SOLVED: Playback issues after update

[Despair]

After the update to 10.9.7, or maybe the one before (I'm not sure), I cannot play a lot of files: after a bit of troubleshooting I think playback fails if transcoding is involved, because I found those lines in the logfile:

root@jellyfin:/config/log# cat log_20240708.log | grep ffmpeg
[2024-07-08 11:35:50.070 +00:00] [INF] [1] Main: Environment Variables: ["[JELLYFIN_FFMPEG, /usr/lib/jellyfin-ffmpeg/ffmpeg]", "[JELLYFIN_CONFIG_DIR, /config/config]", "[DOTNET_SYSTEM_GLOBALIZATION_INVARIANT, 1]", "[JELLYFIN_MEDIA_DIR, /media]", "[JELLYFIN_DATA_DIR, /config]", "[JELLYFIN_LOG_DIR, /config/log]", "[JELLYFIN_CACHE_DIR, /cache]", "[JELLYFIN_WEB_DIR, /jellyfin/jellyfin-web]"]
[2024-07-08 11:35:50.076 +00:00] [INF] [1] Main: Arguments: ["/jellyfin/jellyfin.dll", "--datadir", "/config", "--cachedir", "/cache", "--ffmpeg", "/usr/local/bin/ffmpeg"]
System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception (2): An error occurred trying to start process '/usr/local/bin/ffmpeg' with working directory '/'. No such file or directory
[2024-07-08 11:39:48.326 +00:00] [WRN] [1] MediaBrowser.MediaEncoding.Encoder.MediaEncoder: FFmpeg: Failed version check: "/usr/local/bin/ffmpeg"

I tried to search online for this issue, and I found people suggesting to set the ffmpeg path under Settings > Playback, but on my server the field is empty and greyed out.

Server version: 10.9.7 - latest official docker image
Client version: WebUI on Firefox, latest app on WebOS, same issue
OS: Archlinux

[TheDreadPirate]

At some point were you trying to use a different ffmpeg than what is bundled with Jellyfin? The path it is looking at is not the default path. Should be /usr/lib/jellyfin-ffmpeg/ffmpeg.

[Despair]

Never tried to change ffmpeg, always used the default confguration. The strange thing is, in the first line, seems like it is aware of the right path: [JELLYFIN_FFMPEG, /usr/lib/jellyfin-ffmpeg/ffmpeg] but after that it tries to launch ffmpeg from /usr/local/bin/ffmpeg

[TheDreadPirate]

Can you share the contents of container path /config/config/encoding.xml? Whatever that translates to for your host path.

[theguymadmax]

Are you manually running Jellyfin from the terminal? Never mind, I see you're using docker.

[Despair]

Are you manually running Jellyfin from the terminal? Never mind, I see you're using docker.

No, I'm not. It starts with the container, I suppose this is the default way to do?

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Can you share the contents of container path /config/config/encoding.xml?  Whatever that translates to for your host path.

Sure, here you go.

[TheDreadPirate]

What does your docker compose look like? Your encoding.xml file has the right path for ffmpeg.

[Despair]

What does your docker compose look like?  Your encoding.xml file has the right path for ffmpeg.

I don't have a docker compose, I just run the container. I have a bunch of containers, so I use Portainer to manage them because it's a bit easier and faster.

[TheDreadPirate]

In the Portainer page for Jellyfin are there any environment variables that would change the ffmpeg path?

[theguymadmax]

In Portainer under Local click on your Containers then select your Jellyfin container. Then click the “Duplicate/Edit” Menu under Actions on the top menu.  Under “Advanced container settings” select “Env”. Does your ffmpeg path match my screenshot? If not then go ahead and change it.