A question about MKV

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barnabas1969

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A question about MKV

#1

Post by barnabas1969 » Sun Sep 16, 2012 9:30 pm

I have a problem. I've never used a filter or splitter before. I'm trying to make MKV work in Media Center, using ffdshow and Haali Media Splitter.

I installed ffdshow, Haali Media Splitter, and the registry patch for x64 (here). I used the default values in both ffdshow and Haali Media Splitter. I tried this first on my desktop PC, and I tried to play an MKV that has a h.264 video with DTS 5.1 audio. It worked fine. The video and audio played fine. I used the default settings for ffdshow and Haali Media Splitter.

I don't know if this makes any difference, but my desktop PC has a VGA computer monitor attached using the on-board ATI video, and has a 5.1 speaker setup connected using the analog audio connections that are on the motherboard.

On my desktop PC, this movie plays fine... audio and video are perfect. However, on my HTPC, this movie does not work... using the same software (ffdshow/Haali/registry patch). Both PC's run Windows 7 x64. As mentioned above, the desktop PC has on-board audio and video... VGA for video and analog for audio.

The HTPC, on the other hand, has an nVidea GT-430 video card with HDMI audio passed through an AVR to a TV. The AVR can decode Dolby Digital, DTS, DD-HD, and DTS-HD.

When I try to play the same MKV file on the HTPC, I get nothing but a blue screen with the media center background. Sometimes, I get a gray screen with black side bars. No audio plays either.

Oddly enough... Windows Media Player plays this MKV file perfectly on the HTPC (after installing Haali Media Splitter, ffdshow, and the registry patch). Before installing those... neither Media Center nor Media Player would play the file.

I'm a newbie at getting MKV to play in Media Center, and I would appreciate input from those of you who have done this successfully in the past.

Thank you in advance.

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#2

Post by staknhalo » Sun Sep 16, 2012 10:19 pm

Hmm...play the MKV in Media Player again to make sure it's still working and then try right clicking the MKV and 'Open With' Windows Media Center? An alternative you can try is using DivX Codec Pack with Haali Media Splitter. That's what I use because for some reason, using ffdshow I could never get thumbnails to show for MKV (even with enabling the setting in Haali). But using Haali with the DivX codecs, thumbnails work for me. I also still install the registry patch FYI.

http://www.divx.com/en/software/divx-plus/codec-pack

Just choose not to install all the extra DivX stuff if you go this route.

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#3

Post by bobbob » Sun Sep 16, 2012 11:54 pm

previously i have been able to play mkv with just haali installed but these days i use Shark's codec pack. i know many people don't like them but it 100% does the job

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newfiend

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#4

Post by newfiend » Mon Sep 17, 2012 12:32 am

Brian,
Ok .MKV is something I have been using for quite some time. I love the container minus the fact that you can't FF/REW natively in MC.
I also had a GT430 and am now running a GT640 in its place and can say I have had great success in getting this working.
So I'll post my knowedge below. I hope this helps you out.

Please preform these steps in order listed.. YES it makes a difference!!

#1) I would start by uninstalling FFDSHOW and Haali (explained below) Reboot.
#2) Download and Install AC3 Filter from my skydrive (link below version 1.63b)
#3)Read this thread here on TGB set your AC3 Filter settings for PassThrough as Richard and I did. This has worked AWESOME for me and passes all the Audio DTS and DD to my AVR for decoding. http://www.thegreenbutton.tv/forums/vie ... f=32&t=433 :thumbup: This will allow any .MKV with a DTS track or Dolby Digital track to get passed on to your AVR for decoding. There are even pictures of the settings you need to make in that post. Easy peasy.
#4) Since you already installed the Reg Hack You can skip that step, but if you had not .. you would want to download that and merge that with the registry.
#5) Download and re-Install Haali Media Splitter (Matroska Splitter) Geek Tested :ugeek: newfiend approved :thumbup:
#6) If you want thumbnails in explorer for your .MKV's Download and install Icaros here: http://www.videohelp.com/tools/Icaros Works really well :thumbup:
************************************************************************************************Continued below....*********************************************************************************************************
Last edited by newfiend on Mon Sep 17, 2012 1:24 am, edited 8 times in total.

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#5

Post by newfiend » Mon Sep 17, 2012 12:32 am

(split post due to link limit sorry)

Haali here: http://haali.su/mkv/ just install it, no adjustments needed during or after install just use the defualt install settings.

Reg Hack here: http://www.hack7mc.com/2009/02/mkvs-for ... ows-7.html (only install the reg hack for you OS version.)

AC3 Filter from here : https://skydrive.live.com/#cid=08AFD0E4 ... FD88%21117 ( I am sharing this version with you from my skydrive it seems to work better than the current offerings and is much less buggy in my testing).

(FFDSHOW isn't something I like to install as it installs lots of codecs. as does Sharks.) I like to keep it simple and clean as possible (Media Center and Windows and it doesn't mess up Live TV playback.)

Hopefully FFDSHOW hasn't enabled other codecs that interfere already. (you may be getting conflict between the two codecs (Haali and Gabest) and that may be why you are having issues with playback (I think FFDSHOW may have Gabest's splitter included with the FFDSHOW package.) So essentially your installing two .MKV splitters.

You want to install AC3 prior to Haali.. I have had times (and I don't know why) but If you install haali prior to AC3 then sometimes you wont get surround sound out of the .mkv.. Install AC3 Filter first then Haali (like I posted above.)
Hope this helps you out. Let me know if you need more help.
On a side note I also install divx codecs only (not the player) you can select to just install the codecs and leave out the player during installation, at tripple w.Divx.com (damn link limit!!!! LOL) these are the ONLY codecs (minus whatever codecs the Zune Software includes) I install in Windows 7 and have not found a file I can't play.
HTH,
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#6

Post by newfiend » Mon Sep 17, 2012 12:30 pm

If you do decide to install DivX as well make sure you install that prior to Haali.. Haali should be that last program installed so it registers itself as the default splitter for .mkv.

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#7

Post by barnabas1969 » Mon Sep 17, 2012 6:27 pm

OK, Curt, I followed your instructions... I installed them remotely, so I can't test it right now. I'll try it out when I get home.

My only question is the "output format" that is shown on both the Main and SPDIF tabs in AC3 Filter... it is defaulted to 2/0... do I need to change it to 5.1?

BTW, I wasn't having any trouble with recorded or live TV after installing ffdshow yesterday. It's really weird that the MKV worked on my desktop PC in Media Center, but not on my HTPC. I suppose it's possible that I have some other stuff installed on the desktop PC... I've messed around with the desktop a lot in the last year or so, but the HTPC stays pretty static.

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#8

Post by newfiend » Mon Sep 17, 2012 8:13 pm

Nope leave it at 2.0 set it exactly like the pictures. The entire 5.1 signal will pass to the AVR. I installed FFDSHOW and messed with the settings and I lost sound in live TV.. Had to wipe the machine and start over.. It was a rookie mistake on my part then.. I was really new to htpc at that point. Hopefully what I gave you above does the trick. What NVIDIA driver are you on? The latest WHQL is solid if you still get no video try the latest NVIDIA driver.
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#9

Post by newfiend » Mon Sep 17, 2012 8:21 pm

Remember that your .MKV will have to have a Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS audio track to get surround sound. Some .mkv's I have only have a stereo track.

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#10

Post by barnabas1969 » Mon Sep 17, 2012 10:01 pm

It works, Curt. Thanks. Live and recorded TV still works too.

I have another question... When I played the same MKV file on my desktop PC (with ffdshow and Haali), I got subtitles somehow. I didn't turn them on, but they were displayed. Is there a way to turn them on/off with this setup (using AC3 filter and Haali)? I don't see an option for subtitles on the Info menu.

Thanks.

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#11

Post by newfiend » Mon Sep 17, 2012 10:19 pm

barnabas1969 wrote:It works, Curt. Thanks. Live and recorded TV still works too.

I have another question... When I played the same MKV file on my desktop PC (with ffdshow and Haali), I got subtitles somehow. I didn't turn them on, but they were displayed. Is there a way to turn them on/off with this setup (using AC3 filter and Haali)? I don't see an option for subtitles on the Info menu.

Thanks.
To be honest Brian I have never had a use for subs.. I know it is possible to include them in a .MKV container but I have never had to use them so never looked into it... So unfortunately I can't help on that question.. I'll look into it for you though and let you know what I find out. Glad that it's working for ya :D
EDIT: This may help out.. http://www.mydigitallife.info/show-and- ... -vsfilter/
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#12

Post by barnabas1969 » Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:28 pm

I went back to my desktop PC to make sure I wasn't dreaming that the subtitles were displayed. I tried both Media Center and Media Player... neither displayed the subs. Then, I remembered that I had also played the movie in VLC. VLC shows the subtitles perfectly.

I'll look into DirectVobSub. I remember someone else on this board mentioning it before. This is my first foray into MKV, so I'm completely new at it.

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#13

Post by newfiend » Tue Sep 18, 2012 12:28 am

sent you an email as well..something i happened across tonight might work??
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#14

Post by barnabas1969 » Tue Sep 18, 2012 12:43 am

Yeah, I got your e-mail. I've seen that one before. There are other ways to do this too (Media Control). However, my problem is that the MKV file contains subtitles in PGS format, which DirectVobSub can't handle. I found this post that describes how to extract the PGS subtitles and create a .sub file that can be displayed with DirectVobSub.

The wife is getting impatient with me. I think I'll have to let this rest for a while.

However, I've learned a lot tonight. I have DirectVobSub working (according to Graph Studio)... so if I had a .sub file for the movie, it should display the subtitles. I'll let you know.

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#15

Post by barnabas1969 » Tue Sep 18, 2012 12:49 am

Yep... I found an SRT file online. It works!

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#16

Post by newfiend » Tue Sep 18, 2012 12:54 am

barnabas1969 wrote:Yep... I found an SRT file online. It works!
awesome. :thumbup:
Glad it's working for you... I love .MKV picture quality is great, so is sound.. and you can wrap in any file you like. Video, Multipe Audio tracks, Subs.. sweet stuff. :geek:

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#17

Post by barnabas1969 » Tue Sep 18, 2012 2:34 am

The SRT file I downloaded earlier wasn't perfect... it was off by 32 seconds. I was able to offset this by changing the DirectVobSub properties via Graph Studio (which is really cool).

I tested the MKV on one of my HP X280N extenders. It plays, but the aspect ratio is all weird. I was able to use Zoom-4 to make it fit the screen, but it was very grainy (it's perfectly clear on the TV that is connected to the PC). Also, the SRT subtitles didn't display on the extender.

I read the post I linked in my post (#14) above. I was able to very simply extract the SUP file (with a P) from the MKV, and then convert it to a SUB file (with a B) and an IDX file. This resulted in subtitles that are perfectly timed, and even placed in the same place on the screen where they existed on the original BluRay. Very cool. I haven't tried viewing it on the extender yet.

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#18

Post by newfiend » Tue Sep 18, 2012 4:45 am

Mkv via extender is a PITA.. Once the ceton hits I think we will have a much better experience with .mkv. At least that's my hope. The old extenders were abandoned so long ago now and support for them is nonexistent that trying to get them to play that container can be a struggle. Not impossible but a struggle. I have had weird aspect ratio problems on my Linksys at times with certain files. I have never looked into why. If you have a movie in .mkv that you can't watch via extender you can always convert the .mkv to another format with handbrake or another program. At least you can watch the format on the main HTPC (which if I'm gonna watch a movie it's going to be on the biggest screen in that house) and for me that works fine. Your mileage may vary though..


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#19

Post by newfiend » Tue Sep 18, 2012 5:58 pm

Are you using the native Movie Library in WMC to view and play the .MKV's? Have you ever tried Media Browser?
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#20

Post by barnabas1969 » Tue Sep 18, 2012 7:15 pm

I looked at Media Browser a long, long time ago... and it didn't make sense for me at the time. I don't have many movies on the PC. Mostly, they are ones that were recorded with one of my tuners. The others are 3D BluRay ISO's... and I don't have any intention of re-encoding those.

The holy grail for me would be to find a way to get movies from DVD and BluRay into a WTV container using audio/video codecs that play well on extenders and on the PC... with soft subtitles (meaning that you can turn them on/off with the Info menu). That would give me full FFWD/RWD support, and would work seamlessly in Media Center.

A long time ago, I investigated this and I was told by someone here (or on WEC) that the "only" way to get subtitles into a WTV container was to encode them as Line 21 Captions. I investigated that... and I found a method to do it, but it was so convoluted that I just gave up.

Since I've been experimenting with this for the last few days, I've learned a thing or three. I installed Media Info, which lets me see what's in an MKV or WTV file. Surprisingly, most WTV recordings have text streams in them in EIA-708 or EIA-608 format (or both). It seems that the ones I have recorded that don't show any text stream do indeed have Line21 Captions embedded in the video stream (you can see them blinking at the top of your screen if you have overscan turned off in WMC and on your TV). I did a little more digging, and I found that EIA-708 is the newer method, and that both 608 and 708 are supposedly only compatible with MPEG-2 (not sure if that's true).

So, I was curious... how do they get subtitles in Britain, where all of their TV is encoded in MPEG-4 (aka H.264). Turns out, that it's encoded as DVB-SUB. And... as it happens, that's exactly the same as the way subtitles are encoded on a BluRay movie (not sure about DVD though).

I hope you can see my excitement building here...

I've further found that both ffmpeg and VideoRedo TVSuite can handle putting DVB-SUB subtitles into a WTV container with MPEG-4 video. So, I've downloaded the free 15-day trial of VideoRedo. I'll try ffmpeg too... because VideoRedo isn't cheap (it's a hundred bucks).

Hopefully, I'll have time to mess with it tonight.

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