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smitbret
Member
Joined: 28 Dec 2005
Location: United States
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I can't figure it out and I've usually pretty savvy with this stuff. I've got my home system setup, using a PS3 as my media center. Works great. What I can't figure out is how to set up my buddy's Xbox 360 to play .mp4 video. He is not connected to the internet, so it has not been updated since he bought it a few years ago. My first attempts failed, so I determined that it was because it hadn't been updated so I burned the Fall 2008 Update to DVD and updated the system. Put the DVDs back in and still, when I try to playback the .mp4s via DVD or USB jump drive, the system says it needs an update to play the media. The files are all around 2GB, so I don't think that file size is the problem. The machine is recognizing the DVD and the files on it, they just will not play. I thought that the Fall 2008 update would update the codecs, but they still do not appear to be available in the Xbox 360. I have attempted to playback .mp4s in all of the following formats:
h264 with AAC-LC (2 channel) audio, created and encoded by Xilisoft HD converter and Any Video Converter (attempted with each)
h264 with AAC-LC (2 channel) audio, converted with MeGUI and muxed with YAMB
Straight up Divx, (.avi container and .divx container) using Dr. Divx
Xvid with AAC-LC (2 channel) audio, created and encoded by Xilisoft HD Converter and Any Video Converter (attempted with each)
I have followed three or four different guides from the internet and the discs will play in my PS3, but not in the Xbox 360. I am assuming that Xbox 360 updates supersede previous updates like Windows Service Packs, for instance, if you install Service Pack 3 then you do not need to install Service pack 1 or 2, right? Do I need to find an update that installs the appropriate codecs in the Xbox 360, anyway? This thing has me buffaloed. WMV HD works, but I don't want the HUMONGOUS files and re-encoding anything takes more time than I want to put in to the project. Thanks.
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handyguy
Member
Joined: 25 Mar 2003
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smitbret
Member
Joined: 28 Dec 2005
Location: United States
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Not sure, since the Xbox is not on any sort of network. I've been trying to convince him to just set up his computer with Tversity, but he doesn't want to run cables through his house and he doesn't want to pay $100 for the wireless adapter.
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t0nee1
Member
Joined: 30 Dec 2006
Location: Here,where do you think?
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I've had pretty good luck creating compatible files with Xvid4PSP and the MP4 Xbox 360 profile..Try it..
http://forum.videohelp.com/topic352374.html
_________________
"I typed the word Google into Google. Guess what came up? Everything."
"What we've got here is failure to communicate"
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bmo
Member
Joined: 13 Dec 2006
Location: United States
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Do you know if your friend has the "optional media update"? The optional media update enables mpeg4 playback on the 360 (including h264, divx, and xvid). I'm pretty sure it can only be obtained from xbox live so your friend may want to create an xbox live silver account (which is free) and download the update.
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mh2360
Long Member
Joined: 01 Aug 2001
Location: UK
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| smitbret wrote: |
| when I try to playback the .mp4s via DVD or USB jump drive, the system says it needs an update to play the media. |
As bmo said, you will need the media update to play MP4 (and AVI for that matter). You may also need to connect to Xbox live every time you want to play mp4.
It's just Microsoft's way of making the simple things bloody annoying.
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handyguy
Member
Joined: 25 Mar 2003
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| bmo wrote: |
| Do you know if your friend has the "optional media update"? The optional media update enables mpeg4 playback on the 360 (including h264, divx, and xvid). I'm pretty sure it can only be obtained from xbox live so your friend may want to create an xbox live silver account (which is free) and download the update. |
I wish they would enable subs for divx on the box. Only way to get them is to stream from Tversity.
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jman98
Member
Joined: 08 Oct 2004
Location: Freedonia
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I know this isn't what anyone wants to hear and it doesn't solve any playback issues, but the reality is that "solutions" like the Xbox are now obsolete and getting more so every day. The future is cheap media playback devices like the Western Digital HDTV where you don't have to re-encode to get things to play and Divx subs just work and so on.
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neomaine
Member
Joined: 09 Jul 2001
Location: United States
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smitbret
Member
Joined: 28 Dec 2005
Location: United States
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Thanks for the repsonses. Neomaine was right. He has to download the optional media. From what I read it's not downloadable except to individual Xbox 360's directly. I guess Microsoft has to pay a royalty for every Xbox 360 that DivX is installed to, so this is their solution to tracking how many units out there have the DivX codec installed on them.
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jman98
Member
Joined: 08 Oct 2004
Location: Freedonia
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| smitbret wrote: |
| I guess Microsoft has to pay a royalty for every Xbox 360 that DivX is installed to, so this is their solution to tracking how many units out there have the DivX codec installed on them. |
I can't say there's no chance that's the reason, but most likely it's more of Microsoft operating in paranoid mode and wanting to track the players for reasons that have nothing to do with paying money to Divx. Microsoft is big enough to have negotiated a flat rate instead of paying per Xbox as Divx Networks needs them a lot more than Microsoft needs Divx Networks.
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neomaine
Member
Joined: 09 Jul 2001
Location: United States
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mh2360
Long Member
Joined: 01 Aug 2001
Location: UK
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The USB/CD method of updating is for major system updates only, the optional media update is only available from Xbox Live.
There is supposedly a way to get the media update, and then use it without signing in to Live, in fact I once had it saved to a memory card and it would allow me to do that, but I cant remeber how I did it... 
I think it has something to do with the account you use and the unit you download it to, i'll do some experimenting...
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mh2360
Long Member
Joined: 01 Aug 2001
Location: UK
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Using my main Xbox Live account (which wasn't created on my current Xbox), I have to sign in to Live to able to play AVI/MP4 files.
I erased the media update from my 360's hard drive, created a new silver account, and signed in to it. I then played an AVI from an external USB drive, which of course means that I have to download the update again. Now I dont have to sign in to be able to play AVI/MP4 files.
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ifishcat
Member
Joined: 06 Jul 2009
Location: United States
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| mh2360 wrote: |
Using my main Xbox Live account (which wasn't created on my current Xbox), I have to sign in to Live to able to play AVI/MP4 files.
I erased the media update from my 360's hard drive, created a new silver account, and signed in to it. I then played an AVI from an external USB drive, which of course means that I have to download the update again. Now I dont have to sign in to be able to play AVI/MP4 files. |
nice info mh2360... ima gonna give it a try. i was just wondering, can one stream the avi to the xbox (via media player shared folder) instead of hooking up the avi to the usb port? (yep, ima n00b)
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mh2360
Long Member
Joined: 01 Aug 2001
Location: UK
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I used a USB device only because I didnt have media sharing set up, streaming over a network should work fine.
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ifishcat
Member
Joined: 06 Jul 2009
Location: United States
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| mh2360 wrote: |
| I used a USB device only because I didnt have media sharing set up, streaming over a network should work fine. |
yep, it did!! 
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