Mediasonic HomeWorx

[Han Solo1]

I recently purchased a Mediasonic HomeWorx. I found that it could play media files but not all. Some of the media files that I tried to play were unsupported but they were all mp4's. I found a few differences between a file I can play versus a file I can't play using MediaInfo. I can't tell what specifically about these I would need to change. The information in text form, of these files are posted below starting with that file that is playable.

Playable File:
General
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media
Codec ID : isom (isom/iso2/avc1/mp41)
File size : 946 KiB
Duration : 9 s 33 ms
Overall bit rate : 858 kb/s
Frame rate : 30.000 FPS

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : Main@L3.1
Format settings : CABAC / 5 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames : 5 frames
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 9 s 0 ms
Bit rate : 787 kb/s
Width : 624 pixels
Height : 780 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 0.800
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 30.000 FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.054
Stream size : 864 KiB (91%)
Color range : Limited
Color primaries : BT.709
Transfer characteristics : BT.709
Matrix coefficients : BT.709
Codec configuration box : avcC

Audio
ID : 2
Format : AAC LC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID : mp4a-40-2
Duration : 9 s 33 ms
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 64.2 kb/s
Channel(s) : 1 channel
Channel layout : M
Sampling rate : 44.1 kHz
Frame rate : 43.066 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 70.8 KiB (7%)
Default : Yes
Alternate group : 1

Non Playable file:
General
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID : mp42 (isom/mp42)
File size : 110 MiB
Duration : 8 min 28 s
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 1 813 kb/s
Frame rate : 30.000 FPS
Encoded date : 2023-09-18 15:29:23 UTC
Tagged date : 2023-09-18 15:29:23 UTC
gsst : 0
gstd : 508261

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L3.1
Format settings : CABAC / 3 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames : 3 frames
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 8 min 28 s
Bit rate : 1 682 kb/s
Width : 720 pixels
Height : 1 280 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 0.562
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 30.000 FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.061
Stream size : 102 MiB (93%)
Encoded date : 2023-09-18 15:29:23 UTC
Tagged date : 2023-09-18 15:29:23 UTC
Color range : Limited
Color primaries : BT.709
Transfer characteristics : BT.709
Matrix coefficients : BT.709
Codec configuration box : avcC

Audio
ID : 2
Format : AAC LC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID : mp4a-40-2
Duration : 8 min 28 s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 128 kb/s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel layout : L R
Sampling rate : 44.1 kHz
Frame rate : 43.066 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 7.75 MiB (7%)
Encoded date : 2023-09-18 15:29:23 UTC
Tagged date : 2023-09-18 15:29:23 UTC

[Swedaniel]

I recently purchased a Mediasonic HomeWorx. I found that it could play media files but not all. Some of the media files that I tried to play were unsupported but they were all mp4's. I found a few differences between a file I can play versus a file I can't play using MediaInfo. I can't tell what specifically about these I would need to change. The information in text form, of these files are posted below starting with that file that is playable.

Non Playable file:
General
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID : mp42 (isom/mp42)
File size : 110 MiB
Duration : 8 min 28 s
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 1 813 kb/s
Frame rate : 30.000 FPS
Encoded date : 2023-09-18 15:29:23 UTC
Tagged date : 2023-09-18 15:29:23 UTC
gsst : 0
gstd : 508261

Hi, maybe if you install the Microsoft MPEG-4 Codec it will help play the file, if im not misstaken there is 3 codecs, MSMPEG4 v1 which is MP41, and MSMPEG4 v2 which is MP42 and MSMPEG4 v3 which is MP43, maybe this help play the files, alltough for myself i normally see them in AVI files, maybe they operate in the MP4 video format allso!

Edit: I realise the Mediasonic HomeWorx is some type of hardware, might not be possible to install any codecs onto it then, i tought it was some type of program for the PC! Well maybe if the hardware can play AVI videos you could try rename the video to .avi instead of .mp4 and it might be able to play the video, atleast since i think normally the codec is used together with the AVI format.. Ellse maybe it is just easiest to convert the video to an prefered format and codec that the mediasonic can play, the MSMPEG4 videos tend to function real well with video converters!

[usually_quiet]

I recently purchased a Mediasonic HomeWorx. I found that it could play media files but not all. Some of the media files that I tried to play were unsupported but they were all mp4's. I found a few differences between a file I can play versus a file I can't play using MediaInfo. I can't tell what specifically about these I would need to change. The information in text form, of these files are posted below starting with that file that is playable.

Playable File:
General
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media
Codec ID : isom (isom/iso2/avc1/mp41)
File size : 946 KiB
Duration : 9 s 33 ms
Overall bit rate : 858 kb/s
Frame rate : 30.000 FPS

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : Main@L3.1
Format settings : CABAC / 5 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames : 5 frames
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 9 s 0 ms
Bit rate : 787 kb/s
Width : 624 pixels
Height : 780 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 0.800
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 30.000 FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.054
Stream size : 864 KiB (91%)
Color range : Limited
Color primaries : BT.709
Transfer characteristics : BT.709
Matrix coefficients : BT.709
Codec configuration box : avcC

Audio
ID : 2
Format : AAC LC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID : mp4a-40-2
Duration : 9 s 33 ms
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 64.2 kb/s
Channel(s) : 1 channel
Channel layout : M
Sampling rate : 44.1 kHz
Frame rate : 43.066 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 70.8 KiB (7%)
Default : Yes
Alternate group : 1

Non Playable file:
General
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID : mp42 (isom/mp42)
File size : 110 MiB
Duration : 8 min 28 s
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 1 813 kb/s
Frame rate : 30.000 FPS
Encoded date : 2023-09-18 15:29:23 UTC
Tagged date : 2023-09-18 15:29:23 UTC
gsst : 0
gstd : 508261

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L3.1
Format settings : CABAC / 3 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames : 3 frames
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 8 min 28 s
Bit rate : 1 682 kb/s
Width : 720 pixels
Height : 1 280 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 0.562
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 30.000 FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.061
Stream size : 102 MiB (93%)
Encoded date : 2023-09-18 15:29:23 UTC
Tagged date : 2023-09-18 15:29:23 UTC
Color range : Limited
Color primaries : BT.709
Transfer characteristics : BT.709
Matrix coefficients : BT.709
Codec configuration box : avcC

Audio
ID : 2
Format : AAC LC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID : mp4a-40-2
Duration : 8 min 28 s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 128 kb/s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel layout : L R
Sampling rate : 44.1 kHz
Frame rate : 43.066 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 7.75 MiB (7%)
Encoded date : 2023-09-18 15:29:23 UTC
Tagged date : 2023-09-18 15:29:23 UTC

Which Mediasonic HomeWorx model did you buy? I don't think the manual will provide enough detail to be helpful but maybe I could search VideoHelp and the AVS Forums to see if there is any information about permitted video encoding settings in threads about your model

AVI is not a recommended container for any video format that allows B-frames, including MPEG-2, H.264, and H.265, because it doesn't support B frames. The Mediasonic HomeWorx boxes probably only support playback of DivX and perhaps XviD in an AVI container

[Han Solo1]

The mediasonic product is HW-150PVR-Y22. I hope that helps.

[usually_quiet]

The mediasonic product is HW-150PVR-Y22. I hope that helps.

I'm sorry to say I had no luck finding information about what H.264 encoding parameters work best for your HW-150PVR box. The ability to use this device as a media player doesn't seem to be of any importance. Most of the posts I read were about using one to record ATSC TV from an antenna. I did find a discussion about how drives should be formatted. (NTFS and FAT32 are supported, although NTFS is preferred. exFAT is not supported.)

[Han Solo1]

I think I'll try formatting to NTFS.

[Han Solo1]

It seems formatting to NTFS didn't change anything. I tried placing the non playable file in the same folder as the files that do play and that didn't work. I did however noticed that when trying to play the non playable file that data screen displays the size of the file increasing form 0 and then stops at 109mb. So the data screen doesn't display the full amount of 110mb. I wonder if it can't handle the stream size. The playable file has a stream size of 91% and the non playable file has a stream size of 93%.

[zing269]

Maybe the file is damaged at the end and is missing its index. Try remuxing the file.

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c copy output.mp4

[usually_quiet]

It seems formatting to NTFS didn't change anything. I tried placing the non playable file in the same folder as the files that do play and that didn't work. I did however noticed that when trying to play the non playable file that data screen displays the size of the file increasing form 0 and then stops at 109mb. So the data screen doesn't display the full amount of 110mb. I wonder if it can't handle the stream size. The playable file has a stream size of 91% and the non playable file has a stream size of 93%.

The video files I play come mostly from a highly standardized commercial source, digital TV, which has broad support among hardware players, including yours. I rarely have a problem unless the file contains transmission errors or other damage, unrelated to how the video and audio were encoded.

I don't have a clue about what might be wrong with your file. Some things that can be played using a PC (with the right software) confound most or all hardware players.

[Han Solo1]

Maybe the file is damaged at the end and is missing its index. Try remuxing the file.

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c copy output.mp4

How would I do this?

[Han Solo1]

It seems formatting to NTFS didn't change anything. I tried placing the non playable file in the same folder as the files that do play and that didn't work. I did however noticed that when trying to play the non playable file that data screen displays the size of the file increasing form 0 and then stops at 109mb. So the data screen doesn't display the full amount of 110mb. I wonder if it can't handle the stream size. The playable file has a stream size of 91% and the non playable file has a stream size of 93%.

The video files I play come mostly from a highly standardized commercial source, digital TV, which has broad support among hardware players, including yours. I rarely have a problem unless the file contains transmission errors or other damage, unrelated to how the video and audio were encoded.

I don't have a clue about what might be wrong with your file. Some things that can be played using a PC (with the right software) confound most or all hardware players.

The non playable file is from youtube but there others that don't play at all so you may be correct.

[zing269]

Maybe the file is damaged at the end and is missing its index. Try remuxing the file.

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c copy output.mp4

How would I do this?

What I provided was a command for ffmpeg, which can be downloaded from the tools section here. If you are not familiar with using the command line, you may prefer a GUI based program like ProWo's clever FFmpeg-GUI, also in the tools section. While I've never used it, it seems easy to use and ProWo is quite responsive to posts in the software's thread.

[Han Solo1]

I gave Clever FFmpeg GUI a try and assuming I did it correctly, remuxing did not work. The program did however find errors they were the following "[out#0/null @ 0000018b4d40e340] video:7147kB audio:87548kB subtitle:0kB other streams:0kB global headers:0kB muxing overhead: unknown".

[zing269]

I gave Clever FFmpeg GUI a try and assuming I did it correctly, remuxing did not work. The program did however find errors they were the following "[out#0/null @ 0000018b4d40e340] video:7147kB audio:87548kB subtitle:0kB other streams:0kB global headers:0kB muxing overhead: unknown".

Sorry, I'm not familiar with that software so I can't help with the error. It doesn't look like the errors from ffmpeg that I'm familiar with, or at least not the full error. Ask in the thread I referenced above.

[poisondeathray]

It might be main profile vs. high profile. , or a certain resolution . Maybe an underpowered chip

Do any other files with high profile play ok?
Do any other files with 720x1280 or 1280x720 play ok ?

Check to see if there are firmware updates that might enable more function

[Han Solo1]

Maybe the file is damaged at the end and is missing its index. Try remuxing the file.

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c copy output.mp4

I'm not used to using cmd . I tried this command but I got "Error opening input: no such file or directory". Perhaps it was because the input file and output file are in the same directory.

[Han Solo1]

It might be main profile vs. high profile. , or a certain resolution . Maybe an underpowered chip

Do any other files with high profile play ok?
Do any other files with 720x1280 or 1280x720 play ok ?

Check to see if there are firmware updates that might enable more function

It seems that most of the videos that play are at Main@L3.1. As far as I can tell the ones that don't play are at high profile with one exception which is at High@L4.

[poisondeathray]

Maybe the file is damaged at the end and is missing its index. Try remuxing the file.

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c copy output.mp4

I'm not used to using cmd . I tried this command but I got "Error opening input: no such file or directory". Perhaps it was because the input file and output file are in the same directory.

Same input and output directory does not matter.

You need to specify the paths, if the level of the command prompt is different than the location of files, and if ffmpeg is in a different location and you haven't setup some environment variable

something like this

"c:\path\ffmpeg" -i "d:\path\input.mp4" -c copy "d:\path\output.mp4"

It might be main profile vs. high profile. , or a certain resolution . Maybe an underpowered chip

Do any other files with high profile play ok?
Do any other files with 720x1280 or 1280x720 play ok ?

Check to see if there are firmware updates that might enable more function

It seems that most of the videos that play are at Main@L3.1. As far as I can tell the ones that don't play are at high profile with one exception which is at High@L4.

You can try re-encoding the non working ones to Main @ L3.1 . You are limited to 1280x720 , 30 fps
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Video_Coding#Levels

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -profile:v main -level:v 3.1 -c:v libx264 -crf 18 -c:a copy output.mp4