If you run software automatically via autostart or similar methods, look for a way that Plex HTPC is started as last app.
Re: the responsiveness issues, I’d start by resetting the player by deleting the plex.ini from the config folder. C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Plex HTPC
I am seeing the slowdown too (on Windows 10), my observations are:
control method makes no difference. Controlling via CEC remote or keyboard, same result.
initially the player is responsive, but over time it gets more and more slower, down to situations where i press the button to bring up the menu and it will take Plex tens of seconds to respond.
when i was waiting for Plex to respond, i checked Plex folder and i seen that Plex HTPC was constantly overwriting the plex configuration file (plex.ini) while playing back a video. When i pause/stop the video, the file stops being updated. Overwriting was noticeable because of few indicators - every 2-3 seconds i would see a lock file show up, plus i would see 1-2 temporary plex.ini. files.
To me this indicates that in last update some functionality of playback decides to update the configuration file, but over time more and more instances of same action try to do the same thing, so by the time Plex controls slow down the application has multiple pending operations to update the configuration file.
I did this with no noticeable difference. I ended up having to uninstall completely and install an older version of the software for it to work properly.
I confirmed that my GPU driver is at the latest recommended available for my system.
Just a followup to my previous information about ini files - in 20 seconds of playback, plex.ini.lock was deleted 343 times and written into 686 times. FileActivityWatch application noticed same amount of temporary plex.ini.* files (plex.ini.ZzmZqc or other random last 6 characters). Might be unrelated, but doesn’t look like normal to me that plex.ini gets rewritten many times per second only when playing file.
Noticed same issue about plex.ini, reverted to 1.36.1.3638 and does not exhibit this behavior also, responsiveness is back to normal.
edit: need to say the lag or unresponsiveness does not happen on my beefy gaming computer but in the viewing room I’m running on an old Intel NUC with a 1.8ghz cpu with on board graphics.
The way the latest version writes and rewrites to plex.ini will probably shorten the life of any SSD!
This NUC has been perfect for years so wondering how one update can screw it all
Not sure it is. I just applied the update and came here to report these very same issues. The system goes almost full non responsive during playback.
EDIT: It appears that I lied. It was a few versions behind, and when it updated, it updated to version 1.38.2, and not 1.39.1. A manual install has solved the issue.
