What's wrong with this MKV video/possible to fix?

[tigerb]

I just downloaded this MKV video and out of the 700+ MKV videos that I've this is the 1st MKV video that my Samsung TV wouldn't play. (The only way for me to play this MKV video is to use my Samsung TV as monitor and using MPC-HC to play it)

Playing on my PC:
VLC - struggling/delay, NOT smooth at all
SMPlayer - struggling/delay, NOT smooth at all
MPC-HC x64 - seems OK, but NOT 100% smooth, struggling especially using the slider to move FF/FB while seeking

I ran this MKV thru MKVtoolnix (mmg.exe), NOT helping at all.....is there anything else I can do to FIX this MKV file?

Thanks.

General
Unique ID : 275577904833633670891088018911571812434 (0xCF525FB7749D10E72EE5948E168D2052)
Complete name : E:\FIFA UEFA\New\Euro 2012 ECQ Italy Vs Estonia 1st half HD1080i.mkv
Format : Matroska
File size : 7.09 GiB
Duration : 51mn 20s
Overall bit rate : 19.8 Mbps
Encoded date : UTC 2011-06-03 22:06:01
Writing library : Haali DirectShow Matroska Muxer 1.9.355.21

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.0
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 4 frames
Format settings, GOP : M=1, N=16
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 51mn 20s
Bit rate : 19.1 Mbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 25.000 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Interlaced
Scan order : Top Field First
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.369
Stream size : 6.85 GiB (97%)
Title : PID 411 Video
Language : English
Color primaries : BT.709-5, BT.1361, IEC 61966-2-4, SMPTE RP177
Transfer characteristics : BT.709-5, BT.1361
Matrix coefficients : BT.709-5, BT.1361, IEC 61966-2-4 709, SMPTE RP177

Audio
ID : 2
Format : MPEG Audio
Format version : Version 1
Format profile : Layer 2
Codec ID : A_MPEG/L2
Codec ID/Hint : MP2
Duration : 51mn 20s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 256 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Compression mode : Lossy
Delay relative to video : 30ms
Stream size : 94.0 MiB (1%)
Title : MPEG1
Language : English

[guns1inger]

How does it compare to the others you have played ? Are they also 1080p @ 19+ Mbps ? Some Samsung models struggle with HD mkv files.

[jagabo]

Have you played other 25 fps mkv files? Maybe too many b frames?

[TSJNachos]

Have you tried Meteorite? It claims to be able to fix broken/unplayable files. I probably should admit I've never tried this program, myself.

[tigerb]

Thanks for all the reply

What's 19+ Mbps or b frames?, this is my 1st MKV file that's over 7GB per file, the rest are almost under 5GB/file..e.g. these are the ones my Samsung TV has no problems playing:

General
Unique ID : 0 (0x0)
Complete name : E:\FIFA UEFA\World Cup 2010\WC10 3rd place Uruguay Vs Germany 720p HDTV x264-orenji.mkv
Format : Matroska
File size : 2.92 GiB
Duration : 1h 46mn
Overall bit rate : 3 903 Kbps
Encoded date : UTC 2010-02-22 21:41:29
Writing application : no_variable_data
Writing library : no_variable_data

Video
ID : 2
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L3.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 5 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 1h 46mn
Bit rate : 3 516 Kbps
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 29.970 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.127
Stream size : 2.57 GiB (88%)
Writing library : x264 core 85 r1442tw
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=umh / subme=8 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=12 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / wpredb=1 / wpredp=2 / keyint=240 / keyint_min=24 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=50 / rc=2pass / mbtree=1 / bitrate=3516 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Language : English

Audio
ID : 1
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension : CM (complete main)
Codec ID : A_AC3
Duration : 1h 46mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 384 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 294 MiB (10%)

General
Unique ID : 0 (0x0)
Complete name : E:\FIFA UEFA\World Cup 2010\WC10 GF Paraguay Vs Italy 720p HDTV x264-orenji.mkv
Format : Matroska
File size : 3.28 GiB
Duration : 1h 45mn
Overall bit rate : 4 459 Kbps
Encoded date : UTC 2010-02-22 21:41:29
Writing application : no_variable_data
Writing library : no_variable_data

Video
ID : 2
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L3.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 5 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 1h 45mn
Bit rate : 4 073 Kbps
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 29.970 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.147
Stream size : 2.93 GiB (89%)
Writing library : x264 core 85 r1442tw
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=umh / subme=8 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=16 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / wpredb=1 / wpredp=2 / keyint=240 / keyint_min=24 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=50 / rc=2pass / mbtree=1 / bitrate=4073 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Language : English

Audio
ID : 1
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension : CM (complete main)
Codec ID : A_AC3
Duration : 1h 45mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 384 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 289 MiB (9%)

[jagabo]

Those are lower resolution, lower bitrate, and limited to 3 bframes. MediaInfo doesn't report the number of bframes but it does show the x264 metadata. Your non-playing video wasn't compressed with x264 so we can't tell how many bframes it uses.

I suppose the TV might not like the MP2 audio.

An experiment you can try -- remux just the video as a new MKV file. See if that plays. You can use MMG, part of MkvToolNix. It the resulting file does play you know it's the audio. You also try muxing the audio with the video from one of the files that does play.

[tigerb]

Those are lower resolution, lower bitrate, and limited to 3 bframes. MediaInfo doesn't report the number of bframes but it does show the x264 metadata. Your non-playing video wasn't compressed with x264 so we can't tell how many bframes it uses.

I suppose the TV might not like the MP2 audio.

An experiment you can try -- remux just the video as a new MKV file. See if that plays. You can use MMG, part of MkvToolNix. It the resulting file does play you know it's the audio. You also try muxing the audio with the video from one of the files that does play.

Thanks jagabo, as you suggested...I tried remux and getting rid of the audio, but still no go .

I'm wondering if the WDTV Live Plus would be able to play this file, cause from my experience, whatever WDTV Live Plus can plays, definitely my Samsung could play, but whatever my Samsung can plays, WDTV Live Plus not necessarily can play it.

[jagabo]

Oh, I forgot one thing: about a year ago MMG changed to using header removal compression by default. A lot of players don't like that. I have a WDTV LIve and it originally had problems with that feature but a firmware update fixed it. That could be the cause of your problem. In MMG go to File -> Options and turn on the "Disable header removal compression..." setting. Exit and restart MMG for the change to take effect. Then try muxing again.

[tigerb]

Oh, I forgot one thing: about a year ago MMG changed to using header removal compression by default. A lot of players don't like that. I have a WDTV LIve and it originally had problems with that feature but a firmware update fixed it. That could be the cause of your problem. In MMG go to File -> Options and turn on the "Disable header removal compression..." setting. Exit and restart MMG for the change to take effect. Then try muxing again.

Thanks again jagabo, still no go, I think I will just let this file "REST"...after all it's the only MKV file that my Samsung TV wouldn't play!

Since you have the WDTV Live and you mentioned it being able to play problematic MKV files after the firmware update, I'm wondering if you have any high bitrate/high resolution/5-10-15 Mbps MKV files and tested them on your WDTV Live?

If your answer is "Yes", then I'm gonna pick-up a WDTV Live asap as they are going for less than $75 now. (of course, I don't expect the WDTV Live to play every single problematic MKV file, but hey as long as they can play high bitrate/high resolution/5-10-15 Mbps MKV files which my Samsung TV couldn't, I'm willing to get it. (Euro 2012 is just around the corner and this new guy I'm downloading from is real crazy about 1080i/p and some of his files are more than 30GB per file!

Best regards.

[jagabo]

Since you have the WDTV Live and you mentioned it being able to play problematic MKV files after the firmware update, I'm wondering if you have any high bitrate/high resolution/5-10-15 Mbps MKV files and tested them on your WDTV Live?

Yes, I have h.264 MKV files up to 70 Mb/s CBR that play fine on a local hard drive. Up to about 50 Mb/s over wired 100TX ethernet from a Windows share, higher from a Linux share. Even 1920x1080 p60 files (from some camcorders) play properly. There are some files that give it problems but it doesn't seem to be related to bitrate or frame size. Never tried anything over 1920x1080 though.

[tigerb]

Since you have the WDTV Live and you mentioned it being able to play problematic MKV files after the firmware update, I'm wondering if you have any high bitrate/high resolution/5-10-15 Mbps MKV files and tested them on your WDTV Live?

Yes, I have h.264 MKV files up to 70 Mb/s CBR that play fine on a local hard drive. Up to about 50 Mb/s over wired 100TX ethernet from a Windows share, higher from a Linux share. Even 1920x1080 p60 files (from some camcorders) play properly. There are some files that give it problems but it doesn't seem to be related to bitrate or frame size. Never tried anything over 1920x1080 though.

Hey jagabo, picked up the WDTV Live Plus this morning and as you predicted, it does play that problematic MKV video "ONLY" after the FW update, turning on the "Disable header removal compression..." option and remux WITHOUT the audio.

That MKV video now plays beautifully (without audio) and very smooth while seeking FF/FB 2X/4X/8X/16X, is there anyway I can remux back the audio in a format that WDTV will accept? cause I don't need the audio to be 100% sync or anything close to that, after all I just need to hear the commentator describing the game while it's playing.

Thanks.

P/s If I remux by turning on the "Disable header removal compression..." option with both video and audio, WDTV Live would still play that MKV file, but NOT smooth at all and shuttling/pausing and at times going 4X/8X by itself, lol!

[jagabo]

I wasn't aware the WDTV series has problems with MP2 audio. If you convert it to MP3, AAC, or AC3 it should work. Audacity with the ffmpeg plugin should work for that:

http://manual.audacityteam.org/index.php?title=FAQ:Installation_and_Plug-Ins#installffmpeg

[tigerb]

I wasn't aware the WDTV series has problems with MP2 audio. If you convert it to MP3, AAC, or AC3 it should work. Audacity with the ffmpeg plugin should work for that:

http://manual.audacityteam.org/index.php?title=FAQ:Installation_and_Plug-Ins#installffmpeg

Thanks again jagabo, where do I start in converting the audio to MP3/AAC or AC3? what are the steps needed? help!

Regards.

[Baldrick]

You could also use avidemux, open mkv, under video choose copy, under audio choose ac3, save as a new mkv.

[jagabo]

After installing Audacity and the ffmpeg plugin start Audacity then:

1) File -> Import Audio... select the MKV file with the MP2 audio
2) File -> Export... from the file dialog's "Save as type" pulldown ch0ose AC3 or MP3. Use the Options button to select bitrate etc.
3) Use MMG to mux the video with the new audio from step 2.

[tigerb]

You could also use avidemux, open mkv, under video choose copy, under audio choose ac3, save as a new mkv.

Thanks Baldrick, which options should I do?

Option A
1) Avidemux says this MKV is using B-frame and can cause shuttering/crash, but it can use another safer mode, but lose frame accuracy.....answer yes or no?

2) if yes, can proceed to do the conversion

Option B
1) Avidemux says this MKV is using B-frame and can cause shuttering/crash, but it can use another safer mode, but lose frame accuracy.....answer yes or no?

2) if no, Avidemux asks if I want to redo the index (index not up to date), yes or no?

Thanks.

[tigerb]

After installing Audacity and the ffmpeg plugin start Audacity then:

1) File -> Import Audio... select the MKV file with the MP2 audio
2) File -> Export... from the file dialog's "Save as type" pulldown ch0ose AC3 or MP3. Use the Options button to select bitrate etc.
3) Use MMG to mux the video with the new audio from step 2.

I installed Audacity and the ffmpeg, and Audacity couldn't find the "lame" dll in ffmpeg folder?

[jagabo]

Did you configure Audacity so it knows where to find the lame dll? I'm not sure if simply having it in the Audacity folder is enough.

Edit -> Preferences -> Libraries -> MP3 Library -> Locate...

You might also try remuxing the original audio and video into a different container. I don't know if MP4 supports MP2 audio. AVI or TS might work. Try Yamb (mp4), AviDemux, or TsMuxer.

[tigerb]

Did you configure Audacity so it knows where to find the lame dll? I'm not sure if simply having it in the Audacity folder is enough.

Edit -> Preferences -> Libraries -> MP3 Library -> Locate...

You might also try remuxing the original audio and video into a different container. I don't know if MP4 supports MP2 audio. AVI or TS might work. Try Yamb (mp4), AviDemux, or TsMuxer.

Woot jagabo, finally got everything sorted out.

Lamp/mp3 is NOT included in ffmpeg and a separate download is needed (legal issue, but the author is kind enough to point me to the right direction/link to download that Zip file), that's why Audacity couldn't find it...but AC3 is included (just need to point to the ffmpeg folder).

1) After remuxing, the MKV file plays OK, but still shuttering from time to time (I was streaming that MKV file directly using Windows Share folder) with "wired" Gigabyte switch/router.

2) I then copied that MKV file to an empty hard drive and plugged that hard drive (using an USB external enclosure) to the USB port of WDTV and bingo, the MKV file now plays perfectly!

My conclusion is "streaming over the network" (even if it's wired and with Giga connection) was my problem for this type of MKV file!

From Google, some seems to suggest using a DLNA server would solve the streaming problem of high bit rate MKV files. I already have Samsung PC Share Manager installed (due to my Samsung TV), but don't know if this Samsung PC Share Manager is DLNA certified or not, cause WDTV Live can't see it!

I tried Xbmc and the full screen thing just no go for me, uninstall immediately before even trying it out, lol....any simple DLNA server you can recommend or suggest?


Best regards.

[jagabo]

I have no problems playing h.264 MKV files up to 50 Mb/s CBR or so over Gb Ethernet. The WDTV Live only has a TX100 port, of course. I'm not sure about the Live Plus or the Live Hub. You might try looking at the bitrate with Bitrate Viewer. It will graph the bitrate over the entire file. Your file may have bitrate peaks over 50 Mb/s.

A DLNA server might work better for a few reasons. It will perform more read ahead buffering so disk I/O is less of an issue (not total throughput but rather short term throughput) and it uses UDP (less overhead, and error detection/correction) rather than TCP. But then you're limited to what the DLNA server can read and present to the WDTV. Win7 has a built in DLNA server. I've used PlayOn but it's rather crude for local files.

So your original MKV file with MP2 audio plays on a local USB drive?

[tigerb]

So your original MKV file with MP2 audio plays on a local USB drive?

Nop.

Only after these steps:

1) Extract the audio and convert to either AC3/MP3 (both tested OK)
2) Select "Disable header removal compression..." option in mmg.exe
3) remux original MKV file + new audio file
4) copy file to local drive (NOT streaming over the network)
5) File now plays perfectly, I just finished watching it (1.5 hrs)

Regards.

[tigerb]

I was determined to figure out why my Giga networks (Switch/router) couldn't plat that MKV file perfectly over the network on my Samsung TV, and I think I found the answer.....it has something to do with Windows built in DLNA server.

After doing some research, open source (non commercials) miniDLNA should be my 1st choice, but it's only for Linux...and then I found my answer "Serviio", it plays that problematic MKV file streaming over my current network perfectly. Just to be sure, I watched that MKV file again for the second time.

The only minus for Serviio is I must install both x86 and x64 versions of Java (cause I'm using Windows 7 x64), but for sure, this is the media streaming server for me.

Hopefully this info can also help others in the future!

[jagabo]

Some other DLNA server packages:
http://www.rbgrn.net/content/21-how-to-choose-dlna-media-server-windows-mac-os-x-or-linux