I have movies I ripped to a flash drive I want to play on my TCL Roku TV. I ripped them to MP4 format. When I plug it in, I get sound but no video.
I tried to sign up for EMBY but I've never gotten the confirmation email
Any tips you can give to be able to watch these movies? I no longer have a DVD player.
MP4 is a container. It has video and audio codecs within that container. Roku devices support the MP4 container, but they have limited codec support. For video, the supported codecs are H.264, MPEG-2, and for 4K devices H.265. If your ripped files are using a different video codec, you get exactly what you are getting, audio but no video. You can use a program called MediaInfo to see what codecs are within your container.
The best program for ripping DVDs and Blu Ray discs is MakeMKV. It uses the MKV container, which Roku also supports. DVDs usually contain MPEG-2 video, so it's puzzling why your rip isn't working. But I need to know what codec is actually within your container to say where the issue is.
Without changing your current file, how can you play it? Emby is one solution, as is Plex. They will both transcode any unsupported codec or container so the Roku can play it. Both of those have dedicated apps for Roku devices. You can also use a DLNA server and use Roku Media Player. Serviio is the DLNA server I recommend (and I'm the author of the Roku profiles included in Serviio), but just be aware that Roku Media Player has some bugs that Roku hasn't addressed in several years.
Dan, I tried Makemkv it took forever. I finally got the file ripped but the video looked like it was “smeared”. I suspected a bad dvd drive as it was borrowed. I got a fresh one and will try again
the biggest hurdle is the settings in Handbrake I used a H.264 for Roku 480 and I got the smeared video
are there any other settings?? Is there a better Roku profile to use I’m not giving up till I figure it out!!
MakeMKV should be rendering a bit-perfect rip of a DVD. It should also be pretty fast. I generally rip a two hour movie in less than 10 minutes, and a 1080 Blu Ray in just under 30 minutes. And you should have no need to use Handbrake on something ripped with MakeMKV. Roku devices support the MKV container, and DVDs have MPEG-2 video and Dolby Digital audio, which again all Roku devices made since around 2016 will support. I think you are correct there was an issue with the DVD player. Playing a ripped DVD should like identical to playing the original disc.
The only reason you might need Handbrake is a rare disc that has a different video codec. There are some Blu Ray discs that use VC-1 video, and Roku devices won't play those. So you either have to convert the video (using something like Handbrake) or use a DLNA server that transcodes the video on the fly.
