Windows 10 "cast to device" and MKV files

[davexnet]

Anybody tried this? I get "unexpected device error" in the "cast to" window.
Avi, mp4 and mpg work just fine.

The MKV files are supported and play back normally on my WDTV device, just not when it is started this way.
For example, I can copy it to my android phone and cast it from there without issue.
Or using the WDTV interface with the remote I can select the MKV files from Windows 10 "media server"
and they also play fine.

Only when I attempt to "push" them from Windows do I see this problem. Perhaps it's something as simple
as the "cast to" mechanism doesn't support MKV files - I've looked but I've neither seen this confirmed nor
refuted.

[Krispy Kritter]

I've not used it. But I'd expect it's a player/codec issue. Can the player in Win10 play the files?

Depending on how you cast/stream, you are changing which device is actually playing the file.

[davexnet]

Thanks for your suggestion. The files are typical H264/aac and they play in WMP and mpc-hc without any issues

One odd thing is that I'm unable to build a graph in GraphStudio for MKV/mp4 files. Let me look at this and see if I can find anything

I have installed the latest version of LAV filters, directshowsource, avisynth and GraphStudio working properly again.

However, MKV files still not working in "Cast To Device"

[october262]

are all your drivers up to date ??

[davexnet]

are all your drivers up to date ??

Do you mean for the PC? Yes they're up to date.

The WDTV box has at least 2 newer versions of the firmware, one I found and have it on my PC.
I have not updated the firmware because there is nothing in the change log that addresses this issue,
and secondly, I would like to research a little further first. Don't even know if this is a WDTV or a Windows problem.

One thing that's ironic, the MKV's play perfectly fine if accessed using the alternate methods mentioned above,
in fact they play better than the mp4 files. The newer firmware I have does address the bug in my
current firmware that causes an occasional playback stutter with mp4 files. (simply using mkvmerge to do a quick
mp4 > mkv conversion fixes the stutter)
Perhaps I should update it just for that and see if anything else shakes out.

[Krispy Kritter]

When you "play" a file using the WDTV, the WDTV is reading the file from the PC and playing the file on it's built-in player.

When you cast a file, it's played on the PC and the player output is streamed to the destination.

Hence why I asked if it was playable. I don't use nor have I played around much with Win10 yet, so I don't know what it uses to play the file when casting. Or what communication method it uses for casting. But if casting is working for some files and not others, it sounds like a player issue and not a communication issue.

[davexnet]

It does not play any MKV when using the "cast to" mechanism. OK,I'll research further and see if I can uncover anything else.

[davexnet]

Hi all
an update - I have updated the firmware on the WDTV and I'm happy to report it has taken care of both issues,
the MKV files now play using "cast to device" and mp4 files (no matter how they were started) now play with out
the stuttering I was experiencing.

It's not cutting edge stuff, this WDTV Live box is a device from 2010/11 that I found at a garage sale for $3.
But it has opened a whole set of possibilities for playing videos that I couldn't do before such as
being able to stream Youtube and similar to the TV from my phone (I'm still using a non-smart TV) - I'm well pleased.

Thanks to those who took an interest.

[davejavu]

for people who can't play the mkv on wd tv live media player, you can refer to this post which i have spent 2 hours on it.

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