Convert MKV to XViD-HD (BRRIP) for XBMC, PS3OS, Wii, etc ...

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sixties keith
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Re: Convert MKV to XViD-HD (BRRIP) for XBMC, PS3OS, Wii, etc

Post by sixties keith »

@the pitt

firstly before i reply can i say a big thank you for the full info you posted as i reply. im sure it took you a while to do and i wish more people on this were like you.

ok so ill try cover a few things in your reply and get a few thing out of the way. my builds are the beta 1 and beta /2 builds but im gonna try it on another xbox with the stable release on it.

as for the rip, i know that it has to be higher than dvd rip (eg 720p) if i want it to look better obviously a dvdrip will never be better than dvd quality etc.....

i also hav the 720p cables i used with the beta /2 build and although i noticed an increase in quality (not only on 720p cables even on standard def) the quality was noticeable better. however both have the dropped frames on high action or motion scenes.

the reason i asked about the mkv is just that it was mentioned i noticed that it does all kinds of files types so could mp4 for example be converted using the same settings on the guide?" i also know about the mplayer etc for playback so that's another thing out of the way.

i also know about download time (my internet is OK 30mb) and have a good duel core comp upstairs i use to convert the files and it doesn't seem to take too long at all.

hope ive covered everything on ur reply. is there anything i can do on my end to help playback. for example video playback options, cache settings, skin choice etc?" i also know the template can be saved which is really handy. if theres anything ive missed please reply and let me know. also is there another converter about that might suit"? i use a converter to convert my mp4 and mkv to just avi |(obviously not hi def) but there are lots of conversion options on it inc avi hd the program is called Xilisoft Video Converter Ultimate if you get a to take a look at it let me know what you think. although i dont think there is a bit rate selector so again could have a problem if it 'spikes' during high motion scenes.


thanks again mate
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Re: Convert MKV to XViD-HD (BRRIP) for XBMC, PS3OS, Wii, etc

Post by thepitt »

sixties keith wrote:@the pitt

firstly before i reply can i say a big thank you for the full info you posted as i reply. im sure it took you a while to do and i wish more people on this were like you.

ok so ill try cover a few things in your reply and get a few thing out of the way. my builds are the beta 1 and beta /2 builds but im gonna try it on another xbox with the stable release on it.

as for the rip, i know that it has to be higher than dvd rip (eg 720p) if i want it to look better obviously a dvdrip will never be better than dvd quality etc.....

i also hav the 720p cables i used with the beta /2 build and although i noticed an increase in quality (not only on 720p cables even on standard def) the quality was noticeable better. however both have the dropped frames on high action or motion scenes.

the reason i asked about the mkv is just that it was mentioned i noticed that it does all kinds of files types so could mp4 for example be converted using the same settings on the guide?" i also know about the mplayer etc for playback so that's another thing out of the way.

i also know about download time (my internet is OK 30mb) and have a good duel core comp upstairs i use to convert the files and it doesn't seem to take too long at all.

hope ive covered everything on ur reply. is there anything i can do on my end to help playback. for example video playback options, cache settings, skin choice etc?" i also know the template can be saved which is really handy. if theres anything ive missed please reply and let me know. also is there another converter about that might suit"? i use a converter to convert my mp4 and mkv to just avi |(obviously not hi def) but there are lots of conversion options on it inc avi hd the program is called Xilisoft Video Converter Ultimate if you get a to take a look at it let me know what you think. although i dont think there is a bit rate selector so again could have a problem if it 'spikes' during high motion scenes.

thanks again mate
Hi @sixties keith

Thanks for taking enough interest to reply!

The problem with programs such as Xilisoft Video Converter Ultimate (which I have used) is that even though it has a bitrate selector is that the optimal settings for the best playback of the XViD video codec under XBMC+Mplayer must be set in the XViD encoding settings using the codec itself and then if the encoding program allows you do to this then even so a lot of encoding programs do not produce the exact format that XBMC will play w/audio. It has something to do with either the entire container (avi) format of the video/audio or just the headers contained in the container. Either way, I didn't want to dig into that issue and let it drop when I realized what was going on. So just setting to bitrate won't tweak the encode just right to playback smoothly under XBMC. Using the default xvid codec encoder settings you can get AVI files to playback under 720p, but you'll have to lower the bitrate so low its not worth it.

As for memory settings, it depends on the build, but I always have to change the local cache to between 4-8MB to cut of the freezing during high action sequences. I really wish mplayer would just drop the frames without the skipping and pausing by itself, but it doesn't under XBMC and I don't know why. I do however know that increasing the cache does resolve that issue under the builds I mentioned. I was told those settings were unrelated by others to the video playback, but when I change the cache (and only the cache) and play a video the high movement sequences don't skip, pause or crash the XBOX. One example is the animated Riddick movie; when they are warping through Hyperspace. It would crash the entire XBOX until I simply changed the local cache size.

I do note in the guide to use the exact XViD CODEC version I use. That may have some sort of effect on the encoding as I experienced problems when I had used another version. I don't use the xvid codec that comes with StaxRip, but I do use the others and utils that are included.

StaxRip supports encoding a variety of video containers including MP4, but some video streams inside the MP4 may not be supported by StaxRip which is more likely in the case of the MP4 container then in the case of the MKV due to the MKV's video stream(s) usually being a standard HD video format which StaxRip is more tailored to. However, it is totally possible to convert a good quality MP4 video into a XVID. All of the supported containers or raw video formats can be.

You can also just place the other builds of XBMC under different directories on the XBOX. I wrote that SATA/2TB guide so I have a lot of different builds due to the space and spare time on my box. Some settings need to be changed, but there is already info on how to run multiple builds on a single box floating around.

As for Xilisoft Video Converter Ultimate or other encoding programs out there, I did write this guide some time ago and it did take a really, really long time to get the optimal encoding settings so I do not plan on trying to do so again, but I welcome anyone to find another way about it and by all means reply or share in your own guide! As for me, I'll stick with what works.

Good luck!
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Re: Convert MKV to XViD-HD (BRRIP) for XBMC, PS3OS, Wii, etc

Post by sixties keith »

yea thats no problem im just glad to see some1 leave such a detailed reply without a link in sight. many users on this site juz point you to another thread where a similar question has been asked but this doesn't always solve the problem!!!

anyways i thought as much with the converter i was using i remember reading before that using those doesn't always keep the bit-rate the same and therefore can crash on high action or moving scenes. as for the video playback options there is defo an effect. many have said it doesn't affect playback but i can say from experience like you that it defo does so ill have to play about with it as others i have asked have said leave as is.

staxrip seems like a decent program just been kept away with other computer work and Xbox modding projects ATM but i am going to attempt it again just to see if i missed anything or if it was just a bad movie i used.

will also try different builds on an Xbox (certain builds wouldn't let me play music from certain muic plugins s the builds can have a direct affect. , i think i have a test Xbox knocking about with around 5 builds on it but its easy to do anyways just add another xbmc build to the apps folder, names xbmc test or xbmc2 or something then just use the file manager to start the default.xbe so that's no probs.

could you let me no what your setting in your video playback folder are, IE cache and skin your using etc? im going to try and copy your settings and then try another rip to see if its a problem on my end. thanks again for all your help
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Re: Convert MKV to XViD-HD (BRRIP) for XBMC, PS3OS, Wii, etc

Post by thepitt »

It really depends on your build. Per say under XBMC-8.10-FINAL-T3CH-PROPER you'd set the main hdd video cache to 8,192kb and I never use any skin except Project Mayhem III. I might change the font. I've used other skins in the past with no impact on video playback, but they have always been included with the distro.Ty adjusting the cache between 4-8mb. I found > 8 helps to crash the box.
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Re: Convert MKV to XViD-HD (BRRIP) for XBMC, PS3OS, Wii, etc

Post by BuZz »

I respect thepitt for his opinions on conversion, but personally, I prefer to go for a 1pass re-encode, so I can use mediatomb and transcode in realtime from 1080p/720 h264. If you are interested in that please open a new thread and ill give the details.

It's important to mention that mplayer hasn't changed since xbmc4xbox - as we do not work on mplayer - it's old and considered defunct. still useful and if people prefer to use it, that's fine, but actually later ffmpeg libraries are only slower due to improvements in quality imho. There could also be some cases where code is slower of course, as code in newer versions has a focus on newer cpus, but the mmx/mmx2/sse code is still being improved on and optimisations made (eg. h264 decoding is far better on dvdplayer than the ancient mplayer imho).. anyway, you have the choice of both.. so nothing lost.
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Re: Convert MKV to XViD-HD (BRRIP) for XBMC, PS3OS, Wii, etc

Post by sixties keith »

cheers guys for the replies i really want to get this hd playback working.

@thepitt no probs man , ill try messing about with the settings and see if it changes anything. still haven't had a chance to test it on a stable build yet so fingers crossed.

@buzz - thats sounds great mate and would be of great interest to me. im eager to try any method for this and then compare results. think we can get a thread going about this, im sure many others on the forum would be interested.
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Re: Convert MKV to XViD-HD (BRRIP) for XBMC, PS3OS, Wii, etc

Post by TWITDADDY »

simple easy program to do this is gotsent
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Re: Convert MKV to XViD-HD (BRRIP) for XBMC, PS3OS, Wii, etc

Post by thepitt »

UPDATED - What's New?

[ 2013-07-07 ]

* New Content w/Links added to Tutorial

* Inclusion of Configured Xvid-HD Staxrip Profile

* XBOX4XBMC 3.1 STABLE has no problem playing back these XViD-HD encodes using "dvdplayer" and until newer versions can be tested is the optimal choice for playback unless you are still using XBMC. See the very bottom of this tutorial for the default settings tested under this version.
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Re: Convert MKV to XViD-HD (BRRIP) for XBMC, PS3OS, Wii, etc

Post by ney2x »

Registered here just to say many thanks for your guide.

P.S.
I had used so many freeware converter programs like MEGUI, XviD4PSP, video to video, even Staxrip (but the default settings is not giving me best quality).
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Re: Convert MKV to XViD-HD (BRRIP) for XBMC, PS3OS, Wii, etc

Post by Oldxboxusa »

Ähem, BuZz for what it the option -Buffsize??? i use ffmpeg under mac via terminal (the most options are the same because ffmpeg is open source) but this option was unrecognized?
error!!!
error!!!
without that option:
Convert but not finished
Convert but not finished
I hope it will finished...

and the second thing, why i have only englisch audio? there are two audio sources in that mkv englisch and german, how can i use the german audio. after ffmpeg was finished the file size is 1,6GB - quiet better than over 2,4GBs.

ok in my opinon this is the right way: ffmpeg -i path-to-file.mkv -scodec copy -codec:a:0 copy -vcodec mpeg4 -b:v 1900k -maxrate 3000k -s 720x480 -f matroska -y path-to-file_new.mkv
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Re: Convert MKV to XViD-HD (BRRIP) for XBMC, PS3OS, Wii, etc

Post by goodluckthree »

I use iDealshare VideoGo to convert MKV to Xvid-HD for XBMC, PS3OS, Wii, etc
Step by step guide at http://www.idealshare.net/mkv-xbmc-solution.html
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Re: Convert MKV to XViD-HD (BRRIP) for XBMC, PS3OS, Wii, etc

Post by spicemuseum »

Oldxboxusa wrote:ok in my opinon this is the right way: ffmpeg -i path-to-file.mkv -scodec copy -codec:a:0 copy -vcodec mpeg4 -b:v 1900k -maxrate 3000k -s 720x480 -f matroska -y path-to-file_new.mkv
Note that the dimensions, "-s 720x480", are standard definition (i.e. 480p) not HD.
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Re: Convert MKV to XViD-HD (BRRIP) for XBMC, PS3OS, Wii, etc

Post by BuZz »

Oldxboxusa wrote:Ähem, BuZz for what it the option -Buffsize??? i use ffmpeg under mac via terminal (the most options are the same because ffmpeg is open source) but this option was unrecognized?
what version of ffmpeg ?
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Re: Convert MKV to XViD-HD (BRRIP) for XBMC, PS3OS, Wii, etc

Post by Oldxboxusa »

BuZz wrote:what version of ffmpeg ?
My Version is 2.4.2 from Macports.This Version: https://www.macports.org/ports.php?by=n ... str=ffmpeg
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Re: Convert MKV to XViD-HD (BRRIP) for XBMC, PS3OS, Wii, etc

Post by Oldxboxusa »

spicemuseum wrote:Note that the dimensions, "-s 720x480", are standard definition (i.e. 480p) not HD.
I don't know that but 1280x720 is too much for my XBOX (1.6) by this definition i have many framedrops or hungups with the XBOX. I play it not directly from the Internal HDD, but rather with my Synology Nas via Homegroup and SMB Protocol. All Files that are bigger than 1,9GB are not Playable and when it is MKV not either.

Best for me is AVI/DivX but this format seems to be very old (i know this are Containerformats).
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Re: Convert MKV to XViD-HD (BRRIP) for XBMC, PS3OS, Wii, etc

Post by Oldxboxusa »

Since newer Version are supporting more than one AudioStream ffmpeg will the one i will put in with -codec:a:0 for the first and -codec:a:1 for the second Audio Stream. But it makes no sense which of both options i use the Audiostream is ever Englisch and NOT German :evil:. On a Unix system for one file it can be nice to use tools like HandBrake or something, but with a script i can Convert many of files what Handbrake can not do.

Ffmpeg uses not so much Ressources like some Graphical Tools with a GUI and the parameters and Options are manifold. Second thing is it will Use so much Power i will give to it (with this option it uses 2 of 4 CPU Cores "-threads 2").

This tool is really awesome, when it will work as i will.
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Re: Convert MKV to XViD-HD (BRRIP) for XBMC, PS3OS, Wii, etc

Post by BuZz »

I think your error with bufsize is because you misspelt it ? my commandline is for example
ffmpeg -i infile -scodec copy -acodec copy -vcodec mpeg4 -b:v 4000k -maxrate 5500k -bufsize 8192k -s 1280x720 -f matroska outfile.mkv
it works fine on my ffmpeg 2.1.x

not that this commandline is specifically made for transcoding HD to 720p to be playable on the xbox. transcoding to SD you are better using xvid or something (and tweaking quality settings).

It is also designed specifically to copy audio and subtitle streams as is. your issue regarding filesize sounds like either related to codec (such as high bitrate h264) or you have a performance issue with streaming. if a file contains 5 audio streams, the xbox is only sent the data for the one that is currently being played.

you should open up a new thread with a debug log for further help though rather than using this thread.
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Re: Convert MKV to XViD-HD (BRRIP) for XBMC, PS3OS, Wii, etc

Post by sixties keith »

hi all hope your well,

ive been using ffmpeg on windows for some time and using the code below i can convert my hd mp4 and mkv with ease again thanks very much buzz

ffmpeg -i some_1080p_infile.mkv -scodec copy -acodec copy -vcodec mpeg4 -b:v 3000k -maxrate 5000k -bufsize 4096k -s 1280x720 -f matroska -y outfile.mkv

now im trying to help a friend out who is using linux and was wondering can i use the same code in the terminal. if not could someone let me know whats needed, now very good with Linux apart from the xdsl's on the xbox lol
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Re: Convert MKV to XViD-HD (BRRIP) for XBMC, PS3OS, Wii, etc

Post by BuZz »

sixties keith wrote: ffmpeg -i some_1080p_infile.mkv -scodec copy -acodec copy -vcodec mpeg4 -b:v 3000k -maxrate 5000k -bufsize 4096k -s 1280x720 -f matroska -y outfile.mkv

now im trying to help a friend out who is using linux and was wondering can i use the same code in the terminal. if not could someone let me know whats needed, now very good with Linux apart from the xdsl's on the xbox lol
yeh - build ffmpeg from source in linux, and you can use the command above - I am a linux user, so this command came from linux :)
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Re: Convert MKV to XViD-HD (BRRIP) for XBMC, PS3OS, Wii, etc

Post by sixties keith »

haha cheers buzz as i say i use it on windows all the time and haven't looked back. for a while i thought it was just for mkv but recently Ive done hd mp4 etc and all is good.

Think he already has ffmpeg installed so ill give him the code and tell him, to have a go.

one thing i forgot to mention is on windows i enter cd 'my documents' and then dir before i enter the code is any of that needed on linux or is the code above all that is required?

thanks again buzz
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