Channel Issues & Questions

[szunshine]

Hello, I'm trying to play an mp4 video from a usb drive on Roku and although it has worked in the past, it is no longer working.

The mp4 is a video export from powerpoint, it is 1.2GB.  The usb is plugged directly into the TV, it shows as a selection, but when I click on it, it gives an error and says it cannot play the file.
I've done the same exact thing in the past - video export from powerpoint to mp4 to usb drive to play on this TV via the Roku app and it has worked.  I have no idea why it would have stopped working.  I have tried different usb drives and different files.  All have the same problem.  Any ideas?

Thanks,

[szunshine]

The error reads:

File Not Playable

An unexpected problem (but not server timeout or HTTP error) had been detected.

[atc98092]

We need to know the video and audio codec used within the MP4 container. Roku only supports a small number of codecs, and it's possible that this file has an unsupported one.

[szunshine]

Sadly I have no idea what that is, or where to find it. I'm not an IT person.

All I can tell you is I'm using literally the exact same process to make and view this video as I've done in the past (i.e. created on the same computer, with the same version of PowerPoint, saving to the same type of video format and then playing it on the same Roku) and I've tried multiple flash drives/USB sticks. Nothing of what I'm doing or playing it on has changed.

[atc98092]

If you're using Windows, there a program called MediaInfo https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo. Actually, they have Mac and Linux versions as well. use it and you'll be able to see all the details about what's inside any media container. 

[speechles]

Remux the file using MKVToolNix and change container from mp4 to mkv. The file then plays?

[szunshine]

I'll try that, thank you

[szunshine]

It worked!! Thank you so much!!!

[atc98092]

Sometimes remuxing the video into a different container, or even back into the same container, will fix issues like this. probably some tiny little glitch when the video was first created, and the remux cleaned it up. Glad it worked for you. 

[speechles]

Actually, the case here is the mp4 container isn't as versatile as mkv. Recent firmware changes have made certain Roku models much more adept at mkv than mp4. Mkv has much better codec support (such as h261,h262,h263,h264,h265,vp8,vp9) on newer Roku models than the mp4/mov/mp4v container. Tested, confirmed. Search for the "mpeg2" thread for more information.