Need to supply "File Type" and "Mime Type" info for MKV file

[oneking]

I've got an MKV file that plays fine on my computer, but won't play on my tv because, according to Gspot, the "file type" and "mime type" are UNKNOWN. I just want to be able to tag the file with the necessary missing info, so it will be recognized and will play like all my other MKV's. I know what the info is, but I don't know how to add it to the file info, or header or tag ID or whatever it is. I'm a bit of a novice, but not a complete newbie.

What do I need to do to fill in these two bits of missing information?

[Baldrick]

Your tv might not just support the video or audio codec in the mkv.

But you can try mkvtoolnix and "remux" the mkv, in mkvmergegui under file->options select select "Disable header removal compression for audio and video tracks by default", then open your mkv and make a new mkv. Try play it.

If that don't help post more information about your tv and the mkv(use mediainfo, open mkv, view->text).

[Ai Haibara]

GSpot's support for video containers other than AVI or MPEG is more or less minimal. If you want to get information on an MKV (or MP4, etc.), use MediaInfo instead, as Baldrick recommended.

[oneking]

I totally get where you guys are coming from. I didn't want my initial post to be too wordy and long-winded, so I didn't go into too much detail. Here's the deal. I've got an external hard drive full of .mkv files. They're all exactly the same, as far as the codecs are concerned. My LG BD570 Blu-Ray player plays them all flawlessly and lets you view all the specs of each file. That's why I was confused when a handful of my more recent files didn't play. According to VLC and the LG player, it's the same exact codecs involved. So, I was stumped as to why it was choosing to skip over these few recent files.

But then I noticed that these unplayable files, when opened with Gspot all have one thing in common: They are all listed as File Type: Unknown and Mime Type: Unknown. Every other mkv file on the external drive comes up as Matroska, in Gspot.

So, since I know that these unplayable files have all the same specs as the others, and play without a problem on my computer, I just want to plug in the missing information. But I'm new to tagging MKV files, and from what I can see, it's not that simple. That's why I posted my problem here. While waiting for a reply, I googled various sites, looking for info and searched on this forum for info, as well. That's where I read the suggestion about using MMG, with the special Header Info Box checked. Unless I did something wrong, it didn't work. Those two pieces of info are still missing.

So, I'm using MEGUI one-click encode to see if re-encoding the file will fill in the blanks. I don't get this .dga file that it created first, so I hope I'm doing it right.

Please let me know if that helped clarify my problem, and if it helps give you a better ideas of what advice you might offer. Thanks so much for being willing to help me with this.

BTW, MediaInfo won't launch correctly, and when I attempted to launch MEGUI, it said that it may not function correctly because of MediaInfo. So, Im not sure what to do about that. I do know that when I tried to input a video file, it said that it couldn't read the file correctly because of MediaInfo. So, something is wrong. But it still accepted the file for conversion, so I'm waiting to see if the re-encoding worked.

[Ai Haibara]

Which version of MediaInfo did you attempt to install? Did you download it from Videohelp's Tools page for MediaInfo, or the developer's webpage?

Are you attempting to use it with the XP system listed in the Computer Details in your profile? What errors are you seeing, exactly, when you try to use it?

I know, I'm asking a number of questions, but have you tried rebooting or restarting Windows since installing it?

It's a good idea to avoid re-encoding unnecessarily, until you know for sure what the issue might be.

[oneking]

No apologies necessary for all the questions, my friend. I did not download MediaInfo from here, but I'm fairly certain it's the most recent version. I will check in just a few moments, and get right back to you. Don't go anywhere, if you can help it! LOL

[oneking]

Redownloaded MediaInfo. No problems. The problems with MeGUI were worked out by downloading the latest Nero AAC codec, and downloading Haali Metroska Splitter. Apparently it needed both of those tools to do the tasks that I was trying. So, that much is solved. As for the unplayable mkv files, I used HD Extractor, Then muxed the two streams with a .TS container. All the info showed up in GSpot. So far so good. Then I took that .ts file and remuxed it back to an .mkv container. Once again the container info failed to show up in Gspot. BUT, the file then played successfully on my Blu-Ray player.

So, with regard to Gspot not always being an accurate tool (at least with mkvs), POINT TAKEN. So, then I examined the original unplayable file with MediaInfo instead. It listed both the video and audio stream headers as being stripped, but it was able to successfully detect the correct container info (ie File Type and Mime Type)

So, here's my question. I suspect I went through a lot of unnecessary hoops to get these unplayable files to work. In your opinion, do I just need to do as Baldrick originally suggested? Just take the unplayable file, put it in MMG with the "ignore header removal compression" box ticked, and remux? Guess I should try it and find out.

Any further thoughts?

[Ai Haibara]

The thing to do first, would be to run a video that doesn't work (on your TV) through MediaInfo, in Tree View. Compare it to the MediaInfo information about a video that you know definitely works, and see what's different between the two videos. That's likely what you need to change about the non-working video to make it work (or at least the first step in troubleshooting).

I can't remember if MediaInfo currently lists whether or not an MKV has the header compression enabled, but it probably does. (I'd probably have to generate such an MKV just to test. )

[oneking]

I think that's good advice, Ai. I will do a side by side comparison. I suspect it's all about the header info being stripped. There are 5 files in total, that wouldn't play. I'm betting that MediaInfo will list the stripped header info for all 5. Assuming that's the case, I'll go to MMG and remux with that one specific setting in place, and see if the file will then play on the Blu-Ray player.

One last question. Is there any harm in just leaving that "disable header removal" box checked by default? I constantly use this tool with almost every movie file I have, to get rid of chapters, subtitles, unwanted soundtracks, etc. It would be nice to know that if the header info is stripped, that I would be nipping that problem in the bud. But if the header info is intact, does this setting have any adverse effect on the remuxed file?

UPDATE: Sure enough, all 5 unplayable files have header stripping. Just tried remuxing first file in MMG (disabling header removal) and BINGO! That's all it took. Such a relief. This site is an invaluable resource, and this forum has the cream of the crop, when it comes to getting real answers. Much love to you guys. I'm sure I'll be back soon with more questions. LOL

[Ai Haibara]

I usually leave the option to enable header compression disabled by default (no header compression. Sorry, I haven't looked at the option in a while. ).

Header compression is part of the MKV specs, and has been for some time, reportedly - though a lot of standalone players never bothered to implement it (perhaps because it wasn't strictly enforced). So, those devices, and some player software, may have difficulty with an MKV that uses header compression, or be unable to read it at all.
Some devices have supposedly updated their firmware to handle it; I think most haven't, though, and may not be in any big hurry to do it.

I'd leave the header compression disabled, unless you're absolutely sure all your players, and the software on your computer, will have no problems with it in an MKV.