LG BD555 Bluray player & MKV problems

Daedroth

05-05-2011

I have bought and installed this Bluray player, and it supports USB features, and the ability to play MKV files. However, when I plugged my USB drive into the player, it couldn't play the MKV file. It simply said something along the lines of 'There might be a problem playing this file', and didn't play it. However, it would play DivX films on the same drive. The player was advertised as supporting MKV, and it also says it can do MKV playback on the front of the box.

The hard drive is a Western Digital MyBook 500GB, formatted as NTFS.

I'm just wondering if anyone could help me figure out why it didn't work?

niall campbell

06-05-2011

did you get video or audio of any sort ?

are you saying it would play MKV from the hard drive , but not on USB ?

d34dp4c3

06-05-2011

Use MediaInfo (freeware) to get all the technical gubbins about the file and post the output here - delete any 'personal' info about the file.

MKV is a file container that could contain a variety of video and audio compression formats. Maybe it's been encoded with Header Stripping (activated by default in the later versions of mkvmerge); or it's using a higher profile than the player can deal with (usually High@L4.1); or it's been encoded with more Ref Frames than the player can handle; etc.

There are many reasons why mkvs aren't compatible with MKV capable players some of which need a player firmware update, or the file simply remuxing with mkvmerge with different setings, to cure while others might require reencoding, sometimes in a different container.

Daedroth

06-05-2011

Sorry, I should have been more clear.

I have a Western Digital MyBook 500GB external hard drive, which I connected to the BD555 via its USB port. I had a MKV file on this drive, but I got an error of something along the lines of: "'There might be a problem playing this file". The only option was 'Close', which took me back to the browsing menu.

If it turns out that the MKV isn't compatible for what ever reason, could I convert it into MP4 for example? I don't know much about conversions. What would be the best options? As far as I know, the file is a MKV using H.264. That's the limit of my knowledge.

niall campbell

06-05-2011

http://www.freemake.com/

convert it using that excellent free programme

blue buttons at top are file source and buttons at bottom are file type

usuall AVI / Divx are good . MP 4 is a poor file type

you could put the file on a USB stick first to try before you convert , rather than from the hard drive

Daedroth

06-05-2011

AVI and DivX cannot support H.264 or High Definition, which is why I was after MP4. It is practically the same as MKV, but with more compatibility.

Daedroth

06-05-2011

I've just tried different MKV file, so it must have just been that file then. I've only just found the time to test with other files you see.

pocatello

07-05-2011

Mkv is a container, not a format.
Just because a video is in a mkv container does not mean the stream is decodable by a simple processor like that on a bluray player. There are many many encode options a video encoder can use that can break compliance with a simple hardware player, computers don't have this problem since they support features in software. Hardware decoder can support a much more limited range of features sometimes, and so just because it says mkv doesn't mean much. Clearly you aren't encoding your own files, so if you are dealing with pirate stuff, you get what you get.

rottweiler

07-05-2011

Thats a bit strong to suggest the op is a pirate...

pocatello

07-05-2011

Not at all, mkv is heavily associated with piracy, let alone containing h264, or settings you didn't set yourself and which change from file to file.

niall campbell

07-05-2011

it could be a personal collection he has put on a Hard Drive to stream round his house

I am amazed how much it costs to legally download films , I would rather buy the disc

Daedroth

09-05-2011

I have various MKVs, some work, some do not. I would like to know how to get them all working. How should I convert them, so that the ones that don't work do?

d34dp4c3

09-05-2011

Have you bothered using MediaInfo on them yet?

Until you know exactly what the difference between those that work and those that don't, there's no point starting to suggest ways of resolving your problem. Just saying you know it's h.264 (or more probably x264) video in a Matroska container isn't sufficient.

Yes of course you could try reencoding/transcoding them or sticking them in a different container, but why go to all that bother when it might by as simple as just quickly remuxing them to overcome the recently all too common Header Stripping/Compression problem that many mkv capable players can't deal with (without a firmware update at least). Just knowing which version of mkvmerge was used to make the files (if applicable) will give you a clue as to the possible solution - the newer versions (since v4.3.0 IIRC) have header stripping activated by default.

Post the output from MediaInfo for at least one of the non-compatible files here if you don't understand what it is you're looking for.

flagpole

09-05-2011

i have a feeling i know what this issue is. i have an older BD 370 and it can't handle compressed headers recently introduced into the MKVtools suite. since 4.1

info here: http://www.matroska.org/news/compressed-headers.html

every mkv i generate, if i don't know if it has compressed headers or not i strip out using mkvwdclean. ironically my player also can't handle the output from the latest version of the cleaner either so i use 0.5.2

http://www.uploaddot.com/77lg5skosrj2/mkWDclean.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/457038964/mkWDclean.rar
http://www.multiupload.com/SON5H6G2KC

you drag the mkv on to the exe. It will create a new copy of the file with 'cleaned-' at the beginning.

chrisgtl

24-04-2012

Sorry to bring this old thread up but thought it was quite similar to my current problem.

I have a LG BD650/UK with a external HDD hooked up to playback some blu-ray's in another room.

http://www.lg.com/uk/tv-audio-video/...ayer-BD650.jsp

5 of my MKV's will not play on the LG BD650/UK - and everything else plays fine (also MKV's)

When I try to play on the LG it says can't play file - so I have extracted the media info from a file that plays and one that doesn't (Good.MKV = plays & Bad.MKV = doesn't play)

Does anything look a miss with the Bad.MKV and is there anything I can do to fix the file?

Thanks.

Code:

General
Unique ID                                : 210325284874212548397550408498830054015 (0x9E3B2D29DE292E9BA127453296B3127F)
Complete name                            : C:\Users\Chris\Documents\Films\Good.mkv
Format                                   : Matroska
Format version                           : Version 2
File size                                : 7.25 GiB
Duration                                 : 1h 36mn
Overall bit rate                         : 10.8 Mbps
Encoded date                             : UTC 2009-10-26 07:12:12
Writing application                      : mkvmerge v2.9.7 ('Tenderness') built on Jul  1 2009 18:43:35
Writing library                          : libebml v0.7.7 + libmatroska v0.8.1

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                                 : 9 088 Kbps
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)                       : 0.183
Stream size                              : 5.96 GiB (82%)
Writing library                          : x264 core 68 r1179M 96e2229
Encoding settings                        : cabac=1 / ref=4 / deblock=1:-1:-1 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=9 / psy_rd=1.0:0.1 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=48 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / chroma_qp_offset=-3 / threads=12 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / bframes=6 / b_pyramid=1 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / wpredb=1 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / rc=2pass / bitrate=9088 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / vbv_maxrate=50000 / vbv_bufsize=50000 / ip_ratio=1.40 / pb_ratio=1.30 / aq=1:0.90
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

Audio #1
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : DTS
Format/Info                              : Digital Theater Systems
Format profile                           : ES
Codec ID                                 : A_DTS
Duration                                 : 1h 36mn
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                              : 1.01 GiB (14%)
Title                                    : DTS-ES 5.1CH@1.5M
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

Audio #2
ID                                       : 3
Format                                   : AC-3
Format/Info                              : Audio Coding 3
Format profile                           : Dolby Digital
Mode extension                           : CM (complete main)
Format settings, Endianness              : Big
Codec ID                                 : A_AC3
Duration                                 : 1h 36mn
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 192 Kbps
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel positions                        : Front: L R
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth                                : 16 bits
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 132 MiB (2%)
Title                                    : Director's Comments@192kbps
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Code:

General
Unique ID                                : 187700828985220157106902135715608970402 (0x8D35DD5DD3018064A25968A22F98C4A2)
Complete name                            : C:\Users\Chris\Desktop\Bad.mkv
Format                                   : Matroska
Format version                           : Version 1
File size                                : 7.95 GiB
Duration                                 : 2h 10mn
Overall bit rate                         : 8 717 Kbps
Encoded date                             : UTC 2007-08-08 17:53:58
Writing application                      : mkvmerge v2.0.2 ('You're My Flame') built on Feb 21 2007 23:40:55
Writing library                          : libebml v0.7.7 + libmatroska v0.8.1

Video
ID                                       : 3
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L5.1
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames                : 8 frames
Codec ID                                 : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration                                 : 2h 10mn
Bit rate                                 : 8 329 Kbps
Width                                    : 1 920 pixels
Height                                   : 816 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 2.35:1
Frame rate                               : 25.000 fps
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.213
Stream size                              : 7.44 GiB (94%)
Writing library                          : x264 core 56 svn-667C
Encoding settings                        : cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:-4:-4 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=6 / brdo=1 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=2 / deadzone=4,6 / chroma_qp_offset=0 / threads=3 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=1 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / wpredb=1 / bime=1 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40(pre) / rc=2pass / bitrate=8329 / ratetol=1.0 / rceq='blurCplx^(1-qComp)' / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / pb_ratio=1.30 / zones=187687,195786,b=0.15 / aq=1:0.3:15.0
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

Audio
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AC-3
Format/Info                              : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension                           : CM (complete main)
Format settings, Endianness              : Big
Codec ID                                 : A_AC3
Duration                                 : 2h 10mn
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 384 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                              : 358 MiB (4%)
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

Text
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : UTF-8
Codec ID                                 : S_TEXT/UTF8
Codec ID/Info                            : UTF-8 Plain Text
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

ironjade

24-04-2012

I've had this problem too. It's just an iffy file. Sometimes it gives the warning and plays it perfectly anyway.

chrisgtl

24-04-2012

Originally Posted by ironjade:
“I've had this problem too. It's just an iffy file. Sometimes it gives the warning and plays it perfectly anyway.”

I can't get mine to play no matter what I try. But plays fine on my PC/Laptop.

ironjade

24-04-2012

Originally Posted by chrisgtl:
“I can't get mine to play no matter what I try. But plays fine on my PC/Laptop.”

I guess the PC is more sophisticated than the player and can correct or compensate for the error.
I tried everything with my dodgy .mkvs and the only thing that (sometimes) worked was burning them on to a dvd. Changing the format didn't work and some remained completely unplayable.

chrisgtl

24-04-2012

Did you try the mkv tools found around the net?

demuxing, re-stirring and whatever else is around these days?

I'm reading into it but in all honesty I'm not getting right far yet...

I've just tried the mkWDclean tool but won't find out if it's worked until I go home and copy it to my external HDD.

ironjade

24-04-2012

Originally Posted by chrisgtl:
“Did you try the mkv tools found around the net?

demuxing, re-stirring and whatever else is around these days?

I'm reading into it but in all honesty I'm not getting right far yet...

I've just tried the mkWDclean tool but won't find out if it's worked until I go home and copy it to my external HDD.”

TBH I can't be bothered,life's too short. If an .mkv doesn't play then to hell with it. It's quite rare so I can cope with the trauma.

flagpole

24-04-2012

Originally Posted by chrisgtl:
“Sorry to bring this old thread up but thought it was quite similar to my current problem.

I have a LG BD650/UK with a external HDD hooked up to playback some blu-ray's in another room.

http://www.lg.com/uk/tv-audio-video/...ayer-BD650.jsp

5 of my MKV's will not play on the LG BD650/UK - and everything else plays fine (also MKV's)”

the limit for a lot of players is 5 ref frames. unfortunately if that is the problem there is no way to fix without transcoding the whole thing. or buying the phantom menace. stick to scene releases, they are limited to 5 ref frames.

additionally the bad file is level High 5.1. the specs for Bluray are 4.1 but normally the player would warn you but play it ok anyway, provided all the other settings are ok. the levels are not a real thing they are just the minimum criteria for the other settings.

freemake is free and simple but the video is shit.

chrisgtl

25-04-2012

Just a quick update on this for anyone else with similar situation;

I used a utility called h264leveleditor to downgrade the L5.1 to L4.1 (which takes 1 second per MKV to do) and now the 5 MVK's that wouldn't even try to play now play fine. Unfortunately the quality has had an impact and everything looks ever so slightly 'fuzzy' round the edges - only subtle but enough for me to notice it isn't as clear as what it should be.

The files I have got need backing up again from fresh and using L4.1 not L5.1. I think this will sort my problem out once and for all.

flagpole

25-04-2012

Originally Posted by chrisgtl:
“Just a quick update on this for anyone else with similar situation;

I used a utility called h264leveleditor to downgrade the L5.1 to L4.1 (which takes 1 second per MKV to do) and now the 5 MVK's that wouldn't even try to play now play fine. Unfortunately the quality has had an impact and everything looks ever so slightly 'fuzzy' round the edges - only subtle but enough for me to notice it isn't as clear as what it should be.

The files I have got need backing up again from fresh and using L4.1 not L5.1. I think this will sort my problem out once and for all.”

like i say the levels are only a label. it's meta data in the file declaring that if you are a 4.1 or higher compliant player then you wont find anything in this file that you can't handle in this file.

so if you change the level it's just the declaration that you change. the file may still contain information that the player can't handle. and you can't change that unless you recode the file.

if they are your own rips then stick to H4.1 with 5 reference frames.