Which software and video format seems to be the most compatible across devices

[mvbighead]

Pretty open ended question, but I have recently been toying with Handbrake to turn my DVD selection into something I can stream from any TV. I've done some titles, and have tested various different apps and file types and am trying to get the one that would be the most suitable for everything.

That said, I have a number of devices that come into play:

1)PS3 or ChromeCast
2)XBOX 360 or PS4 or Chromebox (dual boot with XBMC)
3)Roku (older model) (may replace with a newer model)

I have three TVs with the above devices attached. I have successfully tested Plex to the Roku and it worked fine, though the video appeared to be stretched incorrectly.

The PS3 nor PS4 did not seem to work with Plex. It seems that has to go out to the Internet and then back in before it streams, or I just haven't messed with it enough to get something going. I did try PS3 media server and didn't get to far with it.

Thus far, Plex seems to be the easiest on the Roku. I'd really like to get the PS3/PS4 doing something locally, but it seems they limited that functionality. I may just need to get Rokus for other TVs, or something else, not sure.

That said, what media server apps do you all use that seem to cover a good range of hardware. I'd like to not have to manage 3-4 different apps if I don't have to.

I've yet to setup the Chromebox, but figure the XBMC package may be the better bet.

And also, what file format for the rips is preferable? MP4 or MKV? I am leaning towards MKV, but am unsure if there is a reason I should use something else.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Plex works perfectly on my roku 3, fire TV stick, nexus 7, ipad, and iphone. I have an xbox one, but last time I checked you needed plex pass for the Xbone app to work. They're supposed to be making it available for purchase without plex pass eventually, so I need to check that again.

My vote is definitely for plex, but There's something hinky going on with your playstations. For some reason they're not seeing the media server on your local network, so they're accessing it through the internet. You might have to dig around through the PS3/PS4 network settings to make sure everything is set up correctly. The first thing I'd probably do is clear the network settings and connect to the network again. Then maybe I'd try a wired connection if you aren't doing that already.

As for your last question, I rip all my blu rays to MKV. It doesn't really matter all that much though. MP4 probably has wider compatibility, but since plex works just fine with mkv and makemkv works so well I just leave them in that format.

 

[whoiswes]

I use MKV container with H264 encoding under the covers and that plays through Plex on a Roku 2 and 3 (Plex client), FireTV stick (Plex client and XBMC), and an OpenElec Chrombox (Kodi). I only have to transcode audio to the Roku/FireTV clients as those are directly connected to the display devices. The Chromebox is hooked up to my receiver and thus is bitstreaming.

Outside of having too high a profile or too many ref frames in the underlying H264 encode, Plex streams wonderfully with very low overhead. The server is an old HP Microserver (first gen) and CPU usage is in the single digits.

 

[poofyhairguy]

The most compatible format is like a baseline profile x264 mp4 with 2 channel AAC audio. But that is garbage, don't let inferior AV equipment like game consoles determine how you rip things. The proper way to rip in handbrake is high profile, mkv, audio that is ALWAYS passed through, a framerate that is always the same as the source, a constant quality of around 19, and decomb and de-interlace set to default.

Seriously, give up on the idea of game consoles being media devices. Even if you encode SPECIFICALLY for a PS3/PS4, thanks to cinavia DRM it might not still work. Leave the games to the game consoles, use something else for video.

Best case is that Chromebox running Openelec. That will freaking play ANY file short of 4k, and will allow you to just encode the best way possible. It will also give you the best interface possible. The Chromebox will just play the files off a network share, without a needed middle man like Plex that the Rokus need. Personally I am willing to spend what it takes to have that top shelf experience on every TV. Rokus plus Plex everywhere might be a cheaper option.

 

[mmntech]

If you want a video format that's universally compatible with everything, you want h.264 in an MP4 container. It's the backbone of internet video, so every connected device supports it.

MKV is getting better support but it's still not universal. I know the XB1 and XBMC for sure will handle it. Probably the Roku as well. I'm not 100% sure about your other devices.

 

[JAG87]

If you don't care about multi channel audio, then go with h264 + 2ch AAC in an mp4 container, as already advised. This will make your files also compatible with all portable devices.

If you do care about it, then mkv is the only way to do it properly. And at that point, I'm not sure I would even bother to re-encode the video, personally, since everything reads MPEG2. Storage is cheap, just remux your DVD's main feature and preferred audio track into an mkv file.

If you are really lazy you can even just rip the entire decrypted disc as an ISO, and just stream that, and you won't lose a thing that's on your originals.

 

[mvbighead]

Wow, lots of good stuff here.

Sounds like my best bet is to stick with MKV, so I'll be doing that. I did rip one file in MP4, but surprisingly was having better luck with the MKVs anyway.

That said, I'll need to figure out devices. I do also have a Raspberry Pi, but wasn't all that thrilled with the performance/stability. I may just have to get this Chromebox configured and see how it goes. Honestly, I would like to have a device that could do local files and Netflix well. Not sure how the Chromebox fits with XBMC, but if it does it all, that may be my go to solution (though a bit pricier than I'd like).

At this point, I just recently moved the PS3 to a different TV for the sole purpose of media front end. Works great for Netflix... local files not so much so far, but I may mess around more with Plex to straighten that out. I'd just prefer the local file playback to work without Internet as my connection can be flaky at times so I'd want access to local files when the Internet is shoddy.

Looks like I should get cracking on the Chromebox.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Looks like I should get cracking on the Chromebox.

Honestly given your needs and requirements I would also consider something like a FireTV for a cheaper option on other TVs. It can do Kodi and Netflix.

 

[mvbighead]

Not sure, but stumbled on this:

http://www.alashiban.com/running-xbmc-amazon-firetv-step-step-tutorial/

This seems to run XBMC as a plugin, not as the sole OS. I would think that would mean I could exit out of it and run Netflix and whatever else the FireTV solution supports (which appears to be a LOT).

Wondering if that might be a better 'all in one' solution for netflix and local file playback, which are my two main sources of video (other than DirecTV currently).

 

[mvbighead]

Honestly given your needs and requirements I would also consider something like a FireTV for a cheaper option on other TVs. It can do Kodi and Netflix.

Lol. You beat me to it. I may end up doing one of these for a TV and see how I like it. But other reviews for it are very high, so if I can add XBMC as well, that may be the icing to finish the deal.

 

[poofyhairguy]

My honest recommendation is the Chromebox in the main viewing area (aka your best TV) because it is best experience, you already have it and that TV already has the PS3 to do Netflix. On every other TV I think a FireTV would be the perfect fit.

That is exactly what I do. A premier Kodi HTPC on my main tvs, and the rest are good enough boxes. Everything is synced together across platforms via MySQL- even the Kodi on my wife's phone.

 

[JAG87]

I honestly think the Zotac Pico series is a better solution than the Chromebox. Same price, runs Windows 8.1 out of the box, smaller form factor, easier to set up with Kodi, no fiddling with hardware, no BS.

But yes, the Chromebox is good too.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I honestly think the Zotac Pico series is a better solution than the Chromebox.

And you would be wrong. I normally like to be diplomatic on here, but this is dead wrong.

Every Zotac Pico has an Atom CPU. It is quad core and all, but the single core performance SUCKS compared to the Chromebox's Celeron. That means your GUI runs slower, you can't use certain skins, future h265 files won't play, etc. Zotac+Atom+Nvidia was a kickass combo back in 2011, but the tech has moved on and Nvidia isn't in that Pico. Atom simply isn't good enough in 2015 for that price range.

The ONLY things I will give the Pico are size (barely) and the "easier to setup Kodi." But even though it is easier to setup Kodi on Windows the appliance experience you get from Openelec on a Chromebox BLOWS AWAY what you can do on Windows with an Atom CPU. Blows away. If you must have Windows because the superior Linux solution scares you, a Gigabyte BRIX is an even better choice because it doesn't have a CPU that sucks. Or if that is too much just get a FireTV- it runs Kodi well and its SUPER easy to install it on there. I trust the FireTV SoC more for decoding than I do that Atom. Heck I am pretty damn sure that my 2010 Zotac ION can decode more of my library than a Pico can.

Seriously, no one should be buying Zotac Picos to be HTPCs. They should all be giving flight times in airports or something like that.

 

[mvbighead]

I'm almost tempted to try the FireTV Stick on one of my lesser TVs. Seems it will function the same, but with less horsepower.

Only trouble I notice with the FireTV solution is the link for XBMC will be buried. However, it seems there is a work around for that:

http://unlockfiretv.com/launch-xbmc-from-firetvs-main-screen/

And videos online show users with the stick and XBMC so it looks doable. Not sure how usable of a solution it is, but at $40 it would be a cheap replacement for my Roku HD (version 1 I believe).

 

[poofyhairguy]

Those sticks are more powerful than any Pi. You aren't going to run the best skin on there but that is fine for lessor tvs. Only holdup is without an ethernet port I hope you have a good 5ghz network.

 

[mvbighead]

Those sticks are more powerful than any Pi. You aren't going to run the best skin on there but that is fine for lessor tvs. Only holdup is without an ethernet port I hope you have a good 5ghz network.

Just ordered a new 5GHz wireless router (I'll likely use it as a simple access point). My current one was transferring at 2.3 MB/s, I and am fairly sure it was a hold up for other streaming I was doing. Reviews suggest I should see closer to 10 MB/s, so hopefully this takes care of that issue.

http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WDR...ywords=wdr3600

Reviews were high, so I figured it was worth a shot.

 

[smitbret]

Just ordered a new 5GHz wireless router (I'll likely use it as a simple access point). My current one was transferring at 2.3 MB/s, I and am fairly sure it was a hold up for other streaming I was doing. Reviews suggest I should see closer to 10 MB/s, so hopefully this takes care of that issue.

http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WDR...ywords=wdr3600

Reviews were high, so I figured it was worth a shot.

It'll depend on distance between the router and the FireTV, but you should be fine. That's a pretty good router.

 

[mvbighead]

Ugh, I really need help understanding something.

If I use MakeMKV to encode 'The Prestige', the end result is nearly a 6GB MKV file. When I use HandBrake (and I am mostly using default options) the file size is just over 1GB.

So essentially, I have two ends of the spectrum. I'm not necessarily wanting to save space exactly, but if I can get a high quality output from a smaller file size I am all for it. That said, is there something I am missing in HandBrake? The movie files from the disk were just over 6.5 GB, so it is doing something to shrink the files as well, but I would figure I can configure HandBrake to either get me to the middle ground where I retain 99% of the quality and perhaps use a little less space?

Or, is the HandBrake method simply that good at reducing the file size? I feel like I am not selecting something right here.

 

[mvbighead]

Just attempted playback, and am having a difficult time seeing a difference between the variations. So it would seem that HandBrake is just that good at shrinking the file size and maintaining near perfect quality.

 

[LoveMachine]

MakeMKV only strips out unwanted portions of a ripped disc. Smaller file size is the result of ditching unwanted audio tracks, extra video chapters, bonus features, etc. Handbrake does all that AND compresses video/audio(sometimes) streams. MakeMKV is essentially lossless for the data you want to keep, and Handbrake is lossy but can be very high quality.

 

[mvbighead]

MakeMKV did allow me to remove extra audio tracks and such, but yeah, it does seem that was the only difference between the original 6.6 GB vs the resulting 5.6 GB. In the end, I toyed with the quality setting on HandBrake, and while I can't see very much difference, I might bump it up to '15' (default is 20) which results in a slightly larger file.

Still very little difference, but I guess it feels better to know there is a little something extra there.

One thing is for sure, with the compression, I can store a LOT more media.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I usually use 18-19 personally. Also I always pass through the audio tracks rather than allow it to downgrade them to AAC.

 

[mvbighead]

One thing to add:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CX5P8FC/...f_rd_i=desktop

For anyone considering the FireTV as a head unit, it is currently on sale for $84. I went ahead and ordered this first instead of the Stick. If it works well, I may just order a second one for my living room TV.

Also, the Chromebox is AMAZING with XBMC. I still have not fiddled with all the goodies, but once I take the time to work out the DVR (had MythTV going, not sure if I want to try something else), I may just disable my DirecTV service. I've encoded a view movies, and flipping around on the Chromebox is a effortless, while the DirecTV DVR I literally wait 5-10 seconds for the menu to pop up at times. Once I get more figured out, this definitely has the guts to replace DirecTV (and then some).

 

[smitbret]

Ugh, I really need help understanding something.

If I use MakeMKV to encode 'The Prestige', the end result is nearly a 6GB MKV file. When I use HandBrake (and I am mostly using default options) the file size is just over 1GB.

So essentially, I have two ends of the spectrum. I'm not necessarily wanting to save space exactly, but if I can get a high quality output from a smaller file size I am all for it. That said, is there something I am missing in HandBrake? The movie files from the disk were just over 6.5 GB, so it is doing something to shrink the files as well, but I would figure I can configure HandBrake to either get me to the middle ground where I retain 99% of the quality and perhaps use a little less space?

Or, is the HandBrake method simply that good at reducing the file size? I feel like I am not selecting something right here.

Your experience with DVD is normal.

When you use MakeMKV, it is just pulling the video and audio tracks from the DVD and sticking them into an .mkv container without any of the DVD "Extras". DVDs use MPEG-2 encoding which is much less efficient, especially at low bitrate (file size) than the h264 encoder that Handbrake uses.

When I rip my DVDs to .mkv/.mp4 with Handbrake, I use a CQ of 18, Film, Level 4.0, Main Profile and then make sure I re-encode the first audio track to 2-channel .aac and then I pass through a 2nd Audio Track that is AC or DTS multi-channel. That pretty much ensures that it will playback on anything, especially if I set the container type to .m4v (damn you, Apple). The file size is usually between 1.5-2GB and is virtually transparent to the DVD.

At that size, the quality is actually limited by the source. I have some low action dramas and comedies that are about that size that have been compressed from BD that look much, much better than a similar sized DVD rip. Most of my BD Rips start at about 5GB, though.

 

[mvbighead]

I didn't realize deinterlace was off by default. Seems that will help with my encodings of DuckTales (for my kiddo) as well as the Shield series which appear to have some jaggies going on.

Is fast good enough, or is it recommended to use slow or slower there?