Problem - 'unknown file format'

[peweuk]

I converted a BD and all appeared to go well.

However when I played it in Totalmedia on my PC it was reported as 'unknown codec' (for the video) although it did play.
I put it on a HDD and attached to my TV which plays MKV, but the file was 'unsupported' and showed ' Codec -unknown'.

I opened it in GSpot, and there was no data shown at all - Gspot did not recognise it - video or audio.

Am I doing something wrong - what codecs/file formats does MakeMKV convert to?

Thanks.

[Marc_G]

I recommend using a free utility called MediaInfoGUI and having it report the details about the video in the file. Installed, it lets you right click any media file to bring up a window with the details.

MakeMKV simply copies the streams into an MKV file container... it doesn't convert.

Marc

[setarip_old]

@peweuk

Hi!

1) What is the title and region of your original, commercial Blu-ray disc?

2) What software and procedure(s) did you use to rip and convert your original, commercial Blu-ray disc to a "movie-only" .MKV?

[peweuk]

I recommend using a free utility called MediaInfoGUI and having it report the details about the video in the file. Installed, it lets you right click any media file to bring up a window with the details.

MakeMKV simply copies the streams into an MKV file container... it doesn't convert.

Thanks Marc_G. I obviously mis-understood what MakeMKV is all about.

I tried Mediainfogui - and it reports Audio - AVC and Sound - PCM

Code: Select all

General
Unique ID                        : 98025190812569125269246254308463623312 (0x49BEF70C245059850C9E4CB1F5963C90)
Complete name                    : C:\Users\Peter\Videos\streetfighter bd\makemkv2\title00.mkv
Format                           : Matroska
File size                        : 21.2 GiB
Duration                         : 1h 36mn
Overall bit rate                 : 31.5 Mbps
Encoded date                     : UTC 2011-01-07 18:37:32
Writing application              : MakeMKV v1.6.3 win(x86-release)
Writing library                  : libmakemkv v1.6.3 (0.7.7/0.8.1) win(x86-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                         : 1h 36mn
Bit rate mode                    : Variable
Maximum bit rate                 : 33.0 Mbps
Width                            : 1 920 pixels
Height                           : 1 080 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
Language                         : English
Color primaries                  : BT.709-5, BT.1361, IEC 61966-2-4, SMPTE RP177
Transfer characteristics         : BT.709-5, BT.1361
Matrix coefficients              : BT.709-5, BT.1361, IEC 61966-2-4 709, SMPTE RP177

My TV should play MPEG-4 and PCM but does not recognise the file.

1) What is the title and region of your original, commercial Blu-ray disc?

2) What software and procedure(s) did you use to rip and convert your original, commercial Blu-ray disc to a "movie-only" .MKV?

It's the only BR I have which was free from our local Supermaket.

It's called 'Streetfighter' and is UK region 2.

I used Anydvd to rip the BR to an ISO on the hard drive.

[setarip_old]

Your posts are a bit unclear.

Did you ultimately make a FULL DISC Blu-ray backup (using only AnyDVDHD) or did you then use MakeMKV to make a "movie-only" .MKV from the FULL DISC backup?

If you ultimately made an .MKV file, for future reference be advised that you need ONLY MakeMKV to both rip the Blu-ray disc and convert to .MKV (no need for AnyDVDHD or similar)

[peweuk]

Your posts are a bit unclear.

Did you ultimately make a FULL DISC Blu-ray backup (using only AnyDVDHD) or did you then use MakeMKV to make a "movie-only" .MKV from the FULL

Sorry - my mistake - being a bit thick tonight.

The 'Anydvd rip' was to iso, but I never used it.

When I ran MakeMKV it asked me to disable AnyDVD, so I did, and ran MakeMKV again. This time I chose the option to make an mkv of the main movie without DTS sound track from the Blu Ray disc.

What puzzles me is that if I just copy the .m2ts file of the main movie from the disc to hard drive and manually name as .mkv, my tv plays it - but with no sound.
However when I try to play the mkv created by makemkv, the TV says its not a recognised format and aborts.

[skittle]

What TV is it? (model #)

btw changing the file extension does not magically change the container to mkv

[peweuk]

What TV is it? (model #)

btw changing the file extension does not magically change the container to mkv

It's an LG 42LD550.

I appreciate your comment ref changing the extension, but I copied the .m2ts to the hard drive and renamed it to .mkv, then copied it again and left the second copy as .m2ts.
In the TV menu it saw both, but when trying the m2ts it said 'unsupported file', but played the mkv -with no sound.

Maybe the tv looks at the file type first before trying to read it

[Marc_G]

Some devices / software are picky about what types of video or sound they can play, and they may also be picky about the container. So, something that plays fine in an m2TS may not play OK if it's in an MKV, or vice versa.

Also, I've found lots of software/players barf at PCM for some reason.

Looks like your TV doesn't like something about the codec/container combination. Bummer.

You could always re-encode with handbrake or similar.

[peweuk]

Some devices / software are picky about what types of video or sound they can play, and they may also be picky about the container. So, something that plays fine in an m2TS may not play OK if it's in an MKV, or vice versa.

Also, I've found lots of software/players barf at PCM for some reason.

Looks like your TV doesn't like something about the codec/container combination. Bummer.

You could always re-encode with handbrake or similar.

That's the conclusion I came to. For some reason LG do not support a lot of audio. If they supported PCM then the files would play ok - I think.

I was trying to avoid re-encoding as it takes over 6 hours re-coding to MKV using video editors