Problems playing MKA files

[Radsen]

Thanks @Radsen

I've added you comment to the Kodi bug report. 19.3 has been released without the progressbar/duration timer fix. I missed the cut-off. (19..4 hopefully for the fix).

Goes to show users need to report a Kodi bug or it won't get fixed. Not surprising at all.

I thought I'd reported this ages ago but it turns out I did but the 'fix' then was to change my 4K TV refresh rate in Kodi. That fix worked back then but not with recent Kodi releases and I'd forgot to report the 'new' bug a second time!

Thanks for your efforts and all the Kodi peeps.

 

[pat bateman]

19.3 is completely broken for me.

Thanks @Radsen

I've added your comment to the Kodi bug report. 19.3 has been released without the progressbar/duration timer fix. I missed the cut-off. (19..4 hopefully for the fix).

Goes to show users need to report a Kodi bug or it won't get fixed. Not surprising at all.

I thought I'd reported this ages ago but it turns out I did but the 'fix' then was to change my 4K TV refresh rate in Kodi. That fix worked back then but not with recent Kodi releases and I'd forgot to report the 'new' bug a second time!

I was looking for a solution to this other problem, and I see you posted this on Kodi's forums a couple years ago. Did you ever find a solution for this? Driving me crazy! Nevermind!I I found your tool. Tinkering with it now! Thank you for the effort!

I have the INXS - Kick 30 Atmos Blu-Ray album which I used to create mka files containing the Dolby TrueHD + Atmos track. I tagged these using mp3tag program. Scanned using Kodi 18.2. They appeared in the Kodi audio library (tagged as ‘Kick 30’ but the album name in Kodi was ‘Singles’).

https://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=345005&pid=2864661#pid2864661

 

[HomerJAU]

Kodi doesn’t read Matroska Audio (.mka) files track tags. Kodi uses a platform independent tagging library TagLib. This doesn’t read track tags.

The solution is to use MPEG Audio (.m4a) files. These use a standard tagging system that Kodi reads.

Music Media Helper can convert existing .mka files to m4a. It actually copies the Atmos stream to the .m4a files so lossless and fast. Kodi plays them with very near gapless playback on my Intel NUCs. MMH can tag them too.

 

[ngs428]

@HomerJAU thanks for all your knowledge and guidance (and guide) here.

I currently use Plex on my W11 server and stream to my in-home network to a couple TVs which have a Nvidia Shield with the plex app on. Plex will not play .mka or .m4a files, so I am struggling to find a solution to play my Atmos tracks. Namely the last 2 Beatles releases.

I tried installing KODI, but quickly realized it is not designed to be a server and client setup. It is designed to be installed on the playback device (different than Plex). I do still have KODI setup as UPNP on my W11 server, so maybe there is an app I can install on my shield to play the files? I could not get it to work (connect) yet (with the KODI app on my Shield anyway). Not many KODI tutorials showing how to setup a server client relationship. I read through all the first time setup files on the help WIKI.

As a workaround I am just using MAKEMKV and MKVTOOLNIX to create the .MKV file I need. No menus obviously and I can name and set the chapters as the song names, so it works ok.

Thanks again!

 

[Radsen]

@HomerJAU thanks for all your knowledge and guidance (and guide) here.

I currently use Plex on my W11 server and stream to my in-home network to a couple TVs which have a Nvidia Shield with the plex app on. Plex will not play .mka or .m4a files, so I am struggling to find a solution to play my Atmos tracks. Namely the last 2 Beatles releases.

I tried installing KODI, but quickly realized it is not designed to be a server and client setup. It is designed to be installed on the playback device (different than Plex). I do still have KODI setup as UPNP on my W11 server, so maybe there is an app I can install on my shield to play the files? I could not get it to work (connect) yet (with the KODI app on my Shield anyway). Not many KODI tutorials showing how to setup a server client relationship. I read through all the first time setup files on the help WIKI.

As a workaround I am just using MAKEMKV and MKVTOOLNIX to create the .MKV file I need. No menus obviously and I can name and set the chapters as the song names, so it works ok.

Thanks again!

the Kodi app on the Shield pointed at the PMS should play those files fine

 

[HomerJAU]

@himey uses Plex. Maybe he can help you. I’m pretty sure he plays mka Atmos files.

You may be able to play using a cue file too.

Otherwise you can use Kodi by giving your player access to your server folders and adding your music root folder (on the server) as a Music Source and and scanning into its library (database). Kodi requires tagged music files.

 

[himey]

@HomerJAU thanks for all your knowledge and guidance (and guide) here.

I currently use Plex on my W11 server and stream to my in-home network to a couple TVs which have a Nvidia Shield with the plex app on. Plex will not play .mka or .m4a files, so I am struggling to find a solution to play my Atmos tracks. Namely the last 2 Beatles releases.

I tried installing KODI, but quickly realized it is not designed to be a server and client setup. It is designed to be installed on the playback device (different than Plex). I do still have KODI setup as UPNP on my W11 server, so maybe there is an app I can install on my shield to play the files? I could not get it to work (connect) yet (with the KODI app on my Shield anyway). Not many KODI tutorials showing how to setup a server client relationship. I read through all the first time setup files on the help WIKI.

As a workaround I am just using MAKEMKV and MKVTOOLNIX to create the .MKV file I need. No menus obviously and I can name and set the chapters as the song names, so it works ok.

Thanks again!

Try the PlexKodiConnect Kodi add-on. MKA files play gapless too with this setup.

 

[himey]

@himey uses Plex. Maybe he can help you. I’m pretty sure he plays mka Atmos files.

You may be able to play using a cue file too.

Otherwise you can use Kodi by giving your player access to your server folders and adding your music root folder (on the server) as a Music Source and scanning. Kodi requires tagged music files.

Plex ignores cue files but I do put a cue file in there just in case I fire up jRiver which is limited in the tag department using MKA's. Going Kodi directly to MKA may need a cue and one long file, to avoid gaps in between tracks.

 

[himey]

Try the PlexKodiConnect Kodi add-on. MKA files play gapless too with this setup.

edit...Keep in mind if you use that add-on, you pretty much have to be all in with it, meaning you can't add stuff to the Kodi library unless it is in your Plex library. You can't mix and match.

 

[ngs428]

Try the PlexKodiConnect Kodi add-on. MKA files play gapless too with this setup.

My MKA tags in Plex were not showing up properly. I could manually tag in Plex if needed I suppose. The M4A files I tried tagged fine and tags were read fine in Plex. Not sure if there is an advantage of M4A vs MKA?

I went through that setup last night. took a bit and then it stated that the PLEXKODIConnect was not fully working with music files. When I connected, it scanned and bombed out when it tried scanning music. All my music is scanned via Picard.

When it connected it tried importing my entire plex library, which is 600 or so movies and 12k music files. I really just wanted this for the 5.1 Flac and ATMOS tracks in my Plex "surround" library.

 

[himey]

the Kodi app on the Shield pointed at the PMS should play those files fine

There are limitations with that but they will play.

 

[ngs428]

edit...Keep in mind if you use that add-on, you pretty much have to be all in with it, meaning you can't add stuff to the Kodi library unless it is in your Plex library. You can't mix and match.

Which would be fine, I am just looking to ideally have a subset of my plex library in Kodi, but that is not possible as you stated.

 

[ngs428]

the Kodi app on the Shield pointed at the PMS should play those files fine

The PlexKodiConnect Kodi add-on is required, right? No real "easier" way to do it?

 

[ngs428]

Sorry, my replies are a bit slow, waiting moderator approval.

 

[ngs428]

@himey uses Plex. Maybe he can help you. I’m pretty sure he plays mka Atmos files.

You may be able to play using a cue file too.

Otherwise you can use Kodi by giving your player access to your server folders and adding your music root folder (on the server) as a Music Source and and scanning into its library (database). Kodi requires tagged music files.

In red above, are you referring to setting up the The PlexKodiConnect Kodi add-on? All my files are tagged via Musicbrainz.

 

[HomerJAU]

Not sure if there is an advantage of M4A vs MKA?

M4A files can be fully tagged. MKA uses a complex music tagging system that’s not fully supported by many players or Taggers. Both can hold a lossless copy of the audio stream.

 

[ngs428]

M4A files can be fully tagged. MKA uses a complex music tagging system that’s not fully supported by many players or Taggers. Both can hold a lossless copy of the audio stream.

Sounds like m4a is the way to go, as long as I can get them to play.

 

[himey]

In red above, are you referring to setting up the The PlexKodiConnect Kodi add-on? All my files are tagged via Musicbrainz.

No. You don't have to use PKC (PlexKodiConnect) to simply play MKA files. However, tagging is limited and PKC gets around that.

 

[himey]

If I remember correctly, the disadvantage of M4A over MKA is gapless playback. The M4A advantage is tagging compatibility. Again, PKC and MKA together, handles both gapless playback and full tag support.

 

[ngs428]

If I remember correctly, the disadvantage of M4A over MKA is gapless playback. The M4A advantage is tagging compatibility. Again, PKC and MKA together, handles both gapless playback and full tag support.

Are you manually tagging your MKA files in Plex? Picard won’t tag them. I think I may have used mp3tag, but they were not read by plex.