mkv files?

[enchant]

I find that, straight out of the box, MP doesn't play mkv files. I've seen mkv mentioned a couple of times in this forum, so I'm assuming it can be done. What do I need to do?

Thanks.

[Pirax]

Hey,

you can watch MKV files in MP by installing ffdshow and Haali Media Splitter.

That should be enough.

[enchant]

Thanks - I'll look into that.

Ok, at a quick glance, ffdshow and Haali Media Splitter appear to be interactive programs. They don't seem to be codecs or anything like that. Once you've got them installed, do I have to use them to modify the mkv files before MP can deal with them? I was sort of hoping that I'd simply be able to download a mkv file and play it with MP. No?

[Lardy]

They provide the correct codecs. Install them and you will see.

[enchant]

Ah, I see. Great - thanks!

Ok, I installed Ffdshow and Haali Media Splitter, rebooted my computer and tried to play a few mkv files with MP. I click on the files, and nothing happens.

Just in case it helps, error.log:

2008-04-15 12:28:54.515625 [ERROR][MPMain]: VideoPlayer9: Failed to render file -> vmr9
2008-04-15 12:28:55.484375 [ERROR][MPMain]: PlaylistPlayer: *** unable to play - F:\Burn these\Misc Tv\samantha.who.102.720p.hdtv.x264-oxo.mkv - skipping track!
2008-04-15 12:30:09.125000 [ERROR][MPMain]: VideoPlayer9: Failed to render file -> vmr9
2008-04-15 12:30:10.093750 [ERROR][MPMain]: PlaylistPlayer: *** unable to play - F:\Burn these\Misc Tv\Samantha.Who.S01E01.720p.HDTV.X264-DIMENSION.mkv - skipping track!
2008-04-15 12:30:22.453125 [ERROR][MPMain]: VideoPlayer9: Failed to render file -> vmr9
2008-04-15 12:30:23.453125 [ERROR][MPMain]: PlaylistPlayer: *** unable to play - F:\Burn these\Misc Tv\Medium.S04E11.720p.HDTV.X264-DIMENSION.mkv - skipping track!

[Ur[s]uS]

in mediaportal configuration, you could specify use of ffdshow for playback of the video and audio streams
this should beat the merit hell around codecs
otherwise run gspot codec information appliance on the files and report what filters are active
what's in your system tray when you play the files (you should see ffwshow and haali splitter icons kicking in for mkv playback

standing back, what kind of video file is wrapped inside the mkv - mkv is a container for video and audio
the video and audio can be compressed by any number of different codecs, ffdshow has enough to decompress most, but not real or quicktime files

gspot would help that

i'd have expected h264/x264 and ac3 audio, but i might be wrong !

[enchant]

Please forgive me for not being familiar with all of the terminology.

Originally Posted by Ur[s]uS

in mediaportal configuration, you could specify use of ffdshow for playback of the video and audio streams

Are you referring to the configuration under "Movies/Movie Player"?
If so, I see four fields here:
MPEG-2 video decoder [MPV Decoder Filter]
H.264 video decoder [ffdshow raw video filter]
Audio decoder [MPA Decoder Filter]
Audio renderer [Default DirectSoundDevice]

otherwise run gspot codec information appliance on the files

I'm sorry - you totally lost me on that one.

what's in your system tray when you play the files (you should see ffwshow and haali splitter icons kicking in for mkv playback

The icon that appears for about one second is the Haali media splitter.

[uggabugga]

Hi enchant,
This guide might be of some assistance! Goose codec guide

[enchant]

Thanks, uggabugga.

I went through the guide. Everything was set up as per the directions. There were a couple of places where things just didn't match up. For example, it says:

Next select "movie post processing". Double-click "directvobsub" from the "available filters" list.

There is no "directvobsub" in the long list of available filters.

[koolman53]

I get message when I try to watch a 1080P movie. A decoder for the new track could not be found. track type SRT/UTF-8 the movie starts but the voice is way off and picture freezes. can anyone help.
thanks for any assisstence.