MKV files wont play on WD TV Live

Hi, I have trawled the forums for hours but still can’t find a fix. Many of my movies don’t play on WD TV Live. I only bought it 2 weeks ago so quite sure its the latest WD TV version

  • the movies show up in my windows libraray and WD TV live menu

  • I am running the latest 1.06.43 software

  • I have tried to Handbrake the file

  • I have tried to remux the file using MKV merge

  • I am running Windows 7 on an alienware laptop and all movies play fine using WMP and VLC

  • I am connecting the WD TV live via a CAT 6 home network (not wi-fi)

Here is the MediaInfo of one of my files. Please help, its driving me crazy! 

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 4 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Bit rate : 10.5 Mbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 816 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 2.35:1
Frame rate mode : Variable
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Writing library : x264 core 130 r2273 b3065e6
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=1 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=hex / subme=2 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=0 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=0 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=0 / threads=12 / lookahead_threads=4 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=1 / keyint=240 / keyint_min=24 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=10 / rc=abr / mbtree=1 / bitrate=10500 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=62500 / vbv_bufsize=78125 / nal_hrd=none / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : No
Color primaries : BT.709
Transfer characteristics : BT.709
Matrix coefficients : BT.709

Audio
ID : 2
Format : DTS
Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems
Mode : 16
Format settings, Endianness : Big
Codec ID : A_DTS
Duration : 2h 9mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 1 509 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 1.37 GiB (13%)
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : No

A better description of “won’t play” might be useful. Like picture but no sound, blank screen, locks up, etc.

Actually, if you’re running on 1.06.43, you have bought the old WDTV Live and are posting to the wrong forum. That said, looking at the specs the file should also play on your model.

I can select the movies but when I hit play it says “Browser error. Content not available”. All I can do is go back to the WD menu

My fault. I am running 1.16.13. I checked on the system tab in the WD OS. Is this still the old version? I will return to amazon if so

spp27 wrote:

I can select the movies but when I hit play it says “Browser error. Content not available”. All I can do is go back to the WD menu

Ahh.  That means that you’re using a Media Server, right?   

That error means that the WDTV asked the server to send it a specific file, and the Media Server told the WDTV that the file isn’t valid.

You need to check the config of your Media Server, as it sounds like its indexes aren’t correct.

This is NOT a content compatibility issue – this a server issue.

yes, am using media server. I just spent another few hours trying to set up media server by turning streaming on, permissioning to all devices, firewall off etc. that got me no where so I just transferred the moves to a public folder and went to network share in the WD OS. All works fine now. thanks

I dont understand why media server is so complicated. pity there isnt an easy way to make it work

For videos, I’ve never seen the point / advantage of Media Servers.  

I do use Media Servers my my music because it offers easier navigation / categorization / etc.

TonyPh12345 wrote:

For videos, I’ve never seen the point / advantage of Media Servers.  

 

I do use Media Servers my my music because it offers easier navigation / categorization / etc.

 

I follow your point, because all the movies I want to watch on the WD player are on drives connected directly to the player.  Rarely do I go out in the network to grab a movie via network shares.  Nevertheless, there are times when media servers are handy.  For example, Twonky Beam app is a media server and looks for other media servers on the network.  It does not see network shared devices/drives.  The WD sees an iPad running Twonky Beam as a media server, and can request media from the iPad this way as well as accept TB beaming media to it.

As for music, I have all my digital music files duplicated on an HD connected to the WD player, and can play my playlists  (or albums) from the drive. (Also, if the PC is on, the PC itself can be accessed via Media server feature, but why bother since all my music there is on the player’s HD).  But, if music on PC is not yet on the player HD, I can get it via media server.

Got it.

I use Sonos streaming so dont need the WD TV for music. Solely playing movies from my PC to my big screen TV. I am thinking of investing in a NAS to store my movies/videos and pictures (also create a redundancy in case one hard drive breaks)

Slight deviation to my original q but if I buy a Synology DS214play (or any Synology home NAS), will I be able to store movies/videos on the NAS and the WD TV plays it effortlessly via media server or network share? I dont want to buy it and waste hours trying to set it up with WD TV Live if you say for example Q-Nap is better. It syas here Synology works fine but just double checking http://www.synology.com/support/faq_show.php?q_id=411

I have a Synology 413j and it plays high bit rate mkvs flawlessly using NFS/linux shares.

If your home network is robust enough, you will be able to play movies from a NAS via network shares.  Not all video-containing files are playable via media server mode; e,g, ISO files are only playable via network shares.

I know nothing about the NAS products you mention, but did you know WD makes NAS products?  Look into them.  Check out the new My Cloud products.