Having an interesting issue with one file not scanning properly, .nfo not pulling video/audio info

[Jack Burton 100]

I found a 4k UHD HDR10 scan of the original 35mm celluloid theatrical print of a film and though it does scan into the server with the film info, the server can't seem to find the file info (video/audio/runtime, etc).

It's an MKV container, but Emby isn't finding the specs. I don't know much about the coding end of things, but comparing to another .nfo, this one is missing all of the video and audio information. Refreshing does nothing.

The file will not play on browsers (no compatible streams) but does play on my Shield and mobile app. When playing, Emby doesn't have it listed in the continue watching portion of the home screen (I'd guess because the runtime info is missing). Seems like it's something about the file though I have no clue why. I tried to copy/paste the video/audio portion of another .nfo and make the adjustments and refreshed, but nothing changed.

The info I have is this:
 

VIDEO INFORMATION --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source : 35mm Theatrical Print Scan (Kodak LPP DIY)

Container : Matroska (MKV)

Duration : 1 h 39 min

Format : HEVC (H.265)

Resolution : 3840 x 2160 (UHD)

Aspect Ratio : 16:9 container (1.78:1 / full scanned frame)

Frame Rate : 23.976 fps

Bit Depth : 10-bit

HDR Format : HDR10 (PQ, BT.2020 primaries, P3 mastering display)

MaxCLL / MaxFALL: 3419 cd/m² / 195 cd/m²

Bitrate : ~50 Mb/s (ABR target)

AUDIO INFORMATION --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Track 1 (Default) : English - FLAC 2.0 Stereo Bitrate : ~1426 kb/s (lossless) Sampling Rate : 48 kHz / 24-bit Source : 35mm Optical (Stereo)

Track 2 : English - FLAC 4.0 Surround Bitrate : ~2596 kb/s (lossless) Sampling Rate : 48 kHz / 24-bit Source : SDU4 Optical (Surround)

Track 3 : English - FLAC 2.0 Stereo Bitrate : ~1378 kb/s (lossless) Sampling Rate : 48 kHz / 24-bit Source : Fox Laserdisc (Stereo)

Track 4 : English - DTS 5.1 Bitrate : 754 kb/s (lossy) Source : Fox Special Edition DVD (Surround)

Track 5 : English - AC-3 4.1 Bitrate : 448 kb/s (lossy) Source : Fox Special Edition DVD (Surround)

Track 6 : English - AC-3 2.0 Stereo Bitrate : 640 kb/s (lossy) Source : Shout! Blu-ray (Stereo)

Track 7 : English - FLAC 2.0 Stereo Bitrate : ~685 kb/s (lossless) Sampling Rate : 48 kHz / 24-bit Source : Arrow Blu-ray (Stereo)

Track 8 : English - FLAC 5.1 Surround Bitrate : ~3222 kb/s (lossless) Sampling Rate : 48 kHz / 24-bit Source : Arrow Blu-ray (Surround)

Track 9 : English - FLAC 2.0 Stereo Bitrate : ~686 kb/s (lossless) Sampling Rate : 48 kHz / 24-bit Source : Midnight Factory Blu-ray (Stereo)

Track 10 : English - FLAC 5.1 Surround Bitrate : ~1378 kb/s (lossless) Sampling Rate : 48 kHz / 24-bit Source : Midnight Factory Blu-ray (Surround)

Track 11 : French - AC-3 2.0 Stereo Bitrate : 192 kb/s (lossy) Source : Fox Special Edition DVD

Track 12 : Italian - FLAC 5.1 Surround Bitrate : ~1218 kb/s (lossless) Sampling Rate : 48 kHz / 24-bit Source : Midnight Factory Blu-ray

 

[Jack Burton 100]

3 minutes ago, The Mad Titan said:

I like to add to this because recently none of my new content added to emby will not scan at all on Emby. I did the whole permission check, manual scan, auto scan and resets that I can thing of. But for some reason it only sees and plays the the current content and new content is not even seen. I have attached logs to see if there is anything you see that i don't.

Thanks in advance for your help.

embyserver.txt 25.57 MB · 0 downloads

I considered an Emby issue like that at first but knocked that out by adding both new episodes and movies which scraped correctly. Seems my issue is specific to the media type I think, though I really don't know how Emby isn't recognizing it. 

[Luke 42505]

HI, please try refreshing the metadata on this video and see if that helps. If it doesn't, then please attach the emby server log. Thanks.

[Jack Burton 100]

Hey @LukeI just refreshed again and nothing. The film itself scans in but the media info is missing, as well as not generating preview thumbs. I added a 1080p version as well to see if it would scan and that version scans perfectly. When selecting the 4k version, the media info is missing, previews are not generated, and the media info at the bottom shows the specs for the 1080p version (location and file size).

Everything else on the server scans fine, seems like it's an issue specifically with this file. It's really not a big deal, just interesting that it's not getting picked up by the server.

embyserver.txt

[Luke 42505]

What makes you think media info is missing?

[Jack Burton 100]

Here's a comparison from the 1080 version and the 4k that's missing info. The 4k is missing the video/audio/sub info, the 'ends at' time, and the chapters. Media info at the bottom has the info for the 1080p version regardless of which is selected.

Edit: This was the same when it was only the 4k file so it's not to do with having 2 versions.

 

Edit 2: I pulled it and re-scanned. I usually use auto organize (love it) and the server moves and tags it accordingly, but still doesn't see the technical bits. The media info at the bottom has the location but no file size, no video/audio info, no 'ends at', or chapters. It's as if it just can't read the file details.

 

Edited May 6 by Jack Burton

[Happy2Play 9834]

Don't see anything in the log beside Auto Organizer.

See this several times (234 times)

2026-05-06 09:21:56.758 Info App: Sorting file /mnt/VI/Downloads/Big.Trouble.in.Little.China.1986.2160p.35mm.Scan.Celluloid.x265.HDR.FLAC.DTS-Kateel12/Big.Trouble.in.Little.China.1986.2160p.35mm.Scan.Celluloid.x265.HDR.FLAC.DTS-Kateel12.mkv
2026-05-06 09:21:56.761 Warn App: Unable to find series in library matching name Big.Trouble.in.Little.China. Manual organization is required due to new series creation being disabled.

 

Edited May 6 by Happy2Play

[Lessaj 502]

Need the log from the re-import. Could probably try to just remux it to fix any potential errors.

[Jack Burton 100]

3 minutes ago, Happy2Play said:

Don't see anything in the log beside Auto Organizer.

See this several times (234 times)

2026-05-06 09:21:56.758 Info App: Sorting file /mnt/VI/Downloads/Big.Trouble.in.Little.China.1986.2160p.35mm.Scan.Celluloid.x265.HDR.FLAC.DTS-Kateel12/Big.Trouble.in.Little.China.1986.2160p.35mm.Scan.Celluloid.x265.HDR.FLAC.DTS-Kateel12.mkv
2026-05-06 09:21:56.761 Warn App: Unable to find series in library matching name Big.Trouble.in.Little.China. Manual organization is required due to new series creation being disabled.

 

I get those errors a lot when auto organize tries to create tv shows. I have new show creation turned off and new movie creation turned on. Auto organize does move and create the movie folder with all scraped descriptions and artwork, but the server can't seem to see the details of the file itself. Again, it's not the end of the world, I'm just curious why it can't for this specific file. It's a unique movie version (scan of an old print) but I don't know why that would affect anything.

[visproduction 360]

Possibly related and might help with HDR10 playback (US use only)
https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9n4wgh0z6vhq?hl=en-US&gl=US

[speechles 2083]

6 hours ago, Jack Burton said:

Here's a comparison from the 1080 version and the 4k that's missing info. The 4k is missing the video/audio/sub info, the 'ends at' time, and the chapters. Media info at the bottom has the info for the 1080p version regardless of which is selected.

Edit: This was the same when it was only the 4k file so it's not to do with having 2 versions.

Edit 2: I pulled it and re-scanned. I usually use auto organize (love it) and the server moves and tags it accordingly, but still doesn't see the technical bits. The media info at the bottom has the location but no file size, no video/audio info, no 'ends at', or chapters. It's as if it just can't read the file details.

 

The only time I have that happen is when that media item is corrupt or otherwise not complete. In order for the video/audio/sub info, the runtime, chapters and stuff of that nature to fill in is for the file to be what is called "extractable". Think of the MKV file like a ZIP only it isn't compressed as the files already are. The MKV header tells the system loading it how that file is built and where streams are and what not. Now imagine if half of that is missing. Then the MKV is unreadable. That is the situation you seem to be in.

https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo/Download

You can try checking the file with MediaInfo and after install right click on the file. Choose "Media Info" and see if it can read the file. If it is blank just like Emby is showing the file is invalid and corrupt.

Some programs like VLC can play around the corruption. They just skip bits they do not understand and attempt to parse out garbage data and find real data. That might be why it can work there but not other apps. VLC should also play it badly every time areas of corruption/missing data are processed.

Try remuxing it with MKVToolNix GUI and see if that fixes it. Just remux and copy everything. MKVToolNix will build a correct header for the data that is there if it can find the data. But maybe it cannot read the MKV either.

Edited May 7 by speechles

[Luke 42505]

Quote

Media info at the bottom has the info for the 1080p version regardless of which is selected.

What makes you think this?

[Jack Burton 100]

10 hours ago, speechles said:

 

The only time I have that happen is when that media item is corrupt or otherwise not complete. In order for the video/audio/sub info, the runtime, chapters and stuff of that nature to fill in is for the file to be what is called "extractable". Think of the MKV file like a ZIP only it isn't compressed as the files already are. The MKV header tells the system loading it how that file is built and where streams are and what not. Now imagine if half of that is missing. Then the MKV is unreadable. That is the situation you seem to be in.

https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo/Download

You can try checking the file with MediaInfo and after install right click on the file. Choose "Media Info" and see if it can read the file. If it is blank just like Emby is showing the file is invalid and corrupt.

Some programs like VLC can play around the corruption. They just skip bits they do not understand and attempt to parse out garbage data and find real data. That might be why it can work there but not other apps. VLC should also play it badly every time areas of corruption/missing data are processed.

Try remuxing it with MKVToolNix GUI and see if that fixes it. Just remux and copy everything. MKVToolNix will build a correct header for the data that is there if it can find the data. But maybe it cannot read the MKV either.

Must have been making it unreadable. Remux fixed it up. Thanks!