Please add support for this file type.... "Advanced Video Codec Format profile : Main@L3.1"

Please add support for this type of Flash Video in an .MP4 container.  WD TV Live with
firmware 2.0.1.86 does not support this exact form of MP4 file downloaded from a streaming
website.

General

Complete name                            : Example.mp4

Format                                   : Flash Video
File size                                : 263 MiB
Duration                                 : 24mn 28s
Overall bit rate                         : 1 501 Kbps

Video
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : Main@L3.1
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames                : 2 frames
Codec ID                                 : 7
Duration                                 : 24mn 28s
Bit rate                                 : 1 367 Kbps
Width                                    : 640 pixels
Height                                   : 360 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 25.000 fps
Standard                                 : PAL
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.237
Stream size                              : 239 MiB (91%)

Audio
Format                                   : AAC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Audio Codec
Format profile                           : HE-AAC / LC
Codec ID                                 : 10
Duration                                 : 24mn 28s
Bit rate                                 : 127 Kbps
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel positions                        : Front: L R
Sampling rate                            : 44.1 KHz / 22.05 KHz
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 22.2 MiB (8%)

It should play…   try renaming Example.mp4 to Example. flv

1 Like

Thank you.  I’ll give it a try and I’ll remember to click on the ‘accept as solution’ button if it works.

Assuming it does work I wonder why it just can’t play the flash video contained in the .mp4 wrapper?  That’s exactly as I downloaded it.  The only thing is I have perhaps 100 or more of these types of files downloaded from this streaming website.

Edit:

Confirmed.  Renaming the file as JoeySmyth suggested works perfectly.

It would be great if the player could handle the file (flash video file but in an .MP4 wrapper/container) out-of-the-box, however, this solution does work.  I was actually using Convert X to DVD and creating a DVD file (not burning a DVD just creating the VIDEO_TS folders for playback via USB flash drive via the box) to play the file.

Renaming the file extensions is a lot less tedious than creating a DVD file at least.

Out-of-the-box support for flash video inside an .MP4 container would be the ideal though.  I hope Western Digital can address this issue vie future firmware updates.

P.S. I absolutely love everything else about this box.  I rate it as an A- product.  It’s quite amazing.

MP4 container does not support “Flash Video”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_container_formats

The site you’re getting these files from, they are incorrectly changing the file extension from .flv to .mp4

Renaming the 100 or more file extensions back to the correct one will take about 1 second using a Batch Renaming program.

eg. I use this simple one  http://www.mediafire.com/download/l8xfv3xwd4czfll/file+renamer.zip

P.S. Glad it worked :smiley:

jetspeed wrote:

Assuming it does work I wonder why it just can’t play the flash video contained in the .mp4 wrapper?

What you have is not Flash Video in an MP4 wrapper.

You have AVC Video in an FLV Wrapper with the wrong extension, as Joey said.