WDTV not playing video files Options

[outsiderr]

Hi there, I have a WDTV 1st gen NTSC. Initially I was using 1.02.10 FW but all of a sudden it was unable to play .mkv files which used to play before. I tried the system reset and test an .avi file and it worked, however, when I tried to play an .mkv file it went back to a blank black screen (it also wouldn't play the .avi file after that happened). I updated to 1.03 (Official) but same thing happened as above. Any thoughts?

Thanks

[WDUser]

Are you sure the very same MKVs used to play fine before? If they're new, the problem could very well be with header removal compression. If so, the fix is here.

[Dexa]

Hey guys

First, my WDTV HD is a G1 (WDAVP00BE)

Now... Today when i swicthed the unit on, and wanted to continue my movie, it just goes black. I can select what file i want to play, but when i press Play, the screen just goes black. If i press Back, it goes back to the Folder screen and in the top middle i can see that it have chosen the movie, but just stands at 0:00:00/0:00:00 in the time-line.

Now, if i reboot the unit, it will play the first file i select ex. a mp3 file or a mkv. But if i pause or stop it, i can't resume (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

Very wierd problem. Anyone know a solution?

Btw. Have tryed re-install firmware (1.03 Official) but no luck there. Tryed different harddrives, usb drives but no luck there either :/

[Rev Drew]

mine did that when I used custom firmware and tried to use an ntp server, as soon as I disabled that it was fine..
if you are using official firmware, try a system reset from within the menu, then if that doesn't help try a hard reset.

also hook your USB device up to your computer and delete all .wd_tv folders and run a scandisk on them, then try again.

[josh098]

I am having this same problem today. It first happened with a Futurama episode (mkv). Nothing happened, screen just went black. Have to push home button to get out. Afterwards, it happened to all movies and show, mkv's and avi's. Had to reboot. Replaced that version with an M4V, and it played fine. Now it's happening with The Simpsons Season 13 mkv's. Seems like it's similar to the header issues mentioned, only affecting the video instead of audio. I don't know how to fix this problem tho.

[josh098]

Here are the specs on one of the files causing this for me. I'm on the 1st gen, by the way.

CODE

* * * MediaInfo Mac 0.7.33.4 file analysis report.
* * * MediaInfo Mac is ©2010 by Diego Massanti - http://mediainfo.massanti.com
* * * MediaInfoLib by Jerome Martinez - http://mediainfo.sourceforge.net
Created on: 15-Sep-10 12:39:50 AM ADT
Report for file: 01 TREEHOUSE OF HORROR XII.mkv

General / Container Stream #1
  Total Video Streams for this File.................1
  Total Audio Streams for this File.................1
  Total Subtitle Streams for this File..............1
  Video Codecs Used.................................AVC
  Audio Codecs Used.................................DTS
  SubTitle Codecs Used..............................UTF-8
  File Format.......................................Matroska
  Play Time.........................................22mn 36s
  Total File Size...................................639 MiB
  Total Stream BitRate..............................3 953 Kbps
  Encoded with......................................mkvmerge v4.2.0 ('No Talking') built on Jul 28 2010 18:38:23
  Encoding Library..................................libebml v1.0.0 + libmatroska v1.0.0

Video Stream #1
  Codec (Human Name)................................AVC
  Codec (FourCC)....................................V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
  Codec Profile.....................................High@L4.1
  Frame Width.......................................960 pixels
  Frame Height......................................720 pixels
  Frame Rate........................................23.976 fps
  Total Frames......................................32517
  Display Aspect Ratio..............................4:3
  Scan Type.........................................Progressive
  Color Space.......................................YUV
  Codec Settings (Summary)..........................CABAC / 5 Ref Frames
  QF (like Gordian Knot)............................0.148
  Codec Settings (CABAC)............................Yes
  Codec Settings (Reference Frames).................5
  Video Stream Length...............................22mn 36s 231ms
  Video Stream BitRate..............................2 445 Kbps
  Bit Depth.........................................8 bits
  Video Stream Size.................................382 MiB (60%)
  Video Encoder.....................................x264 - core 104 r1688 0b36c6d
  Video Encoder (Settings)..........................cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=umh / subme=7 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=0 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=12 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=40 / rc=2pass / mbtree=1 / bitrate=2445 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / cplxblur=20.0 / qblur=0.5 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00

Audio Stream #1
  Codec.............................................DTS
  Codec (FourCC)....................................A_DTS
  Audio Stream Length...............................22mn 36s 224ms
  Audio Stream BitRate..............................1 510 Kbps
  Audio Stream BitRate Mode.........................CBR
  Number of Audio Channels..........................6
  Audio Channel's Positions.........................Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
  Sampling Rate.....................................48.0 KHz
  Bit Depth.........................................24 bits
  Audio Stream Size.................................244 MiB (38%)

Subtitle Stream #1
  Format............................................UTF-8
  Codec ID..........................................S_TEXT/UTF8
  Codec Info........................................UTF-8 Plain Text

[Dexa]

I tryed the Hard Reset. But didnt work as intended. Plays the first file i select perferct. But if i pause, stop or select another file, the screen just go either black or blue with the animated icon.

[NocturnalMofo]

I'm having the same exact problem. Mine started acting like this about two days ago. Tried everything that I can think of and it craps out everytime. Does WD have a solution for this yet?

[Rev Drew]

a better question would be does WD even give a damn about the Gen1 player at this point?

a solution, highly unlikely from them anytime soon!

[bedchain]

I have had my WD HD TV player for just over a year now and after watching a couple of movies it decided it didnt want to play any of them anymore.
I can access the menus, browse all the fies but when I play they just come up as a blank screen and nothing happens or appears.
I'm not great at computers so any help be appreciated! I spent nearly 4hrs yesterday browsing the web for help!

[WDUser]

If neither a soft nor hard reset works, nor a FW reflash, the other hardware (HDD etc.) is ok and it's not a specific file (or files) that's causing the player to choke, could be a hardware issue with the player after all. Strange how so many people are facing similar problems at the same time though. Maybe these units have a date set for going kaput! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) Anyone tried WD Support yet? (Not that I hope for any great ideas from them...)

[bedchain]

Tried WD Support and they're just as stumped as I am (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

Not keen on purchasing another one, especially since I just recently moved home and am a little tight on the cash.

[josh098]

I've come across two new movies, doing this. It's all newer .mkv's for me. Once you select them, the screen just goes black, then you can't pick any other movie until the unit is reset. sucks. can't find an answer anywhere. All mkv's were made with recent builds of mkvmerge.

[WDUser]

Does remuxing those MKVs with an older version of MKVMerge 'fix' them?

[josh098]

Does remuxing those MKVs with an older version of MKVMerge 'fix' them?

i have v4.0.0 (the stars are mine), but have no idea how to use it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[WDUser]

Look in the Tutorials section. There's a pinned topic there that should help. Only the Live and Live Plus players will get new FW that supports header compression, so owners of older models will unfortunately always need to 'fix' their MKVs henceforth. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[PangaDayWalker]

Look in the Tutorials section. There's a pinned topic there that should help. Only the Live and Live Plus players will get new FW that supports header compression, so owners of older models will unfortunately always need to 'fix' their MKVs henceforth. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

That is a pity to hear. I usually recreate anyways since I force the mkv to be 16x9 always and also input the SRT inside the MKV for better compatibility.

But we should get a new release as well. And also the Western Digital should be more proactive and fix the Generation 1 bitmap tables for yellow subtitles!!

I won't buy even a hard disk from them anymore since I am seeing what kind of support they provide to us...

I am really disappointed with this!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/angry.gif)

[josh098]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Very happy to announce that I fixed one (so far) of my problem files. The same thing was happening that I mentioned before. I used MKVtools 2.4. Under the EDIT tab, there is a button "TURN OFF MKV'S HEADER REMOVAL COMPRESSION". Took a few minutes and worked perfectly. The funny thing is, I accidentally deleted MKVtools from my computer, and had to download it again, for something else i'm working on. The version I erased didn't have that option. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Ps thanks for the link to the tutorial, will check that out a little later

[PangaDayWalker]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) Very happy to announce that I fixed one (so far) of my problem files. The same thing was happening that I mentioned before. I used MKVtools 2.4. Under the EDIT tab, there is a button "TURN OFF MKV'S HEADER REMOVAL COMPRESSION". Took a few minutes and worked perfectly. The funny thing is, I accidentally deleted MKVtools from my computer, and had to download it again, for something else i'm working on. The version I erased didn't have that option. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Ps thanks for the link to the tutorial, will check that out a little later

If you were using the 4.1 or below the option doesn't exists and all MKV container are created without header compression.

So only new ones will have that option and cause problems.

Cheers.

[BusterB]

Hey Guys,

This .avi file (attatched) will not play, any ideas ?

Thanks

BB

Attached File(s)

 Movie_file.jpg ( 111.21K ) Number of downloads: 21