Which MKV difference likely explains WDTV playback trouble?

MKV playback, recompression, remuxing, codec packs, players, howtos, etc.
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breid
Posts: 8
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2011 6:49 pm

Which MKV difference likely explains WDTV playback trouble?

Post by breid » Mon Feb 16, 2015 9:07 pm

From a single Blu-Ray ISO source (Maleficent 3D), I produced two MKV files, one with MakeMKV (default settings), and one with VSO BluRay Converter. I used the VSO remux profile, which to my understanding, should bypass any transcoding, and thus cause it to function in a manner similar to that of MakeMKV (please advise if that is incorrect).

I saved both MKV files on my NAS, and attempted to play each (over wired gigabit ethernet) via my WDTV Live (Gen 3) player connected via HDMI to an LG-49UB8500 (set to auto detect 3D source).

The file produced via the VSO tool seemed to play fine (video, audio, and subtitles all as expected). The file produced via MakeMKV yielded good audio, but the screen was completely blank.

I copied the misbehaving file to an HDD, which I then connected to my TV via USB3.0, and when I played the file from that source, the results were much better (video, audio, and subtitles were all as expected), although the streaming experienced some hiccups at irregular intervals (which problem I'll worry about later, if I should ever find cause to use that external USB interface with much frequency). So I have to conclude that whatever difference between the two MKV files is causing the trouble, the trouble is being experienced by the WDTV player, and not the TV itself.

I inspected the properties of both MKV files, and with my very limited understanding of the intricacies of those properties, I can't begin to guess where the problem lies. I'm including the mediainfo reports from both files, with the hope that someone can help me understand what aspect of the MakeMKV-produced file may be causing the problem, and how I might encourage MakeMKV (via some profile settings?) to produce a file that will be more compatible with the WDTV player.

Thank you for any help / advice!

VSO-produced file properties (playback on WDTV with no trouble)

Code: Select all

General
Unique ID                                : 123702438431245305900833497281610008436 (0x5D103918F154AF17EB69AC8E74CE4774)
Complete name                            : D:\VideoWork\ConversionCompleted\maleficent_3d\Maleficent (2014) 3D VSO.mkv
Format                                   : Matroska
Format version                           : Version 2
File size                                : 23.6 GiB
Duration                                 : 1h 37mn
Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
Overall bit rate                         : 34.7 Mbps
Writing application                      : Lavf55.7.100
Writing library                          : Lavf55.7.100
LABEL                                    : Chapter 21
TCHAPTER                                 : 200148672
Language                                 : eng

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L4.1
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames                : 3 frames
Format settings, GOP                     : M=1, N=12
Codec ID                                 : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration                                 : 1h 37mn
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Maximum bit rate                         : 32.0 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
Title                                    : Main video
Language                                 : Unspecified
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No
PART_NUMBER                              : 0

Audio
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : DTS
Format/Info                              : Digital Theater Systems
Format profile                           : MA / Core
Mode                                     : 16
Format settings, Endianness              : Big
Codec ID                                 : A_DTS
Duration                                 : 1h 37mn
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                                    : English
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No
PART_NUMBER                              : 1

Text
ID                                       : 3
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : The same subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Title                                    : English
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No
PART_NUMBER                              : 2

Menu
00:00:00.000                             : :Chapter 1
00:03:00.597                             : :Chapter 2
00:08:10.948                             : :Chapter 3
00:14:00.756                             : :Chapter 4
00:19:10.607                             : :Chapter 5
00:25:59.057                             : :Chapter 6
00:33:09.737                             : :Chapter 7
00:38:30.808                             : :Chapter 8
00:43:21.140                             : :Chapter 9
00:46:56.104                             : :Chapter 10
00:51:11.943                             : :Chapter 11
00:54:18.797                             : :Chapter 12
00:58:37.722                             : :Chapter 13
01:01:58.047                             : :Chapter 14
01:05:09.989                             : :Chapter 15
01:09:56.775                             : :Chapter 16
01:15:40.619                             : :Chapter 17
01:17:43.658                             : :Chapter 18
01:25:44.931                             : :Chapter 19
01:28:38.646                             : :Chapter 20
01:37:18.092                             : :Chapter 21
MakeMKV-produced file properties (playback on WDTV with good audio, but blank video)

Code: Select all

General
Unique ID                                : 49251410852490519396259139838338886477 (0x250D7A08C6AFF15A712457EF6A676B4D)
Complete name                            : D:\VideoWork\ConversionCompleted\Maleficent (2014) 3D MakeMKV.mkv
Format                                   : Matroska
Format version                           : Version 2
File size                                : 28.9 GiB
Duration                                 : 1h 37mn
Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
Overall bit rate                         : 42.5 Mbps
Movie name                               : Maleficent
Encoded date                             : UTC 2015-02-15 20:14:46
Writing application                      : MakeMKV v1.9.1 win(x64-release)
Writing library                          : libmakemkv v1.9.1 (1.3.0/1.4.1) win(x64-release)

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : Stereo High@L4.1 / High@L4.1
MultiView_Count                          : 2
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames                : 3 frames
Format settings, GOP                     : M=1, N=12
Codec ID                                 : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration                                 : 1h 37mn
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 40.1 Mbps
Maximum bit rate                         : 32.0 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
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.807
Stream size                              : 27.3 GiB (94%)
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Audio
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : DTS
Format/Info                              : Digital Theater Systems
Mode                                     : 16
Format settings, Endianness              : Big
Codec ID                                 : A_DTS
Duration                                 : 1h 37mn
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                              : 1.03 GiB (4%)
Title                                    : Surround 5.1
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

Text
ID                                       : 3
Format                                   : PGS
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : The same subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Menu
00:00:00.000                             : en:Chapter 01
00:03:00.597                             : en:Chapter 02
00:08:10.948                             : en:Chapter 03
00:14:00.756                             : en:Chapter 04
00:19:10.607                             : en:Chapter 05
00:25:59.057                             : en:Chapter 06
00:33:09.737                             : en:Chapter 07
00:38:30.808                             : en:Chapter 08
00:43:21.140                             : en:Chapter 09
00:46:56.104                             : en:Chapter 10
00:51:11.943                             : en:Chapter 11
00:54:18.797                             : en:Chapter 12
00:58:37.722                             : en:Chapter 13
01:01:58.047                             : en:Chapter 14
01:05:09.989                             : en:Chapter 15
01:09:56.775                             : en:Chapter 16
01:15:40.619                             : en:Chapter 17
01:17:43.659                             : en:Chapter 18
01:25:44.931                             : en:Chapter 19
01:28:38.646                             : en:Chapter 20

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