Mezzmo on Roku Shows Runtime as 0:00

[Jeff]

Using Mezzmo via Roku. Some video files can pause, but not fast forward or rewind. In addition, the video file can not resume at the pause spot. The runtime for the movie when paused is 0:00. The time 0:00 shows on both sides of the timebar (or whatever it is called). Usually, a video file when paused will show the current runtime on the left and how much time is left on the right. The timebar will be green up to the percent of time the video has been played.

The work around I have discovered is to open the video file via a computer and let it run for 10 seconds or so. Stop the video file. Then go back to Mezzmo on Roku and click play. At this point I can pause, fast forward or rewind the movie.

I have uninstalled the app on Roku and this didn't fix the problem. I have stopped the media server and this didn't fix the issue.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Peter]

It depends upon which device profile you are using for the Roku device and also the format of the original video. The Roku does not support a lot of formats so if the original video is not in mp4 or mkv format with h264 video it will most likely need to be transcoded. Pre-transcoding the file is recommended to allow pause, fast-forward and resume http://www.mezzmo.com/wiki/doku.php?id=pre-transcoding_files&s[]=pre&s[]=transcode

[ftanner]

It depends upon which device profile you are using for the Roku device and also the format of the original video. The Roku does not support a lot of formats so if the original video is not in mp4 or mkv format with h264 video it will most likely need to be transcoded. Pre-transcoding the file is recommended to allow pause, fast-forward and resume http://www.mezzmo.com/wiki/doku.php?id=pre-transcoding_files&s[]=pre&s[]=transcode

The latest version of Roku seems to support h.265, but yeah, support is way thin. That's why I am, slowly, getting away from my Roku devices.

[jbinkley60]

The latest version of Roku seems to support h.265, but yeah, support is way thin. That's why I am, slowly, getting away from my Roku devices.

I have found the Roku lack of codec support issues to be more on the audio side than the video codecs but to your point, they have made progress with HEVC / h.265 and even Dolby Vision. Most of my Mezzmo boxes are Kodi boxes but I do use Roku devices for limited situations. I have a brand new Roku 2023 model arriving today for our granddaughter's room to watch her cartoons and such. I will be curious if I will need to do any pretranscoding of content so that she gets audio. I have tried to standardize the audio / video codecs used in my library for maximum compatibility. I have a few HEVC 4K files in her cartoons. I am interested to see how they do with Roku over wireless. I'll let you know what I find.


Thanks,

Jeff

[jbinkley60]

I got my new Roku hooked up. I am able to play all forms of content including 4K HEVC UHD with Dolby Atmos over Wi-Fi. However, this works in pass-through mode to the connected device (i.e. TV, AVR etc..) but not if you want the Roku to transcode to the end device. For instance an older TV that can't handle DTS, True-HD etc. In that mode the Roku is limited to AAC, AC3 and similar sound protocols. Obviously transcoding is an option and works good in Mezzmo but I prefer not to transcode. The good news is that TVs with advanced codec support are cheap. I picked up a 40" Insignia 1080P TV for $129 which has full codec support.


Thanks,

Jeff

[Jeff]

Thank you. Tried all the other Roku codecs. None of them worked without requiring transcoding. I am current using Roku Streaming Services (Mkv).

Any ideas of other codecs to try?

[jbinkley60]

Thank you. Tried all the other Roku codecs. None of them worked without requiring transcoding. I am current using Roku Streaming Services (Mkv).

Any ideas of other codecs to try?

I realized that after I posted above that I had transcoding enabled so my initial testing with a new Roku needs to be redone. I am traveling right now and plan to retest when I get home this weekend. I can confirm that any issues I was having were all audio related (i.e. no sound). Do you have a new Roku unit with passthrough capability and what type of device is the Roku connected to ?


Thanks,

Jeff

[ftanner]

I have found the Roku lack of codec support issues to be more on the audio side than the video codecs but to your point, they have made progress with HEVC / h.265 and even Dolby Vision. Most of my Mezzmo boxes are Kodi boxes but I do use Roku devices for limited situations. I have a brand new Roku 2023 model arriving today for our granddaughter's room to watch her cartoons and such. I will be curious if I will need to do any pretranscoding of content so that she gets audio. I have tried to standardize the audio / video codecs used in my library for maximum compatibility. I have a few HEVC 4K files in her cartoons. I am interested to see how they do with Roku over wireless. I'll let you know what I find.


Thanks,

Jeff

Yeah. I've standardized on h.264 and h.265 MP4 myself, although it means using Handbrake alot.

[Jeff]

jbrinkley60, I have a TCL Roku tv. TCL model 65S423 Software Version 12.0.0 build 4182-30.

I'm using Handbrake on the files with h.264. Some files have the timestamp just fine. Others do not. Some older files and some newer files. It almost seems random, but sometimes it is all the files from the same disc.

[jbinkley60]

I realized that after I posted above that I had transcoding enabled so my initial testing with a new Roku needs to be redone. I am traveling right now and plan to retest when I get home this weekend. I can confirm that any issues I was having were all audio related (i.e. no sound). Do you have a new Roku unit with passthrough capability and what type of device is the Roku connected to ?


Thanks,

Jeff

I redid my testing and the results are similar from what I have seen in the past with regard to audio but video support is much better. Basically the Roku seems to only support AAC and AC-3 audio via streaming. They claim to have DTS support and similar but I suspect that may only be local playback and DTS-MA and other uncompressed bitstream audio formats don't work, even in pass-through mode. I found this link (https://support.roku.com/article/208754908) on Roku's support site, which somewhat confirms my testing. So it looks like I will keep my Roku units relegated to bedroom satellite playback where I only have part of my Mezzmo library available (i.e. grandchildren's bedroom etc..)

I do notice that the FireTV I bought has Mezzmo available from the Amazon appstore. I may try that since the FireTV claims to support more protocols. However, from a navigation perspective it would leave them with 2 remote controls. While I don't really like the Roku remote control, it is easy for folks to use. For my main viewing units I'll stick with Kodi on Vero 4Ks, Intel NUCs, Raspberry Pis, Windows PCs etc.. With Kodi no transcoding is required and there's a lot of functionality built into the Mezzmo Kodi addon (https://github.com/Conceiva/MezzmoKodiPlugin/wiki).


Thanks,

Jeff

[Jeff]

Thanks Jeff. When we replace our current tv, I will definitely look into something that supports Kodi.

[jbinkley60]

Thanks Jeff. When we replace our current tv, I will definitely look into something that supports Kodi.

Here's a discussion (https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=373812&pid=3161298#pid3161298)I am having on the Kodi forums regarding Kodi on FireTVs. I've not done this and suggest using at your own risk. I did notice that the Mezzmo app is available on the FireTV appstore. I will buy a copy to see how the FireTV native codecs work. I have a cheap Insignia F20 FireTV for my granddaughter's room. They claim to support all codecs. I just don't like the FireTV navigation and menus (the Mezzmo app is fine). I prefer the old school simple input menus mapped to an input button on the remote control. I'll let you know one I test Mezzmo running natively on a FireTV.


Thanks,

Jeff