What are the correct settings for Xbox 360 HD video with 5.1 sound?

[Deathbliss]

OK I have Xilisoft HD Video Converter. EVERY CONVERSION I have done just won't play. Now I have found and played both .avi and .mp4 files with 5.1 sound on the Xbox 360, through the dashboard, no streaming here (please do not recommend - I don't use streaming).

Unfortunately I do not have these files right now and didn't think to record the settings. Used the PS3 as my media machine for a while. I just need to know what codecs and settings I should use to take a .m2ts or .mkv and turn it into an equivalent quality video file with equivalent quality audio that will play on my 360.
- Deathbliss

[7ekno]

Use the right tools ... rebox.NET will do it perfectly ...

7ek

[Deathbliss]

Rebox is a .mkv only input tool.

Here are the specs of an avi file playing in HD with 5.1 sound on my Xbox 360:

General
...
Format : AVI
Format/Info : Audio Video Interleave
Format_Profile : OpenDML
FileSize/String : 2.18 GiB
Duration/String : 1h 28mn
OverallBitRate/String : 3 541 Kbps
Encoded_Application : VirtualDubMod 1.5.10.2 (build 2542/release)
Encoded_Library/String : VirtualDubMod build 2542/release

Video
ID/String : 0
Format : MPEG-4 Visual
Format_Profile : Advanced Simple@L5
Format_Settings_BVOP/String : 1
Format_Settings_QPel/String : No
Format_Settings_GMC/String : No warppoints
Format_Settings_Matrix/String : Custom
MuxingMode : Packed bitstream
CodecID : XVID
CodecID/Hint : XviD
Duration/String : 1h 28mn
BitRate/String : 3 082 Kbps
Width/String : 1 280 pixels
Height/String : 544 pixels
DisplayAspectRatio/String : 2.35:1
FrameRate/String : 23.976 fps
ColorSpace : YUV
ChromaSubsampling : 4:2:0
BitDepth/String : 8 bits
ScanType/String : Progressive
Compression_Mode/String : Lossy
Bits-(Pixel*Frame) : 0.185
StreamSize/String : 1.90 GiB (87%)
Encoded_Library/String : XviD 1.2.1 (UTC 2008-12-04)

Audio
ID/String : 1
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Format_Settings_ModeExtension : CM (complete main)
CodecID : 2000
Duration/String : 1h 28mn
BitRate_Mode/String : Constant
BitRate/String : 448 Kbps
Channel(s)/String : 6 channels
ChannelPositions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
SamplingRate/String : 48.0 KHz
BitDepth/String : 16 bits
Compression_Mode/String : Lossy
StreamSize/String : 283 MiB (13%)
Alignment/String : Split accross interleaves
Interleave_Duration/String : 42 ms (1.00 video frame)
Interleave_Preload/String : 500 ms


Here are the specs of what I did to match this, but the file would not play:

General
...
Format : AVI
Format/Info : Audio Video Interleave
Format_Profile : OpenDML
FileSize/String : 3.34 GiB
Duration/String : 1h 50mn
OverallBitRate/String : 4322 Kbps
Encoded_Application : Lavf51.12.1

Video
ID/String : 0
Format : MPEG-4 Visual
CodecID : MP43
CodecID/Info : Microsoft MPEG-4 v3 (pre-standard)
CodecID/Hint : Microsoft
Duration/String : 1h 50mn
BitRate/String : 3993 Kbps
Width/String : 1920 pixel3
Height/String : 1080 pixel3
DisplayAspectRatio/String : 16:9
FrameRate/String : 23.976 fps2
Compression_Mode/String : Lossy
Bits-(Pixel*Frame) : 0.080
StreamSize/String : 3.08 GiB (92%)

Audio
ID/String : 1
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Format_Settings_ModeExtension : CM (complete main)
CodecID : 2000
Duration/String : 1h 50mn
BitRate_Mode/String : CBR
BitRate/String : 320 Kbps
Channel(s)/String : 6 channel3
ChannelPositions : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
SamplingRate/String : 48.0 KHz
BitDepth/String : 16 bit3
Compression_Mode/String : Lossy
StreamSize/String : 253 MiB (7%)
Alignment/String : Alignment_Aligned
Interleave_Duration/String : 32 ms (0.77 video frames1)


The only thing I see missing is the profile thing. My question is simple. What program will allow me to take a .mkv or .m2ts and convert it with the same specs as the first file?

Thanks!
- Deathbliss

[Gser]

Why the frack would you use Microsoft MPEG-4 v3? Go and hit yourself. Encode with xvid if you need to keep 5.1 audio. Otherwise I would recommend x264 and encoding the audio to stereo aac. The actual problem with that file is the codec ID. The xbox does not recognize it. You would need to change it to DIVX or XVID for those files to work but as I said the codec you are using is crap. Had to change the codec ID of some files myself.

[Deathbliss]

I think its the program I'm using, Xilisoft HD Converter. Been using it because it's actually fast, no waiting 10 hours for one movie file to convert like Handbrake. I chose the program's Xvid encoding template and customized it, guess it's utter crap. So how do I address this? Is there a program just as fast, faster, or only slightly slower which will allow me to set the Xvid settings as they should be? Would it be easier to simply change the Codec ID? Is there a way to tell Xilisoft HD Converter exactly what codec and profile to use? I haven't bee able to figure anything out from mucking around with the program.

Ultimately I don't want to spend more than 6-8 hours encoding, the fewer hours encoding the better. But I want a result that is the same or almost as good as the original, unplayable file.

Appreciate your help!
- Deathbliss

[Asmodian]

Ultimately I don't want to spend more than 6-8 hours encoding, the fewer hours encoding the better. But I want a result that is the same or almost as good as the original, unplayable file.

This isn't possible. It either takes a long time to do the conversion, the file is much larger, or it looks much worse. No magic video encoders yet. :(

I assume Handbrake allows you to set speed profiles, on ultrafast (not recomended, try fast or faster) it should be very fast. Set the level to 4.0 or 4.1 and it should play on the Xbox.

It does sound like Intel's Quick Sync is designed for you, look at Ivy Bridge when it comes out.

[hello_hello]

This isn't possible. It either takes a long time to do the conversion, the file is much larger, or it looks much worse. No magic video encoders yet.

Really?? Using x264's default settings (medium speed preset) and a CRF value of 18, I'm re-encoding a h264 1080p video at about 10fps using my aging quadcore, which according to MeGUI will take about 4 hours 15 minutes for a 1 hour 50 minute movie. Shouldn't that look pretty good?

Xvid, single pass, Q2, same movie, 15fps, around three hours.

[hello_hello]

I think its the program I'm using, Xilisoft HD Converter.

I use MeGUI, but either try it, or HDConvertToX, or FFCoder.... there's quite a few GUIs which should help you set up the encoder correctly. MeGUI has "target device" presets for the x264 encoder which can be useful. I'm pretty sure the xbox is included.

[Asmodian]

Well a "long time" is definitely relative, I have an i7 980 at 4Ghz and I am very happy with the speed of x264. I always encode at veryslow. x264 isn't magic though, just a lot of very good programming. ;)

I was saying that if x264 was too slow going to a faster preset was a better option than Xvid or much worse Microsoft MPEG-4 v3.

I too think MeGUI would be a good option.

[Deathbliss]

I have MeGUI up and running. How exactly do I use this for my purposes, as stated at the beginning of this thread? I see now options anywhere like you usually see in encoding programs. It's very confusing.

Thank you for the suggestion. As always your help is appreciated!
- Deathbliss