mkv playback on tv - is xbox 360 going to cut it?

[slackerinabox]

I've been having a bit of a headache getting even 720p mkv playback working using a DLNA server and my xbox 360. I've used tversity, ps3 media server, and changed my 802.11n network to a cat5 one, all with limited success - buffering often enough to be annoying.

I've been converting to MP4 to pretty good effect (buffer only once in a blue moon), but don't like that dolby digital/dts is being lost in the conversion. Now I just ordered a quad core cpu, since my low watt dual core AMD currently in my media server seems (based on forums on videohelp.com) to be another possible bottle neck. I'll get that in the mail in a few days but am wondering - does anyone out there have fluid MKV playback, or should I just give up and get a western digital WD TV.

I'm not trying to be cheap, the reason I'm not just grabbing the wd tv live is because I've finally taught my wife how to use the xbox 360 for netflix streaming and as a media player. I don't want to add yet another advice with another UI. So, for simplicity's sake, I'd like to stick to the xbox 360... Unless it's just not possible

 

[Arcanedeath]

As long as you are just streaming to the Xbox 360 the back end is what matters. I used to have an E8400 & had some minor trouble streaming HD MKV's to my PS3 using Tversity, but after I upgraded to my I7 920, smooth sailing w/ no issues no matter what I stream, I can even fast forward

 

[Mike]

I have the Popcorn Hour 110 and C-200, and both playback 720p & 1080p flawlessly.

 

[slackerinabox]

As long as you are just streaming to the Xbox 360 the back end is what matters. I used to have an E8400 & had some minor trouble streaming HD MKV's to my PS3 using Tversity, but after I upgraded to my I7 920, smooth sailing w/ no issues no matter what I stream, I can even fast forward

Cool, so my hunch was kinda right- thanks for the input! I ran upstairs while streaming an MKV to my xbox (choppy) last night and saw CPU utilization spiking to 100% and then diving to 10%. I made the dumb assumption that perfect playback locally (on the server) = perfect transcoding, so I spent all of my troubleshooting focusing on the network. Fingers crossed on the CPU upgrade helping things.

 

[vshah]

does streaming it keep the DD/DTS intact?

 

[Crucial]

I picked up the WD TV and it works flawlessly. No problems on any of the 720 or 1080p stuff I've tried. Seems like a waste of money to upgrade the cpu when you can have full hd output and not lose any of the multichannel sound in the process. You'll use less power too since you won't need to run the server at 100% and I'm sure the WDTV uses less power than the xbox.

 

[vshah]

I picked up the WD TV and it works flawlessly. No problems on any of the 720 or 1080p stuff I've tried. Seems like a waste of money to upgrade the cpu when you can have full hd output and not lose any of the multichannel sound in the process. You'll use less power too since you won't need to run the server at 100% and I'm sure the WDTV uses less power than the xbox.

are you running this over wifi or ethernet?

 

[slackerinabox]

does streaming it keep the DD/DTS intact?

Can someone answer this with certainty? I've been converting to MP4 and losing DD/DTS.

 

[Crucial]

are you running this over wifi or ethernet?

ethernet. my wireless G was not enough to stream.

 

[slackerinabox]

ethernet. my wireless G was not enough to stream.

I'd buy the WD TV Live, but it's out of stock/back ordered everywhere.

 

[slackerinabox]

fyi - upgraded the cpu today and mkv playback is silky smooth. No forward in ps3 media server but can seek using tversity.

 

[prism]

I'm pretty brand-spankin new to HTPC setups, so forgive me, but does the WD TV Live basically just make a GUI for your tv to make playing audio/video files from your PC easier? Is there any audio or video quality difference in just running DVI/HDMI from your computer to your TV and receiver and playing your files using software on your PC?

 

[sep]

fyi - upgraded the cpu today and mkv playback is silky smooth. No forward in ps3 media server but can seek using tversity.

That's great news. I also have an old AMD DualCore 4200 CPU (39pin) as my Media Center and haven't had any luck with quality HD extended to my xbox 360. I know when my Media Center is hooked up to the TV, can't now cause it's on another floor, it plays almost flawless. What software are you using to play the mvks on your xbox?

 

[erwos]

Can someone answer this with certainty? I've been converting to MP4 and losing DD/DTS.

The MPEG-4 container doesn't support DD/DTS. It does support AAC-5.1, but the 360 does not. (The PS3 does - if you've got one, you may want to consider using it for this task.)

Unless you're going to convert to VC-1+WMA-5.1, your choices are to either go to AVI (DivX+DD/DTS) or stream MPEG-2 to the WMC extender client built into the 360. Neither is a particularly good choice, IMHO.

 

[slackerinabox]

That's great news. I also have an old AMD DualCore 4200 CPU (39pin) as my Media Center and haven't had any luck with quality HD extended to my xbox 360. I know when my Media Center is hooked up to the TV, can't now cause it's on another floor, it plays almost flawless. What software are you using to play the mvks on your xbox?

Yep, my original CPU (be-4200) would play back 720p flawlessly locally (I use it as a media center for my bedroom tv and as a media server to my xbox in my living room downstairs) so, for the longest time, I assumed the issue was network related. Upgraded to 802.11n, then powerline networking, then to full house ethernet.

Now that I popped in an Athlon II x4 620 playback of 720p is great across the network, though i'm not sure if dolby digital is working, and truly doubt DTS (I'm guessing it's down mixing to stereo). I can't find my optical cable to test it out, but I'll update this thread once my ebay order comes in.

1080p testing will be tonight but I'm wondering if then I'll get into networking issues.

Software used:
Windows 7
-PS3 Media Server = works great but no seeking
-TVersity = Works great and seeking, though seeking sometimes freezes playback
-No codec packs installed other than the official Divx 7 Codec, since it supposedly allows MKV playback using xbox's media center extenders. I didn't test media center ext. out yesterday

Playon on my xbox (hulu/youtube playback plugin) worked awesomely last night as well. I just assumed that my shintzy DSL wasn't good enough but, alas, it was also a CPU issue.

 

[slackerinabox]

Also, I do plan on getting either an Asus O!Play or a wd tv live since 5.1+ sound is important to me- I'm just glad that the xbox now works well enough now without converting to MP4, making my collection slightly future proof.

 

[slackerinabox]

2nd update - all is not well in streaming land - 1080p does NOT work satisfactorily and some 720p rips with lots of action tend to break up.

I had a "screw this!" moment and stopped tweaking settings and just ordered an asus o play.

 

[vshah]

damn wd live is out of stock everywhere. i guess its asus o!play for me as well.

 

[slackerinabox]

damn wd live is out of stock everywhere. i guess its asus o!play for me as well.

Ditto- the wd live is getting much better reviews, but it's back ordered for 2+ months. Fingers crossed on the asus living up to expectations

 

[Crucial]

I had no idea it would be that popular. I'm glad I ordered one the first day it came out. I got it on sale at BB for $119.

 

[slackerinabox]

Finally got my asus o-play hooked up. Much better MKV playback, but quirky software. Wasn't able to get windows 7 sharing working properly (even after firmware update), but uPnp access works fine via tversity. I especially like dolby digital and dts playback without any hassles.