1080p .mkv -> ? something Xbox 360

[GalaxyWide]

Hi all, I've recently made my first foray into home media with a FreeNAS server and an Xbox 360, and I'm still new at the whole media formats thing.

I have a very high quality (2200kbs) 1920 x 1080 .mkv movie with full 5.1 AC3 audio. Which is great, and it plays beautifully...on my laptop. The Xbox has no idea what to do with it, and does not even recognize that it exists.

My question is, what is the best way to get this file into something the Xbox can stream, without losing either the quality or the 5.1 surround? I have tried putting it into .wmv HD, but the video quality drops in the fast moving scenes. Also, it took me 12.5 HOURS to transcode on my i5 2410 laptop, so I'd like to avoid doing it again (though I will shortly have an OC'd 2500k desktop ).

I've looked around on the 'net, but all I really find are sites selling video converters. I'm looking for any info on what formats will work, what settings to use, ect...

Thanks!

 

[sdifox]

change the container to avi or mp4

http://www.afterdawn.com/guides/archive/how_to_play_mkv_content_on_xbox_360.cfm

 

[GalaxyWide]

Interestingly enough, I actually found and followed that exact same guide. The video quality was top-notch, but the audio was horribly out of sync (5 seconds behind the video). I'm not sure if I did something wrong (I certainly followed the instructions correctly, but several of the tools used have seen major revisions since the guide was written), or if it happens simply that additional adjustments are needed.

 

[sdifox]

Interestingly enough, I actually found and followed that exact same guide. The video quality was top-notch, but the audio was horribly out of sync (5 seconds behind the video). I'm not sure if I did something wrong (I certainly followed the instructions correctly, but several of the tools used have seen major revisions since the guide was written), or if it happens simply that additional adjustments are needed.

can't help you there I don't stream to 360 so I don't know its capabilities and faults.

When you play the avi on the computer, is there audio delay?

 

[GalaxyWide]

The computer was actually where I noticed the delay (I tested it before uploading it the server and streaming it). I don't know if it would be any different streamed to the 360, but I wouldn't think so.

On an unrelated note, anyone know how to add a subtitle file to a video? I have a .src file that I think is the subtitles, and since I don't speak Russian terribly often (lol) I'd like to know what is being said in a certain scene.

Thanks!

 

[sdifox]

The computer was actually where I noticed the delay (I tested it before uploading it the server and streaming it). I don't know if it would be any different streamed to the 360, but I wouldn't think so.

On an unrelated note, anyone know how to add a subtitle file to a video? I have a .src file that I think is the subtitles, and since I don't speak Russian terribly often (lol) I'd like to know what is being said in a certain scene.

Thanks!

what are you using to transcode? I like Handbrake.

 

[GalaxyWide]

Currently, AVS Video Converter. I also tried Xilisoft, but it created blank videos and all sorts of issues. I've heard good things about Handbrake, I may try that and see what I can get.

And, of course, when I followed the guide I used whatever they specified.

 

[Gooberlx2]

You won't get 5.1 audio with a mp4 container on the xbox.
http://support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-360/settings-and-initial-setup/watch-dvds-movies

It is rather lame that 5.1 aac isn't supported. As far as the xbox is concerned the best option, IMO, is to transcode to 5.1 HD wmv.

Ultimately, I don't think it's worth the hassle of using the xbox because of their limited format support. You'll just end up pulling your hair out. Get a network media streamer.

 

[Chapbass]

I thought I heard somewhere that PS3 Media Server also works for xbox? that true?

Like this? http://www.homemultimedianetwork.co...m-media-to-an-Xbox-using-PS3-Media-Server.php

 

[sdifox]

maybe take a look at http://www.afterdawn.com/guides/archive/stream_video_xbox_360_tversity.cfm

I don't know the program, just remember hearing about it.

 

[tw1164]

Use MkvExtract to get the video and audio streams out.
Grab foobar2000 (and plugins) to re-encode the 5.1AC3 to a 2ch AAC
Use MP4Box to mux the video and audio back together

Like Gooberlx2 said, it's more hassle then it's worth. Does you laptop have HDMI out? If so, I would just hook that up to your tv when you want to watch movies.

 

[GalaxyWide]

Thanks guys.

It looks like I've already found all of the few possible ways to do this, and none are optimal.

Use MkvExtract to get the video and audio streams out.
Grab foobar2000 (and plugins) to re-encode the 5.1AC3 to a 2ch AAC
Use MP4Box to mux the video and audio back together

Like Gooberlx2 said, it's more hassle then it's worth. Does you laptop have HDMI out? If so, I would just hook that up to your tv when you want to watch movies.

I did something similar to this, as laid out here. I ended up with horrendously out of sync audio, see my above posts. I may try again, but I don't know of anything I could've done wrong. We did watch this movie a few nights ago, doing just what you suggest, and it was beautiful. The only snag is that I'm leaving for school soon, and I have the only laptop. Thus, I wanted the Xbox to be able to play it. Someday I'll be getting a HTPC to go near the tv, but right now budget is a bit of a constraint.

I thought I heard somewhere that PS3 Media Server also works for xbox? that true?

Like this? http://www.homemultimedianetwork.com...dia-Server.php

maybe take a look at http://www.afterdawn.com/guides/arch...0_tversity.cfm

I don't know the program, just remember hearing about it.

As for PS3 Media Server and Tversity, that would work, but I want to avoid needing to have a pc on all the time, or even just while watching a movie. That's what my FreeNAS server is for, as it's on 24/7.

Going forward, I think I'll transcode to .wmv HD with a converter that will leverage Sandy Bridge's Quick Sync tech (MediaEspresso 6, Arcsoft Media Converter 7) and accept the quality penalty. Though, I did a bit of looking and it appears that there is a plugin for FreeNAS (Serviio) that will do on-the-fly transcoding which looks promising, but I don't know much about it. Really need to get on that HTPC project....this whole xbox thing is getting frustrating.

You won't get 5.1 audio with a mp4 container on the xbox.
http://support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-3...ch-dvds-movies

It is rather lame that 5.1 aac isn't supported. As far as the xbox is concerned the best option, IMO, is to transcode to 5.1 HD wmv.

As a side note, it does support the following AVI formats:

• Video bit rate: 5 Mbps with resolutions of 1280 × 720 at 30 fps
• Audio profiles: Dolby® Digital (2 channel and 5.1 channel), MP3

That 1280 x 720 is still a killer though. Media center pc is lookin better all the time...Anyways, thanks for the help, I wasn't sure if I was missing something obvious

 

[smitbret]

Don't waste your time with the Xbox. I can't count the hours I have spent trying to get a consistent system setup where I could get multi-channel audio (with .avi) files, but I could never get anything that would stream reliably, only playback locally. In the end I gave up on anything but .mp4 with an .h264 video and 2-channel .aac audio streams. Nothing else would stream even remotely reliably. Just get a WD Live and call it a day.

 

[GalaxyWide]

Finally found a relatively decent solution. Went and got the free trial of Cyberlink MediaEspresso 6.5, and converted the video with that, using the Xbox preset. Came out flawless, smooth, great quality, good audio. Not sure yet if it's only stereo or if it kept the 5.1 surround, but at this point I'm just happy it's watchable. As an added benefit, it only took 1 hour instead of 12.5

Side note: there's a bunch of options to enhance the video during conversion. I discovered by accident that when converting a good video to start with, you don't want to use those. Makes it horribly over-saturated and oddly sharp.

Still need to lose the Xbox though, I know. Way more hassle then its worth.

 

[smitbret]

The audio is going to be 2-channel .aac. Although if it was encoded with Dolby Pro Logic II, it may have decent sound replication for 2-channel audio. Xbox simply will not do multi-channel audio except for .wmv and .avi.

The difference in encoding time could be accounted for by lots of things.

MediaEspresso uses CUDA and QuickSync technology that enables the PC's GPU to take over for a lot of the video encoding. I can actually change some of the advanced settings in Handbrake and convert the same file with better quality in about 10% more time without the CUDA. I have used Handbrake and Ripbot264 to convert entire DVDs in less than 2 hours with quality that is discernibly better than any CUDA encoder. I've really looked into it and the quality tradeoff just isn't worth it for me, but YMMV.

Just simplifying a few settings in the Advanced Tab of Handbrake can really speed it up. Incidentally, what processor are you encoding with right now?

As far as subtitles, I gave up trying to stream subtitles and have just decided to hardcode them into all the movies that need them. Ripbot264 is outstanding for this, much better than Handbrake.

If you've decided on using MediaEspresso, then go with it, though. I'm a big believer of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." If you are interested in some different settings to try with Handbrake or Ripbot264, let me know.

 

[GalaxyWide]

The MediaEspresso Xbox format is .wmv (wmv 9) @ 1280x720 with wma audio. It defaults to around 8mbs (which produces a 3x bigger then original file ), but by using a custom profile I can get it down to 3mbs, which is close to the original bitrate of 2200kbs. So while the Xbox can play 5.1 with .wmv, I’m not sure what this is encoding with. I’ll have to check when I get home; so far I’ve only played it on the computer after transcoding.

I actually did know about the QuickSync/CUDA/APP acceleration, that’s one of the reasons I choose to try this converter over others. After reading this page in an Anandtech review, I decided to try it out. As an added plus, since I went to a new motherboard, it has Virtu MVP so I am no longer required to have a monitor hooked up to the iGPU to use QuickSync.

As per that review, it would seem that, AFAIK, CUDA and QuickSync are completely different code paths and not at all related. CUDA, while fast, does not end up with very good quality when compared to QuickSync, straight CPU transcoding, and even APP accelerated GPU transcoding. I cannot try this out myself (lack of Nvidia GPU) but I’ll take your (and their) word for it and stick with QuickSync.

Can Handbrake leverage QuickSync? I didn’t think it could, but if it was able to I would be very interested, as when the trial runs out I’ll be faced with shelling out $30 or lose my fancy converter! Even if it cannot, but can approach the speed, I would most definitely be interested in learning a bit more about Handbrake/Ripbot264, in part because I have an extensive DVD collection that is badly in need of ripping (after I get more server storage space…80GB gets small in a really big hurry!).

At the moment I’m doing all of this on a i5-2500k @ 4.5Ghz, so while I don’t have hyperthreading, I really don’t think these kinds of apps are all that well threaded.

 

[cvrefugee]

I can natively stream 720p .mkv files with 5.1 sound to my Xbox 360 using Windows 7 and Windows Media Center.

 

[GalaxyWide]

I can natively stream 720p .mkv files with 5.1 sound to my Xbox 360 using Windows 7 and Windows Media Center.

Haven't tried doing anything like that yet, but I'm pretty sure what's happening with that setup is that windows media center is transcoding your .mkv on-the-fly to (most likely) .wmv. While something like that negates the need to convert videos in the first place, I am avoiding needing a windows pc on, all my media will be going on a FreeNAS server.

I'd be interested to know if that is in fact what is going on. To be sure what it's doing, you might try watching the CPU usage on your Win7 box whilst watching a movie on the xbox. If the media center process goes high on the list, I'd say it's doing live transcoding. Does your xbox actually output 5.1 in this scenario?

 

[smitbret]

I can natively stream 720p .mkv files with 5.1 sound to my Xbox 360 using Windows 7 and Windows Media Center.

I did not know that WMC did any transcoding of files. The Xbox may have gotten an update that I'm not aware of, but this is the first time I've heard of this ability.

 

[blotto]

If you are using WMC Extender on the 360, it's not transcoding. It's playing back via the PC over modified RDP. Works well but has sevre limitations depending on bandwidth.
Drop the 360 and get a cheap network streamer. Something cheap that can take XBMC will remove most limitations.

 

[cvrefugee]

If you are using WMC Extender on the 360, it's not transcoding. It's playing back via the PC over modified RDP. Works well but has sevre limitations depending on bandwidth.
Drop the 360 and get a cheap network streamer. Something cheap that can take XBMC will remove most limitations.

I believe you are correct. It may also work because I have the DivX Plus codec installed which allows .mkv to be played in WMP on Windows 7, but will not decode the 5.1 audio on the PC unless you have decoder software.