HD-DVD/BLU-RAY to HD WMV or h.264 format??? Possible???

[homerpez]

I just got me one of the Xbox HD-DVD drives, wonderful device... even allows me (with AnyDVD HD) to make a managed copy of my discs, so I don't have to fumble with them if I don't want to (and I don't).

Of course, THEN I find out, Windows Media Center has support for HD file playback... but NOT playback of HD-DVD or BLU-RAY DISCS OR FOLDERS. Odd, and it begs for a work-around.

So far the only playback option I have is PowerDVD 7.3, which is still in the "buggy" stage... crashes numerous times mid-movie, and I guess this is the nature of the program right now. I was hoping to try Media Center, but it doesn't play HD movies off a hard drive, only "normal" DVD movie folders.

ANYWAY...

Since Media Center WILL play HD files (HD-WMV?) properly, is there currently any way to strip the HD video and audio streams, and re-encode to a single HD WMV/AVI file that Media Center WILL play???

If I'm late to the party, can someone point me the right way?

Seems like it would be technically possible to do this... an HD-format video stream with the original 7.1 (or 5.1) audio stream, make a big file, click, play. Possible?...

[Baldrick]

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=124020

[homerpez]

Thank you very very (very) much!

[homerpez]

Sorry about this, but I'm back...

I read (or attempted to read) this tutorial, but it goes all over the place, and trying the methods I knew, I got nowhere... hopefully someone can boil this down for me.

1. The process starts with backing up the HD-DVD to the hard drive (done).

2. Demux the VC1 video stream to .mpv, and the Dolby stream to .mpa using EVO Demux (done)

3. Next is Graphedit... I open the .mpv file (File-->Render Media File), and Graphedit crashes instantly in Vista.

4. Just for kicks, I try to open the .mpa (DD+) audio file the same way... then I get "Could Not Construct Graph From This File. Are you sure you have the necessary filters?" I can play HD-DVD's in PowerDVD, so I assume I do?...

The next steps I can't even get to:

5. Create a graph in graphedit (because it crashes instantly on the video, won't open audio)

6. Create an AVS script referencing that graph

7. Encode with Procorder or some other program capable of encoding HD WMV's with the dolby audio intact.

So, what do I do now? Could someone perhaps post a step-by-step tutorial of what is needed, what to do, and how to do it?

I saw lots of references thrown around to Elecard MPEG decoder, AC3filter, some Sonic HD demuxer (I have no idea what this is)... it would be nice to know specifics on how to make this work.......

Thanks to anyone in advance!

EDIT: I figured out what I was doing wrong in graphedit, but I still have no idea what filters to use... particularly with the audio, it won't "connect" to any output audio filter, like Cyberlink Audio Decoder, etc... all the more reason, I guess, why a tutorial would be helpful... I'm somewhat of a newbie at this, but I can follow directions
:P

EDIT AGAIN: There has GOT to be an easier method of doing this. Tried everything in graphedit, all the filters I DO have (PowerDVD 7.3), nothing even comes close to working. I hope and pray someone comes up with some standalone program that does this... that would be amazing.

[Baldrick]

No such tool yet. Maybe AutoMKV will add hd-dvd and blu-ray support...

[homerpez]

Thanks for the reply... still on the "waiting period" on Doom9's forum, and it's REALLY frustrating me. Maybe that's why they have a waiting period... :P

I did manage to find the guide to encode to h264 from HD-DVD, and it looks like I may be able to go this route (all i care about is "can I play this movie on my PC" when I finish).

The only question I have is the audio...

Since EVOdemux can simply dump the DD+ stream out of it, could I simply re-encode video to mp4, and just leave the audio intact? I really want at least 5.1 channels, and this seems a logical way to do it.

Doom9's thread seems to just confuse me more, the more I look into it. I'm hoping to get a "consolidated" answer elsewhere.

[musher70]

why bbother..
every title can be downloaded
already...

[homerpez]

why bbother..
every title can be downloaded
already...

Well.. like I said at the outset, basically the idea is to make a file that I can play in Media Center (since HD-DVD isn't directly supported, and they're saying they're going to leave it up to 3rd party companies...). I hate fumbling with discs.

I do have PowerDVD 7.3, which yes, I know plays HD-DVD and BLU-RAY off the hard drive, but it currently has fatal issues which aren't fixed yet... someone's actually complained to the BBB about Cyberlink, I think that may have gone too far :P

Also, the more I look into this, I think I could save a little space this way (maybe by 1/2) by just making a simple movie file, stripping away all the excess streams (some have the lo-def DVD encoded into the hi-def EVO, which adds 3-7 GB right there)...

[homerpez]

I realize I'm way behind the rest of the pack here.. people way smarter than I am are probably light years ahead of me on this...

I've basically started to attempt encoding from EVO -> AVS -> Virtualdubmod -> 8000 Constant Bitrate h264 video file using the ffdshow encoder, and it seems to be working nicely (done about 9-some hours from now). Hopefully I can mux this with the original DD+ ".ddp" file and something will know how to play it all as a Matroska file (mkv).

Here's the time where if I'm wrong, someone can talk me down from the ledge. :P