Re-encoding videos to play on tv

[Immortal25]

Just got a new tv, model is LC40LE820M. It's a SHARP LED LCD TV. Anyhow, as most of you probably know, tvs these days have the USB connection for usb drives or external hdds so we can play movies directly. I've got a couple of .mkv and would LOVE to play them on the tv. Unfortunately, some of the files play the video, but not the audio and some says the resolution is not right for the tv. Now I know that tvs or "players" like these cannot play all files perfectly, however I'm hoping it is possible to change the resolution or re-encode with an audio codec that is readable? So my question is, how do I identify these problems and what are the risks or complications of changing them? Is it very difficult or just a few steps process? Thanks all.

[Baldrick]

Use popcorn mkv audio converter to just change the audio easily.

Use handbrake to lower resolution and change audio.

[Case]

The manual (page 54) isn't very detailed on the limitations, audio codecs or resolutions.
You'll have to experiment on what works, or find a user forum for this line of models to get specifics.

[yoda313]

Safe bet would be divx or xvid with mp3 audio. Use cbr audio instead of vbr audio to reduce complications. (dolby digital aka ac3 audio should also work but you could start with dolby 2.0 and try surround sound after you get the basics to work - you'll still need a surround amp to play the surround but your tv will still play the surround file in stereo - at least in theory - I don't have your tv)

You may also have a resolution restriction. It might not like cropped videos. It may require them to be 1080, 720, or 480 not some other resolution.

Also note that if you have dts audio in it there is a 99.99999999% chance your tv won't play it. DTS requires a dts decoder and I don't know of any tv that has one built in. THere may be more these days with file playback becoming more common but I wouldn't bet on it.

Also this may be a fat32 limitation where you can't play files larger than 4gb. It may handle a ntfs hard drive but no promises.

[rumplestiltskin]

Well, considering that H264/MP4 is the standard these days (BluRay, for example), I'd go that route. Try to encode using the AppleTV preset in Handbrake; then try the iPod Touch setting (but enlarge the frame size back to the source size). The latter setting leaves out "B" frames and tends to play on almost everything (even my Color Nook).

[Noahtuck]

I would think that the easiest way would be to use MediaInfo to check the files that DO work, and compare to the videos that DO NOT work, then you just have to reconvert the videos that do not work to the same specs as the one's that do work.

Why waste time trying different encodes to see what works......

[Immortal25]

Some people get these bluray files in .avi rather than .mkv... Would that make it more compatible? But how about quality? I think they say it's as good as a .mkv file. Any chance of converting to avi to increase chances of compatiblity? avi would mean using xvid or divx codecs right? What type of codecs settings would fit a h264 quality?

[rumplestiltskin]

Sharpo's specsheet on this product says only "DivX" for what it can play in video. It mentions nothing else.

Frankly, I'd spend the $50 for a WDTV media player, connect it to one of the TV's HDMI ports and be able to play almost anything that comes your way. Or you can struggle with converting everything. How much is your time worth?

[neomaine]

Sharpo's specsheet on this product says only "DivX" for what it can play in video. It mentions nothing else.

Frankly, I'd spend the $50 for a WDTV media player, connect it to one of the TV's HDMI ports and be able to play almost anything that comes your way. Or you can struggle with converting everything. How much is your time worth?

+1

[Immortal25]

Craps...I didn't know anything about this WD TV...Only now did I look up for it after you mentioned it....I'll go get one! Though it'll cost me locally about 200+. Think it's still worth it!

[jman98]

Craps...I didn't know anything about this WD TV...Only now did I look up for it after you mentioned it....I'll go get one! Though it'll cost me locally about 200+. Think it's still worth it!

It's definitely worth the money. I've been using one for several years now and it's been great to be able to play files as they are without re-encoding.

[Immortal25]

Are these WD Tv only by Western Digital or other brands as well?

[rumplestiltskin]

There are a number of boxes that all claim to do the same thing. Some work better than others. My experience has been with the WD TV Media Player (about $80 online) and the WD TV Live Plus (about $100 online). Both play the same set of codecs (avi, mp4, some mkv, others) but the Live Plus player connects to your network with Ethernet and, if you turn on SMB filesharing on your Mac, it can see and play all media on any mounted/shared drive (as long as it's one of the supported codecs). Both WDTV units can also accept a USB drive (flash or hard drive) and then the device mounts that drive locally and displays all the media on the drive. The Live Plus also can connect to Hulu and some other sources. WD updates the firmware periodically to add more features. I think it's a great unit and both do what they do at least as well as my v1 AppleTV.

Note there's a WD mini that's still being offered cheap but it doesn't support as many codecs; avoid it.

The only 'gotcha' I've encountered is if I have a video that's been encoded at too high a bitrate (usually an mkv if it happens but I've done it myself when encoding H264/MP4 at too high a bitrate). In this case I have a sync issue.

$90 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136593&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_m...tal-_-22136593

[Immortal25]

The only 'gotcha' I've encountered is if I have a video that's been encoded at too high a bitrate (usually an mkv if it happens but I've done it myself when encoding H264/MP4 at too high a bitrate). In this case I have a sync issue.

$90 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136593&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_m...tal-_-22136593

What is too high a bitrate? Would like to know a bit more objectively...thanks mate.

[rumplestiltskin]

Too high a bitrate = anything substantially higher than what is truly necessary. That one video I transcoded that had a bit of a sync issue was 720p, 23.976fps, 150kbps audio, and used the AppleTV preset in Handbrake (2500kbps average). I'm trying a re-encode using a different preset (iPod Touch but with the full frame size and 2200 kbps video). Sometimes a small change makes the difference. I'll post once I know the result.

Frankly, most everything plays on the WDTV player and I really have no complaints.

Edit: Just checked out the video I had encoded that I thought had a too-high bitrate (resulting in what I thought was an A/V sync issue). Turns out there wasn't any problem; the actor's speech at the start of the video was dubbed in and wasn't perfectly sync'd to the movement of his lips. Everything else was fine. However, really high-bitrates streamed from my computer to the WD take a bit longer to start and fast-forward (as opposed to videos on a USB-connected drive). Still, I really have no complaints.

[Immortal25]

Alright... umm will the tv have an effect on what is played though? There's one file which has resolution problem and I'm wondering if the wd tv can fix that or is that my tv problem?
Edit: I mean when the file is played via the usb connection on the tv, it says incorrect resolution, leading me to post my problem here in the first place. But now that I think of it, is that due to file or tv problem? Why will it not play? As for audio problems I have found out that the sharp tv doesn't support DTS...most of my MKVs are in DTS. WD TV supports it so I'm confident in the audio dept, but the video? What's up with the resolution thingy?

[rumplestiltskin]

I can't tell you whether playing that offending file through the WDTV's HDMI connection will resolve the problem but if it plays you might see a frame proportion other than how it was intended to be displayed. IMHO, mkv's cause more problems than they solve as there are a hundred ways (it seems, based upon the crud I've seen) to encode it and not all playback devices can play everything. This is why I always just transcode to H264/MP4 with AAC audio no higher than 160kb. That plays in everything I own (even my Color Nook if I keep the frame size to no more than 1200x600 and, otherwise, use the iPod Touch preset in Handbrake).

[yoda313]

@immortal25 - regarding dts audio - chances are it won't play on the tv alone. It would need to be hooked up to a stereo amp that decodes dts.

The quick work around is to convert the audio to ac3 and remux it into the original file. Converting audio is usually pretty quick on just about any system starting at the dual core level and working up. It won't take hours.

EAC3TO is probably the best tool for the job.

[Immortal25]

Hi all. Just bought the wd tv and it works great! Plays all the files that I have and no probs at all. Files may be in DTS and it still plays but obviously not true dts eh? Anyhow, thanks to all who replied. Case closed