Help needed with Samsung TV not playing certain formats

[sasouna]

Hello everyone.. Newbie alert!

I use a USB flash drive to play videos on my Samsung TV: model is UA32J4170 (if that helps)

So, my question is:
some videos won't play.. So, I was wondering if there's a code I can use with ffmpeg to convert these videos into playable ones.

Example of videos not working on the TV (error: This file format is not supported, Video codec: h264)

Format                      : MPEG-4
Format profile              : Base Media
Codec ID                    : isom (isom/iso2/avc1/mp41)
File size                   : 3.71 GiB
Duration                    : 1 h 42 min
Overall bit rate            : 5 184 kb/s
Writing application         : Lavf58.45.100

Video
ID                          : 1
Format                      : AVC
Format/Info                 : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile              : Main@L4.2
Format settings             : CABAC / 3 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC      : Yes
Format settings, Reference  : 3 frames
Format settings, GOP        : M=3, N=100
Codec ID                    : avc1
Codec ID/Info               : Advanced Video Coding
Duration                    : 1 h 42 min
Bit rate                    : 5 046 kb/s
Width                       : 1 920 pixels
Height                      : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio        : 16:9
Frame rate mode             : Constant
Frame rate                  : 50.000 FPS
Standard                    : Component
Color space                 : YUV
Chroma subsampling          : 4:2:0
Bit depth                   : 8 bits
Scan type                   : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)          : 0.049
Stream size                 : 3.61 GiB (97%)
Title                       : NeuLion MP4 - Video
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                    : 1 h 42 min
Bit rate mode               : Constant
Bit rate                    : 129 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                 : 94.3 MiB (2%)
Title                       : NeuLion MP4 - Audio
Default                     : Yes
Alternate group             : 1

Example of videos working well:

Format                      : MPEG-4
Format profile              : Base Media
Codec ID                    : isom (isom/iso2/avc1/mp41)
File size                   : 2.62 GiB
Duration                    : 1 h 13 min
Overall bit rate mode       : Constant
Overall bit rate            : 5 098 kb/s
Writing application         : Lavf58.45.100

Video
ID                          : 1
Format                      : AVC
Format/Info                 : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile              : Main@L4
Format settings             : CABAC / 2 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC      : Yes
Format settings, Reference  : 2 frames
Format settings, GOP        : M=1, N=50
Codec ID                    : avc1
Codec ID/Info               : Advanced Video Coding
Duration                    : 1 h 13 min
Source duration             : 1 min 55 s
Bit rate mode               : Constant
Bit rate                    : 5 000 kb/s
Width                       : 1 920 pixels
Height                      : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio        : 16:9
Frame rate mode             : Constant
Frame rate                  : 25.000 FPS
Color space                 : YUV
Chroma subsampling          : 4:2:0
Bit depth                   : 8 bits
Scan type                   : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)          : 0.096
Stream size                 : 2.57 GiB (98%)
Source stream size          : 2.57 GiB (98%)
mdhd_Duration               : 4410520
Codec configuration box     : avcC

Audio
ID                          : 2
Format                      : AAC LC
Format/Info                 : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID                    : mp4a-40-2
Duration                    : 1 h 13 min
Bit rate mode               : Constant
Bit rate                    : 93.4 kb/s
Channel(s)                  : 2 channels
Channel layout              : L R
Sampling rate               : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                  : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode            : Lossy
Stream size                 : 49.1 MiB (2%)
Default                     : Yes
Alternate group             : 1

1. What do I need to do to make the first one play on the TV?

2. If for these videos, I had the audio as m4a and the video as mp4 then I muxed them together.. What commands do I need to make them work from the first trial?

3. I know the TV also won't play x265.. If I already have some x265 videos, what can I do to convert them into a playable format like in the example?

Please advise

Thanks in advance

[Sharc]

Check the Technical Data which you find in the manual of your TV. You can download the manual if you don't have it.

Just guessing for your 1st video:
I don't think it plays Level 4.2 and 50fps at this resolution. Maximum is level 4.1. You may have to re-encode it accordingly. But as I said consult the manual.

[sasouna]

Thank you for your reply..

I'm a totally newbie with codes and ffmpeg

So, what commands do I use to achieve the answers to the questions 1, 2, 3 I asked?

[jagabo]

To change the frame rate to 25 fps:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf fps=25 -c:v libx264 c:a copy output.mp4

Or the TV may play 50 fps video at 1280x720:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf scale=1280:720 -c:v libx264 c:a copy output.mp4

Use the former for film sources, the latter for sports. Those should work for x265 sources too.

[sasouna]

Thanks, jagabo

I tried the first code, but it said:
[NULL @ 0000000102592040] Unable to find a suitable output format for 'c:a'
c:a: Invalid argument

[zing269]

I believe jagabo has a typo, try:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf fps=25 -c:v libx264 -c:a copy output.mp4

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf scale=1280:720 -c:v libx264 -c:a copy output.mp4

[jagabo]

Oops, yes. I copy/pasted from another batch file, deleting unneeded arguments -- and accidentally deleted the leading hyphen on the -c:a.

[johnmeyer]

Sharc gave you the most important answer: go to the table in the manual for your TV set and look at what video it can display. Merely changing headers is not very likely to be of much use, unless you have a simple container problem (e.g., TV will play AVI, but not MOV).

I've attached the page from my 11-year-old Samsung TV to show you what sort of table you are looking for when you read the manual.

Also, frame rates seldom matter. The three criteria that usually bound what can and what cannot be displayed are:

Resolution (e.g., 1920x1080)
Codec (e.g., h.264, MPEG-2)
Complexity (usually specified as a profile).

Complexity often gets ignored but because it determines how much CPU horsepower is required to decode the video, it can often be the breaking point for TV sets which usually don't have a very advanced CPU.

PAL vs. NTSC seldom matters anymore. Also, most modern sets can play 60 fps progressive, something that not that many years ago was a problem for some TVs.

[johns0]

If you have a video with 4.2 Format profile load it into tsmuxergui and change level from 4.2 to 4.1 and start muxing and load the ts into mkvmerge and start muxing as mkv,no need to re-encode,this won't work with video that are 2k and higher since they won't play in tvs that have 1920x1080 as the max resolution.

[sasouna]

Thank you all for your replies

@Sharc & johnmeyer: Still looking for the manual online

@johns0 tsMuxer is not opening the file
gives me an unspecified error message


[Attachment 57366 - Click to enlarge]

@jagabo & zing269: trying the command; thank you. It's taking a long time, so I still can't report back if it's working.

[johns0]

What version of tsmuxer are you trying?

[sasouna]

What version of tsmuxer are you trying?

tsMuxeR 2.6.12 Windows

[johns0]

Try remuxing with mkvmerge and then remux with tsmuxer with the profile change.

[Sharc]

Thank you all for your replies

@Sharc & johnmeyer: Still looking for the manual online

https://www.samsung.com/levant/support/model/UA32J4303ARXTW/#downloads
The Technical Specs are not very detailed, but see section 'Supported Video Codecs':
The maximum framerate is 30 fps.

[johns0]

I can play 1920x1080 at 60fps on my moms 2 year old samsung tv so that chart is outdated.

[Sharc]

I can play 1920x1080 at 60fps on my moms 2 year old samsung tv so that chart is outdated.

So what? The chart is for the OP's model which may be 5 or more years old ......

[davexnet]

There was a release of x264 a short while ago that caused problems for some players, r2969.
see if these play

[johnmeyer]

I can play 1920x1080 at 60fps on my moms 2 year old samsung tv so that chart is outdated.

That reply has nothing to do with the OP's model and is irrelevant to the discussion.

[jagabo]

@jagabo & zing269: trying the command; thank you. It's taking a long time, so I still can't report back if it's working.

You can get faster encoding (but lower quality) by using a faster preset:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf fps=25 -c:v libx264 -preset veryfast -c:a copy output.mp4

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf scale=1280:720 -c:v libx264 -preset veryfast -c:a copy output.mp4

ffmpeg also has Intel Quick Sync and nVidia NvEnc encoders. Those can be even faster depending on CPU and GPU versions.

[johns0]

Can you upload a small sample of about 1 minute from an unaltered cut?I'll try and see if tsmuxer will work for me and if it does i'll upload the cut with a corrected 4.1 profile to see if it will work for you.

[sasouna]

Update:
the command jagabo & zing269 gave me worked well

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf fps=25 -c:v libx264 -c:a copy output.mp4

I didn't try the second one, as I'd like to keep the video @1080p

I still need to try it for the x265 videos I have on my Hard drive

Thank you everyone for your efforts..


I have another question though

How do I combine that command with this one

ffmpeg -i name_of_video.mp4 -i name_of_audio.m4a -c copy final_video.mp4

so as to perform the muxing and conversion at the same time

Thanks!

[sasouna]

Can you upload a small sample of about 1 minute from an unaltered cut?I'll try and see if tsmuxer will work for me and if it does i'll upload the cut with a corrected 4.1 profile to see if it will work for you.

How do I get a small sample without re-encoding?
Could you give me a command I can use?

[johns0]

Use mkvmerge to cut,im on an older version so the commands are different.

[sasouna]

Use mkvmerge to cut,im on an older version so the commands are different.

Here's a 30 sec. sample
https://we.tl/t-bMnaHZeTqa

[ProWo]

Try to change the profile level with H264 level editor, so you dont need to reencode and loss quality.

[johns0]

Try this file to see if it works.

[sasouna]

Try this file to see if it works.

Not working on the TV

[jagabo]

the command jagabo & zing269 gave me worked well

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf fps=25 -c:v libx264 -c:a copy output.mp4

I didn't try the second one, as I'd like to keep the video @1080p

You should at least try the second one as it will tell you if the TV simply doesn't like 60 fps or if it's just 1080p at 60 fps that's the problem. You can use your short sample clip from post #24 so it won't take long.

[sasouna]

Try to change the profile level with H264 level editor, so you dont need to reencode and loss quality.

Not working

[sasouna]

You should at least try the second one as it will tell you if the TV simply doesn't like 60 fps or if it's just 1080p at 60 fps that's the problem. You can use your short sample clip from post #24 so it won't take long.

That one worked too!