Plex Refuses to Play AVI Files- Solution

"I encountered an AVI file that refuses to play on Plex. It plays on native Groove player on Win 10 and MPC-HC x64. On Plex, it buffers forever."

"I finally sorted out all my media on the weekend and I'm running Plex to be able to watch my stuff on my Samsung TV using smart hub. MP4 and MKV files work perfectly, but avi will not play..."

Searching Plex forum, we found many guys are facing the similar troubles "AVI files not seen in Plex", "Plex won't play AVI files"... In fact, there is an easy way to fix the issue. In order to stream AVI files via Plex Media Server without problems, the easy option is to convert AVI to Plex most compatible video files(MP4 seems to be the best one).

Fortunately there is a powerful video encoding tool - Handbrake can help you convert almost all videos for playback on Plex Media Server. And best of all, this video encoder is an open source project, everyone can download and use it for free.

1. Download and install Handbrake.
2. Start the program and add AVI videos to it.
3. Select MP4 x264 as the output format. You can optimize profile settings.
4. Start conversion. You're done.

Although this video converter is free, many users find it is difficult to use. If you are a beginners who are not familiar with those technicial terms and settings, you may use Brorsoft Video Converter, which is definitely much straightforward and feature-rich.

Overall, this video app is professional on fast transcoding AVI to Plex Media Server with MP4 format without quality loss. In addition, it not only supports AVI videos, but also handles various common video formats, like MKV, MXF, MTS, MOV, MP4, AVI, WMV .etc. Plus, with the built-in video editor, you can also choose to trim, crop, add watermark to your original videos. For Mac users, Brorsoft Video Converter Mac is also a helpful app to encode videos on Mac OS X(macOS Sierra included) for further usage.

1. Import AVI videos

Launch the program, and click "Add" button on the main interface to load your AVI files for converting. (Drag&Drop function is included.) Check the "Merge into one file" box and you can join AVI clips into one.



2. Select output format

Click the "Format" drop-down button to select Plex more compatible H.264 MP4 video from the "Common Video" category.



3. Further Settings

With the right settings you can retain the quality of the original videos while also saving space. This is particularly helpful when streaming over your network, depending on your network quality. Simply click Settings bar and you can tweak the settings to your satisfaction and even save it as preset.

4. Start AVI to Plex Conversion

Finally, hit the "Convert" button at the bottom of the main interface. This AVI to Plex Converter will start encoding AVI to Plex friendly MP4 video automatically.

After the conversion, click "Open" to quickly find the converted movies. Now you can stream AVI files through Plex Media Server to HDTV, PS3, Xbox360 or other devices. Enjoy.