VU+ Duo Media Playback (DIVX, XVID, ISO,etc)

[dna1409]

Hello,

I'm new to the satelite system scene and have recently purchased a VU+ Duo. I have tried numerous images (PLI, Dream Elite, VIX) and no matter which image i choose my media player just doesnt seem to play any avi i throw at it smoothly enough to watch a film without irritation. I have read that the media player side of the VU+ is still in early development, is this true, will it improve?

In the mean time does anyone know what codecs/settings to use for conversion of video files so that they will play without problems?

I have also been looking into VLC player on the VU+, using my PC as the VLC sever. Has anyone tried this, does this work well as a media player?

Happy new year all, and thanks for any replies :)

DnA1409.

[stanley1]

still a bit to go on media player but having said that it can play mkv files seamlessly, look here for VLC player and VU+.

http://www.vuplus-support.co.uk/showthread.php?3653-Vlc-player-on-vu-solved!!

[dna1409]

What resolution do the .mkv files play? Could you recommend any programs for converting to .mkv?

Also, is it possible to convert DIVX to .mkv, i know that the image would not be HD but maybe they would run smoothly on VU+ if they were presented as .mkv?

Have you tried the VLC player Stanley?

[stanley1]

I think resolution is 1280x720, Im sorry I don't know any program for converting to mkv as I usually download only mkv files, VLC works fine as a server, I use version 1.0.5, VLC is on vix server you just need to input ip address.

[Maxwell]

HandBrake will convert to MKV no problem


http://handbrake.fr/

[Larry-G]

HandBrake will convert to MKV no problem


http://handbrake.fr/

indeed it will. i use it my self regularly and it works like a charm.

[MalteseMick]

Also make sure you download and install the Autoresolution program, it sets the correct frequency and resolution for your files which I've found helps a tiny bit with the juddery divx.

[irishchris]

staxrip is also a great converter for mkv. really quick conversion too!

[dna1409]

Hi all,

Thanks for your replies. Sorry i haven't got back to you, i dont seem to be receiving any emails or notifications for replies to my thread so i never knew i was receiving any.

I have used handbrake to convert a DVD to mkv and it plays flawlessly, thanks stanley and maxwell. I am yet to try staxrip irishchris but i am going to download and try tonight when i get home, see if it does the job any better! I will also try playing one of the problem DivX files after downloading the autoresolution program, thanks for that MalteseMick :)

A really weird problem that i am now having, that i cannot find any information on even after thorough research is when i try to copy certain video files to my HDD on the VU+ it gets half way and windows displays a message that the file is not accessible and that i should check that network is connected. The file i'm trying to copy is a mkv i aquired last night that is 4.6GB in size, ive tried renaming to a short file name and have tried moving it to VU+ multiple times, it throws this error at me everytime at 26 minutes left to go, its very strange. All other files are moving accross fine and i have 1.6GB of drive space left on the VU+. A friend says he has had the same problem. Is this a known issue with the VU+?

I am loving the new VU+ Duo box, i wish i had got one earlier! It has now replaced my Sky+ box (which is now on eBay :D) now that i have sorted CCcam out, only thing i need to sort out now is the TV guide, are there any that you guys can recommend?
Im using the latest PLI image, i thought there was one already installed but when i press the EPG button it is just giving me information for the particular channel i am on (sorry if i should be starting a new thread seeing that i am now changing topic).

Thanks again for all your help guys, this forum is excellent and has been a great help for me as a VU+ n00b!

DnA1409.

[Maxwell]

Due to the FAT32 structure of the file system file size must be less than 4GB, this is the maximum that a FAT32 system can handle

[dna1409]

Thanks Maxwell but i formatted my HDD with NTFS using my PC before installing into my VU+ duo :(

[Maxwell]

Did you then partition and format it within the VU+

[dna1409]

No, i just installed and started copying films, all seemed ok. Should i reformat in the VU+ do you think?

[Maxwell]

Yes definitely the VU doesnt like NTFS, you must repartition first, see this thread http://www.vuplus-support.co.uk/showthread.php?5067-problem-with-hard-drive&p=39257#post39257
Posts 4 and 6 in particular

[dna1409]

Brilliant, must be what is causing me all these weird problems! Thanks Maxwell :D

Just out of curiosity, what file format does the VU+ use?

[pooface]

Brilliant, must be what is causing me all these weird problems! Thanks Maxwell :D

Just out of curiosity, what file format does the VU+ use?

Vu+ is a linux box, and so uses the linux os. I think formatting through the menus formats it as ext3...

Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk

[dna1409]

Ah i see, im not too familiar with Linux. Thanks pooface :)

[dna1409]

Oh and what size files can this file structure handle? Im looking at using .mkv from now on so files are going to range 1GB-15Gb.

[Maxwell]

ext3 in Linux is based on block size, not sure what the block sizes are on the VU but if its Block 1 the maximum file size is 16GB, Block 2 is 256GB and Block 4 is 2TB, these blocks also limit the maximum file system size from 2TB to 16TB

[dna1409]

Cool, sounds like im good for HD mkv files then, thanks guys, im going to give it a go now!

[dna1409]

I am currently running a PLI image and am unable to find a way to format the HDD through the VU+, only to initialise it. Is the format feature only available on VIX image? I dont really want to have to take the HDD out if i can help it :S

[sivhead]

I believe the word initialization is another word for Format. Have you checked that all of your recordings are gone after an initialization

[dna1409]

Ah i see. Yes i have a clean HDD now that i have initialised the HDD but my large mkv files still dont seem to be copying accross over the network. I am yet to find time to remove the HDD and format using my PC to ext3, will give this a try and see if it works!

[dna1409]

OK, so ive decided to remove my 2TB HDD and just leave a 500GB in my VU+. I have decided that i am going to use a network mount from my PC for my movies as once i have watched a film i will just want to archive it out of the way anyway and this saves me copying the film over the network just to copy back again.

I have got many films in mkv format now (1080p) and WOW! the difference in quality is amazing, i will be using this format from now on, DIVX is a thing of the past! The only problem that i have is that the mkv files dont play on the VU+ with sound unless i re-encode the audio to AC3 (dolby digital), i get sound with AC3 but the volume seems to be extremely quiet is there a way around this?

[silverfox0786]

mate 2TB drives are buggy in the VU partition it to make it two 1TB drives and mount them

/media/hdd

and

/media/hdd1

[dna1409]

Well that would explain why i am experiencing this weird problem with "not enough space" and "unable to access file" messages im getting when trying to move files to a nearly empty HDD. Thanks silverfox0786 :)

Think im going to stick to the network drive mount, it makes life alot simpler, rather than moving files back and forth over the network. I have stuck my 500GB drive in there and am just going to put my daughters disney films etc on it so they are accessible whilst i am at work etc as the PC wont be running and is password protected :D