My BB will not play certain files

[MrVilla]

Hi there.

I have two files that my boxee box refuse to play. One M4V and one MKV. They both play fine on my computer. I get only sound but no picture. Have tried both through wireless transmission and with an USB disk directly to the box. Nothing helps.

Any ideas?

[darcilicious]

Is the m4v file from the iTunes store by any chance? If so, it is copyright protected (DRM'd) to only playback on Apple approved devices and/or software...

For the one MKV file, download and run "media info lite" (google it), and post the output here after running it on your bad MKV file.

[kenjisugahara]

Hey Darci-

I had the same problem. Using the latest release firmware (not beta). 3 samples (there's more but figured these 3 would be the best). Here's the output:

Title 1

General
Unique ID : 172872525976044614559984482951258408936 (0x820E099544D5C5CFB6BC5427184B87E8)
Complete name : /Volumes/Hollow Mac Pro III/Mov/Nik/Nik.mkv
Format : Matroska
Format version : Version 2
File size : 192 MiB
Duration : 23mn 40s
Overall bit rate : 1 136 Kbps
Encoded date : UTC 2012-01-27 02:46:58
Writing application : mkvmerge v4.1.1 ('Bouncin' Back') built on Jul 3 2010 22:54:08
Writing library : libebml v1.0.0 + libmatroska v1.0.0
Attachment : Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes

Video
ID : 2
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High 10@L5.0
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 16 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 23mn 40s
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 10 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Writing library : x264 core 118 r2085+614 d1cc25d
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=16 / deblock=1:1:1 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=10 / psy=1 / fade_compensate=0.70 / psy_rd=0.60:0.10 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=24 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-3 / threads=18 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / fgo=0 / bframes=10 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=40 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=18.5 / qcomp=0.70 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=81 / qpstep=4 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=2:0.80
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : No

Audio
ID : 3
Format : AAC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec
Format profile : LC
Codec ID : A_AAC
Duration : 23mn 40s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : Front: L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Compression mode : Lossy
Title : Nik
Language : Japanese
Default : Yes
Forced : No

Text
ID : 1
Format : ASS
Codec ID : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Compression mode : Lossless
Default : Yes
Forced : No

Menu
00:00:00.033 : en:Intro
00:00:57.057 : en:OP
00:02:27.047 : en:Part A
00:08:30.043 : en:Part B
00:19:53.943 : en:ED
00:21:23.949 : en:Part C
00:23:33.045 : en:Preview

[kenjisugahara]

Title 2


General
Unique ID : 217209696705132627231579494518967121379 (0xA36910DF7310F6B29D730DC8116E35E3)
Complete name : /Volumes/Hollow Mac Pro III/Mov/ANT/ANT.mkv
Format : Matroska
Format version : Version 2
File size : 290 MiB
Duration : 24mn 40s
Overall bit rate : 1 644 Kbps
Movie name : ANT
Encoded date : UTC 2012-02-27 21:26:26
Writing application : mkvmerge v5.0.1 ('Es ist Sommer') built on Oct 9 2011 11:55:43
Writing library : libebml v1.2.2 + libmatroska v1.3.0
TITLE : No OP / ED
Attachment : Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High 10@L5.0
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 16 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 24mn 40s
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 10 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Title : H.264
Writing library : x264 core 120 r2146+650 183470d
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=16 / deblock=1:1:1 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=10 / psy=1 / fade_compensate=0.80 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=24 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=12 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / fgo=0 / bframes=10 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=60 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=15.5 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=81 / qpstep=4 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:0.80
Default : Yes
Forced : No
Color primaries : BT.709-5, BT.1361, IEC 61966-2-4, SMPTE RP177
Transfer characteristics : BT.709-5, BT.1361
Matrix coefficients : BT.709-5, BT.1361, IEC 61966-2-4 709, SMPTE RP177

Audio
ID : 2
Format : AAC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec
Format profile : LC
Codec ID : A_AAC
Duration : 24mn 40s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : Front: L R
Sampling rate : 44.1 KHz
Compression mode : Lossy
Title : Japanese 2.0 AAC
Language : Japanese
Default : Yes
Forced : No

Text
ID : 3
Format : ASS
Codec ID : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Compression mode : Lossless
Title : English subtitles
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : No

Menu #1
00:00:00.000 : en:Intro
00:00:12.011 : en:Opening
00:01:42.017 : en:Part A
00:09:53.967 : en:Part B
00:22:59.960 : en:Ending
00:24:30.009 : en:Next episode preview

Menu #2
00:00:00.000 : en:Intro
00:01:42.017 : en:Part A
00:09:53.967 : en:Part B
00:24:30.009 : en:Next episode preview

Title 3


General
Unique ID : 228328430095585687066800288786307343993 (0xABC674C0D8A9BA5990B372E151BBE679)
Complete name : /Volumes/Hollow Mac Pro III/Mov/BR.mkv
Format : Matroska
Format version : Version 2
File size : 262 MiB
Duration : 22mn 54s
Overall bit rate : 1 597 Kbps
Encoded date : UTC 2012-02-24 22:50:38
Writing application : mkvmerge v4.1.1 ('Bouncin' Back') built on Jul 3 2010 22:54:08
Writing library : libebml v1.0.0 + libmatroska v1.0.0
Attachment : Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes / Yes

Video
ID : 2
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High 10@L5.0
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 16 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 22mn 54s
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 10 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Writing library : x264 core 118 r2085+614 d1cc25d
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=16 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x133 / me=umh / subme=10 / psy=1 / fade_compensate=0.70 / psy_rd=0.60:0.05 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=24 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=2 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-3 / threads=18 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / fgo=0 / bframes=10 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=40 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=19.0 / qcomp=0.72 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=81 / qpstep=4 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=2:0.80
Language : English
Default : Yes
Forced : No

Audio
ID : 3
Format : AAC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec
Format profile : LC
Codec ID : A_AAC
Duration : 22mn 54s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : Front: L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Compression mode : Lossy
Title : BR
Language : Japanese
Default : Yes
Forced : No

Text
ID : 1
Format : ASS
Codec ID : S_TEXT/ASS
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Sub Station Alpha
Compression mode : Lossless
Default : Yes
Forced : No

Menu
00:00:00.033 : en:Intro
00:01:14.741 : en:OP
00:02:43.964 : en:Part A
00:10:58.925 : en:Part B
00:21:25.451 : en:ED

[Wayne Nero]

I have the same issue with my Boxee Box, after I took the most resent update. The mkv files are not recognized. I thought maybe it was something on my server. But ALL file types play just fine on my MAC loaded with an older version of Boxee, same server same network same movie.

I am gonna try the bata 3 today and report back.

-W

[kenjisugahara]

Any luck Wayne?