Jump to content

MBC & LAV Filters: MBT Install Fixed All but MP4 Audio


Tanamur

Recommended Posts

Tanamur
Hi MB3-Community -
 
The Good:
Since it 'tis the season to be jolly I just want to say how happy I am that MKV (video & audio) and FLAC (audio) files are playing in Windows Media Center (WMC)/MB3-Classic on my HTPC and Extender for the first time ever thanks to installing Media Browser Theater (MBT)!
 
The Bad:
However, MP4 audio to accompany perfect MP4 video still evades me in 2013 on the Extender/MBC (see here). It has always worked fine on the HTPC. Does anyone have any suggestions for LAV settings for MP4 audio for the extender....please?
 
What I Did:
With a bit of time over the holidays I thought I would install the LAV filters based on the tutorial here. Unfortunately, the server that hosted the turtorial has not been able to restore it. So I decided to install MBT with the default LAV configuration as suggested. Needless to say I was surprised when it was the solution to MBC on my extender for so many items. Nice work dev team.
 
If anyone has any suggestions that have not been covered in the topics below please feel free to join in.
 
NOTE: When I attempt to check the codecs that are installed by clicking on the link in the Help>About screen in Windows Media Player 12 (WMP12), it just hangs and has to be killed. This is a new situation since installing MBT/LAV. See FAQ: How do I tell which codecs are installed on my computer
 
52bf7e2040de7_WMP12hanghelpscreen.jpg
 
 
Example MP4 video/audio file with a dump of Mediainfo information. The audio is reported as AAC which is supported by my Extender.
General
Complete name                            : \\Video\TV-Example\Click (2000)\Season 2013\Click.(2000).S2013E01.mp4
Format                                   : MPEG-4
Format profile                           : Base Media
Codec ID                                 : isom
File size                                : 176 MiB
Duration                                 : 24mn 6s
Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable
Overall bit rate                         : 1 024 Kbps
Season                                   : 2013
Movie name                               : Click (2000)
Album                                    : Click (2000)
Part                                     : 1
Genre                                    : Documentary
Recorded date                            : 2013
PRODUCER                                 : British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
ACTORS                                   : Spencer Kelly
TRACKNUMBER                              : Cl


Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L3.1
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames                : 5 frames
Codec ID                                 : avc1
Codec ID/Info                            : Advanced Video Coding
Duration                                 : 24mn 6s
Bit rate                                 : 890 Kbps
Maximum bit rate                         : 4 800 Kbps
Width                                    : 720 pixels
Height                                   : 404 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 25.000 fps
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.122
Stream size                              : 153 MiB (87%)
Title                                    : Video
Writing library                          : x264 core 129 r2230 1cffe9f
Encoding settings                        : cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=umh / subme=8 / 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=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=12 / lookahead_threads=2 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / bluray_compat=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=2 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=25 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=50 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=21.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=0 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Encoded date                             : UTC 2013-01-05 11:40:01
Tagged date                              : UTC 2013-01-05 11:40:03
Matrix coefficients                      : BT.709


Audio
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : AAC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Audio Codec
Format profile                           : LC
Codec ID                                 : 40
Duration                                 : 24mn 6s
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 125 Kbps
Maximum bit rate                         : 141 Kbps
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel positions                        : Front: L R
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 KHz
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 21.5 MiB (12%)
Title                                    : English
Language                                 : English
Encoded date                             : UTC 2013-01-05 11:40:02
Tagged date                              : UTC 2013-01-05 11:40:03

References:

Windows Media Center internal player, MB Classic, and LAV filters guide.
 
 
Extender: Troubleshooting Audio Playback
 
Extender & MBC: Audio in MP4 Container Not Playing
 
FAQ: How do I tell which codecs are installed on my computer?
 
Install specs in signature file.
 
Thanks in advance for the help and Happy Holidays, Tanamur
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, LAV is definitely the simplest route to the easiest playback for most items.  Sorry, I can't help with the audio issue.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cheesegeezer

Have you tried using graphstudio? If you open the program and drag n drop your video file into the big grey are it will tell you exactly what filters are being used to decode the audio and video and in which order they do it.

 

It may help you to understand better why the audio is not working.

 

If you need anymore help just shout and we can try and get to the bottom of this.

 

@@BAS how do you cope with mp4 and aac on your millions of extenders ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tanamur

Hi @@Cheesegeezer - Many thanks for the reply and I promise not to take too much of your time. I have not tried GraphStudio or GraphStudioNext. Based on your suggestion I downloaded both from the developer's home pages. Since they are both standalone executables there was nothing to install.

 

However, when I try to run either of them, the application opens and immediately hangs (not responding). This is the same as when I try to use Windows Media Player 12 Help link to display what codecs are installed. Task Manager can't "End the Task" or "End the Process" associated with any of them.

 

All of this is not good news I am sure however, MBC and MBT solidly play everything thrown at them on the server. Any other thoughts come to mind with this behaviour?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cheesegeezer

Hi @@Cheesegeezer - Many thanks for the reply and I promise not to take too much of your time. I have not tried GraphStudio or GraphStudioNext. Based on your suggestion I downloaded both from the developer's home pages. Since they are both standalone executables there was nothing to install.

 

However, when I try to run either of them, the application opens and immediately hangs (not responding). This is the same as when I try to use Windows Media Player 12 Help link to display what codecs are installed. Task Manager can't "End the Task" or "End the Process" associated with any of them.

 

All of this is not good news I am sure however, MBC and MBT solidly play everything thrown at them on the server. Any other thoughts come to mind with this behaviour?

No probs fella, the fact that graph studio hangs indicates issues within you system.

 

What i would suggest is to uninstall all your codecs in programs and features, and maybe try a different approach. Using Ffdshow guide in the tutorials section.

 

Then try graphstudio and see what happens then

Link to comment
Share on other sites

CBers

No probs fella, the fact that graph studio hangs indicates issues within you system.

 

What i would suggest is to uninstall all your codecs in programs and features, and maybe try a different approach. Using Ffdshow guide in the tutorials section.

 

Then try graphstudio and see what happens then

 

This is the FFDSHOW Guide @@Cheesegeezer was referring to: http://mediabrowser.tv/community/index.php?/topic/1096-setting-up-codecs-using-ffdshow/?hl=ffdshow

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tanamur

No probs fella, the fact that graph studio hangs indicates issues within you system.

 

What i would suggest is to uninstall all your codecs in programs and features, and maybe try a different approach. Using Ffdshow guide in the tutorials section.

 

Then try graphstudio and see what happens then

HNY @@Cheesegeezer - I am beginning to think there is a realistic chance of making all of this work because I was listening to AAC audio from a MP4 container on my extender just now.

 

I was able to access an old server I pulled out of storage I used to use for My Movies and MB2. I can system restore the OS easily on it after tinkering unlike the primary system.

 

First, GraphStudio opens on this other Win7/64 system with no problem. What  a useful and clever application. 

 

Next, I took a shortcut and installed Shark007's 32 & 64 Advanced Codecs. I realize there is more there than I probably need or definitely understand but by accepting the default settings followed by changing one thing, I was listening to AAC audio with the video on the extender. I changed one setting in the SWAP tab to use FFDShow's codec for AAC audio (see red box). That was all it took to prove that it is possible for that extender to still work. 

 

52c3fb0249a98_SharkSwapTabAAC.jpg

 

So, in short the next steps are to do a clean install of the OS on the old server and follow the FFDSHOW Guide as you and @@CBers have pointed me to earlier. I will give you an update on the results when I have them.

 

Many thanks to both you and @@CBers for pointing me in the right direction. Progress! Cheers, Tanamur 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...