Sony BDP-s185 Blurayplayer not able to play mkv

[pontorosso]

Hi,

my Sony BDP-s185 Blurayplayer is not able to play mkv, which I converted from makemkv. The solution seems to be to change profile level High@5.1 to 4.1
Now, is it possible to change from 5.1 to 4.1 on the makemkv program, or does anybody know how to do that??!!

I need it for Mac!!! (Macbook pro) - there is a similar program available for windows (h.264 level editor)

Thanks a lot!!!

[crowfax]

Changing the profile level requires re-encoding the video stream. Makemkv is not an encoder. Perhaps try Handbrake.

[pontorosso]

Thanks!

[Romansh]

Hi,

my Sony BDP-s185 Blurayplayer is not able to play mkv, which I converted from makemkv. The solution seems to be to change profile level High@5.1 to 4.1

H.264 @ Level 5.1 is not Blu-ray compliant. This is not your issue.

[pontorosso]

but how can I change it? - I?ve read that in a window h.264 editor it is possible to change by writing 4.1 instead of 5.1
I am working on macbook pro, so I have no editor available.
the idea is: converting a bluray to mkv via makemkv and then put this file onto a usb-stick for using with sony BDP-s185 player.

any idea?

[Romansh]

but how can I change it? - I?ve read that in a window h.264 editor it is possible to change by writing 4.1 instead of 5.1

Again, this is not your issue. There is no such thing as a Blu-ray or HD-DVD with H.264 level 5.1 video - they don't exist.

[pontorosso]

thank you!

[Romansh]

If you post a MediaInfo report for the file(s) that doesn't/don't play on your Blu-ray player, we may be able to come up with ideas as to what is actually causing your issue.

[pontorosso]

Thanks, and here I send the Mediainfos of the mkv-file (created by makemkv) and the compressed one, created by handbrake. The last one was not able to be read on Sony BDP-Bluray-Player.

1) mkv-file, by makemkv

General
Unique ID : 106202188438698258793476877013363798770 (0x4FE5CC28219A7FE13D4BDBB2C31D32F2)
Complete name
Format : Matroska
Format version : Version 2
File size : 30.7 GiB
Duration : 2h 50mn
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 25.9 Mbps
Movie name : The Aviator
Encoded date : UTC 2012-04-22 20:13:45
Writing application : MakeMKV v1.7.4 darwin(x86-release)
Writing library : libmakemkv v1.7.4 (1.2.0/1.1.0) darwin(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 : 2h 50mn
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 22.3 Mbps
Maximum bit rate : 39.0 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
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.449
Stream size : 26.5 GiB (86%)
Language : English
Default : No
Forced : No
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

Audio #1
ID : 2
Format : DTS
Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems
Codec ID : A_DTS
Duration : 2h 50mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 1 510 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 : 1.79 GiB (6%)
Title : 3/2+1
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : No

Audio #2
ID : 3
Format : DTS
Format/Info : Digital Theater Systems
Codec ID : A_DTS
Duration : 2h 50mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 1 510 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 : 1.79 GiB (6%)
Title : 3/2+1
Language : German
Default : No
Forced : No

Text #1
ID : 4
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

Text #2
ID : 6
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

Text #3
ID : 8
Format : PGS
Codec ID : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info : The same subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Language : German
Default : No
Forced : No

Text #4
ID : 10
Format : PGS
Codec ID : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info : The same subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Language : German
Default : No
Forced : No

Text #5
ID : 12
Format : PGS
Codec ID : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info : The same subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Language : German
Default : No
Forced : No

Menu
00:00:00.000 : en:Chapter 00
00:02:19.514 : en:Chapter 01
00:10:35.926 : en:Chapter 02
00:17:34.053 : en:Chapter 03
00:21:38.380 : en:Chapter 04
00:26:43.602 : en:Chapter 05
00:30:21.861 : en:Chapter 06
00:32:40.333 : en:Chapter 07
00:37:11.812 : en:Chapter 08
00:42:07.525 : en:Chapter 09
00:47:28.762 : en:Chapter 10
00:52:42.033 : en:Chapter 11
00:54:13.917 : en:Chapter 12
00:57:57.682 : en:Chapter 13
01:03:28.638 : en:Chapter 14
01:08:11.921 : en:Chapter 15
01:09:19.113 : en:Chapter 16
01:12:37.811 : en:Chapter 17
01:15:58.220 : en:Chapter 18
01:21:13.618 : en:Chapter 19
01:29:43.378 : en:Chapter 20
01:32:45.726 : en:Chapter 21
01:35:43.779 : en:Chapter 22
01:41:16.487 : en:Chapter 23
01:47:44.207 : en:Chapter 24
01:52:08.680 : en:Chapter 25
02:03:19.392 : en:Chapter 26
02:17:20.607 : en:Chapter 27
02:21:54.714 : en:Chapter 28
02:29:49.981 : en:Chapter 29
02:39:32.396 : en:Chapter 30
02:43:35.806 : en:Chapter 31
------------------------------------------------
2) Mediainfo - compressed m4v

General
Complete name
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID : mp42
File size : 7.45 GiB
Duration : 2h 50mn
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 6 267 Kbps
Encoded date : UTC 2012-04-23 15:43:40
Tagged date : UTC 2012-04-23 21:58:05
Writing application : HandBrake 0.9.6 2012022800

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.0
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 4 frames
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 2h 50mn
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 5 460 Kbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 816 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 2.35:1
Frame rate mode : Variable
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Minimum frame rate : 19.048 fps
Maximum frame rate : 24.390 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.145
Stream size : 6.49 GiB (87%)
Writing library : x264 core 120
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=3 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=hex / subme=7 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=12 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=240 / keyint_min=24 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=50 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=20.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=3 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Encoded date : UTC 2012-04-23 15:43:40
Tagged date : UTC 2012-04-23 21:58:05
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

Audio #1
ID : 2
Format : AAC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec
Format profile : LC
Codec ID : 40
Duration : 2h 50mn
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 161 Kbps
Maximum bit rate : 277 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : Front: L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 196 MiB (3%)
Language : German
Encoded date : UTC 2012-04-23 15:43:40
Tagged date : UTC 2012-04-23 21:58:05

Audio #2
ID : 3
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension : CM (complete main)
Codec ID : ac-3
Duration : 2h 50mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 640 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 : 779 MiB (10%)
Language : English
Encoded date : UTC 2012-04-23 15:43:40
Tagged date : UTC 2012-04-23 21:58:05

Text
ID : 4
Format : Apple text
Codec ID : text
Duration : 2h 50mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 1 bps
Stream size : 768 Bytes (0%)
Encoded date : UTC 2012-04-23 15:43:40
Tagged date : UTC 2012-04-23 21:58:05

[pontorosso]

I saw, that in both Mediainfos (mkv and m4v) there is no Format profile Level High@5.1
So there must be an other reason, why Sony BDP-s185 cannot read my files (I have read somewhere in the internet, that high@5.1 should be altered into @4.1) ....

[will28uk]

Many thanks for this post.

I followed your advice of downloading a h.264 level editor and was able to very quickly ( within seconds) change the profile level from 5.1 to 4.1 , copy mkv file back to usb stick and hey presto sony bdp-s185 is happy to play the mkv file. Previously sony bdp-s185 was complaining about the file.

This problem has bugged me for ages but very difficult to find a solution till I luckily came across your post

**I've just tried this out on 2nd previously unplayable mkv file and its works! To prove principle I copied the original 5.1 profile file and a modded 4.1 profile file. Only the modded 4.1 profile file is playable.**

[Skyman1]

I saw, that in both Mediainfos (mkv and m4v) there is no Format profile Level High@5.1
So there must be an other reason, why Sony BDP-s185 cannot read my files (I have read somewhere in the internet, that high@5.1 should be altered into @4.1) ....

This can be a stupid solution.... but work on my SAMSUNG TV... I was not able to read MKV file on my SAMSUNG TV...
than i simply rename the file from .MKV to .AVI and my TV now is able to read this .MKV files (renamend .AVI).

Maybe it can be a solution... maybe not, just try!

Sometime the easier solution are the best...

[will28uk]

I would just like to add some further info to this post and a quote from an interesting and very relevant article I found on Philips official website which confirms the info here

I recently couldn't get an mkv to play on my sony bdp-s185 player even though it had profile 4.1. I was able to get it working by using the MKCLEAN Tool (www.matroska.org/downloads/mkclean.html)

I ran this command line tool with the --keep-cues switch which apparently "keeps the original Cues content and move it to the front". I can confirm after performing this step I was able to play the mkv file on my sony bluray player

Now to the article I mentioned from Philips official website...

Does the player support all kinds of MKV files?

The player supports MKV files containing files in the official blu-ray format. However, if the MKV file contains any file that is not using the official blu-ray requirements, there may be playability issues.

MKV is a file container format that can hold a number of files inside a single file. The files can be audio, video, picture or subtitle. We can imagine MKV as an envelope, containing video, audio and subtitle information inside one single place. Therefore, the different files for one complete movie are neatly contained in a single MKV file.

Most of the blu-ray players in the market apply the industrial standard of video compression H.264 . This standard allows the player to support video files of profile up to Level 4.1 . Therefore, if the MKV file contains video files of profile higher than Level 4.1, playability problem may result.

Checking the profile level of the video files inside the MKV file

The profile level of the video files inside a MKV file cannot be checked with a few clicks. There are some tools known as “File Information Tools” available in the internet that allows consumers to check this information. For more information, visit the MKV (Matroska) internet website.

Changing the profile to make the MKV files be supported by the player

Profiles define the sets of bit stream features the h.264 stream can use. Levels define restrictions on the video resolution, frame rate and VBV (Video Buffer Verifier) etc..
In short, Level 5.1 uses four to five times the bandwidth of Level 4.1 and hence allows very high definition video, 4096?2304@25 or similar.

If the MKV file contains video files of profile higher than Level 4.1, you can make use of tools known as “MKV Conversion Tools” available in the internet to change the profile.