using ffmpeg to convert a mkv or mp4 to MPEG-4 suitable for a DVD player

[NeilTelford]

0


I got a DVD Player with USB support. It is a recent player (DVD-225), but the documentation is sparse, but it does claim MPEG-4 and DivX support.

Now, I have got certain AVI files to play via USB, but everything else fails. I looked at the metadata of an AVI file that worked via ffprobe, and got the following:

Metadata:
    encoder         : Lavf58.17.101   Duration: 00:58:30.94, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 1336 kb/s
    Stream #0:0: Video: mpeg4 (Simple Profile) (xvid / 0x64697678), yuv420p, 640x290 [SAR 1:1 DAR 64:29], 1196 kb/s, 23.98 fps, 23.98 tbr,
23.98 tbn, 23.98 tbc
    Stream #0:1: Audio: mp3 (U[0][0][0] / 0x0055), 48000 Hz, stereo, fltp, 128 kb/s

Now, I figured that if I can replicate the above, I can convert most things to play via USB, even if it isn't the most up to date codecs.

I've tried various combinations, but they all fail. The closest I got was by using the following shell script:

for i in *.avi; do ffmpeg -i "$i" -c:v mpeg4 -vtag divx -qscale:v 3 -c:a libmp3lame -qscale:a 4 "_${i%.*}.avi"; done

This has a strange result that it will play the audio track, but not the video track. The metadata I got from this was:

Metadata:
    encoder         : Lavf58.45.100
  Duration: 00:58:07.99, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 3026 kb/s
    Stream #0:0: Video: mpeg4 (Simple Profile) (divx / 0x78766964), yuv420p, 1280x720 [SAR 3:4 DAR 4:3], 2901 kb/s, 23.98 fps, 23.98 tbr, 23.98 tbn, 24k tbc
    Metadata:
      title           : ******************
    Stream #0:1: Audio: mp3 (U[0][0][0] / 0x0055), 48000 Hz, stereo, fltp, 109 kb/s
    Metadata:
      title           : ******************

Does anyone know where I am going wrong with this ? I've converted AVI, MKV and MP4 files, and while they work on my computer, the DVD player seems to be very picky.

Any suggestions ?

Thanks Neil

[jagabo]

You probably have to downscale to SD resolutions. Width less than 720, height less than 576. Add "-vf scale=720:-4"

[ProWo]

You can also try to connect your USB Stick directly to yourTV, without the DVD Player, and use the TVs Media Player.

[NeilTelford]

Actually, I have tried that. This is actually for my girlfriend. Her TV is over 10 years old, so is not really a smart TV. It only has very limited USB support. I got her the DVD player to overcome this. Remember that not everyone has piles of money at the moment and can splash out on new smart TV's.

To be honest, I think rigging up a Roku or a Raspberry Pi might be the best solution in the future.

[october262]

Actually, I have tried that. This is actually for my girlfriend. Her TV is over 10 years old, so is not really a smart TV. It only has very limited USB support. I got her the DVD player to overcome this. Remember that not everyone has piles of money at the moment and can splash out on new smart TV's.

To be honest, I think rigging up a Roku or a Raspberry Pi might be the best solution in the future.

what do you have the USB drive formatted as ?? NTFS or FAT32

[NeilTelford]

FAT32. It obviously reads it, because I have managed to play certain AVI files on it.