Problem with .mkv files - but not over network- over usb

[huffase]

Hi

I have a problem with playing mkv files. when I start playing a mkv file, at first it plays perfectly but after a few minutes the movie starts going slow motion, with no sound. I checked forum about my problem. There are some posts with same problem. But  all of them are using network to play their movie. I use an external disk for storing my files.

I use HDMI and fiber cables.

Any suggestions?

[Bill_S]

Have you search the rest of the forum about this issue? I’d give it a try. You can also contact WD’s Technical Support by phone or email.

To Contact WD for Technical Support
http://support.wdc.com/contact/index.asp?lang=en

[sholling]

That’s interesting. I have the opposite problem. Mine will play .mkv  and BD ISO files just fine from an external hard drive but over the network I get the exact same symptoms you have. The vido slows to a crawl and there is no sound.

[eival]

could be a router issue, not to mention if you’re using a wireless router…

but you should check the settings of your router. if it has a QoS setting you can adjust that, find out if anyone else is transfering thru the NAT, the router can only handle so many packets, which includes those streaming to your WD Player.

[jacksonlui]

has this been fixed?

i have the same problem with choppy/freezing while playing mkv files with the attached USB drive.  I can sometimes stop it and then play it again and continue from where I left off but it happens again.

I was able to rememdy this solution by playing from a shared network drive with zero problems.

I don’t like this workaround. I’m suspecting maybe the USB is slow?

please advise or share experiences.

thanks

Jack

[mkelley]

Post the media info for one of your files for us to look at.

[dekuun]

Having the same problem for months now…suddenly the MKV files I downloaded are freezing within a couple of minutes in the movie. I can solve the problem by putting the player off and on again, but it’s annoying.

[richUK]

dekuun wrote:

Having the same problem for months now…suddenly the MKV files I downloaded are freezing within a couple of minutes in the movie. I can solve the problem by putting the player off and on again, but it’s annoying.

There is obviously something wrong with these ‘downloaded’ files. If you download stuff from the internet you must expect problems.

[BlackEagle]

I have the same problem and I think I found a pattern.

I own a WDTV Live Plus with a Seagate 1TB external USB drive. The movies (VOB and ISO) plays fine when the drive is 1) remote on my PC or 2) connected to the WDTV AND with few files on it.

But, when the number of files increases (more than 10) the video playback 1) slows down or 2) I get a black screen or 3) the video plays, but there is no sound.

These issues are only visible when the disk is local to the WDTV.

When a drive is remote the low level file system access is the responsibility of the remote host and not the WDTV. It could be a bug in the WDTV itself.

I just posted the issue to the WD support team.

[mkelley]

Welcome to the forums.

That’s going to be hard to duplicate – I have three Live units and they all have various drives connected and all have many more than 10 files on them and they all play just fine.  I don’t think there’s any particular pattern here.

[BlackEagle]

Agreed. Could be hard to find a pattern… unless you have the same disk.

WD support replied to my inquiry. They say this is a compatibility issue. The only supported Seagete drive is not the one I own. 

I purchased a WD My Book Essential 2TB external drive, moved all the movies (about 50 movies - 230GB) and everything works just fine now.

Conclusion: stick to the compatibility list published and maintained by WD even if it is in any way exhaustive.

[Bill_S]

The other issue could be some corruption on the drive, whether a file or file system.  I’d also make sure that the drive doesn’t need to be defragmented.  If you can take the data off the drive, I’d also try repartitioning and reformatting the drive.  It’s just a thought.

[BlackEagle]

Thanks Bill_s

The Seagate drive is new. I also reformated it with 64KB clusters as I have read on some forums. Files were copied one by one to avoid cluster interlacing and thus fragmentation.

The solution I have (WD TV with WD drive) looks to me simple and reliable. Also, in case of future problem, WD will be able to investigate since the entire chain in from the same manufacturer