MP4 Issue On Xbox 360 (please Help!)

[Cornholio77]

I have read a few other forums that kind of relate to my issue, but in case someone has new info etc. i figured i will post my isolated prob. Ok ,99% of the time I never have any trouble playing rudos mp4 movie files on the xbox, but recently i am. I am wondering if it has something to do with the new dashboard update? Here are the specs:

Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID : mp42
File size : 1.89 GiB
Duration : 2h 43mn
Overall bit rate : 1 649 Kbps
Encoded date : UTC 2011-09-08 11:43:25
Tagged date : UTC 2011-09-08 11:43:25

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L3.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 4 frames
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 2h 43mn
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 1 438 Kbps
Width : 704 pixels
Height : 400 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 29.970 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.170
Stream size : 1.64 GiB (87%)
Writing library : x264 core 88 r1471 1144615
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=5 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=umh / subme=9 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=12 / sliced_threads=0 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=1 / b_adapt=2 / b_bias=0 / direct=3 / wpredb=1 / wpredp=2 / keyint=300 / keyint_min=30 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=40 / rc=crf / mbtree=1 / crf=19.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=1500 / vbv_bufsize=1450 / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Encoded date : UTC 2011-09-08 11:43:25
Tagged date : UTC 2011-09-08 11:43:25

Audio
ID : 2
Format : AAC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec
Format profile : LC
Codec ID : 40
Duration : 2h 43mn
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 192 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : Front: L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 222 MiB (11%)
Encoded date : UTC 2011-09-08 11:43:25
Tagged date : UTC 2011-09-08 11:43:25



Anyone know why this isn't working on the 360? I guess i can try to clear cache and redownload the optional media update but i have read that is not working for people either. Any help is greatly appreciated !!!

[Cornholio77]

P.S. - also, whether i put the movie on a usb device, an external hard drive or stream it from my pc to the xbox, i get the same issue that it will not play...... this only seemed to start occurring more frequently after the dashboard update. I still do have some mp4 files that work too so its not a universal issue.

[mh2360]

The only thing i can see which might cause a problem is that the video seems to have 4 reference frames (ReFrames). Microsoft recommend a maximum of 3.

I'm not sure whether this would cause the Xbox to play the video incorrectly or wether it would refuse to play it at all.

The only fix for that would be to recode the video.

[Cornholio77]

I am hearing though that some movies are not playing now due to the fall dashboard update as well? And that the only way to play certain movies is through windows media center. I am not sure though if this is an issue with this specific movie or if that is more of a rumor??

[mh2360]

I am hearing though that some movies are not playing now due to the fall dashboard update as well? And that the only way to play certain movies is through windows media center. I am not sure though if this is an issue with this specific movie or if that is more of a rumor??

I have quite a large AVI/MP4 collection, and all play just as they did before the update.

It's true that some files will only play through Windows Media Center (MPEG2 for example), but that has always been the case with the 360.

[Bjs]

One of the worst things you can do is use VBR in video / audio ... most devices including game consoles will eventually develop issues ... stick with CBR encoding and the problem should never appear.

[Cornholio77]

Also saw another forum on this uploaders videos and he mentioned he thought that maybe it was an issue with Frame rate : 29.970 fps. This uploader usually goes 60fps i think. Anyone think that would be an issue? I It seems that everything else this uploader has used is what he normally uses such as mp4 format etc. If not, can anyone definitively see what it is that is making this file unplayable in xbox so i can try to fix the issue? All help is greatly appreciated. I just want to make sure that if i encounter this again i can fix the problem myself.

P.S. - this is only the 2nd time out of around 500 past times i have ever had an issue with this uploaders videos so i am thinking he must have done something different this time. Would it help if i found a prior file of his (that worked on xbox) and put the specs up and someone could help me compare them to see what makes one work and this one not?

P.S. i can also message someone the website link to this video if they want to download it themselves and maybe that will help figure out what is making it unplayable? Many of you have more expertise than me so maybe having the file yourselves would help figure it out?

[mh2360]

P.S. - this is only the 2nd time out of around 500 past times i have ever had an issue with this uploaders videos so i am thinking he must have done something different this time. Would it help if i found a prior file of his (that worked on xbox) and put the specs up and someone could help me compare them to see what makes one work and this one not?

Actually that would help. I'm still not sure about the number ReFrames this file has, but if your other videos have the same number and they work ok, then obviously it can't be that. TBH everthing else looks fine, I encode videos for 360 using similar settings, and they all work fine.

[Cornholio77]

I went and read a few other forums and some info online and it seems that some people are saying that the fram rate 30fps does not work on the xbox maybe in this format and that 30 fps will work. Could that be the issue? And why is this?

[Cornholio77]

any further info? If possible i could reencode it if someone could offer advice, or would formatting it into another file type work ( i suspect not..)

P.S. i also chatted with someone in another forum who said a simple conversion to mp4 would fix it, however isn't this file already in an mp4 container? I am a bit confused. If i can fix this by converting this to mp4, let me know. I am a bit confused though......