Plex Media Server running on AsusWRT Arm Routers!!!

[WET]

I see that you highly recommend Plex over the embedded miniDLNA, my question is why?

Since the embedded miniDLNA works perfectly and Plex on the ARM router will not do transcoding, what is Plex bringing that the embedded miniDLNA does not do?

I have an RT-AC68U with 2 HD's connected, one HD is for media with hundreds of 4GB m2ts & vob movies. I do restrict media scanning to a single file to keep router from scanning everything on the network but as I said earlier, I find the embedded miniDLNA has been working perfectly for a very long time now.

I do have some avi files that will not play on certain clients but without transcoding, Plex will not play these either. I am interested if Plex will bring some improvements over miniDLNA.

One other item, miniDLNA plays Cinavia protected movies because it is not smart enough to detect the encoding. Will Plex play the sound successfully on Cinavia protected movies?

 

[TeHashX]

I didn't highly recommend plexmediaserver over minidlna, this is just an alternative.
Plex organize better movies and series, see Plex Web UI.
You can try playing your protected video files and leave a feedback.

 

[Jozek]

I see that you highly recommend Plex over the embedded miniDLNA, my question is why?

Since the embedded miniDLNA works perfectly and Plex on the ARM router will not do transcoding, what is Plex bringing that the embedded miniDLNA does not do?

I have an RT-AC68U with 2 HD's connected, one HD is for media with hundreds of 4GB m2ts & vob movies. I do restrict media scanning to a single file to keep router from scanning everything on the network but as I said earlier, I find the embedded miniDLNA has been working perfectly for a very long time now.

I do have some avi files that will not play on certain clients but without transcoding, Plex will not play these either. I am interested if Plex will bring some improvements over miniDLNA.

One other item, miniDLNA plays Cinavia protected movies because it is not smart enough to detect the encoding. Will Plex play the sound successfully on Cinavia protected movies?

I have same router and performance is very poor


Enviado desde mi iPhone utilizando Tapatalk

 

[airtrack]

your site is down
I really want plex on my router. i cant use chromecast on minidlna

 

[TeHashX]

your site is down
I really want plex on my router. i cant use chromecast on minidlna

Try now

 

[TeHashX]

Feedback needed from RT-AC86U owners, I think is the only Asus router with v4 kernel.
https://www.hqt.ro/plex-media-server-on-asuswrt-armhf-routers/

 

[Blak24]

Feedback needed from RT-AC86U owners, I think is the only Asus router with v4 kernel.
https://www.hqt.ro/plex-media-server-on-asuswrt-armhf-routers/

I need some help, I don't want to mess anything while installing Debian, but I have some questions about the step 3 in the guide which is linked in this article. I have a AC86U. I also posted a detailed comment on the page about Debian installation for the AC86U

 

[Sebastien Bougie]

Hello,

I have a problem with plex and i'm sure its something easy to fix but i dont know how to fix it. The server is up and running, indexing is done. But when i try to play MP3 files, nothing is happening. If i try to play the mp3 file from android device i'm getting Player Error, from PC it doesnt play.

Can someone help?
Thanks

 

[heysoundude]

Only if you purchase a nas, Odroid, RPI...

Is there a tutorial somewhere about how to do that, integrate an external co-processor?

 

[galex1]

I have installed PLEX on Netgear R7000 (same CPU BCM4709 as AC68U-rev.B1) under FreshTomato FW 2018.3 based on simple instruction from linksysinfo.org (it's also Debian chroot environment + Plex). The server is up and running, indexing is done but then I've got the same problem like a guy two posts above - when i try to play any movie or MP3 files, nothing is happening ...
Can anybody advice what's the problem there ... ?

UPD: MP3 play now ! But any movie still no ...

 

[TeHashX]

Try to play a file then search on plex log what's the error

 

[galex1]

Try to play a file then search on plex log what's the error

Thank you for reply !

I re-installed everything in accordance with your instructions from here but ... the same results: MP3 play but movies - no !

I have installed everything in accordance with instructions - everything is OK, server is up and library is indexed. Photos, MP3 play on all attached players, no problem. But, no one movie is playing: (in the log) server tries to use transcoding but no transcoding supported (WEB->Player: Direct Play and Direct Stream are both on). I tried different movie formats. With the same time all those "test" movies are played well via DLNA on the same players. How to disable (if possible) transcoding at all ? It would be nice to use PLEX just like DLNA but with its all beautiful features (funarts) ?

Spoiler

Aug 01, 2018 14:47:04 [0x54288400] DEBUG - Auth: We found auth token (xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx), enabling token-based authentication.
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:04 [0x54288400] DEBUG - Auth: Came in with a super-token, authorization succeeded.
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:04 [0x54288400] DEBUG - Found session GUID of zly34ucmqn in session start.
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - TranscodeUniversalRequest: using profile Web
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - Downloading document http://127.0.0.1:32400/library/metadata/51?X-Plex-Token=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx&checkFiles=1
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - HTTP requesting GET http://127.0.0.1:32400/library/metadata/51?X-Plex-Token=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx&checkFiles=1
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x52a88400] DEBUG - Request: [127.0.0.1:30578] GET /library/metadata/51 (5 live) GZIP
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x52a88400] DEBUG - Auth: We found auth token (xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx), enabling token-based authentication.
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x52a88400] DEBUG - Auth: Came in with a super-token, authorization succeeded.
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x52a88400] DEBUG - Updating part with ID=46 [/mnt/000/Layer Cake.avi]
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x52a88400] DEBUG - We're going to try to auto-select an audio stream for account 1.
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x52a88400] DEBUG - Selecting best audio stream for part ID 46 (autoselect: 0 language: ru)
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x52a88400] DEBUG - Audio Stream: 126, Subtitle Stream: -1
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x52a88400] DEBUG - It took 0.0 sec to serialize a list with 1 elements.
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x45b85400] DEBUG - Completed: [127.0.0.1:30578] GET /library/metadata/51 (5 live) GZIP 150ms 2386 bytes 200
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - MDE: analyzing media item 46
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - MDE: Layer Cake (2005): Direct Play is disabled
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - MDE: Layer Cake (2005): no direct play video profile exists for http/avi/mpeg4
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - MDE: Layer Cake (2005): no direct play video profile exists for http/avi/mpeg4/mp3
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - MDE: Layer Cake (2005): no remuxable profile found, so video stream will be transcoded
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - MDE: computed resolution bounding box of 688x288.
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - Scaled up video bitrate to 1276Kbps based on 1.500000x fudge factor.
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - MDE: Layer Cake (2005): selected media 0 / 46
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - Cleaning directory for session zly34ucmqn ()
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - Starting a transcode session zly34ucmqn at offset -1.0 (state=2)
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - [Universal] Using local file path instead of URL: /mnt/000/Layer Cake.avi
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - TranscodeJobManager: [Running] onTranscodeSessionStarted: zly34ucmqn
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - TranscodeJobManager: [Running] -> [Throttled]
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - Job running: XDG_CACHE_HOME='/home/Library/Caches/PlexMediaServer/' XDG_DATA_HOME='/plex/Resources/' '/plex/Resources/Plex New Transcoder' '-i' '/mnt/000/Layer Cake.avi' '-filter_complex' '[0:0]scale=w=min(688\,iw):h=min(288\,ih):force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease[0]' '-map' '[0]' '-codec:0' 'libx264' '-crf:0' '18' '-pix_fmt:0' 'yuv420p' '-maxrate:0' '1276k' '-bufsize:0' '2552k' '-r:0' '23.975999999999999' '-preset:0' 'veryfast' '-x264opts:0' 'cabac=0:8x8dct=1:bframes=0:subme=2:me_range=4:rc_lookahead=10:me=dia:no_chroma_me:8x8dct=0artitions=none' '-map' '0:#0x01' '-codec:1' 'aac' '-strict:1' 'experimental' '-cutoff:1' '15000' '-ar:1' '48000' '-channel_layout:1' 'stereo' '-b:1' '256k' '-f' 'matroska' '-avoid_negative_ts' 'disabled' '-map_metadata' '-1' '-map_chapters' '-1' '-' '-start_at_zero' '-copyts' '-y' '-nostats' '-loglevel' 'quiet' '-loglevel_plex' 'error' '-progressurl' 'http://127.0.0.1:32400/video/:/transcode/session/zly34ucmqn/progress'
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] ERROR - Failed to start session successfully.
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - Cleaning directory for session zly34ucmqn (/home/Library/Caches/PlexMediaServer/Transcode/Sessions/plex-transcode-zly34ucmqn-6c16e98f-1fdc-4c4c-a46b-a9923ccbdcc2)
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x45b85400] DEBUG - Completed: [192.168.1.104:49491] GET /video/:/transcode/universal/start?path=http%3A%2F%2F127.0.0.1%3A32400%2Flibrary%2Fmetadata%2F51&mediaIndex=0&partIndex=0&protocol=http&offset=0&fastSeek=1&directPlay=0&directStream=1&subtitleSize=100&audioBoost=100&session=zly34ucmqn&subtitles=burn&copyts=1&Accept-Language=en (5 live) 933ms 251 bytes 404

 

[galex1]

Thank you for reply !

I re-installed everything in accordance with your instructions from here but ... the same results: MP3 play but movies - no !

I have installed everything in accordance with instructions - everything is OK, server is up and library is indexed. Photos, MP3 play on all attached players, no problem. But, no one movie is playing: (in the log) server tries to use transcoding but no transcoding supported (WEB->Player: Direct Play and Direct Stream are both on). I tried different movie formats. With the same time all those "test" movies are played well via DLNA on the same players. How to disable (if possible) transcoding at all ? It would be nice to use PLEX just like DLNA but with its all beautiful features (funarts) ?

Spoiler

Aug 01, 2018 14:47:04 [0x54288400] DEBUG - Auth: We found auth token (xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx), enabling token-based authentication.
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:04 [0x54288400] DEBUG - Auth: Came in with a super-token, authorization succeeded.
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:04 [0x54288400] DEBUG - Found session GUID of zly34ucmqn in session start.
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - TranscodeUniversalRequest: using profile Web
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - Downloading document http://127.0.0.1:32400/library/metadata/51?X-Plex-Token=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx&checkFiles=1
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - HTTP requesting GET http://127.0.0.1:32400/library/metadata/51?X-Plex-Token=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx&checkFiles=1
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x52a88400] DEBUG - Request: [127.0.0.1:30578] GET /library/metadata/51 (5 live) GZIP
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x52a88400] DEBUG - Auth: We found auth token (xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx), enabling token-based authentication.
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x52a88400] DEBUG - Auth: Came in with a super-token, authorization succeeded.
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x52a88400] DEBUG - Updating part with ID=46 [/mnt/000/Layer Cake.avi]
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x52a88400] DEBUG - We're going to try to auto-select an audio stream for account 1.
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x52a88400] DEBUG - Selecting best audio stream for part ID 46 (autoselect: 0 language: ru)
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x52a88400] DEBUG - Audio Stream: 126, Subtitle Stream: -1
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x52a88400] DEBUG - It took 0.0 sec to serialize a list with 1 elements.
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x45b85400] DEBUG - Completed: [127.0.0.1:30578] GET /library/metadata/51 (5 live) GZIP 150ms 2386 bytes 200
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - MDE: analyzing media item 46
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - MDE: Layer Cake (2005): Direct Play is disabled
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - MDE: Layer Cake (2005): no direct play video profile exists for http/avi/mpeg4
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - MDE: Layer Cake (2005): no direct play video profile exists for http/avi/mpeg4/mp3
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - MDE: Layer Cake (2005): no remuxable profile found, so video stream will be transcoded
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - MDE: computed resolution bounding box of 688x288.
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - Scaled up video bitrate to 1276Kbps based on 1.500000x fudge factor.
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - MDE: Layer Cake (2005): selected media 0 / 46
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - Cleaning directory for session zly34ucmqn ()
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - Starting a transcode session zly34ucmqn at offset -1.0 (state=2)
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - [Universal] Using local file path instead of URL: /mnt/000/Layer Cake.avi
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - TranscodeJobManager: [Running] onTranscodeSessionStarted: zly34ucmqn
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - TranscodeJobManager: [Running] -> [Throttled]
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - Job running: XDG_CACHE_HOME='/home/Library/Caches/PlexMediaServer/' XDG_DATA_HOME='/plex/Resources/' '/plex/Resources/Plex New Transcoder' '-i' '/mnt/000/Layer Cake.avi' '-filter_complex' '[0:0]scale=w=min(688\,iw):h=min(288\,ih):force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease[0]' '-map' '[0]' '-codec:0' 'libx264' '-crf:0' '18' '-pix_fmt:0' 'yuv420p' '-maxrate:0' '1276k' '-bufsize:0' '2552k' '-r:0' '23.975999999999999' '-preset:0' 'veryfast' '-x264opts:0' 'cabac=0:8x8dct=1:bframes=0:subme=2:me_range=4:rc_lookahead=10:me=dia:no_chroma_me:8x8dct=0artitions=none' '-map' '0:#0x01' '-codec:1' 'aac' '-strict:1' 'experimental' '-cutoff:1' '15000' '-ar:1' '48000' '-channel_layout:1' 'stereo' '-b:1' '256k' '-f' 'matroska' '-avoid_negative_ts' 'disabled' '-map_metadata' '-1' '-map_chapters' '-1' '-' '-start_at_zero' '-copyts' '-y' '-nostats' '-loglevel' 'quiet' '-loglevel_plex' 'error' '-progressurl' 'http://127.0.0.1:32400/video/:/transcode/session/zly34ucmqn/progress'
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] ERROR - Failed to start session successfully.
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x54288400] DEBUG - Cleaning directory for session zly34ucmqn (/home/Library/Caches/PlexMediaServer/Transcode/Sessions/plex-transcode-zly34ucmqn-6c16e98f-1fdc-4c4c-a46b-a9923ccbdcc2)
Aug 01, 2018 14:47:05 [0x45b85400] DEBUG - Completed: [192.168.1.104:49491] GET /video/:/transcode/universal/start?path=http%3A%2F%2F127.0.0.1%3A32400%2Flibrary%2Fmetadata%2F51&mediaIndex=0&partIndex=0&protocol=http&offset=0&fastSeek=1&directPlay=0&directStream=1&subtitleSize=100&audioBoost=100&session=zly34ucmqn&subtitles=burn&copyts=1&Accept-Language=en (5 live) 933ms 251 bytes 404

I'm fool ! Just download test "SampleVideo_1280x720_30mb.mp4" movie which is 100% fits to PLEX requirements. It works ! I can play it via desktop Chrome and on Sony TV (Plex app) and on iPad (Plex app) ! So PMS 100% works but it can't arrange DirectPlay/DirectStream for the "others" file format like .avi, .mkv, and similar. It TRIES to start transcoding but can't.

As I understand with this build there is no transcoding feature at all. Does it mean PMS HAS TO start any "others" format with DirectPlay by itself OR it will only try IN ANY CASE to start transcoding ... but something goes wrong here and disturbs to start it ? How to push PMS to disable transcoding at all for all types of files ? If even it's possible of course ...

 

[MSY]

Folks, with a powerful enough router such as the RT-AC87U or RT-AC88U, I can highly recommend Plex over Minidlna. I am running Plex on a Bananapi presently, connected directly to my RT-AC88U over the 1Gb ethernet link. Runs great.

This is a full featured media server, much more intelligent with managing media/databases.

I am going to give TeHashX plex instructions a go. My dual-cores need some workout!

What arch is 88U, an ARMel or ARMhf ?

Will it transcode ?

Are the PMS installation instructions still applicable to 88u, with current versions of PMS ?

My 88u details:
Device Lable: HW Ver: A5, 2016
Kernel o/p: Linux router88u 2.6.36.4brcmarm #1 SMP PREEMPT Wed Jul 31 13:38:11 EDT 2019 armv7l ASUSWRT-Merlin

Many thanks in advance for this information thread. Appreciate it!

 

[TeHashX]

RT-AC88U cpu is ARMel architecture and don't have transcoding capabilities, installation instructions are still applicable.

 

[MSY]

RT-AC88U cpu is ARMel architecture and don't have transcoding capabilities, installation instructions are still applicable.

Thanks for clarification

 

[cvkef]

Hi, I followed the guide and installed the Plex Media Server on my RT-AX88U.
So, first things first. Awesome job. Everything worked perfectly! Thank you for your contribution @TeHashX !.

I have 3 libraries, Movies (4k files), TV Shows (1080p files) and Music (very large one with flac files).
I have configured Plex Media Server and disabled almost everything extra (I've even disabled the DLNA option).

I'm on Asuswrt-Merlin v384.15 with a 2GB swap.
The issue here is that my swap file is not enough! The router crashes often enough and I have to restart my processes manually.
Anyone has similar issues? Can I increase my swap partition? Will it solve the issue?

Thank you!

 

[JGrana]

I am surprised that an AX88U with a 2GB swap file would run out with just Plex. In any case, assuming you have the space on your USB device, removing the existing 2GB swap file and creating a 4GB one should not be a problem.
I noticed you mentioned swap partition. I used dedicated swap partitions in the past but now use swap files. My research indicated that in most cases there is little or no difference in performance. Plus, a swap file is easier to manage/change.

BTW, I haven’t tried Plex on any of my routers in the past few years. I switched to a Raspberry Pi 3 to run Plex.
The AX88U with it’s faster 4 cores and increased memory might make me want to give it a spin.

 

[cvkef]

I am surprised that an AX88U with a 2GB swap file would run out with just Plex. In any case, assuming you have the space on your USB device, removing the existing 2GB swap file and creating a 4GB one should not be a problem.
I noticed you mentioned swap partition. I used dedicated swap partitions in the past but now use swap files. My research indicated that in most cases there is little or no difference in performance. Plus, a swap file is easier to manage/change.

BTW, I haven’t tried Plex on any of my routers in the past few years. I switched to a Raspberry Pi 3 to run Plex.
The AX88U with it’s faster 4 cores and increased memory might make me want to give it a spin.

Sorry for my noob question. Yes indeed I use a swap partition. Could you please point me how to change to the swap file? Thanks again.

Edit: I did my googling and sorted it out . Will try a 4GB swap and check again.

My guess for the swap running out is that almost all agents are running all the time. Also, my music library is huge, about 2.5TB flac files.

 

[TeHashX]

Hi, first you have to find which script is mounting swap file/partition, usually is inside post-mount script with command "
swapon /opt/swap"

If you have a swap partition, delete/comment swap mounting script and reboot router.
Now, to mount swap file, add to the end of post-mount script (change path if you want in other location)

sleep 2
if [ -f /opt/swap ]
then
  echo -e "Mounting swap file..."
  swapon /opt/swap
else
  echo -e "Swap file not found or /opt is not mounted..."
fi

Now unmount and delete swap file

swapoff /opt/swap
rm /opt/swap

Create a new 4Gb swap file (it may take a while)

dd if=/dev/zero of=/opt/swap bs=1024 count=4194304
mkswap /opt/swap
chmod 0600 /opt/swap
swapon /opt/swap

Check if is mounted

free