What does View Details show
I don't know where to find "View Details."
This is from MediaInfo for the original wmv file:
General
Complete name : D:\CHANNELS\Imports\Videos\video1\video1.wmv
Format : Windows Media
File size : 1 003 MiB
Duration : 18 min 32 s
Overall bit rate mode : Constant
Overall bit rate : 7 567 kb/s
Maximum Overall bit rate : 8 416 kb/s
Encoded date : UTC 2010-03-05 21:53:01
Video
ID : 2
Format : VC-1
Format profile : MP@HL
Codec ID : WMV3
Codec ID/Info : Windows Media Video 9
Codec ID/Hint : WMV3
Description of the codec : Windows Media Video 9 - Professional
Duration : 18 min 32 s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 6 005 kb/s
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 960 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 4:3
Frame rate : 30.000 FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Compression mode : Lossy
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.163
Stream size : 796 MiB (79%)
NumberOfFrames : 33353
Audio
ID : 1
Format : WMA
Format profile : Lossless
Codec ID : 163
Codec ID/Info : Windows Media Audio
Description of the codec : Windows Media Audio 9.2 Lossless - VBR Quality 100, 96 kHz, 2 channel 24 bit 1-pass VBR
Duration : 18 min 32 s
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 2 146 kb/s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 96.0 kHz
Bit depth : 24 bits
Stream size : 285 MiB (28%)
On what device were you trying to play back? Was there sound?
As a wmv file it doesn't scan or show up at all in Channels. Switched extension to an mp4 and it is now recognized. When I attempt to play it on a Firestick 4k, it says " ! Recording Not Found (-16)"
When I attempt to play it from a web browser on a PC it's not possible because there is no thumbnail to click on to play.
I switched the Home Streaming from "original" to 4 mbps and it appears to attempt to start streaming with this in the log:
2023/05/14 16:55:53.842359 [ENC] Starting encoder for video1.mp4 in D:\CHANNELS\ChannelsDVR\Streaming\file14000-ip192.168.254.229-3351066118\encoder-50-1092383225 at 50 (235.966000) (encoder=h264_mf, resolution=720, deinterlacer=blend, bitrate=3808, segment_size=0.01)
2023/05/14 16:55:53.871827 [HLS] ffmpeg: file14000-ip192.168.254.229: Guessed Channel Layout for Input Stream #0.0 : stereo
2023/05/14 16:55:53.871827 [HLS] ffmpeg: file14000-ip192.168.254.229: Decoder (codec wmalossless) not found for input stream #0:0
2023/05/14 16:55:54.041822 [ENC] Encoder stopped for video1.mp4 in D:\CHANNELS\ChannelsDVR\Streaming\file14000-ip192.168.254.229-3351066118\encoder-50-1092383225 after starting from 50 without encoding any segments. Marked segment as failed.
but never plays, no video, no audio.
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It appears we don’t support WMV files. Not the extension for importing, and not decoding the format.
That’s why it’s working when you rename the extension, and only plays when it’s transcoded to h.264.
This isn’t a surprise as WMV files are from an era far long ago.
That being said, we can get support in for both importing and playing back natively in the clients.
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Click Options > View Details on video1
Thanks. That would be great.
Just getting into the Videos section. Very cool stuff.
This is tribute video that I created for my grandmother's funeral about 13 years ago and wanted to share it with the family. So yeah, it's an old video format.
I've tried to convert it to mp4, and it's successful when getting a 60 second preview in Handbrake, but when I try to encode the whole video, even Handbrake chokes on it. It does, however play fine (video and audio) when I attempt to play it on the server using Windows Media Player, before and after the file extension change.
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Weird. Someone should be able to help with a simple ffmpeg command. It sounds worth converting it to a more modern format for keeping it around.
It was worth digitizing video from 1980's era magnetic VHS to the WMV format, so yeah, I could do that. As a software developer, and as you get older, you'll realize the importance of backward compatibility on items worth savings, because file formats change too frequently to screw around with this.
I will, however get this video into mp4 one way or another if you decide you'd rather not tackle this compatibility issue.
Software developers do understand this importance, and that is why most all of them promote open standards. In 2010 there were video codecs superior to WMV, so the blame lies either with whichever service you used, or you for not requesting a better format.
However, don't blame subsequent developers and services for not supporting the crappy and proprietary format.
(It's almost similar to going to Blockbuster and yelling at the clerks because they don't have any Betamax ... except the opposite, because Beta was the superior format over VHS.)
Sorry to off topic this, but can't resist. But, recently learned this not true. Betamax (Consumer format) was not really superior to VHS. Modern comparisons is subjective of course, but facts prove otherwise and is a general misconception that Beta is "superior".
Betacam is vastly superior and very different Professional format, used until the late 90's in TV Studios, and that is typically where the argument of "Beta" is better comes from. (Source: Technology Connections 1, 2, 3)
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Please try the latest server pre-release and TestFlight beta to see if this works now.
I updated to V2023.05.17.0130 and I now get a thumbnail. When I attempt to play it on a PC, it just spins. When I try to play it on the firestick it says
! Recording not found (-16)
The log says:
2023/05/18 19:02:25.415637 [ENC] Starting encoder for video3.wmv in D:\CHANNELS\ChannelsDVR\Streaming\file14048-ip192.168.254.102-2150750086\encoder-0-2276026648 at 0 (0.000000) (encoder=h264_mf, resolution=960, deinterlacer=blend, bitrate=9744, segment_size=0.01)
2023/05/18 19:02:25.966880 [HLS] ffmpeg: file14048-ip192.168.254.102: [h264_mf @ 0000000002b7eac0] stream format change
2023/05/18 19:02:59.242310 [ENC] Stopped encoder for video3.wmv in D:\CHANNELS\ChannelsDVR\Streaming\file14048-ip192.168.254.102-2150750086\encoder-0-2276026648 after encoding 0 to 31
Try the Channels beta client on Fire stick
I'm already running the beta app on the firestick. I just went into support on the client and there appears to be an update ... running that now.
So after the update I get audio but no video. Getting closer.
Okay please submit diagnostics from that app after playback with no video
Just switched the client on the LAN to 8mbps transcoding and it's playing now. If the firestick can't play wmv natively, is there a way the server can figure out what to do there?
Just submitted logs. The logs were submitted after upgrading, then switching between transcoding and not transcoding across the LAN.