Troubleshooting
The stream doesn’t start, or fails immediately
Section titled “The stream doesn’t start, or fails immediately”Open the stream log via the log link in the stream’s row on the Streams page — it shows ffmpeg’s own output. The most common causes:
- a wrong or unreachable input file path (especially if file system access isn’t configured correctly);
- the destination port is already taken by another process;
- an error in the profile’s own command (a typo in an ffmpeg option).
No Input/Output fields when creating a stream
Section titled “No Input/Output fields when creating a stream”The profile’s command is missing the ${i} and/or ${o} variables — Senta uses them to decide which fields to show when creating a stream. Open the profile and add these variables to the command; see Add profile and Profile variables for details.
A stream keeps crashing and restarting on its own
Section titled “A stream keeps crashing and restarting on its own”That’s the built-in Restart on crash mechanism - if enabled in the stream’s settings, Senta automatically restarts a crashed stream after a configured delay, up to a limited number of attempts per period (Restart limit). See Restart on crash for details and configuration.
An ffmpeg process keeps using more and more memory
Section titled “An ffmpeg process keeps using more and more memory”Senta can automatically detect uncontrolled memory growth in ffmpeg processes and restart the affected stream - see the Monitoring section in the stream settings (short-term check: more than 100 MB growth in 10 minutes or 200 MB in 20 minutes; long-term check: more than 3% growth per hour for five consecutive hours). All three checks are enabled by default - disable the relevant one in the stream settings if this behavior isn’t wanted.
The license won’t activate, or the whole web interface redirects to a License inactive page
Section titled “The license won’t activate, or the whole web interface redirects to a License inactive page”Without an active (or processing) license, Senta blocks access to the entire web interface, not just specific features like the Integration API - with any other license status, the app redirects to a License inactive page, and you can’t configure profiles, streams, or anything else through the interface.
On the Settings page, the license status can be one of:
License is valid until ...- everything is fine;License is processing- you still have access, wait a bit and refresh the page;License is invalid- usually means the hash was copied incompletely; copy it again from billing.senta.tv;License is expired- the license needs to be renewed.
See Add license for the full walkthrough.
How to get an API key
Section titled “How to get an API key”The API key section lives on the Settings page - it becomes reachable once the license reaches valid or processing status (see above). See API for details.
An additional server stays offline
Section titled “An additional server stays offline”Check, in order:
- Whether the remote server’s IP/port is reachable from the main server’s network (no firewall in between).
- Whether the API Key matches character-for-character the one set on the remote server.
- Whether the Senta process is actually running on the remote server.
See Servers for the full setup.
The file browser is empty or shows an access error
Section titled “The file browser is empty or shows an access error”The Display file system flag in Settings turns the feature on, but the Senta binary must be started by a user who actually has permission to the directory in question - otherwise the browser stays empty or shows an access error even with the flag on. See Working with Files.
I have several FFmpeg versions installed - how do I pick one
Section titled “I have several FFmpeg versions installed - how do I pick one”See Alternative FFmpeg versions - it explains how to configure and pick a specific binary for a profile.