watching mkv movies on RCA TV

[usually_quiet]

I have a DVD player attached to the TV I'm trying to integrate with the Latitude;
so I'm thinking that the simplest solution might be to just burn the shows I
want to watch to a disc, and be done with it.
... john

DVD players don't play MKV files, or MP4 files. Typically, recent models can only play authored DVDs, photo CDs, and audio CDs. Some older DVD players could also play DivX or XviD files, but only if they contain standard-definition video and supported audio formats.

AVStoDVD can perform the required audio and video conversion and produce a simple DVD, but there is a moderate learning curve and the conversion will take time.

Hi,
My DVD player is Symphonic mod# CSDV840E which I was unable to find, but which looks identical to
the Sylvania DVC840E https://www.manualslib.com/manual/2391157/Funai-Sylvania-Dvc840e.html?page=19#manual I think it's quite old, but plays commercial videos.
...... john

If I found the correct manual, your machine is a DVD player/VCR combo. It plays DVD video disks (both pressed and burned), audio CDs, mp3 files burned to CD, and VHS tapes. The manual doesn't mention the ability to play any type of video files and it has no USB ports.

[Shinnen]

I have a DVD player attached to the TV I'm trying to integrate with the Latitude;
so I'm thinking that the simplest solution might be to just burn the shows I
want to watch to a disc, and be done with it.
... john

DVD players don't play MKV files, or MP4 files. Typically, recent models can only play authored DVDs, photo CDs, and audio CDs. Some older DVD players could also play DivX or XviD files, but only if they contain standard-definition video and supported audio formats.

AVStoDVD can perform the required audio and video conversion and produce a simple DVD, but there is a moderate learning curve and the conversion will take time.

Hi
Hi,
My DVD player is Symphonic mod# CSDV840E which I was unable to find, but which looks identical to
the Sylvania DVC840E https://www.manualslib.com/manual/2391157/Funai-Sylvania-Dvc840e.html?page=19#manual I think it's quite old, but plays commercial videos.
...... john

If I found the correct manual, your machine is a DVD player/VCR combo. It plays DVD video disks (both pressed and burned), audio CDs, mp3 files burned to CD, and VHS tapes. The manual doesn't mention the ability to play any type of video files and it has no USB ports.

Hi,
Yes, that's it alright. So, are you saying that I'm waiting my time thinking that I can covert, and somehow be able to play these mkvs on this machine?
..... john

[usually_quiet]

If I found the correct manual, your machine is a DVD player/VCR combo. It plays DVD video disks (both pressed and burned), audio CDs, mp3 files burned to CD, and VHS tapes. The manual doesn't mention the ability to play any type of video files and it has no USB ports.

Hi,
Yes, that's it alright. So, are you saying that I'm waiting my time thinking that I can covert, and somehow be able to play these mkvs on this machine?
..... john

As I wrote in a previous post, you can still use AVStoDVD to perform the required audio and video conversion and produce a simple DVD. However, there is a moderate learning curve for AVStoDVD (or any other free user-friendly DVD creation software), and the conversion will take time.

If you want an easier way to watch your video files, you should instead buy a media player box (only plays video and audio files) or an Android TV box (can play media files with VLC or Kodi installed and allows access to streaming services, some of which are free).

The problem is that the least expensive models of these devices are more limited in what they can play and less reliable. Since we don't know what types of audio and video are contained in your MKV files, it is hard to give you more specific advice.

[Shinnen]

If I found the correct manual, your machine is a DVD player/VCR combo. It plays DVD video disks (both pressed and burned), audio CDs, mp3 files burned to CD, and VHS tapes. The manual doesn't mention the ability to play any type of video files and it has no USB ports.

Hi,
Yes, that's it alright. So, are you saying that I'm waiting my time thinking that I can covert, and somehow be able to play these mkvs on this machine?
..... john

As I wrote in a previous post, you can still use AVStoDVD to perform the required audio and video conversion and produce a simple DVD. However, there is a moderate learning curve for AVStoDVD (or any other free user-friendly DVD creation software), and the conversion will take time.

If you want an easier way to watch your video files, you should instead buy a media player box (only plays video and audio files) or an Android TV box (can play media files with VLC or Kodi installed and allows access to streaming services, some of which are free).

The problem is that the least expensive models of these devices are more limited in what they can play and less reliable. Since we don't know what types of audio and video are contained in your MKV files, it is hard to give you more specific advice.

Alright. I've been trying to use AVStoDVD. You're right, it takes a looonnnnggg time to process the files.
Having said that, I got to the point where I have a folder, DVD_0; which contains two folders: Video_TS (which contains BUP, IFO, and VCB files; and an Audio_TS folder, which is empty. For some reason the process halted there, probably because, what I later discovered, was a faulty DVD disc in my DVD drive. So, I have three questions. 1) Should the process have stopped there, or was it because of the faulty disk? 2) Can I use the DVD_0 folders to continue burning the videos? 3) If so, how?
Thanks,
..... john

[cholla]

I have never tried a rip strait from a DVD with AVStoDVD.
If this is what you did.
I would believe you need to use a decrypter like DVDFab's Passkey orAnyDVD HD.
If you ripped a commercial movie DVD.
I do not use it this way but I believe AVStoDVD can be set to use ImgBurn for burning DVDs.

Since AVStoDVD will remove the original Menus the rip will not be the exact same size as the original DVD folder but should be close if you ripped as DVD9.
If compressed further to DVD5 then you can not make this comparison.
Check the VIDEO_TS folder by playing in a media player like VLC.
If the movie plays OK & is complete to the end you should be good to burn it.

[usually_quiet]

As I wrote in a previous post, you can still use AVStoDVD to perform the required audio and video conversion and produce a simple DVD. However, there is a moderate learning curve for AVStoDVD (or any other free user-friendly DVD creation software), and the conversion will take time.

If you want an easier way to watch your video files, you should instead buy a media player box (only plays video and audio files) or an Android TV box (can play media files with VLC or Kodi installed and allows access to streaming services, some of which are free).

The problem is that the least expensive models of these devices are more limited in what they can play and less reliable. Since we don't know what types of audio and video are contained in your MKV files, it is hard to give you more specific advice.

Alright. I've been trying to use AVStoDVD. You're right, it takes a looonnnnggg time to process the files.
Having said that, I got to the point where I have a folder, DVD_0; which contains two folders: Video_TS (which contains BUP, IFO, and VCB files; and an Audio_TS folder, which is empty. For some reason the process halted there, probably because, what I later discovered, was a faulty DVD disc in my DVD drive. So, I have three questions. 1) Should the process have stopped there, or was it because of the faulty disk? 2) Can I use the DVD_0 folders to continue burning the videos? 3) If so, how?
Thanks,
..... john

Since you are attempting to create a DVD video disc, the VIDEO_TS folder should contain BUP, IFO, and VOB files. The AUDIO_TS folder should always be empty for DVD video discs.

The only time the AUDIO_TS contains anything is for DVD-Audio discs. I am unaware of any current consumer-oriented DVD authoring software that can create DVD-Audio discs. DVD-Audio discs failed to catch on with consumers and became more or less obsolete years ago. Only older, very high-end DVD players could play them.

Hannibal had 13 one-hour episodes in its first season. Single-layer DVD-R and discs can only contain about 2-hours of video on each disc. So, to obtain decent quality, you should only put 2 episodes on each DVD-R disc or DVD+R disk. However, Dual Layer DVD+R DL disks can contain up to 4 hours of video at decent quality.

[Edited for clarity]Maybe you can test the playback of your DVD files using your computer using VLC. That way, you won't need to burn a disc.

[Shinnen]

OK. Thank you both for your help.
These are DVD+R RW disks. The package says
120 minutes on it.
I've been trying to burn 4 hours onto them, so that won't fly.
Thanks for telling me that they will only take 2 hours.
Should AVStoDVD automatically burn them to the DVD,
or is there an instruction/burning software I should be using.
..... john

[usually_quiet]

I have never tried a rip strait from a DVD with AVStoDVD.
If this is what you did.
I would believe you need to use a decrypter like DVDFab's Passkey orAnyDVD HD.
If you ripped a commercial movie DVD.
I do not use it this way but I believe AVStoDVD can be set to use ImgBurn for burning DVDs.

Since AVStoDVD will remove the original Menus the rip will not be the exact same size as the original DVD folder but should be close if you ripped as DVD9.
If compressed further to DVD5 then you can not make this comparison.
Check the VIDEO_TS folder by playing in a media player like VLC.
If the movie plays OK & is complete to the end you should be good to burn it.

It appears that Shinnen only has MKV files for Hannibal, Season 1, and we probably shouldn't ask how he obtained them.

However, if Shinnen had access to the original DVDs for Hannibal, wouldn't he simply play them?

[jagabo]

If your MKV files are high definition you will be losing a lot of quality burning them to DVD (standard definition).

On the other hand, if your MKV files were made from DVDs with MakeMKV you can simply extract the MPEG 2 video and AC3 audio and author DVDs without any conversion.

[usually_quiet]

OK. Thank you both for your help.
These are DVD+R RW disks. The package says
120 minutes on it.
I've been trying to burn 4 hours onto them, so that won't fly.
Thanks for telling me that they will only take 2 hours.
Should AVStoDVD automatically burn them to the DVD,
or is there an instruction/burning software I should be using.
..... john

Actually, you can burn 4 hours of video on the DVD, but you would need to use half D1 (352 x 480) resolution (which reduces the quality considerably) instead of full D1 (720x480) resolution.

Before burning anything on a DVD, I suggest that you test the playback of the DVD files and folders that AVStoDVD stores on your HDD using your computer plus VLC. That way, if there is a problem, you won't have wasted time burning a disc or added a little wear-and-tear to your rewritable DVD+RW disc. When you are satisfied with the disc playback, burn using ImgBurn.

[Shinnen]

I have never tried a rip strait from a DVD with AVStoDVD.
If this is what you did.
I would believe you need to use a decrypter like DVDFab's Passkey orAnyDVD HD.
If you ripped a commercial movie DVD.
I do not use it this way but I believe AVStoDVD can be set to use ImgBurn for burning DVDs.

Since AVStoDVD will remove the original Menus the rip will not be the exact same size as the original DVD folder but should be close if you ripped as DVD9.
If compressed further to DVD5 then you can not make this comparison.
Check the VIDEO_TS folder by playing in a media player like VLC.
If the movie plays OK & is complete to the end you should be good to burn it.

It appears that Shinnen only has MKV files for Hannibal, Season 1, and we probably shouldn't ask how he obtained them.

However, if Shinnen had access to the original DVDs for Hannibal, wouldn't he simply play them?

Hi,
An old Samsung S3 that I bought, and eventually broke, had them in it; which I fortunately removed before hand;
but unfortunately did not use to play them on the TV, since that phone had a feature allowing it to connect to
a TV, which future Galaxies (my S6 Edge included) do NOT have.
.... john

[cholla]

If you ripped a commercial movie DVD.

It appears that Shinnen only has MKV files for Hannibal, Season 1, and we probably shouldn't ask how he obtained them.

I did not ask how he obtained them. I only gave advice if they were from a commercial DVD rip.

However, if Sninnen had access to the original DVDs for Hannibal, wouldn't he simply play them?

Same reason I & a lot of people make backups of DVDs.So the original stays in good condition.

OK. Thank you both for your help.
These are DVD+R RW disks. The package says
120 minutes on it.
I've been trying to burn 4 hours onto them, so that won't fly.
Thanks for telling me that they will only take 2 hours.

I have never tried AVStoDVD to compress 4 hours to a DVD5.
I'm certain the quality would suffer a lot.If AVStoDVD can even do this.

Should AVStoDVD automatically burn them to the DVD,
or is there an instruction/burning software I should be using.

I'm assuming you have burned DVDs with Imgburn before.
If not there are a lot of instructions to give.
I suggest you search this forum & the ImgBurn forum.
For using Imgburn in AVStoDVD.
You need to have Imgburn installed on your OS.
It should show in the Operations window.
Then in Output select Burn DVD.

if your MKV files were made from DVDs with MakeMKV you can simply extract the MPEG 2 video and AC3 audio and author DVDs without any conversion.

I will have to give this a try.

[Shinnen]

OK. Thank you both for your help.
These are DVD+R RW disks. The package says
120 minutes on it.
I've been trying to burn 4 hours onto them, so that won't fly.
Thanks for telling me that they will only take 2 hours.
Should AVStoDVD automatically burn them to the DVD,
or is there an instruction/burning software I should be using.
..... john

Actually, you can burn 4 hours of video on the DVD, but you would need to use half D1 (360x480) resolution (which reduces the quality considerably) instead of full D1 (720x480) resolution.

Before burning anything on a DVD, I suggest that you test the playback of the DVD files and folders that AVStoDVD stores on your HDD using your computer plus VLC. That way, if there is a problem, you won't have wasted time burning a disc or added a little wear-and-tear to your rewritable DVD+RW disc. When you are satisfied with the disc playback, burn using ImgBurn.

Hi,
I'm going to go for the highest resolution possible. I have about 30 DVD's just sitting here doing nothing.
Oh, these MKVs and the files converted by AVStoDVD play quite readily on my computer, using MPC-HC; mind you the volume needs to torqued up.
There are six options in ImgBurn. Which one should I use?
..... john

[Shinnen]

If you ripped a commercial movie DVD.

It appears that Shinnen only has MKV files for Hannibal, Season 1, and we probably shouldn't ask how he obtained them.

I did not ask how he obtained them. I only gave advice if they were from a commercial DVD rip.

However, if Sninnen had access to the original DVDs for Hannibal, wouldn't he simply play them?

Same reason I & a lot of people make backups of DVDs.So the original stays in good condition.

OK. Thank you both for your help.
These are DVD+R RW disks. The package says
120 minutes on it.
I've been trying to burn 4 hours onto them, so that won't fly.
Thanks for telling me that they will only take 2 hours.

I have never tried AVStoDVD to compress 4 hours to a DVD5.
I'm certain the quality would suffer a lot.If AVStoDVD can even do this.

Should AVStoDVD automatically burn them to the DVD,
or is there an instruction/burning software I should be using.

I'm assuming you have burned DVDs with Imgburn before.
If not there are a lot of instructions to give.
I suggest you search this forum & the ImgBurn forum.
For using Imgburn in AVStoDVD.
You need to have Imgburn installed on your OS.
It should show in the Operations window.
Then in Output select Burn DVD.

if your MKV files were made from DVDs with MakeMKV you can simply extract the MPEG 2 video and AC3 audio and author DVDs without any conversion.

I will have to give this a try.

I have ImgBurn on my hard drive, but I'm not sure which option to choose.
I have never done this before. It's all new to me.
..... john

[Shinnen]

If your MKV files are high definition you will be losing a lot of quality burning them to DVD (standard definition).

On the other hand, if your MKV files were made from DVDs with MakeMKV you can simply extract the MPEG 2 video and AC3 audio and author DVDs without any conversion.

Hi,
I have no idea where they originated. I inherited them with on an old Samsung S3, which I no longer have.
Is there a way of determining where they came from?
...... john

[cholla]

I usually do not select from EZ ModePicker.
It will depend on what files or folders you are burning.
For an .iso file you use: Write image file to disc
For DVD VIDEO_TS folder you use: Write files/folders to disc
If the default settings in ImgBurn work for you then the results should be OK.
There are a lot of settings in ImgBurn. This is why you should read some of the guides.

[jagabo]

your MKV files

I have no idea where they originated. I inherited them with on an old Samsung S3, which I no longer have.
Is there a way of determining where they came from?

MediaInfo will give all the information one needs about the resolution, frame rates, codecs, and bitrates.

[The_Doman]

This topic...
I just wonder why going to all this trouble to watch some old episodes on your TV?
I expect all things will go wrong trying to burn the DVD's.
You probably can possible buy the whole series cheaper (thrift store?) then spending all this time/effort burning DVD's?
Or watch online on some "well known" sites?
But yeah not on that TV without properly installed driver
You really should sort that out, preferable on another HDD/SSD as backup?

@Shinnen

Sometimes it is better/necessary buy something new(er) to avoid wasting your time, really.
Even some old Blu-ray players here (LG BP620/BP540/BP450) I picked up from my local thrift/flea market for fun/curiosity can play most (H264) formats from USB/network.

And do you really not have any newer/better PC there available then that old Dell?

[Shinnen]

Hi Doman,
You're right of course. I could buy the entire set on DVDs at a Thrift store, or somewhere else, and maybe that's exactly what I'll do. I'm not wasting MY time though, I'm learning; but I'm probably wasting your time, and others on the forum; so I will
seek another, more practical solution. All of my equipment is old, like me.
Thank you all for your help. It seems like time to let this thing go.
... john

[Shinnen]

I usually do not select from EZ ModePicker.
It will depend on what files or folders you are burning.
For an .iso file you use: Write image file to disc
For DVD VIDEO_TS folder you use: Write files/folders to disc
If the default settings in ImgBurn work for you then the results should be OK.
There are a lot of settings in ImgBurn. This is why you should read some of the guides.

Thanks, I'll give that a go.
..... john

[The_Doman]

Hi Doman,
You're right of course. I could buy the entire set on DVDs at a Thrift store, or somewhere else, and maybe that's exactly what I'll do. I'm not wasting MY time though, I'm learning; but I'm probably wasting your time, and others on the forum; so I will
seek another, more practical solution. All of my equipment is old, like me.
Thank you all for your help. It seems like time to let this thing go.
... john

Learning and experimenting is a good thing, i cant' argue against that at all.
I am still learning things, on this and other forums/subjects, all the time too.
And you are also not wasting my time, it is always nice to be able to help finding a working solution for you and others.
I have also a habit to keep old equipment working as long/too long as possible, but at some moments it is better to use/consider a more practicable solution.
Sure don't go away

[usually_quiet]

If your MKV files are high definition you will be losing a lot of quality burning them to DVD (standard definition).

On the other hand, if your MKV files were made from DVDs with MakeMKV you can simply extract the MPEG 2 video and AC3 audio and author DVDs without any conversion.

Hi,
I have no idea where they originated. I inherited them with on an old Samsung S3, which I no longer have.
Is there a way of determining where they came from?
...... john

Video Help's forum rules stipulate that we cannot provide help with problems involving pirated videos. That is why I said we should not ask about where the MKV files came from.

Guide to using ImgBurn: Posted the wrong link. Will correct later.

[Edit] I couldn't find the guide I was looking for but this alternative seems OK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jap__hx618
Note that the download link for ImgBurn at VideoHelp is perfectly fine to use. No junk included, just ImgBurn.

[Shinnen]

Hi Doman,
You're right of course. I could buy the entire set on DVDs at a Thrift store, or somewhere else, and maybe that's exactly what I'll do. I'm not wasting MY time though, I'm learning; but I'm probably wasting your time, and others on the forum; so I will
seek another, more practical solution. All of my equipment is old, like me.
Thank you all for your help. It seems like time to let this thing go.
... john

Learning and experimenting is a good thing, i cant' argue against that at all.
I am still learning things, on this and other forums/subjects, all the time too.
And you are also not wasting my time, it is always nice to be able to help finding a working solution for you and others.
I have also a habit to keep old equipment working as long/too long as possible, but at some moments it is better to use/consider a more practicable solution.
Sure don't go away

I won't go away; but you are right, it's time to let go; I'm just flogging a dead horse. I'll look around for a set, which will give me all of the episodes, with better quality too. I have only one other thing I'm going to try; which is put them onto my (again old) Blackberry PlayBook, which has an hdmi port, and will apparently integrate with the TV .... we'll see. I'm in the process of getting the cable, and will let you know how that goes.
Thanks again for all your help. I have learned a LOT.
..... john

[Shinnen]

If your MKV files are high definition you will be losing a lot of quality burning them to DVD (standard definition).

On the other hand, if your MKV files were made from DVDs with MakeMKV you can simply extract the MPEG 2 video and AC3 audio and author DVDs without any conversion.

Hi,
I have no idea where they originated. I inherited them with on an old Samsung S3, which I no longer have.
Is there a way of determining where they came from?
...... john

Video Help's forum rules stipulate that we cannot provide help with problems involving pirated videos. That is why I said we should not ask about where the MKV files came from.

Guide to using ImgBurn: Posted the wrong link. Will correct later.

[Edit] I couldn't find the guide I was looking for but this alternative seems OK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jap__hx618
Note that the download link for ImgBurn at VideoHelp is perfectly fine to use. No junk included, just ImgBurn.

Ah yes, pirated; I never thought of that; I just assumed that knowing where they came from, might tell you something about whether or not they could be burned onto a CD. Duh!
..... john

[The_Doman]

I have only one other thing I'm going to try; which is put them onto my (again old) Blackberry PlayBook, which has an hdmi port, and will apparently integrate with the TV .... we'll see. I'm in the process of getting the cable, and will let you know how that goes.

Another interesting approach.
A quick search shpws it should be able to play MKV, but no AC3 audio support.

It's pretty well known here that the PB will play MKV vids, so long as the audio codec used is not AC3, at least since OS 2.0 was released
Audio codec needs to be set/converted to AAC/MP3

Google: blackberry playbook mkv

For testing playback on the device itself you not need the HDMI cable directly i think?