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Handbrake'd files will not open on PC ...m4v to mp4?

Z

ZballZ

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 11, 2006
246
0
Handbrake is my favourite app for creating h.264 on the fly - even though I
know it is meant for ripping - I mostly use it to create smaller h.264
files of video-work I have to send to clients...

Lately I have come across an issue where my clients cannot play the files I
send them ?? I know they're on PC and I am on mac, and the odd thing is
that I compressed about 12 files, and 8 would open ok for them - 4 would
not... (obviously there seems to be no problem in my end, and I used the
same preset in handbrake)

These files where all some corporate video stuff, and later I realized that
the recording format of just those 4 faulty files where different than the
others. How on earth this should affect the output from Handbrake is a
mystery to me??

If I want to create the most generic/cross-platform type of file - what
preset is recommended in handbrake?? And is there no way to output to a MP4
file, and not M4V ?? I am thinking that M4V perhaps could cause issue on
the windows-platform...

thanx for any help !!
zballz.
 
M4V is MP4.

Your post is vague. You need to post encoding settings and details on videos that work and videos that don't.
 
If I remember right Windows doesn't support mp4 by default. I'm not near my windows machine to try. They most likely need a codec.
 
my TV wouldn't recognize the m4v extension. Changed it to mp4 and then it played them fine. ymmv.
 
Consultant said:
M4V is MP4.

Your post is vague. You need to post encoding settings and details on videos that work and videos that don't.
Click to expand...
No, it was not vague. However, it is possibly illegal. M4V is MP4 with Apple iTunes DRM as an option. The OP is asking about breaking DRMed files.
 
For one, this is not a DRM issue, and not illegal. The videos are corporate-stuff, shot by various people - I was asked to finalize this work, and compress it to a web-ready format...

I dumped the files, one by one, into handbrake. Set an average bit-rate manually and used the x.264 codec, and output to m4v files. All files played fine on my mac, so I send them off to the client...

...8 of 12 files would play fine on windows-PC. 4 files would not. They tested on several machines. The faulty videos were originally shot HD, while the other 8 were SD. But how could this have anything to do with it?? Coincidence? The output format is still the same, right?

...Now I am wondering if perhaps I have selected the ffmpegx MPEG4 codec instead of the x.264 codec ... could this be of some significance?
 
There are various profiles in H.264 video, which basically dictate how complicated the decompression can be. Older software might only play Baseline video, and High is often an issue even for current software. The iPod compatibility checkbox constrains the profile to one of the more basic ones.

Do all the videos Handbrake spits out have the M4V extension?
 
KeithPratt makes the very valid point that every mp4 isn't equal and it is quite possible to make a video from an HD file that is too complex to read by some machines.

Also, an m4v is simply an mp4 with a different extension. Change the file name from X.m4v to X.mp4 and it will play better on some equipment. Handbrake allows you to choose which extension you prefer, but you can always change the the extension after you've encoded the file.

You might also ask your clients to install a program called VLC, which is excellent at playing a wide variety of file types.
 
slothrob said:
KeithPratt makes the very valid point that every mp4 isn't equal and it is quite possible to make a video from an HD file that is too complex to read by some machines.

Also, an m4v is simply an mp4 with a different extension. Change the file name from X.m4v to X.mp4 and it will play better on some equipment. Handbrake allows you to choose which extension you prefer, but you can always change the the extension after you've encoded the file.

You might also ask your clients to install a program called VLC, which is excellent at playing a wide variety of file types.
Click to expand...

Thx for the help. I will try to change to MP4, instead of M4V. I still dont understand how some files would play, and some not, when I've used the same presets?? Is there any way that I can get complete codec-compression info off of the files now? Just to double-check if they differ in any way?
 
martinX said:
Open in QT, then Command-I.

Or take a look at Media Info Mac.
Click to expand...

Thx - I've now used Media Info to extract video-compression-info. I've attached the info here; the first image is the one that works fine on PC, the second does not ... any ideas why??
 

Attachments

  • 2-working.png
    2-working.png
    97.7 KB · Views: 284
  • 1-notworking.png
    1-notworking.png
    99.2 KB · Views: 393
The videos that work are SD (720x480 or close to that), the ones that won't work are HD (720p 1280x720). Commercial PC's are often not purchased with the graphics hardware necessary to run HD video, and that's probably the problem.
 
I think we're making progress. What are the PC specs? How are the files being delivered? Can you try compressing a little more aggressively (the HD file info shows its 5 times the bitrate of the SD movies)? Do they have to be HD when delivered?
 
martinX said:
I think we're making progress. What are the PC specs? How are the files being delivered? Can you try compressing a little more aggressively (the HD file info shows its 5 times the bitrate of the SD movies)? Do they have to be HD when delivered?
Click to expand...

I also suggested this when they first reported the issue. They said they had also tried the files on a "brand new computer" (whatever specs that is). Mind you, my macbook pro is 4,5 years old and plays these files just fine !!

But, thanks for the suggestions, I have now re-compressed more aggresively and at smaller resolution; I haven't heard from them yet, but hopefully it will work...
 
ZballZ said:
They said they had also tried the files on a "brand new computer" (whatever specs that is).
Click to expand...
Could be a 5400rpm hard drive, integrated graphics, 2GB total RAM running a RAM-pig OS, POS Dell.

Maybe there player's ratty. I usually tell Windows people to get VLC, but a colleague reckons KM Player is even better so (if you feel like annoying your clients) you could get them to DL that.

Better stick with the more-aggressive encoding :)
 
Well, these people are of the "creative" kind, and I have tried explaining over and over again how they need to handle these things. No luck :). Also, I just found out that they have only tried playing the files directly from the DVD I burned for them. Obvoiusly this is no good for high-bitrate-files. I've tried to get them to use VLC, but I am not sure they have the technical skills to download another app and play the files from that :)

BUT; I do think that I've found something out. In Handbrake the "high-profile" preset seems to have issues with PC's... Perhaps I'll just stick to "normal" preset from now on, and avoid the rest...
 
RE: Handbrake Issue

If you are using FCP you should have QT Pro which means you can encode to an h.264 mov and and many other things.

If you don't have QT Pro you can purchase as a standalone upgrade from QT for $30. All you do is buy a Serial Number from Apples Website, and open QT's preferences and enter it. You're DONE. Not QT-X this is a newer version of quicktime but doesn't have a pro version yet.

Now fore people that are stuck PC's. And instead of creating some type of h.264 encoded video.

Get Flip4Mac. This is a plugin for QT Pro that adds another option for encoding to Windows Media. That way there is no problems viewing on a PC.

Also you can export right from FCP using QT conversion exporting and choose Windows Media option and adjust settings that fits you.
 
VideoCave said:
...

Get Flip4Mac. This is a plugin for QT Pro that adds another option for encoding to Windows Media. That way there is no problems viewing on a PC.

....
Click to expand...
The free version of the Flip4Mac codec does not convert content to Windows Media (except with a watermark, IIRC). To convert content to Windows Media, you need as a bare minimum Flip4Mac Studio, a $49 upgrade. However, you are limited with anything less than Flip4Mac Studio Pro, a $99 upgrade of the free codec.
 
m4v to mp4

I had this trouble and solved it by going to presets and selecting devices- android. This created an mp4 not and m4v which plays on vlc which the m4v would not even when file extension was changed.
 
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