A friend of mine finally picked up his first flat-screen tv and has decided that he wants to convert his 60 or so DVDs to digital files that he can store and stream through his Xbox 360. The kicker is that he insists on keeping the multi-channel audio and the only way to do that is in an .avi container (that I'm aware of). I converted a couple of DVDs with Handbrake v0.9.3 using the Xvid codec and just passed-thru the AC3 5.1 audio.
He is using his laptop to stream (AMD dual-core, a year old) with Windows Media and we also tried Tversity and PS3 Media Server. We are using wireless G from the laptop to the router and the router is wired to the Xbox 360. Playback of both movies is choppy. At first I thought it was a transcoding issue, so we installed Tversity and turned off transcoding. No difference. So then we wired the laptop to the router, so there was a 100 mb/s connection all the way through. Still choppy. We streamed a couple of larger, HD, .mp4 files and they played, wired and wireless, without a problem. So, network thoroughput is not the issue, the bandwidth to carry it is there. I followed the CPU usage under all the different network/streamer combintations and it never got above 50%. The laptop isn't slowing it down. They worked fine when played directly from a flash drive.
I read something on the internet about how an improperly muxed .avi file might create a situation like this when it is streamed, especially when the audio is VBR .mp3. Does this sound right? Could it be a problem even though I'm using the native AC3 stream? If so, is there another program besides Handbrake that I could use to convert the DVDs to .avi? I have tried AutoGK, but geez it is slow. How about the DivX Converter? I'm not above paying $30 to get this job done.
Is there any other way of getting these DVDs to digital with multi-channel audio that might be cleaner and smoother? I'm open to any ideas.
Specs:
Dual Core AMD Laptop with 4gb of memory
Windows 7
Xbox 360 w/Kinect
Streaming with Windows Media, Tversity or PS3 Media Server
.avi container
Xvid 2000-2500mb/s bitrate
AC3 5.1 passthru
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I haven't done it personally but why not try an iso rip and stream the iso? Keep it simple and do just the main movie and one audio track.
Donatello - The Shredder? Michelangelo - Maybe all that hardware is for making coleslaw? -
So, just rip the DVD to an .iso with DVD Decrypter and then set that up to playback? I didn't know that was even a possibility. I will try it.
I'm sure the stream will be transcoded in the process to .mp4 with 2.0 audio, but he'll never notice and it sounds like a great way to back everything up and still, technically, have the 5.1 intact. -
Originally Posted by smitbret
Another option if you want a physical file is wmv. The xbox 360 can natively play wmv directly off a dvdr or harddrive (fat32 or mac hfs - hfs acts as ntfs and can do files larger than 4gb - macdrive plus can format this - payware).
You would have to convert the dvd to wmv of course. I'm not sure if you can do the original ac3 in a wmv container or whether the 360 would recognize the ac3 in a wmv. But it can be converted to wma 5.1 audio if it was 5.1. I think windows media encoder is the most suitable job for that.
You can also do mp4 with h264 and I BELIEVE it can handle 5.1 in mp4. I believe the mp4 container can now handle 5.1 audio but whether or not it can handle ac3 I don't know and i don't know if the 360 can recognize ac3 5.1 in mp4.Donatello - The Shredder? Michelangelo - Maybe all that hardware is for making coleslaw? -
I think I'll just try an .mp4 with multi-channel and also make a .wmv and see what happens. I'm not really concerned about what format the 5.1 is in, just as long as it is multi-channel. Thanks for the leads.
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The Xbox 360 allows only 2 channel AAC-LC audio in a MP4 conatiner, anything else wont play.
The best way to stream a DVD collection is to set up the 360 as a media extender. That way you can rip the DVDs to .MPG and use the original audio/video streams, better still remux those .MPGs to .DVR-MS and have full FF/REW capability as well.
Windows 7 Media Center is by far the best version for this as Vista MCE wont handle AVI/MP4 files without registry hacks and transcoding software. -
Ok, this is what I'm looking for. I may sound stupid, but what do you mean by setting it up as a media extender? What is .DVR-S?
I'll Google this stuff up, but if you feel like expounding, that would be awesome. I'm not sure what is even meant by Windows 7 Media Center vs. Vista MCE. Is that what I've been using so far without success.
Pardon my ignorance, I'm trying to transfer my knowledge of streaming videos through a PS3 to an Xbox and it is so much less flexible. -
A media extender basically gives you the same front end as Windows Media Center as in this video (not my video BTW).
Some find it a pain to set up, but I have never had any problems. Here's a decent guide.
Once connected, you just need to tell it where to find the Video/Movie/Music folders.
Once up and running you can get a plugin such as the free MediaBrowser to make it look "pretty" (see video, again not mine).
DVR-MS is a container format similar to .MPG (MPEG2 with AC3 or MP2), they are (or were) produced by Media Center when recording TV shows using a TV card. DVR-MS has now been replaced by .WTV, but it's still useful for DVD rips.Last edited by mh2360; 28th Mar 2011 at 18:42.
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Thanks for all of the info. I checked out the guide and it looks pretty simple. He has Home Premium on his laptop, so MCE should be available. The guy popped up with a Media Center Remote control at the end of the video, though. Is this going to require a hardware investment?
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The 360 media remote isn't a requirement, the standard controller can do pretty much everything you need to do.
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You should be able to use any universal remote on the xbox 360. It has an ir port on the front of the box. But it should be a relatively recent remote that would have a code for it.
If your friend has a fully programmable remote like one from logitech (that can connect to a pc and be fully configured) that would be the best option.
BUT a simple remote designed for the xbox itself should be pretty cheap. Check ebay or amazon. The official ones have the xbox guide button on them. THere are two models - a small one just for dvd functions and a large one with the media center home button and everything you'd need. I don't think they are very expensive.
edit - yes mh2360 is correct that a regular xbox controller can do everything you need but it is not adequate as a remote for frequent use. Its ok short term but if you use it very much you'll hate the layout I think. If you do want the real remote look for one used or check out a gamestop that would probably have a used one for sale.Donatello - The Shredder? Michelangelo - Maybe all that hardware is for making coleslaw? -
I have a tried a number of Xbox 360 media remotes and they do vary in quality. There are some you might want to avoid.
The first two are cheap and can be found all over the internet, but they dont have very good range and you have to have the aiming skills of sniper. The build quality isn't great, I actually broke one by dropping it 3ft onto a thick carpet.
I'm currently using the Joytech model (bottom pic), it has good range and feels nice and solid. -
Thanks for posting the pics mh2360.
I am using the second one on the right of the top picture - the one with the number pad. It does have a narrow angle of attack.
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I had a question - I have an older model regular 360 - does have hdmi - do the new slim models still have a front ir port? I think that was one thing I never knew about the new model. I can't imagine they'd remove that feature.Donatello - The Shredder? Michelangelo - Maybe all that hardware is for making coleslaw?
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