ffmpeg issues on Fedora 20

[jbrines]

Hi Guys,

I am having issues playing some MKV files on my PS3 where is stops part way through saying "Content cannot be played" I have a feeling it is my ffmpeg installation on Fedora 20 that might not be done correctly.

Is there a way to verify if it has been installed correctly and if is hasn't then can it be removed and installed properly?

Cheers

John.

[DenyAll]

If the MKV is partly playing, then it would suggest your ffmpeg is working OK (although not yet 100% ruled out). The PS3 cannot play MKV files natively, so ffmpeg must be either remuxing or transcoding them. Your post also suggests that some MKV's are playing fine all the way through (which would add weight to ffmpeg being OK).

FIrst thing to do is to check that the drive that your temporary transcoded files (under Delivery, Transcoding in Serviio Console) has plenty of free space. Also, monitor your PC's CPU utilization during playback of a file that does play, vs one that doesn't and see if there is a difference.

If you haven't spotted the issue, post MediaInfo details for one of the files that doesn't play, and one that does, along with CPU usage in each case.

[jbrines]

If the MKV is partly playing, then it would suggest your ffmpeg is working OK (although not yet 100% ruled out). The PS3 cannot play MKV files natively, so ffmpeg must be either remuxing or transcoding them. Your post also suggests that some MKV's are playing fine all the way through (which would add weight to ffmpeg being OK).

FIrst thing to do is to check that the drive that your temporary transcoded files (under Delivery, Transcoding in Serviio Console) has plenty of free space. Also, monitor your PC's CPU utilization during playback of a file that does play, vs one that doesn't and see if there is a difference.

If you haven't spotted the issue, post MediaInfo details for one of the files that doesn't play, and one that does, along with CPU usage in each case.

Thanks I will look tonight.

I would say it is the fact my PS3's are connected via WIFI but I can play Netflix without any issues.

John.

[jbrines]

If the MKV is partly playing, then it would suggest your ffmpeg is working OK (although not yet 100% ruled out). The PS3 cannot play MKV files natively, so ffmpeg must be either remuxing or transcoding them. Your post also suggests that some MKV's are playing fine all the way through (which would add weight to ffmpeg being OK).

FIrst thing to do is to check that the drive that your temporary transcoded files (under Delivery, Transcoding in Serviio Console) has plenty of free space. Also, monitor your PC's CPU utilization during playback of a file that does play, vs one that doesn't and see if there is a difference.

If you haven't spotted the issue, post MediaInfo details for one of the files that doesn't play, and one that does, along with CPU usage in each case.

Hi Buddy, I have the mediainfo below so you can have a quick look to let me know if there is an issue, I am going to check the CPU, part of me thinks it is similar to the issues where it stops after 30 minutes in this forum.

  Code:

General
Unique ID                                : 310301804699196039438843344217269184146 (0xE971F428BF5EF0FDC4AF21ADF92DA692)
Complete name                            : Z:\Videos\Blacklist\The.Blacklist.S01E09.720p.HDTV.X264-DIMENSION.mkv
Format                                   : Matroska
Format version                           : Version 4 / Version 2
File size                                : 849 MiB
Duration                                 : 41mn 49s
Overall bit rate                         : 2 837 Kbps
Encoded date                             : UTC 2013-11-26 01:15:38
Writing application                      : mkvmerge v6.5.0 ('Isn't she lovely') built on Oct 19 2013 19:56:40
Writing library                          : libebml v1.3.0 + libmatroska v1.4.1

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L4.1
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames                : 9 frames
Codec ID                                 : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration                                 : 41mn 49s
Bit rate                                 : 2 397 Kbps
Width                                    : 1 280 pixels
Height                                   : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 23.976 fps
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.108
Stream size                              : 717 MiB (84%)
Writing library                          : x264 core 140 r2377 1ca7bb9
Encoding settings                        : cabac=1 / ref=9 / deblock=1:-2:-2 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=10 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=24 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=0 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=16 / lookahead_threads=1 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=5 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=60 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=18.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No
Matrix coefficients                      : BT.709

Audio
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : AC-3
Format/Info                              : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension                           : CM (complete main)
Format settings, Endianness              : Big
Codec ID                                 : A_AC3
Duration                                 : 41mn 49s
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 384 Kbps
Channel(s)                               : 6 channels
Channel positions                        : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth                                : 16 bits
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 115 MiB (14%)
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No



[jbrines]

MKV files play on VLC.

AVI files play on the PS3 without any issues.

[DenyAll]

Cannot see anything obvious. Try remuxing it to an MP4 file - this will allow the PS4 to play it natively, but also if you watch the remuxing process it may point to the problem.

To remux use the command:

ffmpeg - i "Z:\Videos\Blacklist\The.Blacklist.S01E09.720p.HDTV.X264-DIMENSION.mkv" -c copy -map 0 "Z:\Videos\Blacklist\The.Blacklist.S01E09.720p.HDTV.X264-DIMENSION.mp4"

This will create a new MP4 file - as streams are copied there will be no loss in quality. Note any warnings or errors during the remux process, and see how the file plays streamed to the PS4.

ps. a couple of other comments:

• Playing on Netflix doesnt prove much - Netflix is a completely different protocol than DLNA, and is optimised for poor internet conections;
• Ditto with playing on VLC. VLC uses software based decoders that are generally more tolerant to issues within video files than those that are implemented in hardware based systems such as the PS3. In this case, the PS3 simply doesnt like something in the file - remuxing it my fix the issue.
• You don't get any other information from the PS3 to indicate what is wrong. How many files is this affecting?

[jbrines]

Cannot see anything obvious. Try remuxing it to an MP4 file - this will allow the PS4 to play it natively, but also if you watch the remuxing process it may point to the problem.

To remux use the command:

ffmpeg - i "Z:\Videos\Blacklist\The.Blacklist.S01E09.720p.HDTV.X264-DIMENSION.mkv" -c copy -map 0 "Z:\Videos\Blacklist\The.Blacklist.S01E09.720p.HDTV.X264-DIMENSION.mp4"

This will create a new MP4 file - as streams are copied there will be no loss in quality. Note any warnings or errors during the remux process, and see how the file plays streamed to the PS4.

ps. a couple of other comments:

• Playing on Netflix doesnt prove much - Netflix is a completely different protocol than DLNA, and is optimised for poor internet conections;
• Ditto with playing on VLC. VLC uses software based decoders that are generally more tolerant to issues within video files than those that are implemented in hardware based systems such as the PS3. In this case, the PS3 simply doesnt like something in the file - remuxing it my fix the issue.
• You don't get any other information from the PS3 to indicate what is wrong. How many files is this affecting?

Can this command be ran in Fedora or does it need to be in Windows?