MPEG4-AVC (H264) + AC3 -> Divx + AC3?

[thomas_fogh]

I have MKV files containing H264+AC3 streams, and I want to convert them to DivX+AC3 (not Xvid) for streaming to my PS3.
I followed the guide in https://forum.videohelp.com/topic241422.html, and demuxed the file using MKVExtract, but VirtualDubMod wont let me open the resulting .h264 file.
I've tried GUIs like AllToAvi, StaxRip, RipBot264 and PS3 Video 9, but none of them will let me convert to DivX+AC3.
I would really like to use .avi so that I can mux in subtitles (not hardcoded).

Hope someone can give me a hint...



Edited: fixed the link

[FulciLives]

I know you said that you do not want to use XviD but I highly suggest you give XVID4PSP a chance.

XVID4PSP has several different encoding options and one is called "AVI Hardware HD" and a file encoded this way will be compatible with the Sony PS3. I tried it recently on a 720p (1280x720) video source (which was a MKV with H.264 video and 5.1 AC-3 audio) and it worked great.

When I did the encoding I selected the option called "XviD Q2.0 Extreme"

One benefit of this is that XviD encoding is faster than H.264 encoding (at least on my old school Prescott P4 processor) however if you are re-encoding why not just re-encode to H.264 and "burn-in" the subs? The Sony PS3 supports H.264 video with AC-3 audio using the M2TS file format. That's what I always use. The XviD encoding I did was just a test. I don't normally do it that way.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
If you do re-do it as XviD in the manner I speak of then you should be able to mux in the subtitles and have them be selectable on the PS3 by using a program called AVIAddXSubs

I see one potential problem with all this ... the final XviD file will be massive if you keep the resolution at 1080p and even at 720p it will still be pretty damn big. I know the PS3 can handle a DivX/XviD file in excess of 2.0GB but is there an upper limit beyond that like 4GB or ...? I just do not know for sure *shrugs*

I do know that (when it comes to the PS3) there is no real file size limitation when it comes to MP4 or M2TS but DivX/XviD AVI may be different ... then again maybe not!

[45tripp]

i get a dead link on the guide

i'm pretty sure it wouldn't say import raw h264 into vdubmod.
because quite simply, you can't.

1.extract ac3 and subs with mkvextract.

2.downlaod avisynth and install if it's not on your setup already.
open notepad.
write:
directshowsource("movie.mkv", convertfps=true, fps=25, audio=false)
change fps value to the reading you get from mediainfo.
save as: movie.avs
in the same folder as your mkv.

3.import the 'movie.avs' file into vdub.
encode to divx avi.

4. import encoded avi into vdub,
add extracted audio and subs,
direct stream copy audio and video,
save final.avi.


you could also try xvid4psp
for a all in one app.


tripp

[thomas_fogh]

Thanks, FilciLives!
I'll give XVID4PSP a go. The PS3 can handle Xvid as long as they stay with the Divx requirements...
What program do you use for M2TS creation?
I've heard that there's problems jumping and rewinding when using M2TS files. Is this true?
Yeah, AVIAddXSubs is what I normally use...
I'm streaming from my NAS so the size shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks again!

BR, Thomas Fogh

[thomas_fogh]

Thanks, 45tripp!
I'll try avisynth if xvid4psp doesn't work...

[FulciLives]

Thanks, FilciLives!
I'll give XVID4PSP a go. The PS3 can handle Xvid as long as they stay with the Divx requirements...
What program do you use for M2TS creation?
I've heard that there's problems jumping and rewinding when using M2TS files. Is this true?
Yeah, AVIAddXSubs is what I normally use...
I'm streaming from my NAS so the size shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks again!

BR, Thomas Fogh

It seems that most MKV files these days are H.264 video with AC-3 audio. In that case you can use a program called tsMuxeR to go directly to a M2TS file without any re-encoding or transcoding. However it doesn't always work on the PS3 as the H.264 video needs to be encoded in a special way (so as to be compatible) and some H.264 video streams are not encoded as such ... which means you need to re-encode.

XVID4PSP offers a M2TS option if you need to re-encode or you can put it into video only mode and use the PS3/XBOX 360 MP4 video mode then mux that new video with the AC-3 audio of the MKV using tsMuxeR to create a M2TS file.

M2TS plays back perfectly on the PS3 as it natively supports the format. The old school method of using MKV2VOB would create a file that didn't like to be "played with" aka fast forward or rewind. A proper M2TS has no such problems on the PS3.

Of course using H.264 means no selectable subtitles. At least not on the PS3.

Back to your project:

If you really want to use DivX instead of XviD then I would let XVID4PSP create an AviSynth script for you which you can then load into VirtualDub(Mod) and do your own DivX conversion but the "AVI Hardware HD" option in XVID4PSP seems to work fine with the PS3 even if it is XviD and not DivX.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[thomas_fogh]

Just tried a M2TS file and it works fine, but only when I copy it to the PS3 not for streaming, but that must be a problem with the media server (twonky).
Which x264 option do you recommend for video encoding?

[poisondeathray]

The problem from your mediainfo screenshot is high@level 5.1. You can actually change the level in tsmuxer as you mux the .m2ts (without re-encoding). Highlight the raw avc track, and checkmark the change level box before generating the .m2ts

For HD PS3 AVC content you generally want High@Level4.1 or lower, VBV buffer size 24000, VBV max bitrate 24000, no b-pyramids, max 3b-frames, 3 reference frames

I think your 8 reference frames might break compliance as well - if this is the case, then you might have to re-encode

If you use (view=>text) in mediainfo you can usually see the encoding settings (if it was encoded with x264)

Many programs have set profiles for PS3 compliance using x264 (e.g. MeGUI, ripbot264)

[FulciLives]

Just tried a M2TS file and it works fine, but only when I copy it to the PS3 not for streaming, but that must be a problem with the media server (twonky).
Which x264 option do you recommend for video encoding?

I use a Linux media streaming program called MediaTomb and after some tweaking I can stream M2TS files. I have heard that other media streaming software will not stream M2TS unless you "trick" the media streaming software by renaming the file to end with .mpg or .mpeg or .vob

The problem from your mediainfo screenshot is high@level 5.1. You can actually change the level in tsmuxer as you mux the .m2ts (without re-encoding). Highlight the raw avc track, and checkmark the change level box before generating the .m2ts

For HD PS3 AVC content you generally want High@Level4.1 or lower, VBV buffer size 24000, VBV max bitrate 24000, no b-pyramids, max 3b-frames, 3 reference frames

I think your 8 reference frames might break compliance as well - if this is the case, then you might have to re-encode

If you use (view=>text) in mediainfo you can usually see the encoding settings (if it was encoded with x264)

Many programs have set profiles for PS3 compliance using x264 (e.g. MeGUI, ripbot264)

You can change the level to 4.1 with tsMuxeR if it is set to 5.1 and sometimes this will create a file that works and sometimes it will not. Like poisondeathray stated the H.264 file needs to conform to certain parameters however I have had Level 5.1 videos that work once I switch to Level 4.1 even though they had more than 3 reference frames ... but then again some like that have NOT worked. It is a bit hit or miss. All you can do is try and if it doesn't work then you need to re-encode.

When using XVID4PSP and selecting M2TS or MKV or PS3/XBOX 360 MP4 ... I believe almost all of the encoding setting options under these profiles will create H.264 that conforms to the PS3 standard. This was done to be friendly to both the PS3 as well as video cards that do hardware assisted H.264 decoding. An example for computers would be the AMD 780g chipset motherboard which is a great choice for building a HTPC.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[profy]

I use a Linux media streaming program called MediaTomb and after some tweaking I can stream M2TS files.

I'm trying to do the same, can you post yours tweaking ?

Thanks

[FulciLives]

I use a Linux media streaming program called MediaTomb and after some tweaking I can stream M2TS files.

I'm trying to do the same, can you post yours tweaking ?

Thanks

Here is my MediaTomb config.xml file.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<config version="1" xmlns="http://mediatomb.cc/config/1" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://mediatomb.cc/config/1 http://mediatomb.cc/config/1.xsd">
  <server>
    <ui enabled="yes">
      <accounts enabled="no" session-timeout="30">
        <account user="mediatomb" password="mediatomb"/>
      </accounts>
    </ui>
    <name>MediaTomb</name>
    <udn>uuid:868b611b-6b69-4bb9-bad5-1db02c57bc84</udn>
    <home>/home/jcoleman/.mediatomb</home>
    <webroot>/usr/share/mediatomb/web</webroot>
    <storage>
      <sqlite3 enabled="yes">
        <database-file>mediatomb.db</database-file>
      </sqlite3>
      <mysql enabled="no">
        <host>localhost</host>
        <username>mediatomb</username>
        <database>mediatomb</database>
      </mysql>
    </storage>
    <protocolInfo extend="yes"/>
    <!--
       Uncomment the lines below to get rid of jerky avi playback on the
       DSM320 or to enable subtitles support on the DSM units
    -->
    <!--
    <custom-http-headers>
      <add header="X-User-Agent: redsonic"/>
    </custom-http-headers>

    <manufacturerURL>redsonic.com</manufacturerURL>
    <modelNumber>105</modelNumber>
    -->
    
    <!--
       <upnp-string-limit>101</upnp-string-limit>
    -->
  </server>
  <import hidden-files="no">
    <scripting script-charset="UTF-8">
      <common-script>/usr/share/mediatomb/js/common.js</common-script>
      <playlist-script>/usr/share/mediatomb/js/playlists.js</playlist-script>
      <virtual-layout type="builtin">
        <import-script>/usr/share/mediatomb/js/import.js</import-script>
      </virtual-layout>
    </scripting>
    <mappings>
      <extension-mimetype ignore-unknown="no">
        <map from="mp3" to="audio/mpeg"/>
        <map from="ogg" to="application/ogg"/>
        <map from="asf" to="video/x-ms-asf"/>
        <map from="asx" to="video/x-ms-asf"/>
        <map from="wma" to="audio/x-ms-wma"/>
        <map from="wax" to="audio/x-ms-wax"/>
        <map from="wmv" to="video/x-ms-wmv"/>
        <map from="wvx" to="video/x-ms-wvx"/>
        <map from="wm" to="video/x-ms-wm"/>
        <map from="wmx" to="video/x-ms-wmx"/>
        <map from="m3u" to="audio/x-mpegurl"/>
        <map from="pls" to="audio/x-scpls"/>
        <map from="flv" to="video/x-flv"/>
        <map from="m2ts" to="video/mpeg"/>
        
        <map from="avi" to="video/divx"/>
        
        
      </extension-mimetype>
      <mimetype-upnpclass>
        <map from="audio/*" to="object.item.audioItem.musicTrack"/>
        <map from="video/*" to="object.item.videoItem"/>
        <map from="image/*" to="object.item.imageItem"/>
      </mimetype-upnpclass>
      <mimetype-contenttype>
        <treat mimetype="audio/mpeg" as="mp3"/>
        <treat mimetype="application/ogg" as="ogg"/>
        <treat mimetype="audio/x-flac" as="flac"/>
        <treat mimetype="image/jpeg" as="jpg"/>
        <treat mimetype="audio/x-mpegurl" as="playlist"/>
        <treat mimetype="audio/x-scpls" as="playlist"/>
        <treat mimetype="audio/x-wav" as="pcm"/>
        <treat mimetype="audio/L16" as="pcm"/>
        <treat mimetype="video/x-msvideo" as="avi"/>
      </mimetype-contenttype>
    </mappings>
  </import>
  <transcoding enabled="no">
    <mimetype-profile-mappings>
      <transcode mimetype="video/x-flv" using="vlcmpeg"/>
      <transcode mimetype="application/ogg" using="vlcmpeg"/>
      <transcode mimetype="application/ogg" using="oggflac2raw"/>
      <transcode mimetype="audio/x-flac" using="oggflac2raw"/>
    </mimetype-profile-mappings>
    <profiles>
      <profile name="oggflac2raw" enabled="no" type="external">
        <mimetype>audio/L16</mimetype>
        <accept-url>no</accept-url>
        <first-resource>yes</first-resource>
        <accept-ogg-theora>no</accept-ogg-theora>
        <agent command="ogg123" arguments="-d raw -f %out %in"/>
        <buffer size="1048576" chunk-size="131072" fill-size="262144"/>
      </profile>
      <profile name="vlcmpeg" enabled="no" type="external">
        <mimetype>video/mpeg</mimetype>
        <accept-url>yes</accept-url>
        <first-resource>yes</first-resource>
        <accept-ogg-theora>yes</accept-ogg-theora>
        <agent command="vlc" arguments="-I dummy %in --sout #transcode{venc=ffmpeg,vcodec=mp2v,vb=4096,fps=25,aenc=ffmpeg,acodec=mpga,ab=192,samplerate=44100,channels=2}:standard{access=file,mux=ps,dst=%out} vlc:quit"/>
        <buffer size="14400000" chunk-size="512000" fill-size="120000"/>
      </profile>
    </profiles>
  </transcoding>
</config>

I hope this helps

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[profy]

Thanks it works too with :

<map from="m2ts" to="video/avc"/>

But the ps3 doesn't read subtitle from the m2ts file (codecs PGS)

Someone can read subtitle with the ps3 ?

[FulciLives]

Thanks it works too with :

<map from="m2ts" to="video/avc"/>

But the ps3 doesn't read subtitle from the m2ts file (codecs PGS)

Someone can read subtitle with the ps3 ?

I've heard that you can get subtitles to work on the PS3 using AVIAddXSubs but that only work when the video is XviD or DivX ... not H.264 video.

I've used XVID4PSP to re-encode some Japanese anime that had separate subtitles but in the process of re-encoding I burned in the subs.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman