Most favored video format

Bmoody12345 wrote:

Might be the file itself. VLC plays the mp4 AND the mkv re-mux flawless. both files crash the SMP. They also have NO sound on the Live SMP if that is a clue.

 

Not sure why it would work flawlessly on VLC and not on the Live. Guess I’ll just have to stick with native mkv files.

 

Brian

Forget the fact that it plays well on VLC. Software and hardware are completely different things. VLC is designed to play broken files but hardware is not so forgiving.

Yeah, VLC will play a lot of files that you can’t necessarily play on the SMP or the HUB.  Just because they play flawlessly on your PC doesn’t mean that you have a good encoded file.  And if it plays fine as a mp4 it should play fine as a mkv, the problem is usually something that is set or not set when you mux the file.

If you didn’t try re-encoding with header compression turned off, then I would try that.  After all, it only takes a few minutes to do and if it plays fine after that then you’ll know what was causing the problem.

I followed the instructions you gave. Still no luck. The AVI converters are too slow, I might try running one over night. AlltoAVI is also not completely intuitive, but I think I got it started.

Reading another thread, another site, I find that the WD SMP does not do 5.1 ch surround audio. This started me thinking. The mp4 files that I’m having trouble with have 6 ch audio, could this be my problem? This seems to make sense because the files begin to play, but with no sound. They eventually stop video playback as well.

Strange observation. My SMP sometimes will not see my NAS through the “video” selection on the menu. If I choose “files” it works better. I like the interface better as well.

Brian

I get 5.1 audio via optical just fine

What does via optical mean?

optical output from smp to my surround sound

Bmoody12345 wrote:

Reading another thread, another site, I find that the WD SMP does not do 5.1 ch surround audio. This started me thinking. The mp4 files that I’m having trouble with have 6 ch audio, could this be my problem? This seems to make sense because the files begin to play, but with no sound. They eventually stop video playback as well.

 

Strange observation. My SMP sometimes will not see my NAS through the “video” selection on the menu. If I choose “files” it works better. I like the interface better as well.

 

Brian

I’m not sure who told you, or where you read that it won’t do 5.1, but it should play AC3 5.1 just fine.  There have been reported problems with AAC 5.1, but that is just bug, and 6 ch audio is 5.1.  Do your mp4’s have AAC or AC3 audio encoded?

Also, I don’t think you have been asked this, but, did you encode the files yourself?

I did not encode the mp4’s. They were shared files.

Audio Specs:
Audio Codec And Type: Advanced Audio Codec (AAC) | MPEG-4 (mp4a)
Writing Application: Nero AAC codec
Format profile: LC
Bitrate Mode: Variable
Bitrate: 317 Kbps
Maximum Bitrate: 335 Kbps
Sample Rate: 48.0 KHz
Channel Count: 6 Ch - Front: L C R, Rear: L R, LFE

as Tinwarble said, there have been reported issues with AAC, try converting to AC3 and they should play fine

Can that be done in MKVtoolnix? I’ve poked around the options tabs a bit but haven’t found it. I am also searching through the help.

dunno about MKVtoolnix, I use PCH Audio converter to convert my dts mkv files to ac3 and it works wonderfully, what format video files are you trying to convert?

the originals are mp4.

winff ‘should’ be able to convert them

Bmoody12345 wrote:

I did not encode the mp4’s. They were shared files.

 

This is probably why you are having trouble with these files.  As you didn’t encode them, you don’t know how they were encoded.  If the person who did encode them did it badly, then there is no way of knowing and this is what happens when you use torrents.

I understand the risks with torrents. However, I find it curious that from multiple sources, the mp4 files are the only ones this player has an issue with. It is also consistent, NO mp4’s will play. I intend to download some cellphone videos which are mp4 and test those as well.

Anyway, the helpful forum here is appreciated. With the advice I’ve received, I’ve downloaded several new tools and will be learning my way around them. I’m close to the point of setting the mp4’s aside and enjoying the box for what it plays well. Soon enough, these functions will be improved by WD or with another player.

thanks.

Well, for about the tenth time, I thought I had a solution, I found a description to the exact problem I’ve been having by searching some more in the forum. I found:

http://community.wdc.com/t5/WD-TV-Live-General-Discussions/MP4-H264-issues-with-WD-TV-Live/m-p/26281/highlight/true#M7764

This is the same recommendation from earlier, with the added instruction (perhaps I just missed it) to check the HE AAC box in the extra options tab for the audio file.

Did it, still have no audio on the WD and video freezes within first minute or so. I also selected none for compression on the video file options.

Time to give up on this one and save until WD or another SMP solves it for me.

thanks.

Brian

Bmoody12345 wrote:

I understand the risks with torrents. However, I find it curious that from multiple sources, the mp4 files are the only ones this player has an issue with. It is also consistent, NO mp4’s will play. I intend to download some cellphone videos which are mp4 and test those as well.

 

Anyway, the helpful forum here is appreciated. With the advice I’ve received, I’ve downloaded several new tools and will be learning my way around them. I’m close to the point of setting the mp4’s aside and enjoying the box for what it plays well. Soon enough, these functions will be improved by WD or with another player.

 

thanks.

That’s because mp4 is only a container, it has nothing to do with how it was encoded.  You can’t take a badly encoded video, swap containers and expect it to be good.  What you put in is what you get out.

It also doesn’t matter what the source is, it has to do with how the orginal person encoded the vid.  This is something you don’t have any control over, so when you download a video you get what ever the person who encoded did to it.

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Of course I understand this. BUT, any encoded file can be “broken” I have a 100% failure rate with .mp4 files and a 100% success rate with .avi and .mkv. I have also tried the conversions from .mp4 to .mkv from multiple sources with the same result.  Many others on this forum have the same issue with .mp4 files.

While I’m no expert on video encoding, logic tells me that it is not the file, but the SMP’s ability to play .mp4’s. Again, not griping, the helpfullness is appreciated. I also think this box is the best on the market, especially for the price.

thanks again.

Tinwarble wrote:


Bmoody12345 wrote:

I understand the risks with torrents. However, I find it curious that from multiple sources, the mp4 files are the only ones this player has an issue with. It is also consistent, NO mp4’s will play. I intend to download some cellphone videos which are mp4 and test those as well.

 

Anyway, the helpful forum here is appreciated. With the advice I’ve received, I’ve downloaded several new tools and will be learning my way around them. I’m close to the point of setting the mp4’s aside and enjoying the box for what it plays well. Soon enough, these functions will be improved by WD or with another player.

 

thanks.


That’s because mp4 is only a container, it has nothing to do with how it was encoded.  You can’t take a badly encoded video, swap containers and expect it to be good.  What you put in is what you get out.

 

It also doesn’t matter what the source is, it has to do with how the orginal person encoded the vid.  This is something you don’t have any control over, so when you download a video you get what ever the person who encoded did to it.

I finally chose to use Handbrake to do the mkv conversion. I found the audio output option to convert audio to ac3 (ffmpeg) and selected this. The file now plays.

I did not try this on earlier comments that Handbrake would apply additional compression. It seems though to have worked perfectly. A little inconvenient to convert movies at 1/2 to 1/3 play time, but the PC can work while I sleep.

thanks for the help.