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Author Topic: An MKV Won't Play - How to find out why  (Read 2364 times)

jroyale

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An MKV Won't Play - How to find out why
« on: November 06, 2009, 08:54:27 pm »

I've got an MKV that won't play.  The issue seems to be in the engine.  I changed the filters used but nothing and when I changed playback method to windows engine it played fine.  It's the only file that's doing it and frankly not a grave concern but wondering if there is any kind of report that can be generated I can post so you can tell me why.  I don't want to use the windows engine because frankly it's windows and therefore I'm fairly confident it doesn't work as well as other methods.

The file plays fine in a few other programs most notably classic media player which is using the exact same filters as j river.

Thanks.
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tjobbins

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Re: An MKV Won't Play - How to find out why
« Reply #1 on: November 06, 2009, 10:52:10 pm »

You should post the filter graph or a screen shot of the filters in use for the file.

Also list what codecs you have installed.

The recommend codecs to use are the CCCP codec pack.  It is a "swiss army knife" of codec packs; it does just about everything.  MKV/x264, DivX, XVID, DVD, even Winwdows Media if you want (not default).  For MKV, it uses Haali Media Splitter to read the MKV then ffdshow to decode the x264 inside. 

It's recommended to uninstal all other codecs and just run with CCCP.

Personally I dont use ffdshow for x264, I paid a bit and got CoreAvc Professional.  I still use the Haali Media Splitter that comes with CCCP, and I use ffdshow for all other codecs as normal, but I deselect x264 in the ffdshow codec list and let CoreAVC handle it.  CoreAVC is preferable on older systems, as it uses about 50% less  CPU than ffdshow.  In my case I use about 30% CPU for a 1080P x264 file with CoreAVC, and about 60% in ffdshow.  My HTPC uses slow, silent fans on everything so it runs a bit hot, so I prefer to minimise CPU activity where possible.
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jroyale

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Re: An MKV Won't Play - How to find out why
« Reply #2 on: November 06, 2009, 11:15:13 pm »

Roger that.

I installed ffdshow and coreavc pro.  I'm running ffdshow audio and coreavc video as the filters so there shouldn't be much of a problem (along with haali).  I can't give you a screen shot of what is in use because nothing is in use, it won't play.

Classic media player is using the same setup and runs fine.  I also changed the video filter to ffdshow to see if that helped and no joy.  So I went back and changed the method to windows instead of j river and bingo it works.  So it is a weird one for sure.  Not a major issue though.

I think there are issues with the file because in a few places I lost audio and video sync and in the middle of the movie the audio chopped in and out and for about 2 mintues.  I'm wondering if the rendering was corrupt in a few places and that is the cause.  Only thing I can think of really.

Thanks for the input.....i was wondering if there was a program that gave a report of the file and then may give some insight into the matter.


Cheers!
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tjobbins

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Re: An MKV Won't Play - How to find out why
« Reply #3 on: November 06, 2009, 11:34:48 pm »

Try reinstalling CCCP (latest if you dont have it already) followed by latest CoreAVC Pro.

I had an issue where sound was broken recently - this was triggered by my ugrading to the latest CCCP, I think some registration issue.  In that case the file also worked with sound in Media Home Classic like in your case, but didnt at al in MC.  So it seems that Media Home Classic perhaps has its own ways of rendering or finding filters when overall system config is broken.

Might be different to what you have but it's worth making sure everytihng is at the latest and properly installed.

To your last point - there is a pgoram called something graph (maybe 'direct3d graph' or directx or something along those lines) that prints out the filter graph for a file. I can't remmeber the proper name - someone will chip in, or I'm sure you can find it on Google.  It also lets you try to change the graph.
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Daydream

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Re: An MKV Won't Play - How to find out why
« Reply #4 on: November 07, 2009, 12:57:56 am »

Unless you configured Media Player Classic (or even better MPC-HC) to use external filters, it will use its own, for everything. So the assumption that whatever MPC uses is also used in general by the system is on very shaky ground.

The program referred to is called GraphEdit and it was/is/whatever part of the DirectX SDK. However there is a better, more actively developed solution - GraphStudio, by Monogram (also free). You can use it to see what DirectShow filters are used by default on your system, which would be the right point to start troubleshooting.

Also to some lesser extent (since you say it's playing fine in various players) would be interesting to see the specs of that mkv file, via MediaInfo or something like that.
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leezer3

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Re: An MKV Won't Play - How to find out why
« Reply #5 on: November 07, 2009, 04:30:47 am »

Not over 6 gigs is it?
Several of us have been seeing issues with files of this approximate size-
This see to be due to the chapter support added early on the MC14 development cycle.
If this is the case, selecting an alternate MKV splitter will resolve the problem as far as it goes :-)

MC13 should also work in that regard.
Further than that we're waiting for a proper fix from the dev team.

-Leezer-
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jroyale

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Re: An MKV Won't Play - How to find out why
« Reply #6 on: November 07, 2009, 07:58:09 am »

Thanks for the support guys.

I'm on the road and unable to do the requested for file info.  I can tell you that I have configured mpc to use coreavc pro and ffdshow for the audio.  So it is an apples to apples.  The fils is about 8.6 gigs so that may be the issue.

I'm going to load the latest cccp.  I've been hesitant to use it but I'll give it a shot.  When I get home I'll peform the requested and post the results.

Cheers!
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jroyale

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Re: An MKV Won't Play - How to find out why
« Reply #7 on: December 18, 2009, 10:59:33 pm »

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner I could give you lots of excuses...

At any rate I now have another movie that won't play similar to the other one.  Odd part is this other file played before but now it won't.  Both are over 8 gig but I can play another file that I have that's 8 gig.  I've played around with a ton of filters and nothing seems to work except external programs.  Now you may ask yourself why don't you just use that external program in jriver settings...the anwer is 1) i find j river plays other media the best and 2) i'm now having issues with media player classic (it appears to skip a few frames every 30 seconds.

I seemed to have missed the part about another splitter.  Can anyone recommend another splitter other than haali?  I assume that is what you meant.

This is an odd one.  I've got the mediainfo information on the 1 movie that started this off.  Thanks for your help.

General
Complete name                    : \\Den\Den Movies Drive\Top Gun (HD)\Top.Gun.1986.Bluray.1080p.DTS-ES6.1.2Audio.x264-CHD.mkv
Format                           : Matroska
File size                        : 8.71 GiB
Duration                         : 1h 49mn
Overall bit rate                 : 11.4 Mbps
Encoded date                     : UTC 2009-05-14 10:34:53
Writing application              : mkvmerge v2.5.2 ('Stranger in your Soul') built on Feb 28 2009 18:58:17
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
Muxing mode                      : Container profile=Unknown@4.1
Codec ID                         : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration                         : 1h 49mn
Bit rate                         : 9 453 Kbps
Nominal bit rate                 : 9 676 Kbps
Width                            : 1 920 pixels
Height                           : 800 pixels
Display aspect ratio             : 2.40:1
Frame rate                       : 23.976 fps
Resolution                       : 8 bits
Colorimetry                      : 4:2:0
Scan type                        : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)               : 0.257
Stream size                      : 7.23 GiB (83%)
Title                            : 壮志凌云
Writing library                  : x264 core 67 r1136M 3f9ba82
Encoding settings                : cabac=1 / ref=4 / deblock=1:-3:-3 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=umh / subme=9 / psy_rd=1.4:0.6 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=28 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=2 / deadzone=21,11 / chroma_qp_offset=-4 / threads=6 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=1 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / wpredb=1 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / rc=2pass / bitrate=9676 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / pb_ratio=1.30 / aq=1:1.00
Language                         : English

Audio #1
ID                               : 2
Format                           : DTS
Format/Info                      : Digital Theater Systems
Format profile                   : ES
Codec ID                         : A_DTS
Duration                         : 1h 49mn
Bit rate mode                    : Constant
Bit rate                         : 1 510 Kbps
Channel(s)                       : 7 channels
Channel positions                : Front: L C R, Rear: L C R, LFE
Sampling rate                    : 48.0 KHz
Resolution                       : 24 bits
Video delay                      : 6ms
Stream size                      : 1.16 GiB (13%)
Title                            : DTS-HDMA core 6.1ch 1536k
Language                         : English

Audio #2
ID                               : 3
Format                           : AC-3
Format/Info                      : Audio Coding 3
Codec ID                         : A_AC3
Duration                         : 1h 49mn
Bit rate mode                    : Constant
Bit rate                         : 192 Kbps
Channel(s)                       : 2 channels
Channel positions                : L R
Sampling rate                    : 48.0 KHz
Stream size                      : 151 MiB (2%)
Title                            : DD2.0 192K 国语
Language                         : Chinese

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jroyale

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Re: An MKV Won't Play - How to find out why
« Reply #8 on: December 19, 2009, 07:53:37 am »

It seems the problem has been solved.  Having the latest version of haali seems to have done it.  Although in my travels it seems there are some issues with it but I can't seem to find another splitter. 

If anybody has any suggestions let me know.

Thanks.
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glynor

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Re: An MKV Won't Play - How to find out why
« Reply #9 on: December 19, 2009, 08:54:46 am »

Haali's is generally the best and most reliable MKV and MP4 directshow splitter.
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