Unable to play certain video files on my TV

Communities Anime, Movies, Video, & TV
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1

I have a Sasmung TV (Samsung Crystal UHD 4K TV 55 Zoll (GU55AU8079UXZG), HDR, AirSlim, Dynamic Crystal Color [2021]) and I have a USB drive with video files attached. Aside from issues with DTS, I have not yet experienced a problem with video codecs and everything (h264, h265, av1) seems to work.

However, all of a sudden there are video files the TV is unable to play. Here is an ffprobe of a video files the TV is able to play:

ffprobe version 6.0 Copyright (c) 2007-2023 the FFmpeg developers
  built with Apple clang version 14.0.3 (clang-1403.0.22.14.1)
  configuration: --prefix=/Users/azulath/homebrew/Cellar/ffmpeg/6.0_1 --enable-shared --enable-pthreads --enable-version3 --cc=clang --host-cflags= --host-ldflags= --enable-ffplay--enable-gnutls --enable-gpl --enable-libaom --enable-libaribb24 --enable-libbluray --enable-libdav1d --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libopus --enable-librav1e --enable-librist --enable-librubberband --enable-libsnappy --enable-libsrt --enable-libsvtav1 --enable-libtesseract --enable-libtheora --enable-libvidstab --enable-libvmaf --enable-libvorbis --enable-libvpx --enable-libwebp --enable-libx264 --enable-libx265 --enable-libxml2 --enable-libxvid --enable-lzma --enable-libfontconfig --enable-libfreetype --enable-frei0r --enable-libass --enable-libopencore-amrnb --enable-libopencore-amrwb --enable-libopenjpeg --enable-libspeex --enable-libsoxr --enable-libzmq --enable-libzimg --disable-libjack --disable-indev=jack --enable-videotoolbox --enable-audiotoolbox
  libavutil      58.  2.100 / 58.  2.100
  libavcodec     60.  3.100 / 60.  3.100
  libavformat    60.  3.100 / 60.  3.100
  libavdevice    60.  1.100 / 60.  1.100
  libavfilter     9.  3.100 /  9.  3.100
  libswscale      7.  1.100 /  7.  1.100
  libswresample   4. 10.100 /  4. 10.100
  libpostproc    57.  1.100 / 57.  1.100
[matroska,webm @ 0x7f90e5f04940] Could not find codec parameters for stream 3 (Subtitle: hdmv_pgs_subtitle (pgssub)): unspecified size
Consider increasing the value for the 'analyzeduration' (0) and 'probesize' (5000000) options
Input #0, matroska,webm, from 'file01.mkv':
  Metadata:
    title           : file01
    encoder         : libebml v1.3.0 + libmatroska v1.4.0
    creation_time   : 2013-02-15T22:55:06.000000Z
  Duration: 00:21:50.02, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 3995 kb/s
  Chapters:
    Chapter #0:0: start 0.000000, end 472.847356
      Metadata:
        title           : Chapter 00
    Chapter #0:1: start 472.847356, end 875.875000
      Metadata:
        title           : Chapter 01
    Chapter #0:2: start 875.875000, end 1266.598667
      Metadata:
        title           : Chapter 02
    Chapter #0:3: start 1266.598667, end 1310.016000
      Metadata:
        title           : Chapter 03
  Stream #0:0(eng): Video: h264 (High), yuv420p(progressive), 1920x1080 [SAR 1:1 DAR 16:9], 23.98 fps, 23.98 tbr, 1k tbn (default)
  Stream #0:1(eng): Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, 5.1(side), fltp, 640 kb/s (default)
  Stream #0:2(eng): Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, stereo, fltp, 224 kb/s
    Metadata:
      title           : Commentary
  Stream #0:3(eng): Subtitle: hdmv_pgs_subtitle (default)
  Stream #0:4: Video: mjpeg (Baseline), yuvj420p(pc, bt470bg/unknown/unknown), 640x360 [SAR 96:96 DAR 16:9], 90k tbr, 90k tbn (attached pic)
    Metadata:
      filename        : cover.jpg
      mimetype        : image/jpeg

Here is the file the TV is unable to playback:

ffprobe version 6.0 Copyright (c) 2007-2023 the FFmpeg developers
  built with Apple clang version 14.0.3 (clang-1403.0.22.14.1)
  configuration: --prefix=/Users/azulath/homebrew/Cellar/ffmpeg/6.0_1 --enable-shared --enable-pthreads --enable-version3 --cc=clang --host-cflags= --host-ldflags= --enable-ffplay--enable-gnutls --enable-gpl --enable-libaom --enable-libaribb24 --enable-libbluray --enable-libdav1d --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libopus --enable-librav1e --enable-librist --enable-librubberband --enable-libsnappy --enable-libsrt --enable-libsvtav1 --enable-libtesseract --enable-libtheora --enable-libvidstab --enable-libvmaf --enable-libvorbis --enable-libvpx --enable-libwebp --enable-libx264 --enable-libx265 --enable-libxml2 --enable-libxvid --enable-lzma --enable-libfontconfig --enable-libfreetype --enable-frei0r --enable-libass --enable-libopencore-amrnb --enable-libopencore-amrwb --enable-libopenjpeg --enable-libspeex --enable-libsoxr --enable-libzmq --enable-libzimg --disable-libjack --disable-indev=jack --enable-videotoolbox --enable-audiotoolbox
  libavutil      58.  2.100 / 58.  2.100
  libavcodec     60.  3.100 / 60.  3.100
  libavformat    60.  3.100 / 60.  3.100
  libavdevice    60.  1.100 / 60.  1.100
  libavfilter     9.  3.100 /  9.  3.100
  libswscale      7.  1.100 /  7.  1.100
  libswresample   4. 10.100 /  4. 10.100
  libpostproc    57.  1.100 / 57.  1.100
[matroska,webm @ 0x7fa6ca004100] Could not find codec parameters for stream 3 (Subtitle: hdmv_pgs_subtitle (pgssub)): unspecified size
Consider increasing the value for the 'analyzeduration' (0) and 'probesize' (5000000) options
Input #0, matroska,webm, from 'file02.mkv':
  Metadata:
    title           : file02
    encoder         : libebml v1.3.0 + libmatroska v1.4.1
    creation_time   : 2014-01-26T01:12:45.000000Z
  Duration: 00:21:38.21, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 4861 kb/s
  Chapters:
    Chapter #0:0: start 0.000000, end 472.013208
      Metadata:
        title           : Chapter 01
    Chapter #0:1: start 472.013208, end 846.720875
      Metadata:
        title           : Chapter 02
    Chapter #0:2: start 846.720875, end 1266.556958
      Metadata:
        title           : Chapter 03
    Chapter #0:3: start 1266.556958, end 1298.171875
      Metadata:
        title           : Chapter 04
  Stream #0:0(eng): Video: h264 (High), yuv420p(progressive), 1920x1080 [SAR 1:1 DAR 16:9], 23.98 fps, 23.98 tbr, 1k tbn (default)
  Stream #0:1(eng): Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, 5.1(side), fltp, 640 kb/s (default)
  Stream #0:2(eng): Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, stereo, fltp, 224 kb/s
    Metadata:
      title           : Commentary
  Stream #0:3(eng): Subtitle: hdmv_pgs_subtitle

I cannot make out any difference in both video files and there is also no apparent reason why it won’t be played. I have tested the files on my notebook and it hat now issues playing them.

Any help / suggestions would be appreciated.

2

Hmm… what does mediainfo say about both files?

1 Like
3

File01:

General
Unique ID                                : 194856943080275000104815983347932741899 (0x929815081C485266AD7AB9424FCA410B)
Complete name                            : File01.mkv
Format                                   : Matroska
Format version                           : Version 4
File size                                : 624 MiB
Duration                                 : 21 min 50 s
Overall bit rate                         : 3 995 kb/s
Frame rate                               : 23.976 FPS
Movie name                               : File01
Encoded date                             : 2013-02-15 22:55:06 UTC
Writing application                      : mkvmerge v6.0.0 ('Coming Up For Air') built on Jan 20 2013 09:52:00
Writing library                          : libebml v1.3.0 + libmatroska v1.4.0
Cover                                    : Yes
Attachments                              : cover.jpg

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L5
Format settings                          : CABAC / 5 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames        : 5 frames
Codec ID                                 : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration                                 : 21 min 50 s
Bit rate                                 : 3 052 kb/s
Width                                    : 1 920 pixels
Height                                   : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 23.976 (24000/1001) FPS
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.061
Stream size                              : 477 MiB (76%)
Writing library                          : x264 core 129 r2245 bc13772
Encoding settings                        : cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:-3:-3 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=tesa / subme=10 / psy=0 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=24 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2/ 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=0 / chroma_qp_offset=0 / threads=12 / lookahead_threads=2 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=9 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=2 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=240 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc=crf / mbtree=0 / crf=17.5 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / ip_ratio=1.40 / pb_ratio=1.30 / aq=2:0.60
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

Audio #1
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : AC-3
Format/Info                              : Audio Coding 3
Commercial name                          : Dolby Digital
Codec ID                                 : A_AC3
Duration                                 : 21 min 50 s
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 640 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 6 channels
Channel layout                           : L R C LFE Ls Rs
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 31.250 FPS (1536 SPF)
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 99.9 MiB (16%)
Language                                 : English
Service kind                             : Complete Main
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

Audio #2
ID                                       : 3
Format                                   : AC-3
Format/Info                              : Audio Coding 3
Commercial name                          : Dolby Digital
Codec ID                                 : A_AC3
Duration                                 : 21 min 50 s
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 224 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel layout                           : L R
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 31.250 FPS (1536 SPF)
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 35.0 MiB (6%)
Title                                    : Commentary
Language                                 : English
Service kind                             : Complete Main
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text
ID                                       : 4
Format                                   : PGS
Muxing mode                              : zlib
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

Menu
00:00:00.000                             : en:Chapter 00
00:07:52.847                             : en:Chapter 01
00:14:35.875                             : en:Chapter 02
00:21:06.598                             : en:Chapter 03

File02:

General
Unique ID                                : 227912131014670610988968579173086722343 (0xAB76479FBAB52203869DBB6599DCF927)
Complete name                            : File02.mkv
Format                                   : Matroska
Format version                           : Version 4
File size                                : 752 MiB
Duration                                 : 21 min 38 s
Overall bit rate                         : 4 862 kb/s
Frame rate                               : 23.976 FPS
Movie name                               : File02
Encoded date                             : 2014-01-26 01:12:45 UTC
Writing application                      : mkvmerge v6.7.0 ('Back to the Ground') 64bit built on Jan  8 2014 15:10:52
Writing library                          : libebml v1.3.0 + libmatroska v1.4.1

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L5
Format settings                          : CABAC / 8 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames        : 8 frames
Codec ID                                 : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration                                 : 21 min 38 s
Bit rate                                 : 3 901 kb/s
Width                                    : 1 920 pixels
Height                                   : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 23.976 (24000/1001) FPS
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.078
Stream size                              : 604 MiB (80%)
Writing library                          : x264 core 140 r2377 1ca7bb9
Encoding settings                        : cabac=1 / ref=8 / deblock=1:1:1 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=tesa / subme=11 / psy=1 / psy_rd=0.40:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=24 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=0 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=12 / lookahead_threads=3 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=12 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=240 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40/ intra_refresh=0 / rc=crf / mbtree=0 / crf=17.5 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / ip_ratio=1.40 / pb_ratio=1.30 / aq=1:0.60
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

Audio #1
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : AC-3
Format/Info                              : Audio Coding 3
Commercial name                          : Dolby Digital
Codec ID                                 : A_AC3
Duration                                 : 21 min 38 s
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 640 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 6 channels
Channel layout                           : L R C LFE Ls Rs
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 31.250 FPS (1536 SPF)
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 99.0 MiB (13%)
Language                                 : English
Service kind                             : Complete Main
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

Audio #2
ID                                       : 3
Format                                   : AC-3
Format/Info                              : Audio Coding 3
Commercial name                          : Dolby Digital
Codec ID                                 : A_AC3
Duration                                 : 21 min 38 s
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 224 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel layout                           : L R
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 31.250 FPS (1536 SPF)
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 34.7 MiB (5%)
Title                                    : Commentary
Language                                 : English
Service kind                             : Complete Main
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Text
ID                                       : 4
Format                                   : PGS
Muxing mode                              : zlib
Codec ID                                 : S_HDMV/PGS
Codec ID/Info                            : Picture based subtitle format used on BDs/HD-DVDs
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : No
Forced                                   : No

Menu
00:00:00.000                             : en:Chapter 01
00:07:52.013                             : en:Chapter 02
00:14:06.720                             : en:Chapter 03
00:21:06.556                             : en:Chapter 04
4

Hmm… Might be amount of reference frames used and/or if file02.mkv uses header compression (Matroska supports zlib compression from what I recall)

1 Like
5

Is there a way to disable header compression or should i just re-encode the whole file? I would like to avoid re-encoding as it will natrually result in image quality degradation, but if there is no other option I will have to do it.

6

You can just remux it

2 Likes
7

With which tool and how? Would I use ffmpeg or something else? (handbrake perhaps? Though that’s just a GUI wrapper for the former afaik)

8

ffmpeg and/or mkvtoolnix should be fine

1 Like
9

I have both :blush: - Haven’t seen an option to change the headers in ffmpeg but I’m sure Google will now, otherwise I will try mkvtoolnix.

10

Came across this:

Might just be your tv being a dick about playing .mkv files!

1 Like
11

But my TV plays mosz MKV files without any issues, except for the ones mentioned in the thread.

12

It was just the quick google search that I came a cross and figured I’d mention it in case it helped!

Has the tv’s firmware been updated recently / is there a new firmware available?

Have a buddy who’s blu-ray player needed a new firmware to play the newest blu-ray he had purchase!

1 Like
13

New samsung TVs automatically update the firmware. I have not checked in a while but it might be a good idea to checl this as well.

14

I tried just remuxing with mkvtoolnix but this did not seem to work. As a result, I re-encoded the files (av1) and now it works as expected. Unfortunately, there was no method w/o re-encoding but at least I could watch the files now.

In any case, I would like to thank the both of you (@diizzy and @thetazman )!

1 Like
15

Looks like you might be hitting some of the limitations of the SoC

1 Like
16

I’ve had some experience struggling to play movies directly from USB storage on my TV in the past. If the files doesn’t load, I’ve found a workable workaround by using my phone to play the movie and streaming it to my TV instead. It allows me to still watch the content, even if the quality isn’t exactly the same as accessing it right from the drive. The only imperfect part is that the audio isn’t as crisp when using this indirect method compared to the USB. But it serves well enough in a jam to get the job done.

1 Like