MKV file not working with my WD Play

I just bought a WD Play, and I configured Serviio to use the WDTV Live profile for that IP address.

I have a folder full of MKV videos that the WD Play will not play. It is giving me an error message that it cannot decode the file (could be the audio, could be the video, could be the container, not sure).

Can somebody walk me through how to 1) identify what kind of audio, video, container, etc. these files have, and 2) add whatever is causing the error to the transcoding configuration so that Serviio will transcode and stream it for me?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[DenyAll]

Firstly you should try and play the files using thing the Generic DLNA profile. If it plays then this would mean you need to remove transcoding for this file in your profile; if it doesn't play you need to add transcoding instructions for your file for the given combination of container, video and audio codec (and h264 profile type). Once known:

1. Use MediaInfo to find the container type, video codec and audio codec (look at the Format field in each of the relevant sections of the MediaInfo output). For h264 video (AVC) also look at the Format Profile, the Reframes and Width and Height fields.
2. Look for common elements for files that dont play (eg. all the same audio type, all the same video etc);
3. You need to read and interpret your profile (see http://www.serviio.org/index.php?option ... icle&id=24) and determine whether the profile needs to be tweaked.

In the case of the WD Live Profile, it allows most MKV (matroska) files to be played natively (without transcoding). Your issue maybe that the audio type isn't supported or that the h264 profile level isn't supported so look for commonality there, however the most common problem with MKV files and the WD device is header compression - I believe this shows up as Header Stripping under MediaInfo. If it is this latter issue, then these files will need to be remuxed without the compression - there is a tool mkWDClean that will do this for you quickly (see http://matroska.org/news/compressed-headers.html)

ps. The above ignores subtitles - they can add further complexity in a minority of cases.

Great post! Thanks for the insights, my friend. I really appreciate your help.

I went ahead and tried the generic profile and it did not trigger transcoding.

The file is an MKV with AVC video and AC-3 audio (6 channels). I didn't see a Header Stripping flag.

  Code:

General
Unique ID                                : 171671395590194885164717151986736150618 (0x8126B54869D289FF82196DD9F88FB85A)
Complete name                            : E:\Videos\Television\Firefly - Season 1 [HD]\Firefly.S01E07 Jaynestown.mkv
Format                                   : Matroska
Format version                           : Version 1
File size                                : 1.43 GiB
Duration                                 : 43mn 38s
Overall bit rate                         : 4 701 Kbps
Encoded date                             : UTC 2007-10-23 18:51:38
Writing application                      : mkvmerge v2.1.0 ('Another Place To Fall') built on Aug 19 2007 13:40:07
Writing library                          : libebml v0.7.7 + libmatroska v0.8.1

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L5.1
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames                : 8 frames
Codec ID                                 : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration                                 : 43mn 38s
Bit rate                                 : 4 312 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)                       : 0.195
Stream size                              : 1.29 GiB (90%)
Writing library                          : x264 core 47 svn-531
Encoding settings                        : cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=7 / brdo=1 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=2 / chroma_qp_offset=0 / slices=2 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=1 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / wpredb=1 / bime=1 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / rc=2pass / bitrate=4312 / 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
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

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                                 : 43mn 38s
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                              : 120 MiB (8%)
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

My best guess is that it is the AC-3 audio. I was able to get some other MKV's with AVC video to play on the WD Play with no problems.

Any suggestions on where to start? This profiles.xml file is an 1800-line beast. Although I think I did manage to find the WD Play profile:

  Code:

   <Profile id="14" name="WDTV Live" extendsProfileId="1">
      <Detection>
         <UPnPSearch>
            <ModelName>WD TV HD Live</ModelName>
         </UPnPSearch>
      </Detection>
      <ContentDirectoryMessageBuilder>org.serviio.upnp.service.contentdirectory.PacketVideoDLNAMessageBuilder</ContentDirectoryMessageBuilder>
      <ProtocolInfo>simple</ProtocolInfo>
      <Transcoding>
         <Video targetContainer="mpeg">
            <Matches container="wtv" />
         </Video>
         <Video targetContainer="mpeg" targetVCodec="mpeg2video" targetACodec="ac3" aBitrate="384">
            <Matches container="flv" /> <!-- this is used by online content, assuming WDTV cannot play local flv either -->
            <Matches container="matroska" vCodec="vp8" />
            <Matches container="rm" />
         </Video>
         </Transcoding>
         <OnlineTranscoding>
         <Video targetContainer="mpeg" targetVCodec="mpeg2video" targetACodec="ac3" aBitrate="384">
            <Matches container="mp4" />
            <Matches container="asf" /> <!-- for mms:// -->
         </Video>
      </OnlineTranscoding>   
      <Subtitles>
         <SoftSubs mime-type="text/srt" />         
      </Subtitles>
   </Profile>

Thanks!

[DenyAll]

I believe the WD supports AC-3 5.1 (which is a pretty common audio format, also known as Dolby Digital), so I dont think its that.

It could be the h.264 profile (High@L5.1). Most renderers don't support this level of profile - haven't got a WD though, so it might. You can test by editing your profile and adding the line:

  Code:

            <Matches container="matroska" vCodec="h264" profile="high" levelGreaterThan="5.0" />
above the existing line
            <Matches container="matroska" vCodec="vp8" />

This will now transcode the video stream (to mpeg2) and put it, and the existing audio, into a mpeg2 container. After changing your profiles.xml file you must restart Serviio fully (either restart the Serviio service using service.msc if a windows user) or restart your PC.

ps. although your file is stating it's a High@L5.1, its not really - see http://wiki.serviio.org/doku.php?id=get_h264_level - it should be level 4.1 if my maths is correct. This gives you another option if you do not want to transcode - you can fix the header on the file using a number of tools available on the web (http://coolsoft.altervista.org/en/h264leveleditor for example, you would set it to level 4.1).

I downloaded the tool you suggested and changed the H264 level. Most of the MKV's needed to be changed to level 4.0 as you suggested (1280*720*8/256 = 28,800). I went ahead and did this and that fixed the problem for those. Yay.

Remaining Problem 1: One of the MKV's had 10 frames (1280*720*10/256=36,000) so I changed it to level 5.0. I tried adding variations of the line you suggested to the profiles.xml file (ended up settling on <Matches container="matroska" vCodec="h264" profile="high" levelGreaterThan="4.1" /> since that article you linked me said that many players do not support above 4.1, so that seems like a good point to trigger transcoding) and I kept getting an error on my WD Play. Maybe transcoding isn't being triggered? I have transcoding turned on in the settings, I restarted the service, etc.

Remaining Problem 2: Another question. Can I add a line to that profiles.xml file that has Serviio downmix all 5.1 to Stereo? 5.1 is coming out very low in volume on my television... I googled the error and it seems to be because my television is only playing 2 of the 6 audio channels. If Serviio downmixed it for me that would be one way to clear up the volume issue.

Thanks again for your assistance.

edit: Fixing my math.

[DenyAll]

1. You need to confirm it is being transcoded first. You can tell if Serviio is transcoding by either (a) looking at a detailed log file when you play the movie; or (b) monitoring your CPU usage - this will be high (>50%) when you start playing the movie - a process called ffmpeg.exe will be responsible or (c) if the WD Live shows the file type, it will be listed as an MPEG file rather than a MKV file.

ps. "One of the MKV's had 10 frames" - what was the height and width, as it depends on all three factors.
pps. Had a look at your manual on line - 4.1 is the maximum level supported for main and high profiles. From the manual: (H.264) Max (BP@L3.0 720x480p30 or 720x576p25, MP@L4.1 and HP@L4.1 1920×1080p30 or 1280x720p60), bit rate (SD:20, HD:40)

2. You could get Serviio to transcode the audio, however I believe the WD has the option to downmix to stereo - this would be a better approach as its done in hardware rather than on your PC. From the WD manual:

Setup - Audio Output - Stereo (Analog, S/PDIF, HDMI)
This is the default setting that decodes all audio streams into 2-channel output via analog (RCA connectors), S/PDIF (optical connector), or HDMI. Recommended if you are using a 2- or 4-speaker entertainment unit.

1. I turned on detailed logging and it appears to be using the generic profile for some reason. Hmm.



Why would it use the generic profile when we've clearly set the profile to WDTV Live? That would explain why we're still getting the error and why transcoding is not occurring.

2. You're right. False alarm. The volume is just varying between my video files then.

ps. 1280x720x10 frames/256 = 36,000, so I think we need 5.0? (34,817 to 110,400) I went ahead and changed it to 5.0. It was 5.1 before.

  Code:

General
Unique ID                                : 224689330949832644699914289564263673104 (0xA90997501AFC86CF85ED81C59C546D10)
Complete name                            : E:\Videos\Television\Firefly - Season 1 [HD]\Firefly.S01E08 Out of Gas 10.mkv
Format                                   : Matroska
Format version                           : Version 1
File size                                : 1.43 GiB
Duration                                 : 43mn 38s
Overall bit rate                         : 4 701 Kbps
Encoded date                             : UTC 2007-10-23 18:53:22
Writing application                      : mkvmerge v2.1.0 ('Another Place To Fall') built on Aug 19 2007 13:40:07
Writing library                          : libebml v0.7.7 + libmatroska v0.8.1

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L5.0
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames                : 10 frames
Codec ID                                 : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration                                 : 43mn 38s
Bit rate                                 : 4 313 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)                       : 0.195
Stream size                              : 1.29 GiB (90%)
Writing library                          : x264 core 54 svn-600M
Encoding settings                        : cabac=1 / ref=7 / deblock=1:0:0 / 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 / slices=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 / rc=2pass / bitrate=4313 / 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
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

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                                 : 43mn 38s
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                              : 120 MiB (8%)
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

[DenyAll]

1. Well that's weird! Try changing the profile, press save and then change it back to the WD Live (pressing Save again)??? Maybe that will fix it.
2. 5.0 is correct. Doesn't matter though - as long as your profile includes <Matches container="matroska" vCodec="h264" profile="high" levelGreaterThan="4.1" /> this will be transcoded. It's more for the ones that don't need transcoding (ie. the ones that are really 4.1 or below, but the header is showing 5.0 or 5.1) - its always better not to transcode if you can avoid it.

Changing profiles worked. I got it to transcode! I had to keep it as levelGreaterThan="4.1" though, because if it's levelGreaterThan="5.0" then it does not transcode 5.0 because that is equal to 5.0, not greater than it.

However now the transcoded video is throwing an error on my WD Play! And I cannot find the location of the transcoded file on my computer to get its MediaData. I checked C:\Windows\Temp and I checked the location specified in Serviio for transcoding (E:\Videos)

We're so close! Any idea where this transcode ended up so I can take a peek at it and see what the problem is?

[DenyAll]

In Serviio Console, Delivery, Transcoding tab - will tell you where the transcoded files are being stored. For windows it will likely be C:\Windows\TEMP\ in a subfolder called Serviio. It will be a .stf file.
What is the error?

Yes, has to be levelGreaterThan="4.1".

Oh, I found the transcoding folder. I must have missed it the first time.

I renamed the transcode to .mp4 and played it in Media Player Classic / CCCP. Came out perfect. High quality video. Audio is all synced up. No problems.

I go to play it on the WD Play (as an .mp4) and I get the typical error that it has been throwing me this whole time (Unable to play the selected file. Please see the User Manual for a list of supported file formats.)

  Code:

General
Complete name                            : E:\Videos\Serviio\transcoding-temp-5547-14-ORIGINAL.mp4
Format                                   : MPEG-PS
File size                                : 1.72 GiB
Duration                                 : 43mn 38s
Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
Overall bit rate                         : 5 654 Kbps

Video
ID                                       : 224 (0xE0)
Format                                   : MPEG Video
Commercial name                          : HDV 720p
Format version                           : Version 2
Format profile                           : Main@High 1440
Format settings, BVOP                    : No
Format settings, Matrix                  : Default
Format settings, GOP                     : N=15
Duration                                 : 43mn 38s
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 5 158 Kbps
Width                                    : 1 280 pixels
Height                                   : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate                               : 23.976 fps
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.233
Time code of first frame                 : 00:00:00:00
Time code source                         : Group of pictures header
Stream size                              : 1.57 GiB (91%)

Audio
ID                                       : 189 (0xBD)-128 (0x80)
Format                                   : AC-3
Format/Info                              : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension                           : CM (complete main)
Format settings, Endianness              : Big
Muxing mode                              : DVD-Video
Duration                                 : 43mn 38s
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                              : 120 MiB (7%)

Now isn't that silly? We go to all this trouble to get transcoding to work and then the format we transcoded to can't be read by the device. Sigh.

What modifications do you suggest I make to <Video targetContainer="mpeg" targetVCodec="mpeg2video" targetACodec="ac3" aBitrate="384"> to get the transcodes to work?

edit: I tried unchecking "Delivery -> Transcoding -> Video Settings -> Produce the best video quality". It lowered the bitrate a little but I am still getting the same error.

  Code:

General
Complete name                            : E:\Videos\Serviio\transcoding-temp-5547-14-ORIGINAL.mp4
Format                                   : MPEG-PS
File size                                : 1.10 GiB
Duration                                 : 43mn 38s
Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
Overall bit rate                         : 3 610 Kbps

Video
ID                                       : 224 (0xE0)
Format                                   : MPEG Video
Commercial name                          : HDV 720p
Format version                           : Version 2
Format profile                           : Main@High 1440
Format settings, BVOP                    : No
Format settings, Matrix                  : Default
Format settings, GOP                     : N=15
Duration                                 : 43mn 38s
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 3 154 Kbps
Width                                    : 1 280 pixels
Height                                   : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate                               : 23.976 fps
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.143
Time code of first frame                 : 00:00:00:00
Time code source                         : Group of pictures header
Stream size                              : 984 MiB (87%)

Audio
ID                                       : 189 (0xBD)-128 (0x80)
Format                                   : AC-3
Format/Info                              : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension                           : CM (complete main)
Format settings, Endianness              : Big
Muxing mode                              : DVD-Video
Duration                                 : 43mn 38s
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                              : 120 MiB (11%)

[DenyAll]

fyi - the .stf file is an mpeg-2 file so you probably would have been better renaming it as an .mpg file extension... but anyway....

Not sure why it isn't working. You can try a few things - try changing (one at a time) the transcoding instruction from <Video targetContainer="mpeg" targetVCodec="mpeg2video" targetACodec="ac3" aBitrate="384"> to:

1. <Video targetContainer="mpegts" targetVCodec="mpeg2video" targetACodec="ac3" aBitrate="384">
   This will change to an mpeg2-ts container. The WD TV profile is a bit unique in that it transcodes to a mpeg-ps container type - most other devices get a ts container type. Not sure why they have done this for the WD, as it supports both containers. Try the ts container as I know there are limitations with what the ps container type will support (although it should handle this...).
2. <Video targetContainer="mpeg" targetVCodec="mpeg2video" targetACodec="ac3" aBitrate="384" forceStereo="true">
   This will change the audio to AC3 stereo. This is what you were asking about earlier.
3. <Video targetContainer="mpeg" targetVCodec="mpeg2video" targetACodec="lpcm">
   This will change the audio to lpcm.

[DenyAll]

Also, just recalled something others have experienced - remove the line <ProtocolInfo>simple</ProtocolInfo> from the profile. This has fixed other issues with the WD, so may help here (this line is being removed in the next version anyway).

No luck.

1. <Video targetContainer="mpegts" targetVCodec="mpeg2video" targetACodec="ac3" aBitrate="384">
   
   • No error message, but nothing played after the transcoding, and the device was extremely laggy until I restarted Serviio. It would take 5 seconds for anything I pressed on the remote to take effect on the WD Play, even powering it on or off.
2. <Video targetContainer="mpeg" targetVCodec="mpeg2video" targetACodec="ac3" aBitrate="384" forceStereo="true">
   
   • Error message "Unable to play the selected file. Please see the User Manual for a list of supported file formats."
3. <Video targetContainer="mpeg" targetVCodec="mpeg2video" targetACodec="lpcm">
   
   • Error message "Unable to play the selected file. Please see the User Manual for a list of supported file formats."
4. Remove the line <ProtocolInfo>simple</ProtocolInfo> from the profile.
   
   • Error message "Unable to play the selected file. Please see the User Manual for a list of supported file formats."
5. Combination of #1 and #4
   
   • No error message, but nothing played after the transcoding, and the device was extremely laggy until I restarted Serviio. It would take 5 seconds for anything I pressed on the remote to take effect on the WD Play, even powering it on or off.

The problem with H.264 Level 5 is that there is too much data being sent to the player at one time to hold in its memory, correct? Well, our transcoding technique is resulting in very large files (1.8 GB, larger than the original file size of 1.5 GB). Maybe this has something to do with it? Could we try lowering the video bitrate?

[DenyAll]

The problem with H.264 Level 5 is that there is too much data being sent to the player at one time to hold in its memory, correct?

No, not exactly. The higher the level the more computational power (and partly memory) is needed by the decoding device.

Having said that, limiting the bit rate may work. Try changing to:
<Video targetContainer="mpeg" targetVCodec="mpeg2video" maxVBitrate="17000" targetACodec="ac3" aBitrate="384">
You can then play with the bit rate - try something low (eg. 10000) and work your way up.

vBitrate 10000, vbitrate 17000, and vbitrate 10000 + ProtocolInfo simple did not work. It threw the "Unable to play the selected file. Please see the User Manual for a list of supported file formats." error.

I was hoping that this thread would help you guys to update the profiles.xml defaults for the WD Play. But I am close to giving up. I can just re-encode my one affected movie using Avidemux.

If you would like to pursue this to its conclusion, here are some other ideas for things we might try:

• Try different containers. Any suggestions?
• Try different video codecs. Any suggestions?
• Link me to a movie that is confirmed to transcode correctly on other WD Plays. I'll download it and use it as a control group to make sure that there isn't anything weird on my end.
• More analysis of the debug logs.

It's just so odd. Here are some factual statements that we have tested and confirmed.

• Transcoding is occurring
• The transcodes play in Media Player Classic / CCCP
• The transcodes do not play on the WD Play
• I am editing the correct profiles.xml file, I am editing the correct device profile, and restarting the service is applying the settings (because I was able to get it to do that 5 second delay thing instead of throwing an error as a direct result of editing the file, saving the file, and restarting the Serviio service)

I have to imagine that these default transcode settings were chosen because they worked for other people, so that begs the question... why are they not working in our situation? Very odd indeed.

[DenyAll]

Didn't realize it was only one file - it could simply be a bad encode (and by bad, I mean something the WD doesn't like) that is carrying through to the transcoded file.

To test other files you could temporarily change to the Vizio TV profile. That pretty much transcodes everything to an mpeg container.

I got upgraded from a WD Play ($50) to a WD Live ($100) for an unrelated issue (I was region locked because the device wasn't able to detect my IP as being from the United States). And guess what? The Level 5.0 encode plays just fine in the WD Live.

Interesting, yes?

Both devices were on the latest firmware when I tested the Level 5.0 file.

You guys should consider editing the default profiles.xml file, making a separate profile for the WD Play which extends the WD Live profile, and adding the Level 5.0 code:

<Matches container="matroska" vCodec="h264" profile="high" levelGreaterThan="4.1" />

As for why the transcode was occurring but not playable by the WD Play, who knows. Maybe it was just that one file, or maybe it is an endemic issue. If the issue comes up again for another user, you guys can investigate it further.

Thanks for all your help DenyAll! It's always refreshing to find somebody helpful and knowledgeable on a forum. :-)