Playing MP4 Captures Within BI

[Aaron407]

Although the .bvr container may allow for more internal flexibility (e.g., previewing while still recording), I would prefer to use .mp4 containers for my captured footage to allow for network viewing on other devices. However, I'm having difficulty viewing the captures in BI if they are in mp4 format.

They record and show normally in the list, but when I try to open them in BI I get a black screen and an "Unable to open file: 80040154" error. The bvr format with identical encode settings plays fine, but not the mp4, although they are playable outside of BI (e.g., VLC plays them back without issue). I have installed the k-lite codec pack as suggested elsewhere and rebooted, but the problem persists. Nothing is showing up in the system log that pops up when you click on the 'bar graph' icon at the top left.

Can anyone offer any suggestions? Also, is there any possible way to record in a different h.264 profile (e.g.., main rather than high) to expand compatibility?

 

[bp2008]

The last time I tried MP4 it did not work out well either. I'm not sure what the trick is.

If you are using direct to disk recording, which you should be, then the H.264 profile is determined by the camera. Check its web interface.

If you are not recording direct to disk, then you use Blue Iris's encoding settings. It doesn't actually have options for baseline, main, or high profiles, but it does have "ultrafast", "superfast", and "veryfast" in a dropdown. Even the simplest H.264 decoders should be able to handle video encoded by "ultrafast".

 

[twiztidicp420]

Blue Iris cant view a file that is being written to unless it is in the BVR format. So unless you have the motion detection set to cut the files you wont be able to view anything that is currently being written to.

It should play the MP4 that isnt being written to. I believe mine did when i had it set like that but i cant remember. The thing that really force me back to BVR was the mobile app wouldnt play the alrets unless I was using BVR.

If you end up using BVR you can export to MP4 still if you need a portion of a video file or the entire thing.

 

[Aaron407]

I'm not using direct to disk recording in order to allow for the BI video overlays. The cameras that I use are fairly cheap and their overlays have been buggy in the past, while also not offering things like fps. Their quality is also not the highest, so the re-encode doesn't hurt things much at all. As for mp4, I have folder shortcuts in Kodi on an Nvidia Shield TV to access the recordings, so mp4 is certainly my goal as bvr isn't supported. For some reason, before a recent update, the mp4s couldn't even be played by kodi (maybe a container problem?), but that was recently fixed.

In terms of 'ultrafast', 'superfast', and 'veryfast', what does that control? I've done a fair bit of manual encoding and manipulation in the past, so I'm curious what it impacts. Regardless, I'm still hoping to find a solution to the mp4 playback issue.

 

[Aaron407]

Blue Iris cant view a file that is being written to unless it is in the BVR format. So unless you have the motion detection set to cut the files you wont be able to view anything that is currently being written to.

It should play the MP4 that isnt being written to. I believe mine did when i had it set like that but i cant remember. The thing that really force me back to BVR was the mobile app wouldnt play the alrets unless I was using BVR.

If you end up using BVR you can export to MP4 still if you need a portion of a video file or the entire thing.

Yeah, I'm ok with not being able to view one that's still being recorded. It obviously has to do with how the headers are written versus that in an mp4 that needs to finish the stream before completing the header. I'd still generally prefer the mp4 container without the 'in progress' playback ability as it's not a regularly monitored computer, and I do like to be able to view the clips elsewhere on the network without having to pull up BI to export.

However, I was not aware of the mobile app format limitation. I do use the app and have had the format set to bvr due to the mp4 playback bug, but didn't realize that it wouldn't work. That might be a strong consideration, although I find it strange that this limitation even exists, considering that the video stream is the same format regardless.

In terms of exporting, I have been doing that, but unselecting the 're-encode' option. That way it just takes the video stream and repackages it to mp4 without touching the quality (plus it's faster).

 

[twiztidicp420]

Yeah, I'm ok with not being able to view one that's still being recorded. It obviously has to do with how the headers are written versus that in an mp4 that needs to finish the stream before completing the header. I'd still generally prefer the mp4 container without the 'in progress' playback ability as it's not a regularly monitored computer, and I do like to be able to view the clips elsewhere on the network without having to pull up BI to export.

However, I was not aware of the mobile app format limitation. I do use the app and have had the format set to bvr due to the mp4 playback bug, but didn't realize that it wouldn't work. That might be a strong consideration, although I find it strange that this limitation even exists, considering that the video stream is the same format regardless.

In terms of exporting, I have been doing that, but unselecting the 're-encode' option. That way it just takes the video stream and repackages it to mp4 without touching the quality (plus it's faster).

The mobile app for watching the live stream will still work no matter what format it is recording in IIRC. The viewing of the alert video is what i had problems with. I eventually just gave up and stuck with BVR. Its been 6 months or so since i did any of that so I cant rememeber everything.

 

[Aaron407]

It is the alert videos that I'd be wanting to watch through the app, so maybe it wouldn't work well. I'll do a few tests to see if mp4 would simply not work on my system in that respect. I'd still like to find out how to view the mp4 recordings right in BI, though, even if I don't end up using it (I'm a closure kind of guy...)

 

[fenderman]

It is the alert videos that I'd be wanting to watch through the app, so maybe it wouldn't work well. I'll do a few tests to see if mp4 would simply not work on my system in that respect. I'd still like to find out how to view the mp4 recordings right in BI, though, even if I don't end up using it (I'm a closure kind of guy...)

The blue iris website has an old version of the codec...download this one Download K-Lite Codec Pack Standard
it will work. Use advanced installation and decline the offer to install "shield defense" plugin for chrome...

 

[Aaron407]

Thanks, that did it. Everything seems to be working fine, and I can play the mp4s back just fine through the mobile app as well.

 

[mrsteven]

I am able to play individual mp4 captures within BI but when I try to play simultaneous views from 2 different cams then they both show black instead. Is BI able to play 2 mp4 files simultaneously?

TIA