x264 - Some play, Some don't - (Have MediaInfo & Player Specs)

[jkbowman]

Hello, and thanks.

I recently picked up a Micca MPLAY-HD Digital Media Player which supports mkv/H.264 through USB storage. Attached please find a screen-cap of the player's specs:

I’ve confirmed that I can play x264 using one file, but I’ve run into “File Not Supported” on all other attempts (about 3). Using MediaInfo, I compared the file that did play to one of the ones that didn't and noted these differences:

(values to the left represent the file that does play)
File Size: 1.46, 6.56
Overall Bit Rate: 3587 Kbps, 6935 Kbps

VIDEO
Format settings, ReFrames: 3 frames, 5 frames
Bit rate: 3,392 Kbps, 5,425 Kbps
Width: 1,280 p, 1,280 p
Height: 720 p, 688 p
Display aspect ratio: 16:9, 1.860
Frame rate: 25.000 fps, 23.976 fps
Bits/(Pixel*Frame): 0.147, 0.257
Stream size: 1.35 GiB (93%), 5.00 GiB (76%)

I’m hoping that someone more knowledgeable than I am can help me whittle down the issue. The question I’m asking is, “What x264 files should I NOT be downloading. Identifying a file as x264 alone doesn’t appear to be specific enough for me to ID a watchable film. Thanks..

[DarrellS]

I can only assume that it has something to do with header compression. If so, they will need to either be remuxed with a version of MKVmerge older than version 4.1.0 or with header compression turned off in the newer versions for both audio and video. I had to do this with my newer MKVs because they won't play in my WDTV.

You could check to see if your player has a firmware update to support header compression.

[jkbowman]

Thanks very much, Darrell. I'll follow up on your suggestion and report back later.

I also have a support ticket into Micca which they seem to be following up on. No answer yet, but I'll include what I find out from there on the chance someone else searches for the same issue.

Cheers!

[jkbowman]

Remuxed with MKVmerge - didn't work
Remuxed again w/ MKVmerge (second try, I'm stubborn), and it's playing now.

I'm pretty sure I used the same settings on both attempts so I'm really not sure what's going on. Perhaps the file is just too large for confident use on a USB drive? I dunno, but this has me going for now. Picture is crystal clear and the sound is fine.

Deep Bows!