Does the HD-200 not play WMV files?

[wayner]

I was playing some shows for my daughter on the HD-200 extender when I noticed that a few files won't play. The play fine on Placeshifter and on my server - they are in wmv format. Does this mean that wmv playback is not supported on the HD-200?

[RedCoat999]

I'm not having much luck with wmv either. Those are my words of wisdom....

[agover]

Count me as 3 - all I get is a black screen...

[wayner]

For supported files it lists the following: Video formats supported: MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, XVID, H.264 up to 1080p, WMV9/VC-1 up to 1080p

I don't know if that means it doesn't support WMV variants earlier than 9.

[Narflex]

Originally Posted by wayner

For supported files it lists the following: Video formats supported: MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, XVID, H.264 up to 1080p, WMV9/VC-1 up to 1080p

I don't know if that means it doesn't support WMV variants earlier than 9.

You are correct. Only WMV9 video is supported on the HD200. It doesn't support earlier versions of WMV video (hardware limitation....but if you use it as an extender, the server will transcode non-WMV9 video)

[wayner]

I only use my HD-200 as an extender, not in standalone mode, but it still won't play WMV files that play fine on my Sage PC. Is there a setting I have to select to get Sage to transcode these files?

[Narflex]

Originally Posted by wayner

I only use my HD-200 as an extender, not in standalone mode, but it still won't play WMV files that play fine on my Sage PC. Is there a setting I have to select to get Sage to transcode these files?

It should be automatic. We don't support DRM protected WMV files and we also don't support WMA Lossless or WMAPro audio. But if that's not the problem; then please submit a bug report (also make sure you're on the latest server version; there were some bugs related to this in the earlier 6.5 betas).

[wayner]

WMV files now appear to play okay using the new firmware.

[comet48]

Originally Posted by Narflex

It should be automatic. We don't support DRM protected WMV files and we also don't support WMA Lossless or WMAPro audio. But if that's not the problem; then please submit a bug report (also make sure you're on the latest server version; there were some bugs related to this in the earlier 6.5 betas).

It doesn't say anything about not supporting WMAPro on your web site when you are promoting your product. I received my HD200 today and pretty much everything I have won't play because it's WMAPro.
Also, it plays on the PC OK in Sage.
Do you plan on supporting all variations of wma, or do I have to return this.
Also, suggest you update your web page to reflect the real situation, including shortcomings in other codecs as well.

[alfi33]

Originally Posted by comet48

It doesn't say anything about not supporting WMAPro on your web site when you are promoting your product. I received my HD200 today and pretty much everything I have won't play because it's WMAPro.
Also, it plays on the PC OK in Sage.
Do you plan on supporting all variations of wma, or do I have to return this.
Also, suggest you update your web page to reflect the real situation, including shortcomings in other codecs as well.

The website is pretty clear about what IS supported by the HD200. It's a little silly to expect it to list all that ARE NOT supported as well.

[comet48]

Originally Posted by alfi33

The website is pretty clear about what IS supported by the HD200. It's a little silly to expect it to list all that ARE NOT supported as well.

Perhaps I missed something - it says wmv and wma. Obviously not all variants of WMA.

[comet48]

Here is what is says in case you haven't seen it lately!

Also enjoy music, photos and your home video library with your SageTV HD Theater on your HDTV. With the SageTV HD Theater you get playback support for MPEG1/2/4, H.264, WMV9, VC1, MKV, MOV, AVI, FLV, AAC, MP3, WMA, FLAC, JPEG, PNG and GIF files. Setup is simple and easy; just connect the SageTV HD Theater to your TV, plug it into your home network connected to the internet and you are good to go.

No caveats there.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by comet48

Perhaps I missed something - it says wmv and wma. Obviously not all variants of WMA.

WMA is NOT WMAPro. That's why Microsft gave it a different name. Your mistake. If it's not listed it's NOT supported.

Gerry

[wayner]

Here's what it says for video and audio:

Video formats supported: MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, XVID, H.264 up to 1080p, WMV9/VC-1 up to 1080p

Audio formats suppported: MP2, MP3, AAC, WMA, PCM, Vorbis (stereo only), AC3 (stereo down-mix/pass-through), FLAC, DTS (pass-through)

In my opinion the WMV line is much more ambiguous - does it play WMV9 files that are not VC-1? How would I even know if a WMV file on my PC is VC-1?

[gplasky]

From wikipedia:
VC-1 is the informal name of the SMPTE 421M video codec standard initially developed by Microsoft. It was released on April 3, 2006 by SMPTE. It is now a supported standard for HD DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, and Windows Media Video 9.

If you want to get more confused read it from there. 3 codec implementations, 3 profiles, 10 different resolutions by framerate. And thought of as a Microsoft product there are actually 15 different companies in the patent pool.

Usually the "/" represents and/or so I would say yes-it plays WMV9 and WMV9 that are VC-1.

Gerry

[sic0048]

Well I have to agree that it is a little misleading. That isn't necessarily Sage's fault, it's just the way people have named these formats.

Isn't WMA lossless a sub section of WMA? It's just in a lossless resolution instead of a lossy resolution. I would expect a device state states WMA support to also support the WMA in a lossless format.

I'm sure Sage doesn't want to print what their device does not support at this time. Not because they are trying to mislead consumers, but because it would cause them to have to set up a new print run if something is eventually supported in the future. This can cost a lot of money. If they don't have it printed on the box, then at least people don't disregard the product because it says it doesn't support a feature on the box when infact it has a firmware update than causes the device to now support it.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by sic0048

Well I have to agree that it is a little misleading. That isn't necessarily Sage's fault, it's just the way people have named these formats.

Isn't WMA lossless a sub section of WMA? It's just in a lossless resolution instead of a lossy resolution. I would expect a device state states WMA support to also support the WMA in a lossless format.

So if a device supports MP3 do you assume it supports MP3 Pro? It's just a subset, right?

Gerry

[comet48]

Personally I think the whole list on their web page is really misleading. As well as wmv, all my mkv files have the same issue - great video, no audio. Video without audio isn't much use.
MKV, AVI etc are just containers. Sage needs to come clean with clearly spell out what video and audio codecs work inside these containers. I haven't seen that - if they have, then my apologies - but put it up front where everyone can see it. WMA is not descriptive enough.
Pretty much everything that comes out of the standard HD presets in Adobe Premiere won't work with Sage Extenders because they don't support the audio.
It's the HD-200, so how about supporting the codecs prevelant in HD multimedia today.

[comet48]

Originally Posted by gplasky

WMA is NOT WMAPro. That's why Microsft gave it a different name. Your mistake. If it's not listed it's NOT supported.

Gerry

If you fo to the microsoft site http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...ecs/audio.aspx
you will see that there four flavours of WMA, and none of them are called WMA.
1. Windows Media Audio 9
2. Windows Media Audio 10 Professional
3. Windows Media Audio 9 Lossless
4. Windows Media Audio 9 Voice

Now, the sage web site refers to which one?

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by comet48

If you fo to the microsoft site http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...ecs/audio.aspx
you will see that there four flavours of WMA, and none of them are called WMA.
1. Windows Media Audio 9
2. Windows Media Audio 10 Professional
3. Windows Media Audio 9 Lossless
4. Windows Media Audio 9 Voice

Now, the sage web site refers to which one?

From wikipedia:
Windows Media Audio (WMA) is an audio data compression technology developed by Microsoft. The name can be used to refer to its audio file format or its audio codecs.

Also: It is a proprietary technology that forms part of the Windows Media framework. WMA consists of four distinct codecs. The original WMA codec, known simply as WMA, was conceived as a competitor to the popular MP3 and RealAudio codecs. WMA Pro, a newer and more advanced codec, supports multichannel and high resolution audio.A lossless codec, WMA Lossless, compresses audio data without loss of audio fidelity. And WMA Voice, targeted at voice content, applies compression using a range of low bit rates.

So when referring to WMA it would be considered WMA 9. Anything else would be followed by Pro, Lossless or Voice. Also in this case Sage is referring to the audio file format it supports. Not the codec being used.

Gerry