Hi,

I have some MKV Files which plays perfectly on my computer, But when i play in my WD TV, the SCREEN GOES BLANK, No Sound, No Picture, Then i have to press RETURN button to get to the Home Screen. Then After this, NO FILE can be played and the same result for every file ( BLANK SCREEN ) , which otherwise is played perfectly, if you dont start with the problem causing MKV file mentioned above.

Otherwise if you dont start WD TV by playing these problem causing MKVs, rest all files are played perfectly, BUT ONCE you start playing with this problem causing MKV, after this WD TV is UNABLE to play ANY file and it goes to BLANK SCREEN.

What is the problem ? or the WD TV needs a replacement ?

Thanks

Hi,

I have some MKV Files which plays perfectly on my computer, But when i play in my WD TV, the SCREEN GOES BLANK, No Sound, No Picture, Then i have to press RETURN button to get to the Home Screen. Then After this, NO FILE can be played and the same result for every file ( BLANK SCREEN ) , which otherwise is played perfectly, if you dont start with the problem causing MKV file mentioned above.

Otherwise if you dont start WD TV by playing these problem causing MKVs, rest all files are played perfectly, BUT ONCE you start playing with this problem causing MKV, after this WD TV is UNABLE to play ANY file and it goes to BLANK SCREEN.

What is the problem ? or the WD TV needs a replacement ?

Thanks


Without the media info for these files no one will be able to give you a definitive anwser. I ahve a feeling though that the files are corrupt in some way OR that the Ref Frames exceed what the WD can display.

Here is the file which causes the problem, but is PLAYS PERFECTLY on my PC.

General

Complete name :Saving.Private.Ryan.720p.HDTV.Premiere.DTS.x264-ESiR.mkv

Format : Matroska

File size : 7.91 GiB

Duration : 2h 42mn

Overall bit rate : 6 970 Kbps

Encoded date : UTC 2007-01-23 02:00:17

Writing application : mkvmerge v1.8.1 ('Little By Little') built on Nov 25 2006 16:14:30

Writing library : libebml v0.7.7 + libmatroska v0.8.0



Video

ID : 1

Format : AVC

Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec

Format profile : High@L5.1

Format settings, CABAC : Yes

Format settings, ReFrames : 8 frames

Muxing mode : Container profile=Unknown@5.1

Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC

Duration : 2h 42mn

Bit rate : 6 077 Kbps

Nominal bit rate : 6 212 Kbps

Width : 1 280 pixels

Height : 720 pixels

Display aspect ratio : 16/9

Frame rate : 23.976 fps

Resolution : 24 bits

Colorimetry : 4:2:0

Scan type : Progressive

Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.275

Stream size : 6.89 GiB (87%)

Writing library : x264 core 54 svn-618

Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:-2:-3 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=7 / brdo=1 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=2 / deadzone=21,11 / chroma_qp_offset=0 / threads=2 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=1 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / wpredb=1 / bime=1 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40(pre) / rc=2pass / bitrate=6212 / ratetol=1.0 / rceq='blurCplx^(1-qComp)' / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / pb_ratio=1.30

Language : English



Audio

ID : 2

Format : DTS

Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems

Codec ID : A_DTS

Duration : 2h 42mn

Bit rate mode : Constant

Bit rate : 754 Kbps

Channel(s) : 6 channels

Channel positions : Front: L C R, Surround: L R, LFE

Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz

Resolution : 24 bits

Stream size : 877 MiB (11%)

Language : English

Same thing happened to my WD TV last weekend. After watching a 1080p movie, all my other videos weren't playing; just a black screen was showing up in my LCD TV (even after multiple restarts).

All I did was upgraded its firmware from 1.02.07 to 1.02.10, and that fixed it.

Here is the file which causes the problem, but is PLAYS PERFECTLY on my PC.



Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:-2:-3 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=7 / brdo=1 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=2 / deadzone=21,11 / chroma_qp_offset=0 / threads=2 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=1 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / wpredb=1 / bime=1 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40(pre) / rc=2pass / bitrate=6212 / ratetol=1.0 / rceq='blurCplx^(1-qComp)' / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / pb_ratio=1.30




best guess, level 5.1 is not supported, also as its a scene release off the internet, they have used a custom matrix aswell, which "could" be an issue for WD player aswell. again scene releases dont care about specs, only what look best on a pc.

1. Probably not a wise idea to advertise that you're getting pirated movies off the Internet. You might want to sanitize the name of the file you posted.

2. What firmware are you using? Have you seen the problem with other versions of firmware?

I am using Firmware 1.02.10, older firmware also had the same problem...

Anything plays on a PC since it can revert to software-only playback unlike media players...

same thing happened very often with out-of-spec mkvs (such as above) on Popcorn Hour when I had it for review (had the latest fw installed), had to reset the damn thing every time after watvhing an badly-coded mkv...so it is the movie relesase to blame not media players...

of course. I'm now going to get bashed for not saying that "pirates" are all compression specialists, and WD programmers are amateurs who can't make a broken file play...

Anything plays on a PC since it can revert to software-only playback unlike media players...

same thing happened very often with out-of-spec mkvs (such as above) on Popcorn Hour when I had it for review (had the latest fw installed), had to reset the damn thing every time after watvhing an badly-coded mkv...so it is the movie relesase to blame not media players...

of course. I'm now going to get bashed for not saying that "pirates" are all compression specialists, and WD programmers are amateurs who can't make a broken file play...

Not really :) its been said time and time again that you take a risk with getting files off the internet and are at the mercy of the release group. Even if files play fine on your PC its doesnt mean that they will play fine on your WDTV.

It could any number of things that could cause this file not to play.

best guess, level 5.1 is not supported, also as its a scene release off the internet, they have used a custom matrix aswell, which "could" be an issue for WD player aswell. again scene releases dont care about specs, only what look best on a pc.

L5.1 isn't not supported, the specs that L5.1 allows in encoding are not supported. You can encode a L5.1 at 4.1 spec, and it will play just fine. They have to say that L5.1 isn't supported because it supports bitrate, and other encode specs that are well outside of any players range of operations. That said, I don't see anything in the encode specs that are outside of the WD's abilities.

What you are describing is the samething that happens when you try to play a file with a HD audio track. Looking at the DTS track, it's bitrate is DVD DTS bitrate, but this "Codec ID : A_DTS" may be a clue, I am looking into it.

**EDIT** doesn't appear to have anything to do with it. btw, what did you use to get that file info?

L5.1 isn't not supported, the specs that L5.1 allows in encoding are not supported. You can encode a L5.1 at 4.1 spec, and it will play just fine. They have to say that L5.1 isn't supported because it supports bitrate, and other encode specs that are well outside of any players range of operations. That said, I don't see anything in the encode specs that are outside of the WD's abilities.

What you are describing is the samething that happens when you try to play a file with a HD audio track. Looking at the DTS track, it's bitrate is DVD DTS bitrate, but this "Codec ID : A_DTS" may be a clue, I am looking into it.

**EDIT** doesn't appear to have anything to do with it. btw, what did you use to get that file info?

if they encode L5.1 using L4.1 settings then why not use L4.1 to start with? if they dont use correct vbv settings in the L5.1 setup, then it could spike bitrate well above L4.1 max allowable. i dont see any restrictions used in media info above either. so i stand by what i said.

i use --vbv-bufsize 30000 --vbv-maxrate 38000 when encoding my stuff, which is bluray compatible sizing and L4.1

also saving private ryan is one of the toughest encodes to do,tons of grain and detail. i could see the bitrate spiking like crazy if not limited.

if they encode L5.1 using L4.1 settings then why not use L4.1 to start with?

Maybe whoever encoded it thought having it at a higher level would help improve quality, who knows. Without knowing what all his settings were it's all speculation, my point is that something being L5.1 doesn't automatically make that why it can't play. Some encoders assign a level based on encode settings, some let you choose the level, but no one knows which of the many, many programs, combination of programs whoever encoded it used, could be any of them. As far as the bitrate spiking even if it did it wouldn't do what he is describing, it would pixelate, and stutter.

Anyway, I looked into it a little further, I don't think it's a problem with the WD, maybe that particular file is corrupt.

Maybe whoever encoded it thought having it at a higher level would help improve quality, who knows. Without knowing what all his settings were it's all speculation, my point is that something being L5.1 doesn't automatically make that why it can't play. Some encoders assign a level based on encode settings, some let you choose the level, but no one knows which of the many, many programs, combination of programs whoever encoded it used, could be any of them. As far as the bitrate spiking even if it did it wouldn't do what he is describing, it would pixelate, and stutter.

Anyway, I looked into it a little further, I don't think it's a problem with the WD, maybe that particular file is corrupt.

the settings are posted above? it was encoded with x264 with a custom quant matrix. x264 if not told otherwise,will default to L5.1 which means it can used a bitrate anywhere upto 240Mbits if not restricted. compared to a L4.1 max of 50Mbits. too say there is no difference between the levels is just plain wrong. how do you know a spike in bitrate of say upwards of 100mbits wouldnt actually freeze the player?

like you say, this could just be a corrupt file, but they dont say L4.1 supported just for fun.

the settings are posted above? it was encoded with x264 with a custom quant matrix. x264 if not told otherwise,will default to L5.1 which means it can used a bitrate anywhere upto 240Mbits if not restricted. compared to a L4.1 max of 50Mbits. too say there is no difference between the levels is just plain wrong. how do you know a spike in bitrate of say upwards of 100mbits wouldnt actually freeze the player?

like you say, this could just be a corrupt file, but they dont say L4.1 supported just for fun.

I don't think you are pickin' up what I am puttin' down. My original comment means exactly what it says, no more, no less, and that is that just because a video is L5.1 that doesn't automatically mean that it isn't a supported file, and won't play. Seeing as how every variable is not presented in the MediaInfo...info, all we can do is speculate, I am not dismissing your idea on those grounds, but rather that spikes in bitrate wouldn't cause the file not to play at all, but rather it would pixelate, stutter at the spike, and then possibly stop playing. While L5.1 does indeed allow specs well outside of the WD's, and most other media players playback ability, that isn't where the quest to figure out why the file doesn't play on his WD should end, as a matter of fact, it's just a jumping off point to other possible problems. I'm not at hme right now, but I checked last nigth, and MediaInfo didn't report vbv bufsize, or maxrate on any of the files I checked, just like the info posted above.