Sony KDL - wrong aspect ratio and no sound when playing wmv files

[csaba_b]

Hi Dennis,

I am trying Mezzmo out with my Sony KDL 40EX720. When playing 1080p WMV files with transcoding enabled, it works fine - but kills the 2 core i5 CPU in my laptop. When I disable transcoding the aspect ratio turns to 1:1 or similar and no sound played at all. I can only get the correct aspect ratio by changing to Wide Zoom - not needed when transcoding was enabled.

Thanks for your reply,
Csaba

[Paul]

Hi,

Can you please right-click on one such file in Mezzmo and post the output of the "Get FFmpeg Information" command?

[csaba_b]

Hi Dennis,

thanks for the quick reply. Here you are the info:

ffmpeg version N-36036-ga40f43d, Copyright (c) 2000-2011 the FFmpeg developers
built on Dec 22 2011 13:44:49 with gcc 4.6.2
configuration: --enable-memalign-hack --arch=x86 --target-os=mingw32 --cross-prefix=i686-w64-mingw32- --enable-static --disable-shared --enable-zlib --disable-postproc --prefix=/media/ffmpeg --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libx264 --enable-gpl --extra-libs='-lx264 -lpthread' --enable-runtime-cpudetect --extra-cflags=-I/home/dennis/cc/include --extra-ldflags=-L/home/dennis/cc/lib --pkg-config=pkg-config --disable-w32threads
libavutil 51. 32. 0 / 51. 32. 0
libavcodec 53. 46. 1 / 53. 46. 1
libavformat 53. 27. 0 / 53. 27. 0
libavdevice 53. 4. 0 / 53. 4. 0
libavfilter 2. 53. 0 / 2. 53. 0
libswscale 2. 1. 0 / 2. 1. 0

Seems stream 1 codec frame rate differs from container frame rate: 1000.00 (1000/1) -> 23.98 (24000/1001)
Input #0, asf, from 'E:\Movie DVDs\HD Trailers\To_The_Limit_1080.wmv':
Metadata:
WMFSDKVersion : 9.00.00.2980
WMFSDKNeeded : 0.0.0.0000
IsVBR : 0
Duration: 00:02:10.34, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 8394 kb/s
Stream #0:0(eng): Audio: wmapro (b[1][0][0] / 0x0162), 48000 Hz, 5.1, flt, 384 kb/s
Stream #0:1(eng): Video: wmv3 (Main) (WMV3 / 0x33564D57), yuv420p, 1440x1080, 8000 kb/s, SAR 4:3 DAR 16:9, 23.98 tbr, 1k tbn, 1k tbc
At least one output file must be specified


---> DB Level Info: -99, 1
---> Frame rate: 23,98
---> Aspect ratio: 16:9

Cheers,
Csaba

[Paul]

With transcoding disabled, I suspect the TV cannot handle the WMAPro audio and thus you get no sound and the file does need to be transcoded. Unfortunately we cannot remux it, because currently FFmpeg does not support encoding WMV3 (Windows Media Video 9) files, thus a full transcode is required and this is what's causing the high CPU load. I'd recommend pre-transcoding such files in advance, so that they are ready for you before you try to watch them.

[csaba_b]

Hi Dennis,

you seem to be right, because when i try to play it from USB, the sound also doesn't work. But in that case the aspect ratio is fine. Could you tell me any particular reason for that?

Cheers,
Csaba

[Paul]

Do you get the same wide/zoom settings when playing a file via DLNA and from a USB? Sometimes there's less control available via DLNA.

If I understand your first post correctly, then you get correct aspect ratio after transcoding, right?

[csaba_b]

Hi Dennis,

yes, I get the correct aspect ratio when transcoding. I use "Full" setting from USB, and it works fine, from DLNA I use "Wide Zoom" setting to get the almost correct aspect ratio (it enlarges a bit too much croping the picture). With "Full" the aspect ratio is 2:3 or similar, with "Normal" it is 1:1.

Kind regards,
Csaba

[Paul]

Hi Csaba,

Ok, so it works unless you turn transcoding off, right? Do any files display with incorrect aspect ratio with transcoding turned on? I'm just trying to understand if there's an issue here or if it all works as expected (with transcoding enabled) :)

[csaba_b]

Hi Dennis,

my question is: why doesn't play the WMV with correct aspect ratio with transcoding disabled, although it plays fine from USB and with transcoding enabled?

Thanks,
Csaba

[Paul]

When transcoding is enabled, Mezzmo converts that WMV file to another format and this fixes the aspect ratio. Playing files from USB can use a different player inside the TV and this may support this format better than the one used when playing files via DLNA.