Newer versions of MKVMerge can break playback!

Newer versions of MKVMerge can break playback on popular players like WDTV. The issue is that MKVMerge, starting with version 4.1, now turns on audio and video compression by default. Although this feature (technically called "header removal compression" ) is part of the Matroska spec, it is not yet supported by the players and it will take them some time to catch up. Unfortunately, the author of MKVMerge felt that it was more important to honor the spec than the needs of thousands of users of these popular devices, and he refuses to change the program to make it more compatible with the current state of the players.

You can read more about the issue with WDTV here: http://community.wdc.com/t5/Firmware...tly/td-p/32724

If you're posting files that are muxed with MKVMerge, they won't be playable on many players if you're using the default settings of MKVMerge 4.1+. The workaround is to use MKVMerge 4.0 or, in newer versions, turn compression OFF on video and audio tracks. To do this:

1. Select each track (video, audio, and subtitles)
2. Select the Extra Options tab
3. Set the Compression option to "none"
4. Start muxing

Hopefully the issue will be resolved soon, either by firmware updates from the player manufacturers or by MKVMerge offering a version that defaults in a way that is more consistent with the current state of the players. This unfortunate circumstance does not help to establish MKV as a widely used format since many users will just get frustrated when they run across these files.

Seeing more and more of these files. Please spread the word on other file sharing forums.

Well IMMERSE stopped using the header compression thingy luckely :)