Video files will not play


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Newbie here.  My server is about a month old, and the process of transferring data is nearly complete.  I have the Plex docker up and operating, which along with media file storage, was my main purpose for the server.  I copied the vast majority of these files to the unraid server using krusader so I didn't have the overhead of transferring via a windows machine in the middle.

 

Unfortunately, now that I've begun to use this server full time, I am noticing that over 90% of my video files simply will not play in windows, directly from the server.  I haven't noticed a problem with Plex yet, so it may only be an issue when using windows.  The files match the original in every way that I can see (permissions, size), but when I try to play them using VLC in windows nothing happens.  VLC launches... then nothing.  This is not an issue with delay due to disks spinning up as I can try the file multiple times without success.  I have tried multiple files in the same folder, and some work while others do not.  It gets even weirder when I tell you that there is an easy, albeit time consuming, fix.

 

If I make a copy of the file on the unraid server using windows, the copy will play just fine.  Mind you I am copying the file located on the unraid server, not the original copy on my old server.  The copy has to be made using windows.  I tried making a copy using krusader, but the copy is still unplayable.  For some reason it seems that most files copied by krusader will not play using a windows machine for playback.  Since I used krusader to copy files to the server, this also means most files will not play. 

 

Does this make sense to anyone?

 

I would appreciate any help.  Unless someone can point me in another direction, it looks like I'll be copying all my folders to make the files playable.

 

 

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Make sure that your Network adapter drivers on the Windows machine are up-to-date.  I had this same problem with high bit rate video files and VLC a year or two ago.  I about went nuts before I finally decided to update the drivers.  That fixed my problem!!!    (By the way, I would download them from either the MB or computer manufacturer rather using any driver via MS update.) 

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Thanks, I'll definitely check the driver when I get home.  I think the driver should be pretty up to date since I just upgraded my NIC a few weeks ago.  The NIC is an Aquantia Aqtion 10G Pro multi-gig card connected to a 5 Gbe port.  It's not Intel, but except for possibly this issue, it was recognized with zero issues and has performed perfectly.

 

I haven't yet tried these files on another machine.  I'm going to try my laptop and an android tablet when I get home.  This should identify it is specific to one computer, windows, or any device.

 

Even if it is the driver, I don't understand how that would explain how copying the file makes it playable.  At least if I do have to copy my entire library over the network, I am really appreciating the faster network.

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When I first read your post, I assumed that you copying the file from the server to your Windows computer.  Now, after reading your next post, I am not so sure.  How are making this copy that will play and where is it at physically?  

 

Now thing you can try is to run the the Docker Safe New Permissions utility.   (    Tools   >>>   Docker Safe New Permissions   )   That utility is installed by the Fix Common Problems plugin (as I recall).  Using Krusader might have messed the permissions on the files which will might be giving you problems.  

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1 hour ago, Frank1940 said:

How are making this copy that will play and where is it at physically?  

Everything is happening straight off the unraid server.  Except for maybe some behind the scenes caching, I am not copying the files to the client PC.  The files were originally copied from my old amahi server (where they play fine) to the unraid server using krusader.  It is the files copied to the unraid server that will not play, despite appearing to be identical.  However, if I simply copy the unraid file using a windows machine, the copied file, which is still on unraid, will play fine.  When I check properties of any of the files the size is the same (to the byte), and permissions appear to be the same.

 

I tried playing the files on three different windows PCs.  Two share the same Aquentia chipset, albeit in different cards, and the third is my laptop using a USB dongle that I believe has a realtek chipset.  All three of the windows PCs experience the same problem.  I've checked the drivers and they are up to date.  Since they are quite different NICs with up to date drivers this doesn't really seem like a driver issue.

 

I also tried streaming files directly to an android tablet, without first copying them to the tablet, and they played fine.  Although technically I was using a different app for playback, this seems to point at windows or samba as the culprit.

 

I checked the VLC log on my PC, but it wasn't much help.  The apparent pertinent line reads... filesystem error: read error: No error. 

 

2 hours ago, Frank1940 said:

Now thing you can try is to run the the Docker Safe New Permissions utility.   (    Tools   >>>   Docker Safe New Permissions   )   That utility is installed by the Fix Common Problems plugin (as I recall).  Using Krusader might have messed the permissions on the files which will might be giving you problems.  

 

I don't have that exact tool available.  There is a tool labeled "New Permissions", but it says it is used when upgrading from a pre-5.0 server.  I started with 6.3.5 so this doesn't seem to apply.  Besides, I have checked the permissions and they don't seem to be the problem.  I can move, copy, rename and delete the files.  I can also view jpeg and text files stored in the same folders.  The only thing that isn't working is playing video files, which is cleared up with a simple copy and paste.  Unfortunately I have to copy and paste over 50TB of data to fix everything.

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Did you check the owner and group?  It should be    nobody    and    users    

 

While the New Permission script was developed at the time when version 6 was introduced, its use is often required when a misconfigured Docker or VM  writes files with the wrong owner and group and, occasionally, permissions.  New Permissions can be used but it has been known to change permissions in the configuration shares that are connected with Dockers and VM's.  You can use it if you take the time to figure out which shares you need to run it on.  (By the way, just running it on those shares would not hurt anything but I suspect in your case (with 50TB of data), it will take a few hours to finish but much less time than a copy-and-paste operation.   

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23 hours ago, Frank1940 said:

Did you check the owner and group?  It should be    nobody    and    users    

I'm not completely certain that I know how to answer that.  When I check permissions for a file using krusader, I first see a screen with separate pulldown menus for Owner, Group and Others.  Each menu is set to "Can View & Modify.  At the bottom is a box labeled Ownership, which says User: nobody and Group: users.  This seems to match what you are saying it should be.

 

23 hours ago, Frank1940 said:

New Permissions can be used but it has been known to change permissions in the configuration shares that are connected with Dockers and VM's.  You can use it if you take the time to figure out which shares you need to run it on.  (By the way, just running it on those shares would not hurt anything but I suspect in your case (with 50TB of data), it will take a few hours to finish but much less time than a copy-and-paste operation.   

I tried running this tool on part of one share.  Unfortunately there was no change in my ability to play videos using VLC.  It did however change the file permissions from rwx to rw-.

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  • 1 year later...

I was going to create a new post, but since this post is here, and never seems to have been solved, I'll just ask here.

 

Having the same exact issue. I have some shares setup, all identical settings, aside from the name. Running a Windows 10 vm on the same machine, which is where I am accessing the files. My shares are mapped to lettered network drives. Browse to some video files on one share and open in VLC, they play perfectly. Browse to a video file on a different share(again, with identical settings), open in VLC and it won't play the file. I get the error

 

"Your input can't be opened:

VLC is unable to open the MRL 'file://ZHONO-SERVER/Recordings/2019-06-15%2017-50-57.flv'."

 

I tried copying it the desktop and it play fine there. So I instead decided to copy it directly from the share it was on, to a share that worked. It played. Deleted those extra copies, then ran the "Docker Safe New Perms" tool. Didn't help. So then, I decided to duplicate the file right where it sat, in the share where it won't play. So a simple "right-click/copy" "right-click/paste" and I instantly have two files. The copy plays perfectly in VLC. Say what? Okay, I delete that copy again, and instead I rename the original. Nope, still won't play.

 

And then one final thought, tried opening the file in Media Player Classic. Played fine. Windows Photos app(had to use an mp4 that also wouldn't play, since that app doesn't do flv), and it also played fine. So apparently, it's just VLC. Of course, it's the ONE video player I have and use on my system. I hadn't intended to even install MPC on this system, since development on that ended like 3 years ago.

 

Any idea what the problem is here? Because duplicating 1 file to make it play might be fine, but I have literally thousands of files, spread across multiple shares, all in the same situation.

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I think you need to get down to the linux level and have a look at the file ownership and permissions.  Start by opening the Terminal in the GUI.  enter this line:

ls -al /mnt/user/

You should see something like this:

image.png.2c78a4bd183ced2926716d8e1bd6d7a5.png

 

Now start down the directory tree by entering the name (Case sensitive!!!)  of one your shares as shown here:

image.png.dd8ecbbad2e2bade791442a0460e4915.png

 

(Note that there is a command line editor in the BASH shell so experiment with the arrow keys!)  This is typical of of the owner/group and permissions that you should be finding.  The 'd' in the first bit of the permissions indicates that it is a directory and the 'x' bit (execute) must be set for directories for things to function correctly.  (The '-' indicates that it is a file.)  Be sure that you check the files that are not working.  Do that copy on a non-working file that you were talking about and see if there are differences. 

 

Edited by Frank1940
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On 5/8/2020 at 10:36 AM, Frank1940 said:

I think you need to get down to the linux level and have a look at the file ownership and permissions.  Start by opening the Terminal in the GUI.  enter this line:


ls -al /mnt/user/

You should see something like this:

image.png.2c78a4bd183ced2926716d8e1bd6d7a5.png

 

Now start down the directory tree by entering the name (Case sensitive!!!)  of one your shares as shown here:

image.png.dd8ecbbad2e2bade791442a0460e4915.png

 

(Note that there is a command line editor in the BASH shell so experiment with the arrow keys!)  This is typical of of the owner/group and permissions that you should be finding.  The 'd' in the first bit of the permissions indicates that it is a directory and the 'x' bit (execute) must be set for directories for things to function correctly.  (The '-' indicates that it is a file.)  Be sure that you check the files that are not working.  Do that copy on a non-working file that you were talking about and see if there are differences.

 

 

So here's what I'm getting out of that(I used PuTTY, hopefully there's not some obscure reason why that would matter). I removed the dates and file sizes, and changed the file names to simplify things a bit.

 

-rw-rw-rw- 1 nobody users         file1.mp4 (on Share1, copied into place with Krusader, plays fine in VLC and other players)
-rw-rw-rw- 1 nobody users         file2.mp4 (on Share2, also copied into place with Krusader, doesn't play in VLC but plays fine in other players)
-rw-rw-rw- 1 daniel users           file2 - copy.mp4 (on Share2, copy/pasted in Windows Explorer, plays fine in VLC and other players)

drwxrwxrwx 1 nobody users     Share1(root folder of share for file1, file is at root of directory)
drwxrwxrwx 1 nobody users     Share2(root folder of share for file2 and its copy, files are at root of directory)

 

As fare as I can tell, the permissions for the files that play in VLC are the same as the ones that don't, with the exception of the files that are copied in Windows are "daniel" instead of "nobody". I assume that's because I created a user "daniel" in Unraid, and assigned that user read-write permissions on every share. That user name and password is what I initially fed to Windows when I first attempted to access the network shares after setup of the server. Running the Safe New Perms tool does change the copy from "daniel" to "nobody". The copy still plays fine in VLC either way, while the original still will not.

 

For fun, I also changed the owner of file2.mp4 from "nobody" to "daniel". Same results, file still won't play in VLC.

 

*EDIT* Forgot to point out, I did obviously check the permissions on other files in other shares, both ones that play in VLC and ones that don't. I found no inconsistencies in the permissions.

Edited by Zhono
additional info
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I have no solid test to confirm or deny my hunch, but this feels like a RAM or network issue, and I'm not sure on which end of the wire, client or server.

 

Can you retry your tests with a totally different client machine and possibly different network connection? I'd be curious if for example a laptop connected wirelessly to the server behaved in exactly the same manner.

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Try googling    VLC is unable to open the MRL   and read the articles and see if you find anything there.   You do not appear to be the only one with this issue.  Double check that you are running the latest version and how recently you installed your current version of VLC.

 

If the answer is not there, I am at a loss as to where to look next...

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26 minutes ago, Frank1940 said:

Try googling    VLC is unable to open the MRL   and read the articles and see if you find anything there.   You do not appear to be the only one with this issue.  Double check that you are running the latest version and how recently you installed your current version of VLC.

 

If the answer is not there, I am at a loss as to where to look next...

Yeah man, I've been at this for days now, and I'm just lost. Already updated VLC to the latest, and googled around for the error, but didn't find anything useful.

 

35 minutes ago, jonathanm said:

I have no solid test to confirm or deny my hunch, but this feels like a RAM or network issue, and I'm not sure on which end of the wire, client or server.

 

Can you retry your tests with a totally different client machine and possibly different network connection? I'd be curious if for example a laptop connected wirelessly to the server behaved in exactly the same manner.

I only have the one machine, aside from my phone. For the hell of it, I setup access to the Unraid SMB shares through Solid Explorer on my phone, and open the file over the network in the Android version of VLC. It plays fine. For further experimentation, I disabled the Redhat ethernet in Windows, and enabled my motherboard's wireless-ac adapter(that I have passed through, but just keep disabled) and connected through that. Same results. Original won't play, the identical copy will. I have nothing better to do at the moment, so I might setup a second VM with a fresh install of Windows, since I have a spare GPU just sitting around in the system, and see if opening the file on a fresh Windows with a fresh VLC install makes a difference. If it works, I guess I can assume it's something to do with my Windows and/or VLC config, and not the files/shares themselves.

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One more SWAG.  I assume that you are play files with VLC by double left-clicking on them.  Try right clicking on the file and using the 'Play with VLC player' and the 'Open with...' choices. There is also the 'Add to VLC player's playlist' option that you could also try.  (I assume this allows you to add more than one title at a time.)

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34 minutes ago, Frank1940 said:

IF you have mapped the share to a drive (in windows), be sure that you read this:

 

  https://www.howto-connect.com/fix-vlc-is-unable-open-the-mrl-error/

 

Also try going directly to the server from the        Network  >>  server.name      using Windows Explorer. 

Using the right-click options didn't produce different results. As for the page you linked, I checked the firewall and the other suggestions on the page, and everything was already setup in-line with the suggestions. Just to be sure, I also went ahead and uninstalled VLC, deleting settings/cache in the process. Then I installed the latest version, again opting to delete any existing settings/cache, and again checking the firewall settings, just to be sure. Same deal. This is so bizarre.

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  • 2 months later...

Having same problem (Your input can't be opened). Only happens when trying to stream a file off a read only share with VLC (other media players work fine). It's almost like VLC is trying to write to the file/share maybe?

 

Has anyone found a resolution yet?

 

*when setting VLC messages to debug mode, this is the only interesting thing I see...

 

Quote

main debug: looking for access module matching "file": 26 candidates
filesystem error: read error: No error
main debug: no access modules matched
main debug: dead input
qt debug: IM: Deleting the input

 

No idea what to do with that information (or if it's even relevant).

Edited by unraidun
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