Slightly overwhelmed...wanting to do DVD (episodes) to m2ts or mp4 for PS3

[trimicada]

So, I'm ready to start a little project of backing up/converting all my TV show DVD's to a format that is playable on my PS3. Plan is to pick up an extra hdd and store these files on the hard drive and play them from the hdd via USB to the PS3 when I want to instead of having to search thru DVD's and figure out which disk had the episode, etc.

The biggest thing to keep in mind is that I want have each episode by itself. No menus, no multi episode files.

So, I guess I have the following questions:

1. Am I understanding correctly that .mp4 as implemented by the PS3 so far, does not support playing AC3 audio thru the mp4 container?
2. But, m2ts does support AC3 audio?
3. x264 will give quality video but at lower file sizes than xvid?

If I have understood these correctly, then it seems like I want to do x264/AC3 = m2ts?

So then the question becomes what is the easiest and fastest way to get there?

Example, I have House, M.D. Season 1 on DVD. When I play directly from the DVD, lots of border space around the picture. (My tv is a 42" 720p Panasonic plasma; ps3 connects via HDMI to my Yamaha AVR then via HDMI to the TV.) So, I want to convert/re-encode to crop and get it into a decent format at a smaller size.

Also, any program/tool that allows me to queue up jobs and let it encode overnight for example is a definite plus.

I have briefly looked at handbrake so far and see that it allows jobs to be queued so it looks like after ripping the DVD to hdd, I could create jobs for each title I want to process and convert them to mkv files? And then use tsmuxer to convert mkv to m2ts? Is this right?

I briefly looked at xvid4psp since I can create m2ts files from it, but I a) didn't see where I could specify a specific title to process out of a vob folder and b) didn't see where I could create a queue. Did I miss something?

Looks like ripbot264 could be used instead of handbrake?

Am I on the right path here? Are these going to be the most straightforward methods to get me to the files I want?

[minerva.thegift]

I don't have a PS3 so I can't say for sure, but I think you're on the right path. Might I also suggest streaming the episodes to your PS3 via PS3 Media Server? The advantage there is that you could store them in a wider range of formats and the server takes care of getting it to your PS3 in a format it can handle. This works best if you have a wired ethernet (network) connection to your PS3 and to your computer. If not, then I think your idea to use an external hard drive is the best option.

I know that AC3 .mp4 support is not always supported but I don't know if the PS3 can handle it or not - someone else will have to comment there. I do know that Ripbot264 is great for .mkv files with AC3 audio (I use it for that quite often.) Handbrake is a great program and it seems to be generally easier to use than the other main DVD encoder I've used, meGUI (a front end for the command line based mencoder.) Still, meGUI is a bit more customizable (in my opinion) so you might look into it if the other programs can't get you files in a format you can use.

As for setting up a bunch of projects so that you can kick them off and go to bed, I think Handbrake, Ripbot264, and MeGUI (as well as most other encoders I've encountered) can do that without any problems, so you should be fine there.

I'm hoping other people will reply soon because while I have some experience with ripping/encoding DVDs and even Blu Rays I don't have a PS3 so I can't help you with the specifics there. I would recommend reading around on the forums while you wait - perhaps looking in the Guides section or doing a search for PS3 in the forums.

[trimicada]

Thanks for the feedback. I did think about streaming, but my PS3 is only connected via wireless to my network. While technically I could ran a cable from the room where my PC is to the PS3's location, it would not be pretty and would have to cross my entrance way and I can't go thru walls or ceiling (apartment). So that's why I was leaning towards the hard drive option.

[minerva.thegift]

Alright, fair enough. I know that streaming via wireless is possible form this forum thread but I think the hard drive option is probably your best bet. It'll just mean that you'll be a bit more limited one which file formats, etc. you can use. This post gives a hint about PS3 format specs, but I haven't found a full list of what can and can't be used with a PS3 in these forums (but I haven't really looked a whole lot, either.) Another forum I've used a bit, Club CDFreaks has a post here about some tests with PS3 options (but it's from 2007) and they reference this thread at Doom9 (they host some of the tools referenced here on videohelp, like BDSup2Sub) - that's what I found with a bit of searching. Of course with new firmware versions and whatnot for the PS3 these stats might change - I really don't know since I don't have a PS3.

Are there any PS3 users around who know more about what options are available (codecs, containers, etc.)?

[guns1inger]

If you are streaming SD material then wireless transfer is pretty good. I find that streaming MP4 material to the PS3 is a problem, but transcoding the same material on the fly to mpeg-2 while streaming sorts all these issues out.

That said, plugging in a portable HDD is a simple solution.

I haven't tried AC3 in MP4 containers as Xvid4PSP doesn't support it yet (hurry up). M2TS does, but has a huge overhead % wise. Most of what I convert is OTA broadcast material that is only 2.0 anyway, so dropping it to AAC isn't a big hit. I don't bother converting DVDs as I have far too many discs, and far too little time. It is easier to put the original into the PS3 and watch it when I feel the need.

[trimicada]

Well, had an interesting failure last night. Had a disk ripped to hdd via DVDFab. Used Handbrake to encode one of the titles to mkv. The mkv played fine on my pc. Then used tsmuxer to "convert" to m2ts. Started off fine. But during the credits or right after, the audio was off sync. Went back to the mkv and it was fine all the way thru.

For now, I've got a few converting via ripbot to mp4 instead and will see how those go. (Used DVD Decrypter IFO mode to extract each title (episode) to its own folder.)

Then I still need to take a more in depth look at xvid4psp, megui, and fairuse wizard.

[minerva.thegift]

Good luck in your testing A sidenote - I just tested some various Handbrake settings for use with an Xbox 360 and you can read about my results here. Basically, it can't handle .mkv files at all and it can only handle AC3 audio in an .avi file. Oh, and it mainly takes XviD as its encoder of choice. I doubt that the settings for the PS3 are the same, but they might be similar; just something to consider as you do your research/testing.

[trimicada]

So, I have played with ripbot (mp4) and xvid4psp (m2ts). I used xvid4psp at one of the Q21 settings and ended up with a file that was about 550mb but I wasn't too happy with the quality. At various points where the camera pans it just didn't look good at all. I am now playing with MEgui and did an encode last night that looked good but I didn't get it as compressed as I want. The original vob file is 1.7gb, the MEgui files combined to m2ts ended up at 1.2gb and looked fine, but I want to play with the settings a bit and see if I can get good quality (to me) at closer to 900mb-1gb size. It seems like MEgui does a better job and faster than xvid4psp.