Forum Discussion

krisbridwell's avatar
krisbridwell
Channel Surfer
2 years ago
Solved

Roku Media Player not playing MP4

I have a USB plugged in with 12 MP4 files that I am wanting to play on a loop. Every time I try to play them I get a message saying "File Not Playable" then "The file might be damaged or corrupt". I had .jpeg files on the USB this morning and it worked fine. Anyone have experience with this?

roku player
  • mrbwnstn's avatar
    mrbwnstn
    7 months ago

    I had this same problem. I was exporting a video file as an MP4. I exported as a 4K video file from Canva. It wouldn't play. I remembered that my particular Roku TV is a 1080 FHD TV, as opposed to 4K. I reexported as 1080 HD and it loaded the file just fine.

23 Replies

  • RRicko's avatar
    RRicko
    Reel Rookie
    2 years ago

    The problem is not the fat or the MP4 files. It is with the Roku updates. I have the same problem that started at the same time the message "Allow access to external media by ALL channels installed "started to show up. When I select "Do not allow" the app says "no compatible media found " on a drive i have been using on roku for years.

    I think this all started with a 1/17/24 update. It appears to stop ALL access to my drive - including me. If I shut everything down - unplug and re-plug my drive back in it will play files until until The Allow access screen pops up again.   Does this message "Allow access to external media by ALL channels installed " mean other channels can read and download from my Disk?  I have a Roku ultra - not a Roku TV.

    • atc98092's avatar
      atc98092
      Community Streaming Expert
      2 years ago
      RRicko wrote:

      The problem is not the fat or the MP4 files. It is with the Roku updates.

      No, the problem is what's inside your MP4 container. There has been no updates to RMP for several years. The most recent updates to the Roku OS have not impacted RMP functionality in any way that I have detected. I can play MP 4 files without issue on my Roku devices, but that's because the codecs inside the container is supported. If you could provide the information I requested, we can hopefully isolate your problem. 

    • renojim's avatar
      renojim
      Community Streaming Expert
      2 years ago

      RRicko, all apps have always had access to your USB drive.  The new message just informs users of what has always been the case.  It's an all or nothing thing - if you choose "Don't allow", then nothing is allowed to access the drive.

      • RRicko's avatar
        RRicko
        Reel Rookie
        2 years ago

        Thanks for the info. I guess the message should read "Allow access to external media by ALL hackers" . If they can read it they can also write to it. But if i'm wrong and this is not a security concern, why should anyone disable the USB port by clicking on Deny Access?  Maybe a better notice should be "Use port at your own risk".

  • atc98092's avatar
    atc98092
    Community Streaming Expert
    2 years ago

    MP4 is a container, and it can contain different audio and video codecs. JPEG is a image format, so apples and oranges compared to playing a video. MP4 is a supported container, but if your files are using an unsupported codec that would explain the error message. I play MP4 files on my Roku devices without a problem.

    If you can tell us the codecs within your MP4 containers, we can determine why they won't play. There is a free program called MediaInfo that can read any media file and report the contents of the file. Make sure to select "text" for the output format, not the "basic" option. Basic doesn't list the codecs completely. 

  • RokuJohnB's avatar
    RokuJohnB
    Community Moderator
    2 years ago

    Hi krisbridwell,

    Thank you for posting here in the Roku Community!
    We understand you're having a problem with the Roku media player since it will not read the file and will give you an error message that says "File Not Payable." No worries; we're happy to assist you further. Different Roku devices support different formats. Newer firmware may support additional formats. The type of audio format supported is dependent on the type of TV or A/V receiver your Roku device is connected to. Formats supported by your Roku device can be viewed by accessing the?/Help pages from the Media Device and the Media Type selection screens.

    The following file formats are supported:

    • Video: H.264/AVC (.MKV,.MP4,.MOV)
    • Audio: AAC (.MKV,.MP4,.MOV); MP3(.MP3,.MKV); WMA (.ASF,.WMA,.MKV), FLAC (.FLAC,.MKV))PCM (.WAV,.MKV,.MP4,.MOV), AC3/EAC3 (.MKV,.MP4..MOV,.AC3), DTS (.MKV,.MP4,.MOV,.DTS), ALAC (.MKV,.MP4,.MOV,.M4A), Vorbis (.OGG,.MKV,.WEBM)
    • Playlists: M3U, M3U8, PLS
    • Image: JPG, PNG, GIF (non-animated)

    The following media formats are supported on Roku devices that support 4K:

    • 4K Video: H.265/HEVC (.MKV, MP4, MOV); VP9 (.MKV, WEBM)
    • 4K Video: H.264 (Roku Premiere, Premiere+, and Ultra only)

    The following media formats are supported on Roku TVs:

    • Video: H.262 (.MKV)

    Notes:

    • The Roku Media Player channel will not display unsupported file types or files it has determined cannot be played by your Roku device.
    • DRM-protected content is not supported.

    You may also refer to this support article on how I use Roku Media Player to play my videos, music, and photos.

    We hope this helps, and please keep us posted on what you find out.

    Sincere regards,

    John

    • dpickwell's avatar
      dpickwell
      Newbie
      2 months ago

      This is simply not true, Roku won't play half that stuff.   I am never buying Roku again, changing out all my TV's.

      • atc98092's avatar
        atc98092
        Community Streaming Expert
        2 months ago

        dpickwell​ yes, Roku devices will play everything on that list, as long as the codecs within the file matches that list. A MKV container can have almost any codec, so you can't go by the file extension of any media file. Other containers have more limited codec support, so it's more likely that a Roku can play an MP4 file, although it's still possible the codecs aren't supported by Roku. People don't understand that the file extension is simply the type of container in use, and it's what is inside the container that decides if a device (Roku or otherwise) can actually play it.  

      • mrbwnstn's avatar
        mrbwnstn
        Newbie
        7 months ago

        I had this same problem. I was exporting a video file as an MP4. I exported as a 4K video file from Canva. It wouldn't play. I remembered that my particular Roku TV is a 1080 FHD TV, as opposed to 4K. I reexported as 1080 HD and it loaded the file just fine.