Paramount+ & joyn: Something’s Different with MP4 Files

roku_player

I’m glad that Paramount+ is once again working for 1080p (and higher) videos. But for some reason I can’t play any of the new videos on my blu-ray player, which plays most videos fine. Tried SF 7.0.1.2 and 7.0.1.3. I realize this is probably a niche issue with just my device, but still something must now be different with Paramount videos as other service video playback fine.

I compared Transformers One, (MP4 1080p) with another version I had previously downloaded when P+ was last working for a direct comparison.

In MediaInfo all fields under tree view were pretty much identical. The only difference I could see was the following:
Writing application: Lavf60.3.100 (Older) > Lavf62.3.100 (Newer)

I tried FireFox to test if it was web optimized. It kind of plays in the background but there’s a grey overlay saying the file is corrupt. VLC played it fine, but VLC plays almost everything. I also checked the video for errors in two different programs, but none were detected.

Alternative versions tried that also didn’t work., MKV (which still downloaded as MP4), 4K, and 720p.
Also tried a couple of TV Show episodes which have the same problem.

Maybe one of you savvy viewers can find whats different about these videos that could be causing a compatibility issue.

Germania

roku_player The only difference I could see was the following:
Writing application: Lavf60.3.100 (Older) > Lavf62.3.100 (Newer)

This is only a different ffmpeg version ..
.. you can downgrade the ffmpeg.exe in SF Program Dir.
I don’t think that this change anything in result, but try it:

Download ffmpeg old versions
60.3.100 is ffmpeg.exe in bin in ffmpeg-6.0-full_build.7z

chrys100

roku_player

I face the same problem, both of my Sony BD players dont replay mp4 from Paramount+. anymore, I have to remux them with “avidemux” to have them played, a small program, that works very fast. I am afraid there is an issue of the remuxing software in SF, as the files run fine with all of my mediaplayers and the VLC on my PC.

Moreover the last working version to download from, P+, however only in 540p, was 7.0.0.9, Not all Users have this problem (see “Paramount+ still does not work in 7.0.1.3” https://forum.dvdfab.cn/d/471130-paramount-still-does-not-work-in-7013), but I now installed 7.0.0.9 in parallel with 7.0.1.3, which unfortunately is the only version that works with Apple TV.

All of this is not very convenient, but it works so far

Germania

roku_player Writing application: Lavf60.3.100 (Older)

Since I was somewhat surprised that ffmpeg 6 was used before and not 7 ..
.. I was now able to verify that SF must have been older than 9 months:

ffmpeg 8.0.1 (Lavf62.3.100) SF 7007-
ffmpeg 7.1.1 (Lavf61.7.100) SF 6238-7006
ffmpeg 6.0 (Lavf60.3.100) SF -6237

Stan001

ffmpeg 8.0.1 (Lavf62.3.100) SF 7007-

Then if it is, it would have been affecting many users for many weeks.

As Germania says, replace the ffmpeg version in the StreamFab program folder and see if that makes a difference.
He talks about it in post 2.

I still see no issues, and for now from the reports here it’s Paramount+.
I don’t use or have access to it, but others do. So SF needs to look at the Paramount+ module much more.

Cats4U

With each SF update that comes out, I replace the FFmpeg with the latest nightly BtbN Master GPL version available. I use two types of nightly FFmpeg files, just like StreamFab does. I use a shared type and a non-shared (static) type. If you don’t know what the difference is, don’t worry about it. Both types have been compiled by BtbN. As I said, I use the nightly GPL version, which means that they are updated every day with the latest changes and fixes. You can get both types from https://github.com/BtbN/FFmpeg-Builds/releases. You want to take the Master type files, which will give you the most mature and stable version (* see below). The files you want are ffmpeg-master-latest-win64-gpl.zip and ffmpeg-master-latest-win64-gpl-shared.zip. You might have to expand the Assets display to see all the 51 available download files if you don’t see both of those files.
Firstly, for safety’s sake, make a backup of StreamFab’s C:\Program Files\DVDFab\StreamFab directory to go back to if things don’t work out. Unzip the ffmpeg-master-latest-win64-gpl-shared.zip file and place the contents of the BIN subdirectory into C:\Program Files\DVDFab\StreamFab. Then, unzip the ffmpeg-master-latest-win64-gpl.zip file and place the ffmpeg.exe file (from the BIN subdirectory) into C:\Program Files\DVDFab\StreamFab. Having done all this, you are now using the newest, most stable version of FFmpeg in StreamFab. Start up SF and see if your problem is fixed.

From https://www.gyan.dev/ffmpeg/builds/#about-these-builds:
FFmpeg’s source code is maintained using a version control system called git. The git master builds are built from the master branch of the repository, which is where all development occurs whereas the release builds are built from the latest release branch. These are essentially a snapshot of the master branch at a given point of time. They are updated with bug and security fixes for a while but no new features. It is highly recommended to choose a git master build; unlike many software, releases are primarily made for the convenience of OS distributors and package managers and don’t signify greater stability or maturity. For a bug report to be accepted, the issue must be reproducible using a very recent git master build.

Sebastian001

t’s really strange — I’m having the same issue with downloads from Joyn. My TV simply won’t play them. Tomorrow I’ll check whether this also affects my Disney videos; those are already a while old. At first, I suspected a hardware defect with the USB stick, but I can rule that out now.

Sebastian001

Stan001

Weird, my Plex plays all files fine.

Then at the end of the screenshot post, the OP says:

Well, i reinstalled plex media server and all is good now. Odd that it only affected recent downloads.

roku_player

Much appreciated for the responses! The consensus seems align with Germania’s suggestion regarding ffmpeg. And too, it may address the muxing issue that Chrys100 believes to be the problem.

Also thanks Cats4U for the great instructions on how to download and replace ffmpeg. I’ll play with both newer and older versions to see if one corrects the issue.

Germania

roku_player I’ll play with both newer and older versions to see if one corrects the issue.

Please note (when using mp4) that your old SF had a different default for “Fast Start” ..

.. earlier it was always enabled - perhaps that make a difference for you

chrys100

downgrading ffmpeg to version 6 solved the problem indeed

Sebastian001

I’ve tested it. So far, I can say that my videos from RTL+, Amazon, and Disney+ play correctly. See the photo from Disney+ — it shows version Lavf 62.3.100. However, Joyn does not play it. I’ll now check whether I still have older videos from Joyn to see if those work. I no longer remember which StreamFab version was used for the Disney titles, but it was definitely one without Fast Start.

Sebastian001

Could it be that the Paramount module uses the same base as Joyn? Can anyone also check Netflix and HBO Max?

@Wilson.Wang

Wilson.Wang

Sebastian001

All of services are same.

Wilson

Sebastian001

Okay, there still has to be something different with Joyn and Paramount compared to the rest. Could the developer please look into this?

Sebastian001

As expected, Joyn videos from May 2025 are playing normally! @Stan001 @Germania , maybe you could change the title and tag.

roku_player

Success!

Installing ffmpeg 7.1.1 (Lavf61.7.100) using Cats4U’s instructions resolved the issue! The videos now play fine. And as chrys100 mentioned ffmpeg 6 works too.

I did try the newest version of ffmpeg, but I got an error during the remixing in SF, which was probably something on my end since it works for Cats4U.

And since the problem was resolved, I didn’t feel the need to test other versions of ffmpeg or the “Fast Start” setting mentioned by Germania. But if others are experiencing a similar issue I will try other options. Sadly I don’t have Joyn to test that service.

Thanks for the help everyone!

Sebastian001

Well, for me at least, Fast Start made no difference.