Need Assistance Comparing MediaInfo txt files

[JAVALICIOUS]

I would like to convert a video file for mom to play on her pre-smart TV via USB - I have a mkv file that works already (different video) but every file I've made with handbrake so far chokes at the halfway point and the chapters/fwd/rwd don't work properly.

I thought they were too big so I made smaller ones. Didn't help. I've followed the suggestions of assorted internet article writers on the subject and a dozen different sets of settings all fail in the same way. I think the articles are too new and the TV is too old—so I've gone through my known files that work on her TV and found the closest match to what I'm trying to make that works without any issues.

Then I found MediaInfo so I could see the differences to try and mimic myself a fix... but the info is very detailed, some already matches my failures so I'm struggling to see what could be the setting(s) that I need to change/adjust for success on her TV.

Where is the proper place to ask for someone who understands such info and might help me know which changes to make this elusive mkv (mp4) work?

Luckily handbrake made the working sample, and it is also what I've been making all my "usb-coaster-files" with... so if I knew what the "right" differences were between the 2 I could make my own preset for moms TV!

[flashandpan007]

What TV does she have?

[ProWo]

Post a mediainfo report (text mode) from the working video here.

[JAVALICIOUS]

It's an old LG 42LV3500-UA, and we watch a lot of stuff via usb but I just can't seem to make any of our own files that work with either handbrake or makemkv. I've got avi, mkv, mp4, etc (from all over the world even as we watch foreign films too) so I know it supports several file formats but I have tried dozens of settings and none will play for me all the way through. They look and sound great for 30 mins or so and then they just close. And they all play fine in vlc/mpc etc. it's just the TV they don't work on.

The ones I got off the internet are often bigger than the ones I create and they all play fine... ie the two I want to compare, the working one is 1.31GB and the fail is only 870mb. Plus I have working files over 2GB so it can't just be the size. I chose a smaller failure file to compare with only because it's the one that played the longest before quitting - about 42 mins of the 80, most of the others quit around 25 or 30 mins. I've changed and experimented with all kinds of quality settings and nothing has worked.

The bigger file that works has a higher bitrate than the small-fail, I've tried enabling fast decode - nada, I lowered from 1080 to 720, nada - there are some differences in the Mediainfo files but not ones that I can easily recognise on the gui. The big working file was made with an older version of handbrake though so I might try to find it and try it instead. Maybe older wants older lol

[JAVALICIOUS]

cheers ProWo

Works Perfectly

General
Unique ID : 80511563631228643851133539472669953847 (0x3C91F68F7861C65731417E88F9484F37)
Complete name : E:\2015
Format : Matroska
Format version : Version 4
File size : 1.31 GiB
Duration : 1 h 26 min
Overall bit rate : 2 168 kb/s
Frame rate : 29.970 FPS
Encoded date : 2022-06-22 13:19:05 UTC
Writing application : HandBrake 1.5.1 2022011000
Writing library : Lavf58.76.100
ErrorDetectionType : Per level 1

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : Main@L3.1
Format settings : CABAC / 4 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, Reference : 4 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 1 h 26 min
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 2.40:1
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 29.970 (30000/1001) FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Writing library : x264 core 164 r3065 ae03d92
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=3 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x1:0x111 / me=hex / subme=7 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=0 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=12 / lookahead_threads=2 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=300 / keyint_min=30 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=40 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=21.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=14000 / vbv_bufsize=14000 / crf_max=0.0 / nal_hrd=none / filler=0 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Default : Yes
Forced : No
Color range : Limited
Color primaries : BT.709
Transfer characteristics : BT.709
Matrix coefficients : BT.709

Audio
ID : 2
Format : AAC LC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID : A_AAC-2
Duration : 1 h 26 min
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel layout : L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Delay relative to video : -21 ms
Title : Stereo
Default : Yes
Forced : No


Works then Quits Halfway

General
Complete name : E:\1979
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID : mp42 (mp42/iso2/avc1/mp41)
File size : 1.40 GiB
Duration : 1 h 5 min
Overall bit rate : 3 052 kb/s
Frame rate : 29.970 FPS
Encoded date : 2026-01-30 21:59:30 UTC
Tagged date : 2026-01-30 21:59:30 UTC
Writing application : HandBrake 1.7.2 2023122400

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : Main@L3.1
Format settings : 5 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC : No
Format settings, Reference : 5 frames
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 1 h 5 min
Bit rate : 1 638 kb/s
Width : 714 pixels
Height : 480 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 4:3
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 29.970 (30000/1001) FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.159
Stream size : 768 MiB (54%)
Writing library : x264 core 164 r3107 a8b68ebf
Encoding settings : cabac=0 / ref=5 / deblock=0:-1:-1 / analyse=0x1:0x111 / me=hex / subme=8 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.15 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=0 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-3 / threads=6 / lookahead_threads=1 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=0 / open_gop=0 / weightp=0 / keyint=300 / keyint_min=30 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=50 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=22.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=14000 / vbv_bufsize=14000 / crf_max=0.0 / nal_hrd=none / filler=0 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Encoded date : 2026-01-30 21:59:30 UTC
Tagged date : 2026-01-30 21:59:30 UTC
Color range : Limited
Color primaries : BT.601 NTSC
Transfer characteristics : BT.601
Matrix coefficients : BT.601
Menus : 4
Codec configuration box : avcC

Audio #1
ID : 2
Format : AAC LC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID : mp4a-40-2
Duration : 1 h 5 min
Source duration : 1 h 5 min
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 258 kb/s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel layout : L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 121 MiB (8%)
Source stream size : 121 MiB (8%)
Title : Stereo
Language : English
Default : Yes
Alternate group : 1
Encoded date : 2026-01-30 21:59:30 UTC
Tagged date : 2026-01-30 21:59:30 UTC
Menus : 4

Audio #2
ID : 3
Format : AAC LC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID : mp4a-40-2
Duration : 1 h 5 min
Source duration : 1 h 5 min
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 1 146 kb/s
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel layout : C L R Ls Rs LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 537 MiB (38%)
Source stream size : 537 MiB (38%)
Title : Surround
Language : English
Default : No
Alternate group : 1
Encoded date : 2026-01-30 21:59:30 UTC
Tagged date : 2026-01-30 21:59:30 UTC
Menus : 4

Menu
ID : 4
Format : Timed Text
Codec ID : text
Duration : 1 h 5 min
Language : English
Encoded date : 2026-01-30 21:59:30 UTC
Tagged date : 2026-01-30 21:59:30 UTC
Menu For : 1,2,3
00:00:00.000 : Chapter 1
00:00:00.567 : Chapter 2
00:04:52.559 : Chapter 3
00:05:20.086 : Chapter 4
00:09:11.684 : Chapter 5
00:15:38.337 : Chapter 6
00:19:13.486 : Chapter 7
00:23:19.665 : Chapter 8
00:27:47.833 : Chapter 9
00:32:57.642 : Chapter 10
00:33:07.152 : Chapter 11
00:36:24.282 : Chapter 12
00:39:32.971 : Chapter 13
00:42:54.906 : Chapter 14
00:46:32.189 : Chapter 15
00:46:38.696 : Chapter 16
00:50:07.104 : Chapter 17
00:50:14.111 : Chapter 18
00:53:43.353 : Chapter 19
00:54:26.396 : Chapter 20
01:00:41.905 : Chapter 21
01:01:08.431 : Chapter 22


Could it have to do with all this chapter stuff at the bottom? The other one doesn't have all this and I don't know why that's here or how to get rid of it...

[JAVALICIOUS]

Sorry that 2nd one was one of the larger fails by accident, it actually plays and quits sooner than this one, my smallest sized fail so far:

General
Complete name : C:\1977
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID : mp42 (mp42/iso2/avc1/mp41)
File size : 830 MiB
Duration : 1 h 8 min
Overall bit rate : 1 702 kb/s
Frame rate : 29.970 FPS
Encoded date : 2026-01-30 14:10:20 UTC
Tagged date : 2026-01-30 14:10:20 UTC
Writing application : HandBrake 1.7.2 2023122400

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : Main@L3.1
Format settings : 5 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC : No
Format settings, Reference : 5 frames
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 1 h 8 min
Bit rate : 1 532 kb/s
Width : 710 pixels
Height : 480 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 4:3
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 29.970 (30000/1001) FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.150
Stream size : 747 MiB (90%)
Writing library : x264 core 164 r3107 a8b68ebf
Encoding settings : cabac=0 / ref=5 / deblock=0:-1:-1 / analyse=0x1:0x111 / me=hex / subme=8 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.15 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=0 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-3 / threads=6 / lookahead_threads=1 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=0 / open_gop=0 / weightp=0 / keyint=300 / keyint_min=30 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=50 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=22.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=14000 / vbv_bufsize=14000 / crf_max=0.0 / nal_hrd=none / filler=0 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Encoded date : 2026-01-30 14:10:20 UTC
Tagged date : 2026-01-30 14:10:20 UTC
Color range : Limited
Color primaries : BT.601 NTSC
Transfer characteristics : BT.601
Matrix coefficients : BT.601
Menus : 3
Codec configuration box : avcC

Audio
ID : 2
Format : AAC LC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID : mp4a-40-2
Duration : 1 h 8 min
Source duration : 1 h 8 min
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 161 kb/s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel layout : L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 78.6 MiB (9%)
Source stream size : 78.6 MiB (9%)
Title : Surround 5.1
Language : English
Default : Yes
Alternate group : 1
Encoded date : 2026-01-30 14:10:20 UTC
Tagged date : 2026-01-30 14:10:20 UTC
Menus : 3

Menu
ID : 3
Format : Timed Text
Codec ID : text
Duration : 1 h 8 min
Language : English
Encoded date : 2026-01-30 14:10:20 UTC
Tagged date : 2026-01-30 14:10:20 UTC
Menu For : 1,2
00:00:00.000 : Chapter 1
00:00:00.534 : Chapter 2
00:07:18.071 : Chapter 3
00:12:54.574 : Chapter 4
00:17:20.206 : Chapter 5
00:17:46.799 : Chapter 6
00:20:46.512 : Chapter 7
00:21:11.537 : Chapter 8
00:24:45.584 : Chapter 9
00:25:13.045 : Chapter 10
00:28:19.231 : Chapter 11
00:31:43.168 : Chapter 12
00:36:15.640 : Chapter 13
00:36:27.652 : Chapter 14
00:40:34.232 : Chapter 15
00:44:26.397 : Chapter 16
00:45:11.876 : Chapter 17
00:49:24.595 : Chapter 18
00:49:40.044 : Chapter 19
00:52:49.333 : Chapter 20
00:53:21.365 : Chapter 21
00:59:29.566 : Chapter 22
01:00:00.597 : Chapter 23
01:04:45.682 : Chapter 24

[cholla]

Maybe this should not make a difference but the "working" file is .MKV .
Try Handbrake or MakeMKV to convert to a .MKV format & see how that works.

This software only works on .MKVs but for me it corrects the fwd/rwd but not always the chapters.
If there is a problem. I do not have an explanation for what it fixes.
MKV Chapterizer 2.4

[ProWo]

The video properties are roughly the same for all files.
Avc codec, profile main, level 3.1.
The audio streams are all aac.
I think the videos that are causing you problems are poorly mixed.
In my opinion, recoding is not necessary.

Remux the problem videos; it's quick.
You can use clever FFmpeg-GUI for this.

[davexnet]

Looking at the x264 details, it looks like the non-working files used the "slow" preset, while the working file used "medium"
eg. ref=5 subme=8 (slow) vs. ref=3 subme=7 (medium)

Secondly, only the working file uses mod4 resolution

[jagabo]

Also, avoid mod 2 frame sizes (710, 714). Mod 4 is usually ok (720, 716, 712...). But just to be sure, try mod 8 or 16.

[Sharc]

Reduce the x264 preset to medium or fast. The 5 reference frames could be a problem for old TVs.

Here for info a table showing the x264 presets and affected parameters:
https://dev.beandog.org/x264_preset_reference.html

[JAVALICIOUS]

Maybe this should not make a difference but the "working" file is .MKV .
Try Handbrake or MakeMKV to convert to a .MKV format & see how that works.

This software only works on .MKVs but for me it corrects the fwd/rwd but not always the chapters.
If there is a problem. I do not have an explanation for what it fixes.
MKV Chapterizer 2.4

From what I've read elsewhere mkv is just a container and you can actually just change the mp4 extension to mkv - which I did try but it had no effect. I'm away for a few days now that the DVDs I was doing are all shrunk but I will definitely give Chapterize a shot if I can't get basic files to pay normally - thanks for the suggestion!

[flashandpan007]

You can not just rename file to mkv. The file header and how the file is organized has to be in spec

[JAVALICIOUS]

The video properties are roughly the same for all files.
Avc codec, profile main, level 3.1.
The audio streams are all aac.
I think the videos that are causing you problems are poorly mixed.
In my opinion, recoding is not necessary.

Remux the problem videos; it's quick.
You can use clever FFmpeg-GUI for this.

To be clear, does using handbrake or makemkv to convert vobs or iso to mp4 mean I mixed and/or recoded them then? Because I did try each program on each kind of rip. I have the makemkv beta, and there are no options to set in that one, you just point it at the video file/folder and it just takes off and spits out all the videos. Those were really big files like 2-3GB from the original vobs/isos - everywhere I read said to use handbrake to make them smaller which I also tried - first with the default settings (no joy) and then using some "best guessing" after reading this fellows beakdown of what all the settings do https://mattgadient.com/a-rundown-of-handbrake-settings-0-9-6/ . Nothing really changed much though except I got that one video down to 870mb, it still quit playing before the end like all rest though.

I have no clue how to remux, but am certainly willing to learn - but I'd still first like to be able to do what everything I've read this past week tells me should be a fairly simply thing to do - convert a movie dvd into a video file that we can watch via usb stick! I know I could download the movies easier but I already own them, hundreds, I just don't want to drag them all upsatirs all the time (I don't want our "visitors" scratching them up ) And I know I could put everything full size on a bigger drive and connect a computer to the TV but we don't have room for that either. USB sticks are super small and hold a lot of movies they are my perfect space saving solution!!

[JAVALICIOUS]

Looking at the x264 details, it looks like the non-working files used the "slow" preset, while the working file used "medium"
eg. ref=5 subme=8 (slow) vs. ref=3 subme=7 (medium)

Secondly, only the working file uses mod4 resolution

You are right I did indeed set some to "slow" the site on handbrake settings I linked earlier had said that slower was better if you could stand waiting because the file would retain quality and be smaller... it may have made them slightly smaller but I did not notice any difference in quality, at least not on our TV, and it still choked before finishing. While our TV isn't the greatest by todays standards I was aiming for the best quality and sound I could keep because my aunt and uncle have a nicer flat screen and 5.1 sound setup and the video is a music/concert favourite that the family wants to watch together at their place this weekend. I figured if I could get it to work on our old TV it would certainly work on their newer one (I looked theirs up and it supports the same and more codecs than ours).

Which setting in handbrake will get me mod4 resolution please? I will change/do whatever it takes lol!!

Also, avoid mod 2 frame sizes (710, 714). Mod 4 is usually ok (720, 716, 712...). But just to be sure, try mod 8 or 16.

Okay I sure will, but how exactly do I do that? I never chose any frame sizes and only ever used "same as source" where frames were mentioned. Apologies if I'm coming across as dense but I really don't recall reading anything about mods...

Reduce the x264 preset to medium or fast. The 5 reference frames could be a problem for old TVs.

Here for info a table showing the x264 presets and affected parameters:
https://dev.beandog.org/x264_preset_reference.html

I will do this as well, but where do I find this preset setting? Is it the one where I chose mp4 on the first page of handbrake? I actually came across that beandog page a couple of days ago! It's waaaaaaayy over my head lol but I will bookmark it and keep checking back on it as I learn more

I've only got a few hours left before the fam-gathering so I'll give it a few more trys with all your suggestions - I will post before I go if I am successful and if not I will go without it and keep trying when I get back Monday!

Thank you all again for all the help and your patience