File reproduction issues.

[Alph4dan]

Hello guys,

I am having a hard time trying to play files on my server.
A few weeks ago I had no problem playing avi, mkv or mpg files directly to my samsung tv, but now i am experiencng 2 types of bugs.
1- Sometimes all my files aren't even playable (there is a crossed play icon on the thumbnail and the file size is 0.00b)
2- Now i am able to play a mpg file but i think it's doing real time rendering (i can't fast forward the file and there's some quality loss, like streaming a YT video with slow internet)

I have attached the log file.
Can anyone help me ? I have no idea what i am doing wrong.

[mik_s]

There is not a conf file for that series TV so UMS is falling back on an old one to give some compatibility but is causing videos that the TV supports to be transcoded.

I altered a conf from a 2021 TV that should have similar support for formats so will work better but this will not be 100% right.

Just copy to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Universal Media Server\renderers" and restart UMS

[Alph4dan]

Hello,

Thanks for the reply. I am currently forcing this config file as default renderer and the file is still showing as 0.00b and is being transcoded. Do you need a new log file ? I don't know why this is happening, the file is a mkv file and i had no problem playing those in the past.
As you can see this is terrible, i am testing it on the webplayer and i the quality loss due to transcoding is huge even on the webplayer itself.

[mik_s]

Don't force UMS to use this, let it choose itself and if it picks the wrong one then do logs so I can see why.

It could also be there is a format that your TV can't play and UMS is still transcoding, something like DTS as many TVs removed support for this to save on licencing fees.
I will need to see what the decision making process is in the logs to confirm.

To confirm the video will play without transcoding then try playing from the #--TRANSCODE--# folder and choose "No transcoding"
(if you do not see it, enable "show the #--Transcode--# folder" in the GUI on the navigation tab, in the web GUI it is in the "virtual folders/files" section)
If this plays without problem then the conf can be tweaked.

[Alph4dan]

Hello,

I think you are right. I tried playing the "no transcoding" file and the loading icon wouldn't go away. I am guessing this has to do with some unsupported format inside the mkv file. So, basically we don't need to do any more tweaking because apparently the transcoding is being forced due to unsupported format, right ?
Also, one question, why are the transcoded files starting some minutes into the movie and not from the beginning? It will always it up where i left it off, and i can't move the slider...
Here is the log.
Thanks again!

[mik_s]

I think it is the subtitle format that is not supported as that video uses PGS but this is not listed as supported in the manual

Some TVs will just ignore this and not display the subtitles but others will refuse to play at all.
I think this is what is happening here if it refuses to play when using "no transcoding" as UMS just serves the file unaltered.

Unfortunately transcoding has its drawbacks so is best avoided whenever possible. Some devices don't play well with them as there is no way to know how big the video filesize will be so things like seeking will not work. Samsungs are known for this. Also depending on your network bandwidth or the power of your computer it could reduce quality to keep up.

That conf is set up to use HLS transcoding which is similar to how Youtube works so this should improve this as it splits the video into tiny parts and the TV can choose to start at any point. That is as much as I know about this so don't know how to tune it for your TV.

Your TV is probably remembering the last watched position so is requesting that when you press play on it. This may be an option on your TV you can change.
If you rename the file on your computer or move it to another folder it will think it is a new video and start from the start.

You could experiment with the settings in that conf to see what gets you the best picture but possibly as a trade off of the ability to seek.
Look at DefaultRenderer.conf for documentation on the available settings for this. Try changing

Code: Select all

TranscodeVideo = HLS-MPEGTS-H264-AAC

To something else.

[Alph4dan]

Okay!
I will try your tips later today.

Thanks a lot for your help.

[Alph4dan]

I think it is the subtitle format that is not supported as that video uses PGS but this is not listed as supported in the manual

Some TVs will just ignore this and not display the subtitles but others will refuse to play at all.
I think this is what is happening here if it refuses to play when using "no transcoding" as UMS just serves the file unaltered.

Unfortunately transcoding has its drawbacks so is best avoided whenever possible. Some devices don't play well with them as there is no way to know how big the video filesize will be so things like seeking will not work. Samsungs are known for this. Also depending on your network bandwidth or the power of your computer it could reduce quality to keep up.

That conf is set up to use HLS transcoding which is similar to how Youtube works so this should improve this as it splits the video into tiny parts and the TV can choose to start at any point. That is as much as I know about this so don't know how to tune it for your TV.

Your TV is probably remembering the last watched position so is requesting that when you press play on it. This may be an option on your TV you can change.
If you rename the file on your computer or move it to another folder it will think it is a new video and start from the start.

You could experiment with the settings in that conf to see what gets you the best picture but possibly as a trade off of the ability to seek.
Look at DefaultRenderer.conf for documentation on the available settings for this. Try changing

Code: Select all

TranscodeVideo = HLS-MPEGTS-H264-AAC

To something else.

Hello,
I am sorry to bother you again. I don't know whats wrong but when playing transcoded files, these files are only like 3-4 minutes in length and they keep playing over and over. Basically, the movie is unwatchable.

[mik_s]

This is odd. Maybe something is going wrong with the HLS playlist. Try creating new logs so I can see what is happening.