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View Full Version : [Solved] MKV Files Stopping



Frank Hagan
04-07-2010, 12:42 AM
I've had a problem with MKV files stopping after a few minutes when using Mezzmo or any other media streaming software on my MediaSmart WHS. Twonkey, MediaConnect, etc. all have the same problem. I stream to an ethernet-connected WDTV-Live for display on a Samsung UN55 tv. The interesting thing is that the same MKV files play fine if I use "network shares" instead of streaming software to play them (this would be fine, but the interface is a bit more confusing for the rest of the family).

I knew this wasn't entirely a Mezzmo issue because the behavior was the same no matter which streaming software I was using. But because its a common issue on the WDTV-Live forums, I thought I would post the solution here as well.

I downloaded MKVToolNix from http://www.bunkus.org/videotools/mkvtoolnix/index.html and installed it. I used MKVMerge (the program in MKVToolNix) and put the problematic MKV file as the source. It appended a "(1)" to the file name for the output file, and I let it remux the file. I renamed the original file and then renamed the new file to the movie's proper name. It now plays fine when streamed by Mezzmo.

I don't know why the original file would be fine when streaming from a share, but choke when streaming through streaming software like Twonkey, MediaConnect or Mezzmo. I suspect my original ripper (MakeMKV) had some kind of error in the output file that chokes DLNA-compliant software. In any case, this fix seems to have done the trick (fingers crossed - I'll update this if the fix doesn't work with the rest of the problematic files).

Paul
04-07-2010, 08:01 AM
Thank you for sharing that - if you wish, we can try to dig a bit deeper. If I can have those 2 files (one that chokes, one that doesn't), I could compare them and see if we can produce a better result. We have made some advances in MKV remuxing for the LG BD390 (these changes are not in 2.1.4, but will be in the next update) and some people already use them, successfully in my understanding.

If you're interested, please send a message to support and we can try a few things.

Frank Hagan
04-08-2010, 06:54 AM
If I still have the original file I'll contact support tonight. I think I deleted it to save space on the server. I have a couple of others that exhibit the same problem, so I'll confirm the fix and contact support.

It would be impressive if Mezzmo could remux to solve the problem; its pretty common when streaming to a WDTV-Live.

Paul
04-08-2010, 08:17 AM
Remuxing should be possible, we'll just need to update the device profile.

Frank Hagan
04-09-2010, 01:58 AM
I checked last night, and I had deleted the original copy of the movie I had done the remuxing on; I'm certain I have several others with the same problem, so as soon as I can verify it I'll contact support and provide both files (maybe tonight, but it depends on the TV usage by others!)

Paul
04-09-2010, 08:39 AM
No problem - let me know via support whenever you are ready and we'll get things going.

Frank Hagan
04-09-2010, 12:30 PM
Will do, Dennis. I found another movie that did the same thing, and I'm remuxing it right now. I'll confirm that the remuxed version plays correctly and contact you via email once I'm sure.