Features, settings & updates

[Compumind]

Greetings!

See here:

https://support.roku.com/article/208754908

I have videos in several different formats, like MKV files.

The videos play just fine, but there is no sound at all.

These can be movies and many other video media types which contain (or not contain) subtitles.

Is there a fix for this - tried on 3 different Roku Ultra units.

Thanks!

P.S. Playing through PLEX  works just fine!

[renojim]

The audio in your files is probably not supported by Roku devices and Plex is transcoding it into something that is.  Also, if you're using any of the audio modes like "Leveling" or "Night" try disabling it.

[Compumind]

@renojim -

I believe the media player needs to be updated to support all Audio formats.

I tried everything with the Audio on my end.

Thanks.

[renojim]

Unfortunately, no channel/app can support any codec that the device doesn't natively support.  Roku is an Internet streaming device and they seem to have little regard for people that are looking to stream their own material.  While most of my streaming is of my own collection, I have learned to live with the limitations of using a Roku device for that purpose.  Basically, if Netflix starts using a codec then Roku will support it, otherwise it's hit or miss. 

[Compumind]

Hi again -

Their Media Player is very limited - is there an USB-based alternative for it?

Thanks.

[atc98092]

There's no alternative video player that works with the USB port. Even if there was, the media still has to be in a supported container and the video and audio codecs used must also be supported. 

MKV is a container, nothing more. What it contains has to be supported by the Roku. 

Roku officially supports the following media formats:

• Video file types: MP4 , MOV , M4V , MKV , WebM (this is the container. They also support TS/M2TS)
• Video codecs: H.264/AVC , HEVC/H.265 , VP9 (H.262/MPEG2 is supported by players built from 2016 and later, and all Roku TVs)
• Audio file types: AAC , MP3 , WMA , WAV (PCM) , AIFF , FLAC , ALAC , AC3 , E-AC3 (this line mixes containers and codecs, and is specific to audio only files, not video)

I believe there are a number of USB players for audio files, but not for video. When you try to play a video and you don't hear anything, that means either the audio codec is unsupported by the Roku, or what you're feeding the file to (your TV, or an AVR/Soundbar handling the audio) doesn't support the codec. If the audio is DTS, it has to be in the MKV container and whatever plays your audio must support DTS. Most TVs will not play DTS audio. The reason Plex works is that it transcodes the audio to standard AC-3/Dolby Digital. There are other media servers that can do the same. Emby offers a media server and has a Roku channel for playback. Then there's many basic DLNA servers that handle the back end, and you use the Roku Media Player channel for playback. I wrote the Roku profiles that come with Serviio, so I'm pretty comfortable recommending that server. 

[dheav]

I have to chime in here. This was all working fine until recently. I have tested many file types and many usb thumb drives, and getting no sound as well.  Not sure if it was from the last update, which I suspect since this is a recent problem on both of my Ultras.  I plug the usb drives into my tv, and they work fine.  Roku, you need to fix this.  Thank you.

[atc98092]

RMP hasn't had an update since February, and the audio codecs supported by Roku have not changed. If you're not getting audio, we need to know your file contents. That doesn't mean just saying it's a MP4 or MKV file. Those are container types, and they can contain more than one type of codec. MKV in particular can contain almost any codec existing, so the only way to troubleshoot your issue is knowing what's inside the files.

There's free program called MediaInfo that can quickly identify the contents, and it's available for virtually any operating system. There's also a simple program called FFMPEG that can be used from the command line to determine file contents. FFMPEG is available for most OSs as well. But without knowing the content of your files, we can't begin to assist with your playback issues. 

[dheav]

I find it interesting that a video played 4 months ago via usb in the roku ultra with zero problems now plays with no sound. Doubt that it is a codec problem. Thank you for the info.

[atc98092]

@dheav we can't help troubleshoot your problem without that information. Yes, it's puzzling. And it's the kind of info that can really assist. It could very well be a codec problem with the Roku, but they need to know what the codec is.