Can't Play MKV File...

[Hypnotic01 0]

I’m unable to play an MKV file that plays fine with VLC media player.

I’ve attached the logs. Can you please review them and let me know what the problem is?

embyserver.txt

Edited February 23 by Hypnotic01

[Hypnotic01 0]

Bump?

[pwhodges 2023]

Some information would help...

What are you trying to play?
How are you trying to play it?
When did you try it?
What happened instead?

A quick look doesn't show me any playback failures in the server, but the client stops playback very quickly every time.  Earlier there are loads of Emby Connect errors, and a load of strange errors when processing some images that are in use by another process, or are not authorised.

Paul

[Hypnotic01 0]

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What are you trying to play?

An MKV file.  A movie called Signs.

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How are you trying to play it?

By clicking on the movie in Emby, like I would any other content within Emby.

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When did you try it?

Tried it multiple times within that log, probably 4 or 5 times near the end of the log.  The log should show this.
 

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What happened instead?

Nothing.  Emby sits on a black screen and spins forever.  I cannot get the file to play, regardless of what I do.

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Earlier there are loads of Emby Connect errors, and a load of strange errors when processing some images that are in use by another process, or are not authorised.

No idea why any of that would be happening, literally just purchased Emby premium a couple weeks ago and have uploaded my media into it.  There should be no reason for any errors or "other processes, no authorized"

[GrimReaper 4832]

That might be browser issue, not necessarily Emby issue, since you're using Firefox (which ain't exactly known as a great media-consumption browser).

Have you tried playback in some other browser (Edge, Chrome, Thorium...)?

[pwhodges 2023]

Have you looked to see whether the browser is reporting an error somewhere?  Because the server log simply shows the web client shutting down.

Also, is the problem specific to this one file?  Have you played it in Emby before?  In any case, a worthwhile step for a problem MKV file is simply to remux it using MKVToolNix - this is a quick process, and doesn't involve any changes to the actual video or audio, but has often been known to fix puzzling issues.

Paul

[Luke 42160]

@Hypnotic01?

[wolfbyte 0]

This might seem obvious to others, and I swore it was an issue 'inside Emby' to a degree, due to my own naivety, but just in case someone stumbles upon this thread like I did, this is what worked for me:

1) Check user permissions on the Emby Server for your libraries - this wasn't my issue as I have given myself access to all libraries, but still a good first check

2) Make sure your user on your machine hosting Emby has the correct permissions. In my case, I set up a new app, unrelated to Emby, to pull my content into a new media folder I had just created and even though I had added the new path into my Docker Compose file for Emby and restart the server, I was unable to play the content. After SSH'ing into my device and providing my user with the correct read/write permissions, I was able to play the content without any issues.

That may not be what's happening here at all, I'm not the most savvy person, but figured those are 2 points worth ruling out, with an emphasis on making sure new volumes/folders have the correct permissions for your user on your machine.