Not able to watch full lenght AVi formated movies. Its stops in the middle

[TonyPh12345]

Ya'll do know that certain AVI formats are limitted to 1G in size, and others are limitted to 2G in size, right?

Go google this string:

avi "larger than 2"

and you'll see hundreds of thousands of discussions about that.

That doesn't mean you can't CREATE files bigger than that, but the internal file structure won't be able to be processed by players.

You will probably be better off MUXing those files into an MKV, which supports files bigger than the sum of all HD's in the world.  

[mariee24]

Hi, Ihave xvid codec movies only, inception 1.38gb cuts out 1hr 47min ,the boondock saints 2 1.1gb cut out 1hr 45min, eatpraylove 1.36gb cuts out 1hr 47min  says incorrect format error message all are 29 frames/sec. I also have twilight 701mb 2hr 01min plays all the way through 23 frames/sec , Twilight-new moon 1.04gb 2hr 10min plays all the way through 29 frames/sec, twilight-eclipse 1.02gb 2hr 03min plays all the way through 29 frames/sec.I also have australia 1.17gb, the last samurai 1.26gb, lord of the rings-the two towers 1.46gb this 3 are 25 frames/sec and play perfect without cutting out.

Unfortunately I cant seem to find any decisive trend to pin point the problem whether being size ,codec or frame rate can anyone please offer suggestions all the above movies play perfect on pc the problems are with play back on wd tv mini have already try reformatting harddrives turning on/off and reset suggestions from other discussions to no avale.

[FreddyF]

"Ya'll do know that certain AVI formats are limitted to 1G in size, and others are limitted to 2G in size, right?

Go google this string:

avi "larger than 2"

and you'll see hundreds of thousands of discussions about that.

That doesn't mean you can't CREATE files bigger than that, but the internal file structure won't be able to be processed by players.

You will probably be better off MUXing those files into an MKV, which supports files bigger than the sum of all HD's in the world."

Idid the search You suggested, and what I am finding is that the file system on the drive is the limiting factor.  Fat16 is limited to 2G, FAT32 limited to 4G and NTFS has a limit, but it is beyond the TB range.  Windows has a problem with AVI files larger than 2G unless using directshow, according to Microsoft.  Since I have AVIs that are greater than 2g and play fine, I suspect the problem has to do more with the firmware requirements than the container. 

As for using MKV on the MINI, I am not sure it is really supported, and if it is, not very well.  On the Specification sheet dated September 2009 it is not listed, however on the undated user manual it lists MKV using MPEG4 or MPEG codecs only.  The WD TV Live, which you list on your profile supports h.264, x.264, Mpeg 1/2/4, AVC, WM9 and VC-1.  These are not the same devices at all. 

So far I have not been able to get MKV to work on the MINI, but I am still trying as it does have some better features, however AVI on the MINI appears to be a better option, once the optimum settings are discovered.  Unfortunately, since the WD TV MINI no longer appears on the product listing and they have not provided a firmware update since March 2010, (WD TV LIVE NOV 2010, WD Elements play  Oct 2010, Live Media Center Dec 2010) I suspect whatever probelms there are with this device are there to stay.

I am very disappointed with the Mini and WD in general.  I have purchased many WDC products over the years and I have been very disappointed with the quality and support of their products recently.  I have contacted them several times this year regarding other products and have not received a satisfactory resolution to the problems.  When I replace my WD TV MINI I don't think it will be with another WDC product, I think I'm done with them.    

[jwbates]

I don't think file size is an issue.  I frequently get this problem, with different files of different sizes, down to 150 MB.  I don't have movie files over 1.4 GB and at different times during the file from a few seconds to a few minutes..  There doesn't to be any commonality to it, just that certain files will stop and go back to the start, and it doesn it repeatedly at the same point.  And file types and size that are the same as others, ie, a tv show in a series of shows, one file will decide to do it, while the others a fine.

[Scared_of_Girls]

WD really need to test this thoroughly and come up with a solution or at least an explanation so we can implement our own work-arounds with confidence. Until they do so, I will not recommend WD products to anybody.

Pathetic after-market support WD, just pathetic.