m2t and m2ts files wont play on Boxee Box

[slipster216]

Hi,
I recently purchased a Boxee Box, primarily for streaming video from my local network. However, I can't seem to get it to play .m2t or .m2ts files captured from my hidef video camera. I've searched a bit and haven't found any info on why they might not play; it seems as if boxee supports them fine for others. That said, whenever I try to play them boxee just spins for a while and eventually locks up.

Any ideas?

[darcilicious]

For the best help possible, download and run "mediainfo" (google it) on one or two of the files and post the output here. One of the video experts around here may be able to take a look at and see what the issue is.

[tvphil]

What brand camcorder is it? Some brands use a proprietary video codec within a container like .m2ts. Panasonic has done this in the past, not sure if others like Sony might too. That would explain why some (like me) have no problem playing it, while others have problems. You might need to transcode the video to some other codec like divx or xvid, to get around this, if in fact, this is the problem.

[slipster216]

What brand camcorder is it? Some brands use a proprietary video codec within a container like .m2ts. Panasonic has done this in the past, not sure if others like Sony might too. That would explain why some (like me) have no problem playing it, while others have problems. You might need to transcode the video to some other codec like divx or xvid, to get around this, if in fact, this is the problem.

It's a panasonic GH2, but I've tried converting the videos into divx and mkv with no luck. I'll grab a very short clip and convert it tonight and hopefully someone will be able to tell what's up. My old media player handled these clips fine, and I have something like 30 hours of home video which I'd hate to have to convert just so Boxee can play it.

[darcilicious]

For the best help possible, download and run "mediainfo" (google it) on one or two of the files and post the output here. One of the video experts around here may be able to take a look at and see what the issue is.

You don't need to convert a clip. You just need to run mediainfo.

[slipster216]

You don't need to convert a clip. You just need to run mediainfo.

General
ID : 0 (0x0)
Complete name : \\nas2\OpenShare\homevideo\hidef\2011_04\00002.MTS
Format : BDAV
Format/Info : Blu-ray Video
File size : 3.84 GiB
Duration : 24mn 36s
Overall bit rate : 22.3 Mbps
Maximum Overall bit rate : 24.0 Mbps

Video
ID : 4113 (0x1011)
Menu ID : 1 (0x1)
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.0
Format settings, CABAC : No
Format settings, ReFrames : 2 frames
Codec ID : 27
Duration : 24mn 37s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 21.2 Mbps
Maximum bit rate : 21.7 Mbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.427
Stream size : 3.65 GiB (95%)

Audio
ID : 4352 (0x1100)
Menu ID : 1 (0x1)
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Mode extension : CM (complete main)
Codec ID : 129
Duration : 24mn 37s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 192 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : Front: L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 33.8 MiB (1%)

Text
ID : 4608 (0x1200)
Menu ID : 1 (0x1)
Format : PGS
Codec ID : 144
Duration : 24mn 36s

[slipster216]

Well, two days of futzing around with this and I'm stumped. Boxee Box won't play any of my home movies as m2t files, even after converting into divx or mkv. I can't figure out why it doesn't like any of the files, but plays files downloaded off the net just fine, in just about any format. I'm using Tmpgenc to re-encode them, but it should be able to play them without conversion!

Frustrating..

[Prospero424]

Where are you attempting to stream these videos from? Are you using wireless? What kind of router and what kind of network do you run?

I ask because these files have very, very high bitrates compared to the sort of files you'd normally get off of the Internet.

If they're not working when playing from a drive connected directly to the Box via USB, I'd suspect a decoding issue. But if they're stored on a network source, I'm almost positive this will turn out to be a network performance issue.

Regardless, I would suggest encoding these files to a different format not so much for compatibility reasons, but just because bitrates this high and the containers being used (.mts, etc.) are intended for editing and primary archival purposes rather than for presentation. Encode it to a .mkv or .mp4 file at ~10Mbps (roughly half the current size) with the proper settings and you'll have a smaller file that offers better cross-platform compatibility. I doubt you'd even notice a loss of quality at all if properly encoded to an AVC .mp4 or .mkv file.

Guide for accomplishing this in my sig. Just use the "Prospero Progressive Source 1080p Encode" preset.

That being said, you may be able to get these to play just fine in their current state with some network troubleshooting. We'll just need some more info before we can help you with that.

[slipster216]

Where are you attempting to stream these videos from? Are you using wireless? What kind of router and what kind of network do you run?

It's a wired connection to my router, which I think is currently a linksys.

I ask because these files have very, very high bitrates compared to the sort of files you'd normally get off of the Internet.

If they're not working when playing from a drive connected directly to the Box via USB, I'd suspect a decoding issue. But if they're stored on a network source, I'm almost positive this will turn out to be a network performance issue.

I tried dropping the files down to a 4k constant bitrate mkv file, which is quite a bit smaller (about 1/10th the size), and I have the same issue. I even tried playing some old xvid encoded files from a crappy camcorder, which are really low bitrate, and had the same issue. Boxee just spins on the wait icon and eventually locks up.

I'll try putting it on a USB drive and doing a direct connection tonight. I stream other content off the same drive just fine, so it's odd to me that only my home videos have issues.

[Prospero424]

So the Boxee Box will play XViD and .mkv files located on the same network share just fine but it won't play your home movies in the exact same formats at similar bitrates?

Something just doesn't add up. We're missing a crucial piece of information somewhere.

Yeah, let me know how it works when playing directly from a USB drive. That may give us the info we need.