Pre roll plugin doesn’t work since JF 10.8.13. Pre roll plays, movie doesn't start

[raulo1985]

Hi:

Like mentioned in the subject, I haven’t been able tu use this plugin since 10.8.13 (and I really want to). No combination of JF and plugin version works for me since JF 10.9 (tried unstable too). The behavior is that the pre roll video does play, but when it ends it gets stuck there and the movie doesn’t start unless I press the play button (so it’s not like the server freezes or something like that). Having to press play for the movie to start kinda defeats the purpose of the plugin for me. With 10.8.13, it worked as expected (the pre roll video ends, and the movie starts automatically without intervention).

Things I’ve tried (with no results):

• Like mentioned, almost all combinations of JF and plugin versions, both stable and unstable.
  
• Reinstalled the server from scratch.
  
• Triple checked permissions of both files.
  
• Tried with different pre roll files, with different codecs (but it shouldn’t be a codec issue, since both the pre roll video and movie play, it’s just that the movie doesn’t start automatically).
  
• Tried with the most compatible video files for the pre roll video and movie I can think of (both encoded with h264, 8 bits, high profile, 4:2:0, cbr, reasonable bitrate, Full HD, and aac for audio).
  

I really don’t know what’s wrong, but it must be something that changed since JF 10.9 (the weird thing is that nobody else seems to be experiencing this).

Here’s the log. FYI, “Black” is the name of the pre roll video I used for generating this log (it’s the kind of file I talked about: h264, aac, very short, and only with a black background):

Code:

[2024-10-05 12:04:52.853 -03:00] [INF] Selecting intros based on default, 1 intros found
[2024-10-05 12:04:52.854 -03:00] [INF] Selected intro ID: 7432b2b9-88b3-43ed-a1ba-24ed2c9f6fe1
[2024-10-05 12:04:52.854 -03:00] [INF] Selected intro name: Black1
[2024-10-05 12:04:52.854 -03:00] [INF] Selected intro path: /mnt/ServerDisk1/Jellyfin/Pre Roll/Black1.mp4
[2024-10-05 12:04:54.727 -03:00] [INF] Starting "/usr/lib/jellyfin-ffmpeg/ffprobe" with args "-analyzeduration 200M -probesize 1G -i file:\"/mnt/ServerDisk1/Jellyfin/Pre Roll/Black1.mp4\" -threads 0 -v warning -print_format json -show_streams -show_chapters -show_format"
[2024-10-05 12:04:55.123 -03:00] [INF] User policy for "Server". EnablePlaybackRemuxing: True EnableVideoPlaybackTranscoding: True EnableAudioPlaybackTranscoding: True
[2024-10-05 12:04:55.124 -03:00] [INF] RemoteClientBitrateLimit: 4000000, RemoteIP: "192.168.1.2", IsInLocalNetwork: True
[2024-10-05 12:04:55.893 -03:00] [INF] Adding playback tracker : cbae6969-000d-4477-b1a0-173c6037bedc-a1582a864b2948369b28fa8bf30122d3-7432b2b988b343eda1ba24ed2c9f6fe1
[2024-10-05 12:04:55.896 -03:00] [INF] PlaybackTracker : Adding Start Event : 10/05/2024 12:04:55
[2024-10-05 12:04:55.897 -03:00] [INF] Creating StartPlaybackTimer Task
[2024-10-05 12:04:55.911 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : Entered
[2024-10-05 12:04:55.984 -03:00] [INF] Processing playback tracker : "cbae6969-000d-4477-b1a0-173c6037bedc-a1582a864b2948369b28fa8bf30122d3-7432b2b988b343eda1ba24ed2c9f6fe1"
[2024-10-05 12:04:56.047 -03:00] [INF] Playback stopped reported by app "Jellyfin Mobile (iOS)" "1.5.0" playing "Black1". Stopped at "201" ms
[2024-10-05 12:04:56.060 -03:00] [INF] Playback stop tracker found, processing stop : "cbae6969-000d-4477-b1a0-173c6037bedc-a1582a864b2948369b28fa8bf30122d3-7432b2b988b343eda1ba24ed2c9f6fe1"
[2024-10-05 12:04:56.061 -03:00] [INF] PlaybackTracker : Adding Stop Event : 10/05/2024 12:04:56
[2024-10-05 12:04:56.061 -03:00] [INF] Playback stop but TrackedPlaybackInfo not found! not storing activity in DB
[2024-10-05 12:05:12.394 -03:00] [INF] Playback stopped reported by app "Jellyfin Mobile (iOS)" "1.5.0" playing "Black1". Stopped at "201" ms
[2024-10-05 12:05:12.401 -03:00] [INF] Playback stop did not have a tracker : "cbae6969-000d-4477-b1a0-173c6037bedc-a1582a864b2948369b28fa8bf30122d3-7432b2b988b343eda1ba24ed2c9f6fe1"
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.913 -03:00] [INF] session.RemoteEndPoint : "192.168.1.2"
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : event_playing_id     = "7432b2b988b343eda1ba24ed2c9f6fe1"
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : event_user_id        = "a1582a864b2948369b28fa8bf30122d3"
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : event_user_id_int    = 1
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : session_playing_id   = ""
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : session_user_id      = "a1582a864b2948369b28fa8bf30122d3"
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : play_method          = "na"
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : e.ClientName         = "Jellyfin Mobile (iOS)"
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : e.DeviceName         = "iPhone de RGL"
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : ItemName             = "Black1"
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : ItemId               = "7432b2b988b343eda1ba24ed2c9f6fe1"
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : ItemType             = "Video"
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : Details do not match for play item
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : Exited
[2024-10-05 12:05:29.061 -03:00] [INF] WS "192.168.1.2" closed

Thanks in advance.

[TheDreadPirate]

Are you using an older pre-roll or intros plugin? Or the, now, official intros plugin?

https://github.com/jellyfin/jellyfin-plugin-intros

[crobibero]

It isn’t an issue with the plugin but with the client. The plugin essentially just tells the client that there is a pre-roll to play, and the client fully controls playback.

[raulo1985]

Are you using an older pre-roll or intros plugin?  Or the, now, official intros plugin?
https://github.com/jellyfin/jellyfin-plugin-intros

Official plugin from official repo (for both stable and unstable). And I’ve tried with all versions, including the most current one. Same behavior, and all works well when downgrading to 10.8.13 (or a fresh 10.8.13 installation).

It isn’t an issue with the plugin but with the client. The plugin essentially just tells the client that there is a pre-roll to play, and the client fully controls playback.

But it happens with all clients, I’ve tried with JMP, iOS app, Android app, WebOS app, all official and current versions. And the issue clearly starts when I go from 10.8.13 to any newer server version, and it’s only solved by returning to 10.8.13 (without changing the clients). So the issue is triggered while changing the server version, and not when changing client versions, and it happens with all the official ones.

I’m obviously not an expert, but I don’t think the issue is related to the clients because of the reasons mentioned (in my case the issue clearly depends on the server version, even if the issue is on the clients). But if somehow 10.9 and newer versions trigger this issue on all the clients in my case, what could be done to solve it?

Is there some info in the log I posted that could be helpful?

Thanks again.

[raulo1985]

Are you using an older pre-roll or intros plugin?  Or the, now, official intros plugin?

https://github.com/jellyfin/jellyfin-plugin-intros

It isn’t an issue with the plugin but with the client. The plugin essentially just tells the client that there is a pre-roll to play, and the client fully controls playback.

Hi. Just to update, I started from scratch and reinstalled everything, but with JF 10.8.13 and without changing anything about the clients (versions, settings, etc), and the plugin works as expected. Then I started from scratch but with the latest stable JF version, also without changing the clients, and the plugin doesn't work again (and the behavior is exactly the same regardless of what client I'm using: the pre roll video plays, it ends, it gets stuck there, and if I press the play button the movie starts. If I don't press it, it stays there forever). Then I reinstalled every client at every device, same result.

Any ideas on how to troubleshoot this? I don't see other posts of other users with this type of behavior, so I don't think it's a bug, but I don't have a clue about what could be causing this in my case (and I don't know if the log I posted can point me in the right direction). I've tried anything I can think of and nothing seems to work (except reverting back to 10.8.13). Maybe it has something to do with the server version combined with my specific setup, but everything else seems to work as it should except this plugin. I'm running out of ideas

[raulo1985]

Hi:

Like mentioned in the subject, I haven’t been able tu use this plugin since 10.8.13 (and I really want to). No combination of JF and plugin version works for me since JF 10.9 (tried unstable too). The behavior is that the pre roll video does play, but when it ends it gets stuck there and the movie doesn’t start unless I press the play button (so it’s not like the server freezes or something like that). Having to press play for the movie to start kinda defeats the purpose of the plugin for me. With 10.8.13, it worked as expected (the pre roll video ends, and the movie starts automatically without intervention).

Things I’ve tried (with no results):

• Like mentioned, almost all combinations of JF and plugin versions, both stable and unstable.
  
• Reinstalled the server from scratch.
  
• Triple checked permissions of both files.
  
• Tried with different pre roll files, with different codecs (but it shouldn’t be a codec issue, since both the pre roll video and movie play, it’s just that the movie doesn’t start automatically).
  
• Tried with the most compatible video files for the pre roll video and movie I can think of (both encoded with h264, 8 bits, high profile, 4:2:0, cbr, reasonable bitrate, Full HD, and aac for audio).
  

I really don’t know what’s wrong, but it must be something that changed since JF 10.9 (the weird thing is that nobody else seems to be experiencing this).

Here’s the log. FYI, “Black” is the name of the pre roll video I used for generating this log (it’s the kind of file I talked about: h264, aac, very short, and only with a black background):

Code:

[2024-10-05 12:04:52.853 -03:00] [INF] Selecting intros based on default, 1 intros found
[2024-10-05 12:04:52.854 -03:00] [INF] Selected intro ID: 7432b2b9-88b3-43ed-a1ba-24ed2c9f6fe1
[2024-10-05 12:04:52.854 -03:00] [INF] Selected intro name: Black1
[2024-10-05 12:04:52.854 -03:00] [INF] Selected intro path: /mnt/ServerDisk1/Jellyfin/Pre Roll/Black1.mp4
[2024-10-05 12:04:54.727 -03:00] [INF] Starting "/usr/lib/jellyfin-ffmpeg/ffprobe" with args "-analyzeduration 200M -probesize 1G -i file:\"/mnt/ServerDisk1/Jellyfin/Pre Roll/Black1.mp4\" -threads 0 -v warning -print_format json -show_streams -show_chapters -show_format"
[2024-10-05 12:04:55.123 -03:00] [INF] User policy for "Server". EnablePlaybackRemuxing: True EnableVideoPlaybackTranscoding: True EnableAudioPlaybackTranscoding: True
[2024-10-05 12:04:55.124 -03:00] [INF] RemoteClientBitrateLimit: 4000000, RemoteIP: "192.168.1.2", IsInLocalNetwork: True
[2024-10-05 12:04:55.893 -03:00] [INF] Adding playback tracker : cbae6969-000d-4477-b1a0-173c6037bedc-a1582a864b2948369b28fa8bf30122d3-7432b2b988b343eda1ba24ed2c9f6fe1
[2024-10-05 12:04:55.896 -03:00] [INF] PlaybackTracker : Adding Start Event : 10/05/2024 12:04:55
[2024-10-05 12:04:55.897 -03:00] [INF] Creating StartPlaybackTimer Task
[2024-10-05 12:04:55.911 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : Entered
[2024-10-05 12:04:55.984 -03:00] [INF] Processing playback tracker : "cbae6969-000d-4477-b1a0-173c6037bedc-a1582a864b2948369b28fa8bf30122d3-7432b2b988b343eda1ba24ed2c9f6fe1"
[2024-10-05 12:04:56.047 -03:00] [INF] Playback stopped reported by app "Jellyfin Mobile (iOS)" "1.5.0" playing "Black1". Stopped at "201" ms
[2024-10-05 12:04:56.060 -03:00] [INF] Playback stop tracker found, processing stop : "cbae6969-000d-4477-b1a0-173c6037bedc-a1582a864b2948369b28fa8bf30122d3-7432b2b988b343eda1ba24ed2c9f6fe1"
[2024-10-05 12:04:56.061 -03:00] [INF] PlaybackTracker : Adding Stop Event : 10/05/2024 12:04:56
[2024-10-05 12:04:56.061 -03:00] [INF] Playback stop but TrackedPlaybackInfo not found! not storing activity in DB
[2024-10-05 12:05:12.394 -03:00] [INF] Playback stopped reported by app "Jellyfin Mobile (iOS)" "1.5.0" playing "Black1". Stopped at "201" ms
[2024-10-05 12:05:12.401 -03:00] [INF] Playback stop did not have a tracker : "cbae6969-000d-4477-b1a0-173c6037bedc-a1582a864b2948369b28fa8bf30122d3-7432b2b988b343eda1ba24ed2c9f6fe1"
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.913 -03:00] [INF] session.RemoteEndPoint : "192.168.1.2"
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : event_playing_id    = "7432b2b988b343eda1ba24ed2c9f6fe1"
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : event_user_id        = "a1582a864b2948369b28fa8bf30122d3"
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : event_user_id_int    = 1
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : session_playing_id  = ""
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : session_user_id      = "a1582a864b2948369b28fa8bf30122d3"
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : play_method          = "na"
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : e.ClientName        = "Jellyfin Mobile (iOS)"
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : e.DeviceName        = "iPhone de RGL"
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : ItemName            = "Black1"
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : ItemId              = "7432b2b988b343eda1ba24ed2c9f6fe1"
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : ItemType            = "Video"
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : Details do not match for play item
[2024-10-05 12:05:15.916 -03:00] [INF] StartPlaybackTimer : Exited
[2024-10-05 12:05:29.061 -03:00] [INF] WS "192.168.1.2" closed

Thanks in advance.

Are you using an older pre-roll or intros plugin?  Or the, now, official intros plugin?

https://github.com/jellyfin/jellyfin-plugin-intros

Hi:

Sorry to bump this thread, but I can't get this plugin to work, the behavior is always the same after 10.8.13 (as described before). Being this a client or a server issue (or something that I'm doing wrong), I already run out of ideas. Any ideas on how to troubleshoot / fix this in my case? My setup is nothing out of the ordinary, and permissions are ok since both the pre roll video and the movie play without issues, it's just that if I don't press the play button after the pre roll video ends, it stays there forever. Since I don't seem to find other threads with this issue, does anyone have an idea on how can I fix this with my setup? I need a little help with this please

Thanks in advance.

[TheDreadPirate]

I'll try to find some time to test this and get back to you.

[raulo1985]

I'll try to find some time to test this and get back to you.

Thanks! I used this plugin all the time, but since 10.9, no matter the version, the behavior is always the same. If I do a fresh install (full install, including OS and everything), with 10.8.13 it works as expected and with 10.9 or later versions, it doesn’t. Clients are the same, the only difference is the JF version. I really don’t have a clue why this happens, nor how to fix it. And it’s an important plugin for my use case, but I don’t want to go back to 10.8.13 just because of it. Hope you can help me with this, I’d really appreciate it.

Please let me know if you need any more info. Thanks again.

[TheDreadPirate]

I forgot to follow up.  More specifically, I had too many tabs open and replied to the wrong thread. 

I had zero issues getting this to work in 10.10.  You just have to make sure that Jellyfin has permissions to the folder you configure for local intros/pre-roll.

Can you share your full log so I can see what else is going on with your server?  Maybe another plugin is interfering?  Like transcode killer?