Won't play .mp4 or .avi?

Let me preface this by saying I am not very experienced with video files. 

I just received my Mini and figured it would play what I thought were plain vanilla video files I downloaded from archive.org… some old TV shows.  To my amazement, the player comes up with a message that the file is not supported.  So I converted one of the .mp4 files to an .avi file with a free software video converter and tried play it.  It too came up with the same message of unsupported file.

So… I copied some sample .rvmb files from the included CD onto my USB thumb drive and tried these – they worked!  But why would I have a problem with .mp4 and .avi file formats?  I figured these were generic enough???

BTW, the .mp4 files have been playing just fine across my networked WD TV Live unit I got a few days ago.

I may try to call/email WD support but thought to try this forum first…   any help for this less-than-expert user?

Thx,

rlah

I just ran a MediaInfo process on one of the files I unsuccessfully tried to play — in case it helps:

Format profile                   : Base Media
Codec ID                         : isom
File size                        : 106 MiB
Duration                         : 25mn 27s
Overall bit rate                 : 581 Kbps
Movie name                       : The Cheyney Vase - http://www.archive.org/details/Alfred_Hitchcock_Presents_-_The_Cheyney_Vase_Dec25_1955
Tagged date                      : UTC 2008-11-23 03:00:25
Writing application              : Lavf51.10.0
Comment                          : license:  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/

Video
ID                               : 1
Format                           : AVC
Format/Info                      : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                   : Baseline@L1.3
Format settings, CABAC           : No
Format settings, ReFrames        : 1 frame
Codec ID                         : avc1
Codec ID/Info                    : Advanced Video Coding
Duration                         : 25mn 27s
Bit rate mode                    : Variable
Bit rate                         : 512 Kbps
Width                            : 320 pixels
Height                           : 240 pixels
Display aspect ratio             : 4:3
Original display aspect ratio    : 4:3
Frame rate mode                  : Constant
Frame rate                       : 29.970 fps
Resolution                       : 8 bits
Colorimetry                      : 4:2:0
Scan type                        : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)               : 0.222
Stream size                      : 93.2 MiB (88%)

Audio
ID                               : 2
Format                           : AAC
Format/Info                      : Advanced Audio Codec
Format version                   : Version 4
Format profile                   : LC
Format settings, SBR             : No
Codec ID                         : 40
Duration                         : 25mn 26s
Bit rate mode                    : Variable
Bit rate                         : 64.0 Kbps
Channel(s)                       : 2 channels
Channel positions                : L R
Sampling rate                    : 44.1 KHz
Stream size                      : 11.6 MiB (11%)

No answers from this forum…

I called WD Advanced support.  No good reason why a 320x240 mp4 file won’t play.  Even they said this unit is very limited and that I should just use my other Live unit instead.  So I’m returning this Mini to NewEgg today.

but returning the product isnt much of an option for those without another player to play their movies. i seriously think that WD is not doing a good job with their after sales support. their products are starting to lose the trust of us as consumers already.

I too have trouble playing M4V files - Has this been fixed yet? I am not keen to convert all of my files when it seems like a simple firmware fix. I notice a link that says solved but it doesnt go to a solution. Come on WD this is basic stuff

Try this it worked for me.  Download the program handbrake (its freeware.)  Follow these instructions.

1.  Select your source

2.  Input your destination

3.  For Output settings select mp4

  1. On the Presets window over to your right hand side, select Normal

5.  Under the tab Video, select video codec MPEG-4

6.  Select Framerate (FPS) then click on dropdown menu then select 29.97

7.  Click on the Start button

8.  Once its finished, you can transfer your file to your portable drive and it should work.

Hope that helps.

Thanks - will give it a go but still think they need to update their firmware

I agree, it needs to be addressed in their firmware.  Question is when will we see it.

Are you using the WD  TV Mini? If I try to encode a file using Handbrake using those exact settings the WD TV Mini tells me it is unsupported. Is there a definative list of what detailed settings are needed anywhere, or anything like that?

I have no problems playing my avi’s which I converted from dvds from my mini, it doesn’t come up as unsupported file until the last 10 - 15 minutes of the movie, and this is very frustrating as I have converted over a hundred movies it took me days to do.  Any sugestions please

How big is the file? The mini (while it’s a great little box) chokes on files bigger than about 1GB. When you convert (I use Xilisoft DVD Ripper and Xilisoft Video Converter, you can pick just about any output format you want) break your out-put file into pieces. I set it to break at 850mb and that works just fine. Play from the first segment and the mini will play them sequentially, you’ll hardly notice the breaks.

Sorry, no it did not work for me. That combination generated a .m4v file which the mini did not recognise. If I use hand break to generate an .mkv file it will recognise it but not play it. Any more suggestions please?

You need to change the extension to MP4 instead of M4V.  Try that;   just rename the file; you don’t need to re-'Brake it.

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Thank you. Yes, that was it. Plays Ok on mini now.

Incidentally, you CAN tell Handbrake to use the MP4 extension instead when you create the job; that’ll eliminate that rename step later…

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found it. Thanks.

Aunsoft Video Converter helps you convert between various formats. It is the must-have conversion tool for video lovers, and enables you to enjoy movies on computer, to further edit video for creation, to present video on HDTV, and to publish video online in web-friendly format. You can control your video and music on popular portable devices including iPad, Nexus One, HTC Hero, Zune, iPod, PSP, Apple TV, iPhone anytime anywhere.

With this powerful converter, you can also convert videos for video editing software like Adobe Premiere, Windows Movie Maker, Sony Vegas, and upload video to YouTube and MySpace to share videos.

http://www.aunsoft.com/video-converter/

Ahhh … you need to preference your recommendation of Aunsoft Video Convertor that it is NOT FREE and costs a hefty $35 (which it isn’t worth, since there are many Freeware apps that do the same and are $0 cost.) Handbrake is stiil a better option, it’s been around for at least 10 years and always updated for newer OS implimentations.

If you want other choices, go to C/Net and search Video Conversion, Freeware . Stay away from “Trialware”, they often have big limitations and install Bug You To Death upgrade badgering malware.

OK, now I’ll Ditto the complaints that the WD TV Mini WON’T play any MP4’s I’ve thrown at it; it balks at nearly all the MOV’s that aren’t created off a commercial device (like a Flash camcorder) that  I’ve tried and I am real disappointed that WD did not include WMV play ability, since WMV are “perfect” uncompressed video files, hence will deliver the best video quality. I have not had any problems with AVI files that are DiVX encoded, unless that have the DiVX extension (just rename it).

Get WMV support in the next Firmware update and fix the MOV and Mp4 support. We shouldn’t have to convert files!

For everyone with mp4 problems:

I had a working mp4 made the following way:

xvid 1.2.1+neroaacenc+yamb

not a single problem, so dont know where yours come from!

Thanks for that tip Xorro about file sizes choking at 1 gig. I had the same, or at least similar, problem as MissBhaving and have been trying everywhere to find why my .avi movies just stop playing three-quarters of the way through and the message ‘Do you want to resume this video from where you left off last time?’ is displayed. If YES (the tick) is selected, it starts playing the next movie on the list. If NO (the cross) is selected, it returns to the movie list. It seems the latter part of the movie - that part stored beyond the 1 gig point - is inaccessible.

That such a basic limitation is not identified in the documentation and/or on the box for shoppers to discover BEFORE purchase indicates a shoddy and unprofessional attention by Western Digital to their customers. I’ll be on the lookout for a software upgrade to fix this but, in any event, and though I’ve bought many WD hard drives in the past and found them reliable, I feel I have been duped in my purchase of the WD TV Mini and will be VERY wary of buying WD stuff again.