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sadpandas · Jul 3, 2010, 03:04 PM

Hi guys, i have some mkv files (h.264) that i would like to stream over to my xbox 360 using connect360. I tried using the PERIAN + Quicktime playerPRO method to just encode the audio that people seem to be using but for some reason my 'EXPORT' option is grayed out in QTpro. Is there anyone here who has actually used any of the video converter suites that are available on the market? Also, i would like to keep the hd video quality and not compress the video at all. any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
P

Cold Warrior · Jul 3, 2010, 03:09 PM

What about handbrake?

mduell · Jul 3, 2010, 04:23 PM

Do you need to change the audio or just the container? If the latter, all you're looking for is a remuxer. The former complicates things.

The OP doesn't want to recompress the video, so HandBrake is not the right tool.

sadpandas · Jul 3, 2010, 04:33 PM

Handbrake with the limited settings i have experimented seems to over compress files and introduce blocking. I really want to take the 5.1 audio in the container and make it 2 channel (for xbox360) and maintain the video. Just got Aimersoft's TOTAL MEDIA CONVERTER. I am running a test now and hoping that compressing video on the intel mac will be way faster than using the G5 which i use to stream from. It's adding an extra step to the process now by having to put the file onto a hardrive and bring it out to the studio to do the compression then bring it back in, etc. anyway, i will keep you posted and thanks to both of you for replying so quickly. I love how the Perian + QTPro method seems so damn easy for people that are getting it to actually work.

p

sadpandas · Jul 3, 2010, 04:47 PM

2 hours to go with the settings i am using. i will let you know how it comes out.

mduell · Jul 3, 2010, 05:55 PM

If it's taking 2 hours it's recompressing the video not passing it through.

I you really want to preserve the video use mkvtoolnix to demux, reencode the audio with something (maybe even quicktime), and then mux with subler.

If you're ok with recompressing the video then you should be able to do it in HandBrake without introducing blocking. The High Profile preset (minus the AC3 passthrough track) is a good starting point.

imitchellg5 · Jul 3, 2010, 06:01 PM

Just convert it to mpeg... Takes about 30 minutes for me to do an hour of HD video via Handbrake.

cgc · Jul 3, 2010, 06:25 PM

Originally Posted by imitchellg5

Just convert it to mpeg... Takes about 30 minutes for me to do an hour of HD video via Handbrake.

Not sure how you can say it takes x time unless you know the CPU type and count. Your computer may do it in 30 minutes but another may take half a day...

imitchellg5 · Jul 3, 2010, 06:37 PM

It shouldn't take too long on any Intel Mac, 2.66 GHz C2D here (haven't done it on my iMac yet).

mduell · Jul 3, 2010, 08:55 PM

Originally Posted by imitchellg5

Just convert it to mpeg... Takes about 30 minutes for me to do an hour of HD video via Handbrake.

Depends heavily on your settings... on the same machine I can get 6 fps or 400 fps in HandBrake with the same source video.

"Just convert it to MPEG" doesn't mean much, MPEG is a whole family of standards and the video track is already MPEG 4/AVC.

imitchellg5 · Jul 3, 2010, 10:27 PM

I just use "Normal." But I know what you mean.

sadpandas · Jul 5, 2010, 07:11 PM

Awesome answers guys and people say we only post when we are bitching and complaining yet here we are actually problems solving

. Ok, so after taking the .mkv and compressing the contents using total media converter there were some problems. some stuttering occurs on play back and happens in the exact same spots so it can't be the streaming. I will try that 3 step method mentioned up above with the same mkv, might as well be my test mule. What's even worse guys, and kind of hard to admit is that i worked for an authoring and encoding house here in l.a. we even came up with some of the tech for BD live. Too bad that scene is on it's death bead and some people will skip blu ray althogether if and when streaming get to an 'acceptable' time frame. We had a long run with sd but when the hd/br hit we kind of all saw the writing on the wall. kind of like when Divx (discs) were being sold at Circuit City. So, this is kind of a noobish question when given full disclosure. I didn't work on that side of the company btw

. Lately I started seeing more .mkv files with better resolutions so i started getting into them as they would be the best source to start from when wanting to stream hd content to my xbox. Ok, guess i should start this again and see what happens. I just really want this to work because a lot of downloadable content when streamed looks terrible and i understand the many reasons for the problem but this container could be the answer. maybe?

sadpandas · Jul 5, 2010, 07:21 PM

mduell, have you noticed when using handbrake you are losing a lot of quality on playback of the 2nd gen? I was trying to use subler when using the QTPro and perian combo but the export option was always greyed out and never selectable. I loaded the project up in QTPRO with Perian then wanted to export the video to an avi and ONLY reencode the audio (5.1 to 2ch) therefore making it the best option for my particular needs. I just can't seem to catch a break here, i have seen people do it on youtube but not me. I tried trouble shooting everything to make sure it wasn't a QTPro settings issues or something really small like moving the sliders but, still, no option for exporting. I think your way of using the mkv demuxer might be the fastest way instead of having to do go through the total media convertor every time. I will let you know how it goes and thanks again guys, i really appreciate the efforts.

mduell · Jul 5, 2010, 07:44 PM

Originally Posted by sadpandas

I just really want this to work because a lot of downloadable content when streamed looks terrible and i understand the many reasons for the problem but this container could be the answer. maybe?

The container is only really relevant to compatibility and a few features. You can stick a good video stream or a crappy one in MP4/MKV/etc.

Originally Posted by sadpandas

mduell, have you noticed when using handbrake you are losing a lot of quality on playback of the 2nd gen?

Not with reasonable settings and quality sources.

Originally Posted by sadpandas

I was trying to use subler when using the QTPro and perian combo but the export option was always greyed out and never selectable. I loaded the project up in QTPRO with Perian then wanted to export the video to an avi and ONLY reencode the audio (5.1 to 2ch) therefore making it the best option for my particular needs. I just can't seem to catch a break here, i have seen people do it on youtube but not me. I tried trouble shooting everything to make sure it wasn't a QTPro settings issues or something really small like moving the sliders but, still, no option for exporting.

I wouldn't touch QTPro with a 10 foot pole. You can sometimes kinda do some neat things with it (like a series of gifs into a movie), but it's generally just a bag of hurt and poor results.

Originally Posted by sadpandas

I think your way of using the mkv demuxer might be the fastest way instead of having to do go through the total media convertor every time. I will let you know how it goes and thanks again guys, i really appreciate the efforts.

The right way is mkvtoolnix to demux, reencode the audio with something (maybe even quicktime), and then mux from the elementary streams (not from the mkv) with subler. It's a lot of manual steps, but it should all be pretty quick and the video is unchanged.

The easy way is HandBrake. I don't really know what the xbox360 kids are using these days, but the High Profile preset (minus the AC3 passthrough track) is probably a good place to start.