Can't always view MP4 videos from iPad/iPhone

I have a MyBookLive drive on my local network… it contains numerous MP4 video files.  All of these files can play fine from my PC.  However, only some will play from my iPhone and iPad… many fail with an Error “Unable to play this media file”.

I am assuming the fies are all ok because I can view them all from my PC… however, I do not understand why I cannot view these videos from my iPhone or iPad…  both devices as well as my PC are accessing the same data via my network.

Ok, I think I figured out part of the problem - it appears that the files with errors have an abnormally long filepath/filename.  If the attached photo,I have highlighted the long pathname, as well as two files that are failing… the other shorter named files run fine.

After moving the whole folder to the root of the MyBookLive, I seem to be able to play the videos from my iPad ok now.

I have seen this problem before with the PC… but this case is different in that the files ran from the PC but not from the iPad.  Am I on the right track?  Is this issue fixable, other than by moving the folders to the root?

I was not aware iOS devices had path-length limitations. Another way yo confirm if by renaming the files instead of moving them to the root share.

The total path name length is definitely the issue… I tested by renaming the main folder with a really long name (added another 15 or so characters to the already long name) and now none of the videos will play from iOS, yet they still all play fine from my PC.

Not sure if this is an iOS issue or a WD issue, but would be nice to have it permanently fixed.  Is there some formal path to report this to WD?

Maybe you should try contacting WD’s Technical Support about this. You can do so either by phone or email.

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