mp4 vs. m4v and folder watch

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awraynor
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Jun 21, 2014 7:29 pm

mp4 vs. m4v and folder watch

Post by awraynor »

Good morning,

I have a folder of movies I have ripped into the mp4 format for viewing via Plex. I directed iHomeServer to watch that
folder and it fails to import every movie in that folder. I then tried to remove that folder for monitoring and the option
to remove is greyed out, so removal is not possible.

Next I have a folder which contains home movies converted to mp4. iHomeServer will then convert them all to m4v.
Is there a particular reason they are converted to m4v and not left in mp4?
bizmodeller
Posts: 458
Joined: Thu Nov 14, 2013 8:40 pm

Re: mp4 vs. m4v and folder watch

Post by bizmodeller »

Couple of things here:
I have a folder of movies I have ripped into the mp4 format for viewing via Plex. I directed iHomeServer to watch that folder and it fails to import every movie in that folder
The issue is unlikely to be mp4 vs m4v - both are understood by iTunes. However, MP4 and M4V are both video containers. The issue with importing your folder of movies is likely to be the actual media within the video container - the import may be failing because of the codec used within the container. To find the reason behind the error, drill into the Watch Folder by double-clicking, right-click a failed movie and select 'Check QuickTime error message'. You'll then get a description of the error which I would be grateful if you could post back to this thread.
I then tried to remove that folder for monitoring and the option to remove is greyed out, so removal is not possible.
As for removing the folder - you can only edit/remove folders if a scan is not in progress; so please try again in a few minutes or when scanning has completed.
Next I have a folder which contains home movies converted to mp4. iHomeServer will then convert them all to m4v. Is there a particular reason they are converted to m4v and not left in mp4?
Not really - either MP4 or M4V media files work fine with iTunes. iHomeServer should NOT be converting MP4 files to M4V as installed out of the box as it will try to import the MP4s natively into iTunes. Have the file types been changed in iHomeServer's Settings / Watch Folder tab?
estellejohnson
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Apr 15, 2015 4:01 am

Re: mp4 vs. m4v and folder watch

Post by estellejohnson »

I vote for MP4. It's widely supported by Android and iOS devices, while M4V is only compatible with Mac-based programs or iOS devices. If you want to convert m4v to mp4, you can turn to Video Converter.
bizmodeller
Posts: 458
Joined: Thu Nov 14, 2013 8:40 pm

Re: mp4 vs. m4v and folder watch

Post by bizmodeller »

In version of iHomeServer on or above 3.1.76.0, you can now choose to set iHomeServer mediated conversions to output in MP4 instead of M4V format.

You can select this in the Video Conversions tab of the iHomeServer Settings window
cratner
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Oct 29, 2014 7:42 pm

Re: mp4 vs. m4v and folder watch

Post by cratner »

I would like to export to mp4 as well.

I must be missing something as I don't see that option in the properties page. Instead, this is what I see...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/avndibv33lshc ... 9.png?dl=0

I am running 3.1.76.0. I also reinstalled the version downloaded from your download page.
bizmodeller
Posts: 458
Joined: Thu Nov 14, 2013 8:40 pm

Re: mp4 vs. m4v and folder watch

Post by bizmodeller »

Apologies - just checked our code history and the option was added in 3.1.77.0 not 3.1.76.0. If you want to install the latest pre-release version then you need to select the option at the bottom of the iHomeServer download page to download the latest beta/pre-release version. Thanks
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