I just recently had my new wdtv live come through post my last one was faulty never even got chance to use it so far with my new box i have tried watching one mkv film and it kept stuttering so bad it was to anoying to keep on watching i then tried a avi file which worked fine but later on tried to watch another avi film which kept switching off at random points just tested out a different mkv file which worked fine for the first few minutes and decided to stop working if i try to fast forward it tells me unable to play the selected file the files are being played directly through a Hard Drive and not streamed any information you could give me would be great in the past i have always been fine with just a codec pack or tversity never had isues like this so not sure if it is a codec problem Thanks.
Unfortunately both the MKV and AVI are containers that can contain a LOT of different things, and not all of them will play well on the Live.
If you have a particular problem video you can use MediaInfo (or some other freeware program) to examine and and post the information here so we can try and see what’s going on. As always, H264 and AC3 are the best video and audio codecs to use.
Well my dad has told me the same file works fine on his box he is running same version of firmware also this is the mediainfo
Format : Matroska
File size : 1.09 GiB
Duration : 41mn 55s
Overall bit rate : 3 733 Kbps
Encoded date : UTC 2010-04-10 18:27:09
Writing application : mkvmerge v2.9.8 (‘C’est le bon’) built on Aug 13 2009 16:16:13
Writing library : libebml v0.7.7 + libmatroska v0.8.1
Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L3.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 4 frames
Muxing mode : Container profile=Unknown@3.1
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 41mn 55s
Bit rate : 3 275 Kbps
Nominal bit rate : 3 345 Kbps
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Variable
Frame rate : 25.000 fps
Resolution : 8 bits
Colorimetry : 4:2:0
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.142
Stream size : 982 MiB (88%)
Writing library : x264 core 84 r1416 fcf70c2
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=3 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=hex / subme=6 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.0:0.0 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=12 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / wpredb=1 / wpredp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc=2pass / mbtree=0 / bitrate=3345 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / pb_ratio=1.30 / aq=1:1.00
Audio
ID : 2
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Format_Settings_ModeExtension : CM (complete main)
Codec ID : A_AC3
Duration : 41mn 55s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 384 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Stream size : 115 MiB (10%)
Strange from another post someone mentioned about they tried there file on a flash drive and was fine well thats what i have just done and no problems any reasons why?
How are you streaming? Media server or network shares? And wired or wireless?
Just through a external hard drive.
No, you said the files play fine through your local drive. I want to know how you are streaming them when they DON’T play fine – either media server or network shares, either wired or wireless.
I could be wrong, but" Internal" didnt say anything about streaming in his first post.
The file worked OK when on a flash drive but not on a hard drive?
Not all hard drives are compatable.
I use a Seagate drive in a NEXTAR external case on USB2 and a My book essential on USB1
I have no problems playing any file I have thrown at it although sound sync issues with AAC.
You’re right – I got confused (usual condition for this old man) with another post.
And you’re also right that not all drives are created equal, but that file he’s trying to play isn’t particularly challenging (and most drives are so much faster than any possible bitrate it would be hard to pin the blame on the drive).
Still… if the files play fine on one drive and then not another it most likely has to be the drive. Certainly not a Live problem (he could try reformatting that drive – would be a good place to start).
I just formated the drive took me forever still the same guess i will have invest in a new drive Thanks for the help.
Try a drive from somewhere (like Amazon, or a B/M store like Best Buy) where you can return it for a full refund in case it isn’t the issue.
