Solving playback issues

[marchbold2002]

AVI file on my roku tv via USB? It seems that this is one, if not the only platform that in 2019 can't play AVI formats... Wish I knew this before purchasing this TV. I'm really regreting this purchase.... And NO, converting file format on PC is not the answer... Any thoughts or solutions for crying out loud??

[atc98092 · Accepted solution]

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@marchbold2002 wrote:

AVI file on my roku tv via USB? It seems that this is one, if not the only platform that in 2019 can't play AVI formats... Wish I knew this before purchasing this TV. I'm really regreting this purchase.... And NO, converting file format on PC is not the answer... Any thoughts or solutions for crying out loud??

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No, Roku does not support the AVI container. Your videos can be watched, but not via the USB port. You instead would have to use a DLNA server on a computer or NAS device to transcode the video into an accepted container and change the codecs if necessary. 

Roku has a limited number of containers and codecs that they support for playback. Generally, the container has to be MKV, MP4, MOV or TS/M2TS. The audio codec has to be AAC, PCM or Dolby Digital, and the video codec must be H.262 (MPEG2)/H.264/AVC/MP4. 4K sets also support H.265 (HEVC). 

You can use something like Plex or Emby if you want a Netflix-like user interface, or any number of DLNA servers, such as Serviio, and use the Roku Media Player to play them. 

[blade_005]

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@marchbold2002 wrote:

AVI file on my roku tv via USB? It seems that this is one, if not the only platform that in 2019 can't play AVI formats... Wish I knew this before purchasing this TV. I'm really regreting this purchase.... And NO, converting file format on PC is not the answer... Any thoughts or solutions for crying out loud??

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A little research would have told you what was supported.

Playing content stored on a USB drive 

Supported media file types

Different Roku devices support different formats. Newer firmware may support additional formats. The type of audio formats 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 and some Roku players

• 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.

[dgrace]

Converting the container on a pc isn't a big deal, and just could work through them a little at a time. Look at a freeware called mkv2mp4 which works very quickly. You can have it leave audio untouched but encode video. Another is Avidemux also quickly changes video but can "copy" audio. Also, I use MKVToolNix if I just want an mkv from another container.

MKV is the new world standard. I've had to convert all of my old Kodak photo discs, the world moves on.

[MichaelDiggs]

Just use the free program MAKE,KV. It will spit out your file in a few minutes. 

[atc98092]

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@MichaelDiggs wrote:

Just use the free program MAKE,KV. It will spit out your file in a few minutes. 

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MakeMKV is a great program, and I have used it for years. The one caveat has always been that older Roku players didn't support MPEG-2 (H.262), so any ripped DVD video needed to be converted or use a DLNA server that could transcode. Since the OP has a Roku TV, and they all support MPEG-2, there's no issue there. Also, some Blu Ray 1080 movies use VC-1 video, which Roku also doesn't support, so those would need conversion/transcoding. 

[yenko427]

i wish i knew that this tv would not play avi files i would not have bought this i have hundreds of avi files it would be easy for roku to make app that would play  so why not have a app too muct time to convert 

[atc98092]

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@yenko427 wrote:

i wish i knew that this tv would not play avi files i would not have bought this i have hundreds of avi files it would be easy for roku to make app that would play  so why not have a app too muct time to convert 

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AVI is proprietary, so a license would be required. Roku avoids codecs that require a license if at all possible. 

[Graemev2]

Me too. I have a sony (old), LG and Samsung TVs. The old Sony plays very little (format issues plus DRM Paranoia) but the newer TVs play pretty much every format thrown at it. I sort of assumed these were problems of the past and I was being paranoid. The RUKO "feature" was builtin to the new HISENSE tv so my research was about "does the HISENSE support DLNA, which was impossible to discover BTW. So there's no way I'd have goggle for formats supported by RUKO.

So now I'm in the ridiculous situation of having a 4K TV with RUKO builtin and scrabbling around for a "media player" box in order to use it.

Now I realise this is not a problem of RUKO's making, it's what happens when companies offer propriety solutions rather than agreeing on real international standards. The industry seems to be slowly solving the NTSC/PAL, DVD region lock issues, they need to make these format wars go away too . These are simply BARRIERS TO PURCHASE for us customers.

[boogernose]

Old string but @atc98092 is right.

I've toyed with Handbrake a bit and have had success.

Not with the presets for Roku but with the default settings.

Transcoding has come a long way since I toyed with it before(years ago)