makeMKV 1.7 no playback on WD TV Live 2011

[teakster]

Hi

Just recently upgraded to makeMKV 1.7 and purchased a WD TV Live (2011 version).

The WD TV appears to play all MKV's created with previous versions of makeMKV (1.6.x), but states MKV's created by makeMKV 1.7 are "an unsupported file format". The same makeMKV 1.7 MKV's are playable on my windows 7 laptop with no problems.

Any ideas on the problem?

Cheers

[Romansh]

Does remuxing the file with the latest version of mkvmerge GUI make the files playable on the WD TV?

[crowfax]

I have the same box. Not had any issues.

Are you using DVD's or Blu-rays? What discs are they?

[teakster]

Crowfax:
I'm using the default settings of MakeMKV 1.7 to make mkv's of Blurays. Some of the Blurays in question are: -

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt2
2. Faster
3. Middle Men

I don't think the problem is related to the discs as the problem occurs for mkv's after installing MakeMKV 1.7.
If you are having no problems with playback with makemkv 1.7 mkv's on your WD TV live 2011, the problem must be with my set up. I however have no clue what the problem is as pre-1.7 mkv's are playing with no problem.

Romansh.
I'll try remuxing with mkvmerge, but would be great to create MKV's without this step.


Forgot to ask: Is there a way to get embedded subtitles to display on the WD TV live?

Cheers for help so far.

[crowfax]

Don't have any of those. I'll test another disc now though.

Go into the settings menu on your box and restart it. This new firmware is buggy as hell.

Oh and remuxing with MKV Merge is always a good idea. PGS subtitles in MKV files only work if they're zipped with zlib, which isn't something MakeMKV can do as it rips the stream off the disc. So if you want subtitles, you'll have to remux anyway.

EDIT: Just ripped a few episodes of Archer Season One from Blu-ray (only 3gb an episode so quick to rip and test). They all played back fine. I'll go pick up Faster now. Oh the things I do for people!

[crowfax]

Sorry that took so long. Purchased Fast Five and ripped it. Played back fine (minus subtitles) on the WD TV Live Streaming box.

Make sure your firmware is up to date and reboot your box.

How are you playing the movies? Connected locally or streaming?

[teakster]

Tried remuxing a 1.7 MKV with no luck on playback on the WD TV Live streaming box.

I only received the WD TV box yesterday, where the makeMKV 1.7 MKV's did not work prior and after firmware update, and I have rebooted the box a number of times. I am streaming the MKV's from my Synology NAS (DS409+) as a media server. The actual message from the WD TV for 1.7 MKV's is:-

"Unable to play selected file. Please see the User Manual for a list of supported file formats."

I'll try uninstalling/reinstalling MakeMKV to see if this makes any difference.

[Romansh]

Have you tried playing the file from a locally attached hard drive (USB)?

[crowfax]

Things to try:

1. As Romansh said, play from a local drive.
2. Remux the file with MMG and see if that fixes it.
3. Try a file with only 1 audio and 1 video stream and no subtitle streams.
4. Try a file with no audio or subtitle streams.

We need to narrow down the field here.

[teakster]

I don't have a local USB hard drive or large enough USB stick, but have tried remuxing a makemkv 1.7 mkv with MMG v5.2.1 as directed to no avail.

Beginning to pull my hair out, as all other mkv's made with pre-makemkv 1.7 mkv's stream without a problem on the WD TV LS and the MM 1.7 mkv's playback on laptop and workstation. Could it be a problem with the WD TV LS?

Also tried re-ripping mkv's with makemkv 1.7. Does anyone have a copy of makemkv 1.6?

[mbryanr]

http://www.makemkv.com/download/old/

[crowfax]

Could it be a problem with the WD TV LS?

Almost certainly. The firmware dev's don't pay much attention to user requests however.

Can you try just sharing a folder on your PC and streaming the file that way? That way we can rule out your NAS as a factor.

[teakster]

I've tried sharing the file on my PC but the WD TV LS cannot find it within the shared video folder.
My NAS is sharing all my mkv files created with a previous version of makemkv (I think 1.6.10), so don't think that there is a problem with the NAS.

I've tried uninstalling and re-installing previous versions of makemkv (1.6.16, 1.6.13 & 1.6.12) also now with no luck with playback on my WD TV LS.
- versions 1.6.13 & 1.6.16 both create mkv's playable on my laptop and workstation
- version 1.6.12 does not create mkv citing illegal copying as reason.

Crowfax: from your previous posts I understood that you had successfully ripped blurays with makemkv 1.7 and played them on your WD TV LS. If this is the case, then would this mean the firmware is OK? Do you reckon my WD TV LS is defective and should be replaced?

[crowfax]

Mine work, but I connect a drive to the WD TV LS locally.

So far as I know, all that changed in 1.7.0 with regard to the way the MKV files are made is that there is new metadata in the container with the title of the movie and such. Chances are the WD TV firmware developers didn't bother to test any MKV files with metadata streaming over a network, and when it tries to stream the file it falls over.

You should send them an email explaining the issue and ask them to test it.

[idontexist]

For whatever it's worth, I just tested it out on my wife's 2011 version WDTV, and it will play version 1.7.0 MKVs just fine. I'm using the free PS3 Media Server off of a Win 7 system.

I think I WDTV firmware update just came out in the last week or so too.