SUMMARY: How to solve can't recognise MP4 files for Plex Media Manager? This guide will show you some possible solutions to solve Plex can't recognise MP4 problem.
Why Sometimes Plex Can't Play MP4?
Plex is a media player which can allow users to stream personal media or music to your other devices, like TV, mobile phone, computer, etc. Plex can also allow you to access to some video sharing websites, like YouTube, Vimeo, CNN, etc. However, when you plan to stream and play MP4 file with Plex, you may be able to do this, but may be unable to. So what's the matter? That’s because, Plex media player can only play MP4 with the codec H.264 or MPEG-4. However, there are other MP4s whose codecs are not accepted by Plex media player.
Does Plex play MP4?
Well, this depends on. The fact is that Plex has strict requirements of MP4 files. In order to successfully play MP4 on Plex, your MP4 files must meet the following specifications:
Container: MP4
Resolution: 1920x1080 or smaller
Video Encoding: H.264 (level 4.0 or lower) or MPEG-4
Video Framerate: 30fps
Video Bit Depth: 8
Audio Encoding: AAC
If your MP4 files cannot meet the above requirement, Plex will not detect the file or play the files.
Possible Three Ways to Enable Plex Read MP4 files:
Way 1: Firstly, make sure you've added the directory to your library and updated it. Since Plex requires a special naming convertion for TV shows in order to download the metadata of them properly, if your MP4 videos are TV shows, please try to rename the MP4 files so they have simpler names (e.g. Series - S01E01 - Episode Name). There is another solution. We can make a new library or pick Other or Personal Media and put the MP4 TV shows in there. After that, these MP4 files will show up and be streamed to TV.
If it does not help, more than likely it is a permission problem. You need to change the group ownership on the folders in which you save the MP4 files. Setting the permissions to be recursive is highly recommended. So the sub folders have the same permissions.
Way 2: If your MP4 files are not accepted by Plex, it's probably because of the video codec incompatibility. In this situation, the easy option is to convert incompatible MP4 to Plex supported MP4 for successfully playback. As a free MP4 decoder and encoder, Handbrake will help you to re-encode video or audio track to make it more compatible with Plex using optimized settings.
However, though you have converted MP4 source by Handbrake, sometimes you still cannot play and watch them on your iPhone, iPod or iPad through Plex server. What's worse, the output videos usually not in good quality as you expect. You need an alternative tool instead. This is called Pavtube Video Converter Ultimate – which is professional on fastly transcoding MKV,AVI, WMV,VOB, RMVB, FLV etc and Blu-ray, DVD discs to Plex Media Server with MP4 format (the most compatible video format for Plex Media Server) without quality loss. Here our task is to encode all kinds of MP4 movies for Plex Media Server. The process is much simple. Follow below guide to start MP4 Video Files to Plex conversion.
Its Mac verison Pavtube iMedia Converter for Mac is much cheaper in Pavtube Father’s Day Coupon from Facebook. It supports El Capitan system so you can convert MKV to Plex Media server on mac OS X El Capitan without any issue.
Free Download Top MP4 to Plex Converter:
Other Download:
- Pavtube old official address: http://www.pavtube.cn/blu-ray-video-converter-ultimate/
- Cnet Download: http://download.cnet.com/Pavtube-Video-Converter-Ultimate/3000-2194_4-75938564.html
Step-by-step: How to Convert MP4 Video Files for Plex Media Server
Step 1: Add MP4 Video Files
Install and run the Plex Video Converter Ultimate to your PC, click “Add Video” to import your source MP4 videos. Batch conversion is supported so that you can add multiple files. You can also convert Blu-ray/DVD or ISO/IFO files for Plex.
Step 2: Select Output Format
Click the “Format” option, and choose MPEG4, MOV from Common Video profile list. If you want to keep 1080p resolution as source movies, you can choose HD Video -> H.264 HD Video(*.mp4) for Plex Media Server.
Tips: Adjust the video and audio parameters including the Bitrate of Video & Audio, Video Size, Sample Rate, Frame Rate, Audio Channels, etc., by clicking the “Settings” button on the main interface for getting the best quality.
Step 3: Start All videos to Plex conversion
When all the settings are OK, click “Convert” button to start converting MP4 video to Plex Media Server. It will also automatically encode MKV/VOB/AVI to Plex Media Server compatible video files. Once the conversion is finished, click “Open” to quickly find the converted movies. Then, Plex will recognize, catalog, play and stream them just fine. Enjoy.
Now, you can put your all kinds of MP4 movies to your Plex and watch primarily from your video library at anytime!
Read More:
Why Sometimes Plex Can't Play MP4?
Plex is a media player which can allow users to stream personal media or music to your other devices, like TV, mobile phone, computer, etc. Plex can also allow you to access to some video sharing websites, like YouTube, Vimeo, CNN, etc. However, when you plan to stream and play MP4 file with Plex, you may be able to do this, but may be unable to. So what's the matter? That’s because, Plex media player can only play MP4 with the codec H.264 or MPEG-4. However, there are other MP4s whose codecs are not accepted by Plex media player.
Does Plex play MP4?
Well, this depends on. The fact is that Plex has strict requirements of MP4 files. In order to successfully play MP4 on Plex, your MP4 files must meet the following specifications:
Container: MP4
Resolution: 1920x1080 or smaller
Video Encoding: H.264 (level 4.0 or lower) or MPEG-4
Video Framerate: 30fps
Video Bit Depth: 8
Audio Encoding: AAC
If your MP4 files cannot meet the above requirement, Plex will not detect the file or play the files.
Possible Three Ways to Enable Plex Read MP4 files:
Way 1: Firstly, make sure you've added the directory to your library and updated it. Since Plex requires a special naming convertion for TV shows in order to download the metadata of them properly, if your MP4 videos are TV shows, please try to rename the MP4 files so they have simpler names (e.g. Series - S01E01 - Episode Name). There is another solution. We can make a new library or pick Other or Personal Media and put the MP4 TV shows in there. After that, these MP4 files will show up and be streamed to TV.
If it does not help, more than likely it is a permission problem. You need to change the group ownership on the folders in which you save the MP4 files. Setting the permissions to be recursive is highly recommended. So the sub folders have the same permissions.
Way 2: If your MP4 files are not accepted by Plex, it's probably because of the video codec incompatibility. In this situation, the easy option is to convert incompatible MP4 to Plex supported MP4 for successfully playback. As a free MP4 decoder and encoder, Handbrake will help you to re-encode video or audio track to make it more compatible with Plex using optimized settings.
However, though you have converted MP4 source by Handbrake, sometimes you still cannot play and watch them on your iPhone, iPod or iPad through Plex server. What's worse, the output videos usually not in good quality as you expect. You need an alternative tool instead. This is called Pavtube Video Converter Ultimate – which is professional on fastly transcoding MKV,AVI, WMV,VOB, RMVB, FLV etc and Blu-ray, DVD discs to Plex Media Server with MP4 format (the most compatible video format for Plex Media Server) without quality loss. Here our task is to encode all kinds of MP4 movies for Plex Media Server. The process is much simple. Follow below guide to start MP4 Video Files to Plex conversion.
Its Mac verison Pavtube iMedia Converter for Mac is much cheaper in Pavtube Father’s Day Coupon from Facebook. It supports El Capitan system so you can convert MKV to Plex Media server on mac OS X El Capitan without any issue.
Free Download Top MP4 to Plex Converter:
Other Download:
- Pavtube old official address: http://www.pavtube.cn/blu-ray-video-converter-ultimate/
- Cnet Download: http://download.cnet.com/Pavtube-Video-Converter-Ultimate/3000-2194_4-75938564.html
Step-by-step: How to Convert MP4 Video Files for Plex Media Server
Step 1: Add MP4 Video Files
Install and run the Plex Video Converter Ultimate to your PC, click “Add Video” to import your source MP4 videos. Batch conversion is supported so that you can add multiple files. You can also convert Blu-ray/DVD or ISO/IFO files for Plex.
Step 2: Select Output Format
Click the “Format” option, and choose MPEG4, MOV from Common Video profile list. If you want to keep 1080p resolution as source movies, you can choose HD Video -> H.264 HD Video(*.mp4) for Plex Media Server.
Tips: Adjust the video and audio parameters including the Bitrate of Video & Audio, Video Size, Sample Rate, Frame Rate, Audio Channels, etc., by clicking the “Settings” button on the main interface for getting the best quality.
Step 3: Start All videos to Plex conversion
When all the settings are OK, click “Convert” button to start converting MP4 video to Plex Media Server. It will also automatically encode MKV/VOB/AVI to Plex Media Server compatible video files. Once the conversion is finished, click “Open” to quickly find the converted movies. Then, Plex will recognize, catalog, play and stream them just fine. Enjoy.
Now, you can put your all kinds of MP4 movies to your Plex and watch primarily from your video library at anytime!
Read More:
- Ways of Perfectly Convert MKV to MP4 for Apple TV
- Solved: Can Xbox One play MP4 files? (From external hard drive)?
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- Play iTunes Purchased/Rented Movie/TV Show on Sony Bravia TV via Plex
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- Stream Blu-ray Movies via Emby
- Emby Not Play MP4/H.264 Files
- Plex Not Play Specific MP4 Files from Tivo
- Stream ISO Files to Plex Media Server
