Can I convert Xvid to WMV without any loss of quality?

[sofakng]

I'd like to convert my Xvid files to WMV (so I can stream them to my X-Box 360) and there are several tutorials on this, but I'd like to make sure I don't lose any quality at all.

The Xvid files I have seem to be variable data rate (200 Kbps - 400 Kbps and variable sample size [12 bit or 24 bit]).

Also, the videos seem to be pseudo-720p (960x528 resolution)...

How can I convert from Xvid to WMV without losing any quality at all?

Thanks!

(By the way, I know about Tversity and transcoding to stream videos to my 360 but I don't really want to do that...)

[Heywould3]

the quick answer is that once you have a compressed file any editing you do to it will loose quality. if you uncompress to a raw file then convert to wmv from there will be the best way. but again compressing is gonna loose quality. for guides on this look in the guides area..

doesnt the 360 have a way to view xvid files? i know a moded xbox will.

[celtic_druid]

As I understand it WMV9 Screen supports lossless encoding, however it automatically decides to do it or not. Also since it is presumably designed for screen capture it would be RGB. Still you have to convert to RGB at some stage. Expect filesizes to increase significantly though.

No idea if the 360 supports WMV9Screen anyway. It does support MPEG-4 Part 10 HP4.1. No idea about MPEG-4 Part 2 though.

[Nelson37]

No, you can't.

If quality is a big concern, play them on the PC or a Divx player.

[sofakng]

Well, should I even be concerned with any of this? The files are about 800 MB each (and as I mentioned above, they are 960x528 [720p], with a video data rate between 200 - 400 Kbps and a video sample size of 12-24 bit).

I just don't want to lose any visibile quality (or very little anyways)

[Nelson37]

Yes. No. Maybe. How the hell should I know?

Try it and see. That is the only viable answer. Anything else is somebody else's opinion. If you really want that, then paint your house green, because that's what color I think it ought to be.

From that data rate, not much quality there in the first place, so it actually would likely not get much worse.

[Heywould3]

there are a few things in your last post that say your quality isnt that good now so converting it will make little difference therefore go ahead. first off.. frame size of 960x528 is no where near 720p the last number in the size clues you in. yhe 528 in yours tells me that its either a pal encode or someone just make it a random frame size. number 2 a data rate of 200-400 is real real low. it should be in the 800 range. if your getting that data from doin aa properties an reading hte summary that makes more sence. you should use a program like gspot to determine the actual data rate if you havent. if its in the 2000+ range then its more than it needs to be. a reencode to wmv using the hd template or similar settings will work fine without any noticeable loss. again and as others stated. quality is subjective. what you like others may hate. so make a copy and try differnt settings.

[celtic_druid]

No visible quality loss is possible, you were originally after no quality loss though. Probably they meant kB not kb.

Xvid is always YV12 by the way. 12/24bit just refers to the input, so actually 24 is worse since it means the encoder converted to RGB24 instead of keeping the process YV12. Converting to RGB and back causes quality loss and slows down encoding and is thus not recommended.