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Just can't figure out Samsung transcoding

PostPosted: Wed Jun 14, 2017 2:21 am
by el_smurfo
I've been using MakeMKV to create MKV files from DVD for years, but I've never figured out the secret sauce to make them reliably transcode to my D series Samsung TV. I have some older MKV that will transcode, though the aspect ratios are always wrong, sometimes side bars, sometimes side and top bars (these are all modern movies). More and more, the MKV files will not play at all, and I can't find any settings that I can change in MakeMKV to make them work. Serviio is set up right, with the C/D renderer but I just ripped John Wick 2 and Beauty and the Beast and neither will play.

Re: Just can't figure out Samsung transcoding

PostPosted: Wed Jun 14, 2017 12:26 pm
by atc98092
el_smurfo wrote:I've been using MakeMKV to create MKV files from DVD for years, but I've never figured out the secret sauce to make them reliably transcode to my D series Samsung TV. I have some older MKV that will transcode, though the aspect ratios are always wrong, sometimes side bars, sometimes side and top bars (these are all modern movies). More and more, the MKV files will not play at all, and I can't find any settings that I can change in MakeMKV to make them work. Serviio is set up right, with the C/D renderer but I just ripped John Wick 2 and Beauty and the Beast and neither will play.


Sometimes there's nothing a profile can do to work for all videos. It depends on the way the original video was authored to disc. I too use MakeMKV, and there's little that can be done on that side. One example is some of the Mel Brooks movies on DVD (for example, Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles). I believe they were not mastered as anamorphic, so I end up with black bars around all four sides. The Blu Ray versions don't do that. I either have to run them through Handbrake or use the zoom feature on the TV.

As to why some won't play, we would need to see the media info on an unplayable file to see if there's a clue. You can also experiment with another profile, other than Samsung C/D. The DirecTV profile transcodes everything, so you might see if that works. Also try the generic profile, as it does no transcoding and you can see if they will play without transcoding.