x264 encoding - no. of ref frames vs hardware compatibility

[spicediver10191]

Using Staxrip as my x264 front end, for a long time now I've been limiting my reference frames in MP4 encodes to 3 ref frames.

This is because I encode these MP4's for distrubution, and I understand that more than 3 can cause hiccups and playback failure with some hardware, ie., PS3 and Xbox.

I was wondering if the "3" ref frames limit is still necessary in 2012?

I've found a new MP4 preset on Staxrip that I like for my standard definition enclodes - using the "veryslow" profile - and the default setting if 5 ref frames. The results look sublime. The source is standard definition video and as always my goal when encoding is maximum quality. Time is not an issue.

But...I'm wondering will 5 ref frames in x264 encoding will cause MP4 playback issues on some hardware players and networking/streaming boxes?

BTW, I can manually reduce ref frames back to 3, but that's messing with the "veryslow" profile preset and I don't know what implications this might have if all other settings remain unchanged.

[Atak_Snajpera]

it all depends of resolution. lower resolution = more ref frames is allowed

from http://mewiki.project357.com/wiki/X264_Settings

 ref

 Default: 3 
Controls the size of the DPB (Decoded Picture Buffer).  The range is from 0-16. In short, this value is the number of previous  frames each P-frame can use as references. (B-frames can use one or two  fewer, depending on if they are used as references or not.) The minimum  number of refs that can be referenced is 1. 
Also note that the H.264 spec limits DPB size for each level. If adhering to Level 4.1  specs, the maximum refs for 720p and 1080p video are 9 and 4  respectively. You can read more about levels and 4.1 in particular under  --level.