Problems streaming blurays from a USB drive do I need a NAS device?

Mad Badger

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So I have a fabulous Panasonic smart TV, which allegedly can use DLNA to play files off a USB drive attached to my ASUS router.

Having ripped my bluray with MakeMKV, it plays fine on my laptop, but if I try to access it from the TV it cannot play this file.

Cannot find anything on the Panasonic website to help. Am I missing some simple trick or do I need a more intelligent device from which to access the MKV files?

Any ideas?
 
I stream my videos from my nexus 7 and my Samsung S3 phone (both Android) to my Samsung Smart TV and Panasonic Smart BluRay Player using and app called Skifta (using DLNA), have a look on their site HERE.

Not sure if that will help you? Let me know if you find a work around. Also I use another app called SmartBeam which works a treat.

FURTHER RESEARCH...MKV files cannot be streamed over DLNA you will have to convert the files. See HERE
 
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Says unable to play this file type, it's a Panasonic vt 65
 
It could be anything... From an inability of the TV to play mkv through bitrate being too high to unsupported codecs in the file. What does the TV claim to support?
 
That'll take a bit of research, get back to you tomorrow, thanks Neil
 
I have been using a program Serviio for streaming movies to my panasonic , works quite well. What I did find if the bitrate was on the low side below 900 kbps streamed movies were pixelated and blocky which was unwatchable. Getting a higher bitrate solved the problem.
 
You can't just change the file extension... You would need to convert it (and that may or may not be possible depending what is in it). I'd start off by plugging it in one of the USB sockets. If you can't play the file natively, you'll never manage to play it without conversion through DLNA
 
Just looked on my VT65. mkv is supported, but the codecs it will support are limited - particularly if you have full audio codecs in the stream. Download mediainfo, set it to display text and analyse the file. Post the results and I'll probably be able to tell you if it is a codec or file format issue.
 
there's a program i used to use called MKVToolNix

http://www.bunkus.org/videotools/mkvtoolnix/downloads.html

on the first generation of the WD Tv box i used to get a problem with some MKV format files it was to do with compression headers ( something like that ) making the WD box unable to play the file
the cure was to drop the file into MKVToolNix go to the advanced tab , hilight each part of the file one by one in the second window and set compression to none in the drop down menu for each part
click on start muxing and wait for it to finish
job done :)

worth a try....
 
General
Unique ID : 214629469941874094251978405886901323239 (0xA17821DF20930DEF32E77806F6B385E7)
Complete name : C:\Users\Ungulate\Videos\Bluray\The_Wolverine_t00.mkv
Format : Matroska
Format version : Version 2
File size : 33.9 GiB
Duration : 2h 6mn
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 38.5 Mbps
Movie name : The Wolverine
Encoded date : UTC 2013-12-09 10:07:31
Writing application : MakeMKV v1.8.6 win(x64-release)
Writing library : libmakemkv v1.8.6 (1.2.0/1.1.0) win(x64-release)

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 4 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 2h 6mn
Bit rate mode : Variable
Maximum bit rate : 35.3 Mbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 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
Language : English
Default : No
Forced : No

Audio #1
ID : 2
Format : DTS
Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems
Format profile : MA / Core
Mode : 16
Format settings, Endianness : Big
Codec ID : A_DTS
Duration : 2h 6mn
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : Unknown / 1 509 Kbps
Channel(s) : 8 channels / 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, Back: L R, LFE / Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 24 bits
Compression mode : Lossless / Lossy
Title : Lossless
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : No

Audio #2
ID : 3
Format : DTS
Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems
Format profile : ES
Mode : 16
Format settings, Endianness : Big
Codec ID : A_DTS
Duration : 2h 6mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 1 509 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 24 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 1.33 GiB (4%)
Title : 3/2+1
Language : English
Default : No
Forced : No

Audio #3
ID : 4
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension : CM (complete main)
Format settings, Endianness : Big
Codec ID : A_AC3
Duration : 2h 6mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 224 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : Front: L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 202 MiB (1%)
Title : 2/0
Language : English
Default : No
Forced : No

Audio #4
ID : 5
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension : CM (complete main)
Format settings, Endianness : Big
Codec ID : A_AC3
Duration : 2h 6mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 448 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 : 404 MiB (1%)
Title : 3/2+1
Language : English
Default : No
Forced : No

Text
ID : 6
Format : PGS
Codec ID : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info : The same subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : No

Menu
00:00:00.000 : en:Chapter 01
00:05:03.720 : en:Chapter 02
00:07:39.667 : en:Chapter 03
00:08:40.436 : en:Chapter 04
00:10:25.499 : en:Chapter 05
00:13:56.794 : en:Chapter 06
00:16:49.299 : en:Chapter 07
00:19:13.068 : en:Chapter 08
00:22:04.281 : en:Chapter 09
00:26:38.305 : en:Chapter 10
00:28:53.398 : en:Chapter 11
00:30:21.402 : en:Chapter 12
00:33:43.146 : en:Chapter 13
00:38:08.244 : en:Chapter 14
00:42:42.309 : en:Chapter 15
00:44:19.073 : en:Chapter 16
00:47:06.740 : en:Chapter 17
00:52:38.280 : en:Chapter 18
00:54:37.315 : en:Chapter 19
01:00:06.477 : en:Chapter 20
01:06:16.222 : en:Chapter 21
01:11:36.959 : en:Chapter 22
01:16:25.205 : en:Chapter 23
01:19:30.807 : en:Chapter 24
01:22:34.574 : en:Chapter 25
01:27:33.206 : en:Chapter 26
01:30:37.140 : en:Chapter 27
01:33:00.032 : en:Chapter 28
01:36:33.204 : en:Chapter 29
01:40:14.216 : en:Chapter 30
01:43:04.511 : en:Chapter 31
01:46:07.569 : en:Chapter 32
01:51:06.076 : en:Chapter 33
01:53:01.900 : en:Chapter 34
01:55:50.944 : en:Chapter 35
01:57:21.451 : en:Chapter 36

Any help Andy?
 
I suspect audio codec problems with that. Although it could be the bitrate/profile of video. TVs are notoriously bad with more complex files especially multi-streams. How adventurous do you feel? Makemkv From mkvtoolnix will allow you to MUX just a few of the streams together. I'd try the video and AC-3 stream onto a USB stick - makemkv should allow you to do a 5minute segment...
 
How do I change the file type in Win7? If I use rename all it does is alter the film title, not the .mkv suffix? Sorry if this is a bit basic.
 
Go to folder options, select show file extensions, now when you select rename you will see the extension. Click yes when windows ask if you are sure you want to change the extension.
 
Simply changing the file extension without remuxing will not work. It is the equivalent of giving you a German/French dictionary when you want an English/French one and then crossing out the word German on the front cover and writing English on it and handing it back to you....

Post the mediainfo dump of the file you created with the mkvtoolnix tool.
 
arad85 said:
Simply changing the file extension without remuxing will not work.
Click to expand...

But it does, Mkv files do not show up on my tv, ( samsung) change the file extension and they not only show up, but play as well. Not one has failed to play.
 
PS. I did a quick google... The VT65 is the UK version of the VT60 everyone else has. A review here: http://www.flatpanelshd.com/review.php?subaction=showfull&id=1368523071 says this:

flatpanelshd said:
As we have said before, media file support and playback is relatively poor with these built-in media players in TVs. We did put VT60 through the test with some demanding high-resolution and high bitrate avi and mkv files. VT60 did not eat the first 1080p avi. It did not like our 1080p mkv container with a H.264 profile 4.1 video inside (40 mbps video) either. We were luckier with a .mkv with 720p video in H.264 in profile 5.1. It can also handle un-embedded subtitles. An mkv container with a video encoded in VC1 was also handled correctly. So, a bit hit-and-miss here.
Click to expand...

The bit in bold is what you have above.... The first sentence says it all.

If you want to play what you have on your TV, it's either recode the video with something like handbrake or (probably much better) a trip to buy a WD TV Live box.
 
praxis said:
But it does, Mkv files do not show up on my tv, ( samsung) change the file extension and they not only show up, but play as well. Not one has failed to play.
Click to expand...
LOL... In which case I suspect something going on under the hood of your DLNA server not serving .mkv filenames but streaming them as .mkvs and/or Samsung having a very wide interpretation of file formats and just analysing the stream as it comes in and ignoring the extension. If it works, it is more by luck than judgement as trying to play an mkv file with anything other than a mkv capable player will not work.

Steves problem is in the file though - the bitrates are too high (and I suspect the TV will be having problems with the audio as well). It is why I have full blown PCs under my TVs - they will play anything from anywhere at any bitrate, with any audio in....
 
Or for a cheaper option the likes of a wdtv or one of these android boxes that have started floating around.

and for the record what andy says about renaming file extensions is spot on. if it works then its a fluke or theres some other process (transcoding?) going on. its a bit like renaming XLSX to TXT and hoping for the best.
 
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neil_g said:
Or for a cheaper option the likes of a wdtv or one of these android boxes
Click to expand...
Mixed messages on those Neil. I think the software is a little immature at the moment and it seems a bit hit and miss whether xbmc runs on them (chip/nightly build etc). Also, with a stream like that, I'd want to be streaming through gigabit as it averages around 40Mbits/sec. Not sure many of the Android devices (or even WD TV Live) is gigabit.

Recoding by finding the optimum handbrake settings to get it to stream to the TV direct is probably the cheapest option.
 
arad85 said:
Mixed messages on those Neil. I think the software is a little immature at the moment and it seems a bit hit and miss whether xbmc runs on them (chip/nightly build etc). Also, with a stream like that, I'd want to be streaming through gigabit as it averages around 40Mbits/sec. Not sure many of the Android devices (or even WD TV Live) is gigabit.

Recoding by finding the optimum handbrake settings to get it to stream to the TV direct is probably the cheapest option.
Click to expand...

i cant remember whether the wdtv is a gig (the spec doesnt actually say) or not. although never had any issue with full fat HD content being pulled from the microserver :) mind you it wouldnt matter whether its a gig as it runs back over powerline.

a couple of guys at work have the andriod boxes (with xbmc) and love them, im not entirely convinced. although we did try them at work with some 720 content and seemed okay.
 
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720p is a lot different to full BR remuxes though.... Your "full fat HD" is still recoded though isn't it (so at a lower bitrate)? Steves is just a remux of the disc pulled via makemkv....
 
arad85 said:
720p is a lot different to full BR remuxes though....
Click to expand...

no i know, which is why i said im undecided. they dont mind lower quality.

Your "full fat HD" is still recoded though isn't it (so at a lower bitrate)? Steves is just a remux of the disc pulled via makemkv....
Click to expand...

most of my rips are put through ripbot to get them down in size (may be worth a go for the OP?) but i do have a few uncompressed rips (transformers 2 with imax scenes for example).
 
Thanks all, never realised the pitfalls trying to rip a bluray! I wanted to keep a 1920x1080 copy of my discs on a drive which would play without the hassle of loading discs into the player etc. Will look at Handbrake, and maybe a WD TV live.
 
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