Roku Developer Program

[joetesta]

Hi -
I've been encoding content for roku using Handbrake for several months and just discovered a problem. It seems that files over 2GB will start to play, but I can't pause or jump around in these files. With my files that are as large as 1.9GB, I can pause and jump to anywhere and it will play right away.

I am using Apache 2.2.21

Here is the Handbrake command:

HandBrakeCLI -i /pending/$ID_full.vob -o $ID_2500.mp4 -e x264 -b 2500 -B 160 -R 48 -E faac -f mp4 -m -4 -O -2 -T -x ref=2:bframes=2:subme=5:me=umh

I know this is not really a roku problem since I have the same problem in the browser, but I'm hoping someone has knowledge about why this might be happening, or a suggested alternate way to encode the videos for roku to avoid this issue?

fwiw I've also posted this issue on the Handbrake forum here https://forum.handbrake.fr/viewtopic.ph ... 79#p102879 but it seems pretty quiet over there.
TYVMIA

[belltown]

I once had a problem in which my browser seemed not to be able to download files over 2GB. I tried using various download managers and still no luck. It seemed that any request resulting in large file transfers failed right at 2GB.

It turns out the problem was my modem/router. I was using a 2Wire modem with Qwest DSL. The modem firmware had been forcibly upgraded at some point, after which time large files just wouldn't transfer. They sent me a new brand of modem and that fixed the problem.

So, it might be worth trying to eliminate your modem/router as once possible source of the problem.

[RokuMarkn]

Most likely either your version of Apache or your operating system does not support "large files", although I think Apache has supported largefiles since version 2.1. What version of Apache and what OS are you running?

--Mark

[joetesta]

Thank you very much for the suggestion belltown.
I just discovered that the videos are actually playing fine on roku now (it must have been a bandwidth issue earlier) however in the chrome web browser, anything over 2GB consistently fails to pause & restart.
So I am glad to have confirmed that this is not a problem with my encoding or serving. But I wish I understood what the problem was.

[joetesta]

"RokuMarkn" wrote:
Most likely either your version of Apache or your operating system does not support "large files", although I think Apache has supported largefiles since version 2.1. What version of Apache and what OS are you running?

Thanks for the suggestion Mark. In my first post I listed my apache version (2.2.21), and my server's OS is Ubuntu 10.04 (64 bit server).
Since the content is working perfectly on roku now, I must assume the problem is a limitation of the browser (chrome) or the receiving PC (tested and noted the problem in chrome on both Windows XP and 7).
At this point I am much more curious than concerned, as long as the content plays fine on roku I'm happy 🙂