Yet Another Question About File Support [YAQAFS]

Hey guys! First, let me say I read the FAQ, checked the manual & searched the forum for useful info on this matter. That out of the way, I’m still not sure why exactly won’t certain file of mine play. Is there somewhere maybe a more detailed list of specs/supported files, something beyond what user manual offers?

Anyway, here’s the info for the above mentioned file:

General

Unique ID :

203522580229589360730260428345346720404 (0x991D05EDF71C727EB27894C39EFD8294)

Complete name :

C:\Users\UserName\Videos\Film\SomeMovieFolder720p.BluRay.x264.DTS\Movie.mkv

Format :

Matroska

File size :

5.34 GiB

Duration :

1h 55mn

Overall bit rate :

6 606 Kbps

Encoded date :

UTC 2010-09-14 03:29:32

Writing application :

mkvmerge v3.2.0 ('Beginnings') built on Feb 12 2010 16:46:17

Writing library :

libebml v0.7.9 + libmatroska v0.8.1

Video

ID :

1

Format :

AVC

Format/Info :

Advanced Video Codec

Format profile :

High@L4.1

Format settings, CABAC :

Yes

Format settings, ReFrames :

12 frames

Codec ID :

V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC

Duration :

1h 55mn

Bit rate :

5 000 Kbps

Width :

1 280 pixels

Height :

544 pixels

Display aspect ratio :

2.35:1

Frame rate :

23.976 fps

Color space :

YUV

Chroma subsampling :

4:2:0

Bit depth :

8 bits

Scan type :

Progressive

Bits/(Pixel*Frame) :

0.299

Stream size :

3.94 GiB (74%)

Title :

x264_L4.1 @ 5000 Kbps

Writing library :

x264 core 104 r1703 cd21d05

Encoding settings :

cabac=1 / ref=12 / deblock=1:-3:-3 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=umh / subme=9 / psy=1 / psy_rd=0.90:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=64 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=0 / chroma_qp_offset=-4 / threads=12 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=0 / interlaced=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=7 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc=2pass / mbtree=0 / bitrate=5000 / 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=1:0.80

Language :

English

Audio #1

ID :

2

Format :

DTS

Format/Info :

Digital Theater Systems

Codec ID :

A_DTS

Duration :

1h 55mn

Bit rate mode :

Constant

Bit rate :

1 510 Kbps

Channel(s) :

6 channels

Channel positions :

Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE

Sampling rate :

48.0 KHz

Bit depth :

24 bits

Compression mode :

Lossy

Stream size :

1.22 GiB (23%)

Title :

English DTS 5.1 @ 1.5 Mbps

Language :

English

Audio #2

ID :

4

Format :

Vorbis

Format settings, Floor :

1

Codec ID :

A_VORBIS

Duration :

1h 55mn

Bit rate :

96.0 Kbps

Channel(s) :

2 channels

Sampling rate :

48.0 KHz

Compression mode :

Lossy

Stream size :

79.5 MiB (1%)

Title :

English Commentary Vorbis 2.0 @ 96 Kbps

Writing library :

libVorbis 1.1.1/1.1.2 (UTC 2005-03-04)

Language :

English

Text

ID :

3

Format :

UTF-8

Codec ID :

S_TEXT/UTF8

Codec ID/Info :

UTF-8 Plain Text

Title :

English SDH

Language :

English

The problem is how you encoded the file.  12 ReFrames is just overkill.

The WDTV just physically doesn’t have enough memory to keep track of that many frames at once.  Even on a PC, trying to play that file back will use up a HUGE chunk of RAM.

The “High Profile” setting in Handbrake only uses 3 ReFrames.  Anything past 5 and the WDTV basically won’t be able to play it at all.

You’ll have to re-encode the file using reasonable settings.

The “@L4.1” means that only 4 reference frames are officially supported… any more than that and the file is out of spec.  As I said, many files with 5 seem to still play back ok, but beyond that, the device simply can’t play the file.

Great, re-encoding it is =)

Thanks for (really) fast reply!

You’re welcome.

Thanks for providing the MediaInfo right off the bat, instead of us having to guess at what the problem could be.