Linux update causes problem with Emby Theater

[csadoian 34]

I couldn't find an area in the forums specifically for Emby Theater for Linux, so feel free to move this to a more appropriate forum.

I have two Emby Servers, Windows-based.

I run a mix of clients.  This specifically pertains to the Emby Theater for Linux, version 3.0.19.

I run Emby clients on several Linux boxes.  All are running Linux Mint LMDE 6.  Two use Intel graphics, while one uses Nvidia graphics.

Today I noticed that I could not get any video streams to play on two of my boxes.  Doesn't matter if it's live or a recording.  I select the program and click on play and Emby looks like it's going to play it, but all I get is a spinning circle.  THIS ONLY OCCURS ON THE TWO MACHINES RUNNING EMBY THEATER I HAVE THAT USE INTEL GRAPHICS.  The other machine running Nvidia graphics is unaffected.  Also, the WEB app is unaffected.  I can open Emby  using a web browser on these machines and play video just fine.  It's only Emby Theater that has the problem.

I have traced the issue to a system update that was released yesterday.  The update is titled "Freedesktop Platform Shared Libraries" version 23.08.13.  I restored my machines to a time before that update was installed and Emby works fine.  The minute I install that update Emby fails.  For the time being I am blacklisting that update on the machines using Intel graphics.

Attached are a couple of photos showing the update in question and system specs of one of my systems that use Intel graphics, as shown by neofetch.  The server log is a session where I attempted to play video from the affected Linux client (and failed).

 

embyserver-63846526927.txt

[csadoian 34]

Additional information ... I've been doing some research into this and it looks like this might be a known problem with the latest shared libraries update that I referenced above.  I am seeing some scattered reports of people having issues with video hardware acceleration after this update was installed.  So it looks like it's not an Emby problem, Emby is just getting caught up in the bug(s) introduced with this update.

I will keep an eye on it and see if there are any subsequent updates to this package that will fix the issue.  In the meantime if anyone is using Emby Theater for Linux on a machine with Intel HD graphics I would advise you not to install the update I referenced in the first message.

[Luke 37066]

HI, that's interesting, thanks for following up !

[csadoian 34]

@LukeIs there a log available for Emby Theater for Linux?  The reason I am asking is that further testing on my systems show the only program that I have that is affected by the library update is Emby.  VLC and MPV have no problems playing media files with the library update installed.

I have looked at the server log (one is attached) and I don't see anything there that gives me a clue as to where the problem might be.  The server seems to receive the request to start playing but nothing happens after that.  I never get anything on the server that indicates to me that it is attempting to send video.  I would think if it is a video issue at the client the server would at least begin sending a video stream, but as far as I can tell it doesn't.

The attached log shows me attempting to play from a device named "NISE-3720E".  That's the client that is running with the updated library installed.  The client just shows a spinning circle, the picture never advances past the screen with the overlay.

Right after I attempted to play from the above device I went to another Linux machine that does NOT have the updated library installed.  The device is named "M93p-LMDE".  I started the playback at around 12:00pm and it played fine.

A log of what the client is doing when it hangs would be helpful in figuring out what's actually causing the issue.

 

embyserver.txt

[csadoian 34]

@LukeAlso, if you haven't already noticed the library update in question is a FLATPAK update and not a system update (in my case, I am running Linux Mint Debian Edition, based on Debian 12 Bookworm).

The version of Emby for Linux I installed was the Flatpak version, I may delete that and download the Debian version directly from your website.  Maybe it might make a difference.

Update:  I removed the flatpak version of Emby, deleted everything in /home/user/.var/app/media.emby.EmbyTheater/config/Emby Theater and then installed using the Debian/Ubuntu/Linux Mint package available on your web site.  The problem went away.  I successfully installed the updated library and Emby still works fine.

Therefore there is an issue with the current flatpak version of Emby Theater, when run on hardware with Intel HD graphics.  Perhaps it needs to be re-built with current libraries?

Edited March 25 by csadoian

[Luke 37066]

On 3/25/2024 at 4:17 PM, csadoian said:

@LukeAlso, if you haven't already noticed the library update in question is a FLATPAK update and not a system update (in my case, I am running Linux Mint Debian Edition, based on Debian 12 Bookworm).

The version of Emby for Linux I installed was the Flatpak version, I may delete that and download the Debian version directly from your website.  Maybe it might make a difference.

Update:  I removed the flatpak version of Emby, deleted everything in /home/user/.var/app/media.emby.EmbyTheater/config/Emby Theater and then installed using the Debian/Ubuntu/Linux Mint package available on your web site.  The problem went away.  I successfully installed the updated library and Emby still works fine.

Therefore there is an issue with the current flatpak version of Emby Theater, when run on hardware with Intel HD graphics.  Perhaps it needs to be re-built with current libraries?

HI, we'll take a look at this. Thanks for reporting.