internet tv codec identification?

[boylemeister]

Hi all,

Been away from the conversion world for a while so back in noobland a little here.

I've bought a Toshiba internet TV (32rl853b) which should be able to play a range of video files from storage. I'm being driven crazy trying to find the codec to work on it...most avi, mp4, etc all result in errors. I can download .m4v torrents files (listed as iphone files) which play no probs - if I try to create these myself, I just get playback errors from the TV.

I'm going thru every format possible on my Cucusoft converter without any joy. Are there different formats of m4v codecs? Any tips on how I track down something which works? (eg get info on the files which work from BitT downloads)

Any guidance would be hugely appreciated.

Steve

[redwudz]

M4V is a file container format used by Apple's iTunes application. The M4V file format is a video file format developed by Apple and is very close to MP4 format. The differences are the optional Apple's DRM copyright protection, and the treatment of AC3 (Dolby Digital) audio which is not standardized for MP4 container.

But try dropping one of the working files into MediaInfo and that should let you compare it to a non-working one. .m4v is just a container name, like AVI. It doesn't really tell you much about the codecs inside the container. I'm not familiar with that TV, but it should be able to play files other than .m4v. I would think it would play a Xvid or Divx file.

You could try HandBrake and see if it works for a iPod .m4v conversion.

[boylemeister]

Cheers, I really appreciate the time youve taken to help...this has been a massive help already - not quite there but I feel I'm getting close. The TV is an odd one - really can understand why the formats which work are so specific - all the standard ones giving errors.

I've used MediaInfo (shows that Handbrake was used for my good file so bonus!) - I've been playing with settings while converting a small divx file to m4v - match most of the basic screen on MI... vid AVC / aud AAC, aud stream info matched perfectly - the only one I cant nail is the vid stream - good file states "AVC (Baseline 3.0)" but all of my duff files are other variations of this "AVC (Main@L3.0)", "AVC (High@L3.0)" - does this make any sense? Any tips on how to get the baseline setting? I've messed about using most of the presets which can output as m4v but possible I've missed one or just not there with the tweaks on the settings.

Many thanks again,
Steve

[jagabo]

Baseline 3.0 encoding: https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/338788-AVC-without-Q-Pel

I recommend you get a standalone media player instead for about US$100. They will play just about everything so you don't have to worry about reencoding stuff.

[redwudz]

Hopefully someone that knows a bit about the 'Baseline' settings will respond.

I've got to head out in a few minutes, but I'll try to check back to the forum later. I found some reference to 'Baselines' in this Wikipedia page near the bottom, but I don't understand it that well myself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC

[jagabo]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC#Profiles

The limitations are given in the table a little below there. One major limitation is no b-frames.

[boylemeister]

cheers guys - I'll have a good read through the baseline stuff and have another play with the settings when I get back from work (on uk time here). thanks for all the help so far!

[edDV]

Another reference
http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/formats/fdd/fdd000082.shtml

As used by iPod et al

The specifications for the video-capable iPod introduced by Apple in late 2005 state that device will play "H.264 video" in the Baseline Profile up to Level 1.3, i.e., MPEG-4_AVC_BP (the encoding described on this page). Added picture specifications state that the data rate can rise to 768 kbps, picture size of 320 x 240 pixels, frame rate of 30 fps. Sound specifications call for AAC_MP4_LC up to 160 kbps, sampling to 48 Khz, stereo audio. Adoption of these iPod-oriented specifications was reinforced in early 2006, when Google began to offer downloadable videos that include files with an .mp4 extension and an encoding variously listed as "H.264" or "avc1," i.e., MPEG-4_AVC_BP.

CBP
http://www.ti.com/lit/an/spraba9/spraba9.pdf (see 3.7.1)

[boylemeister]

result! got there...thank you all so much.

I'm not 100% certain what the final change was that worked but somewhere in the tweaks in the advanced settings, a reduction in the frame size and switching off some settings on Twonkymedia on my NAS I'm finally getting something that plays on the TV!!

Thanks so much for the time to help - Handbrake & MediaInfo are now priceless additions to my laptop

Take care...back soon with my next problem

Steve