mkv2vob: New App to Remux MKV x264/AC3 which play on PS3 [Archive] - Page 9

shon.miles@gmail.com

11th January 2008, 21:42

I am using 1.4.1 just posted in in an attempt to correct the issue I am having with a couple of mkv files, not matter which version I am using, they are always coming out way out of sync. They are 1080p files that are already in AC3, I was always choosing yes in versions prior to 1.4.1 and now choosing auto, and still way out of sync. If I play the mkv file on PC audio is fine.

I also was trying this trick here someone posted

ffmpeg.exe -r 23.976 -i "F:/video.mkv" -vcodec mpeg2video -sameq -acodec copy -f vob -copyts -y "f:/video.mpg"

but that changed the movie to squished 4:3 aspect ratio.

Is there anyway to deal with this out of sync audio, even command line if I have to, I have not been having problems with many files, just these few. I should mention they are x264 as well.

3r1c

12th January 2008, 00:21

do you have a sample file?

jamos

12th January 2008, 04:02

I am using 1.4.1 just posted in in an attempt to correct the issue I am having with a couple of mkv files, not matter which version I am using, they are always coming out way out of sync. They are 1080p files that are already in AC3, I was always choosing yes in versions prior to 1.4.1 and now choosing auto, and still way out of sync. If I play the mkv file on PC audio is fine.

I also was trying this trick here someone posted

ffmpeg.exe -r 23.976 -i "F:/video.mkv" -vcodec mpeg2video -sameq -acodec copy -f vob -copyts -y "f:/video.mpg"

but that changed the movie to squished 4:3 aspect ratio.

Is there anyway to deal with this out of sync audio, even command line if I have to, I have not been having problems with many files, just these few. I should mention they are x264 as well.

I posted that trick and it copies your original video format which it thinks is 4:3 which it may well be or it just may be a corrupt mkv to start with. also you dont need the -r command if you use that command line.

jamos

12th January 2008, 04:05

i've had mixed results with GotSent also, while Super has been 100% with making mp4 from mkv and before 3r's latest version of mkv2vob was the only resort i could find in the time being. the audio was sometimes out of sync on the mp4 from mkv using Super though and it took awhile.

I did suggest adding an option to conver to mp4 but now its really not needed that he fixed the error that wouldn't let mkv2vob mux to vob or transcode to mpeg-2. the mp4 conversion seemed to take just as long or longer then mpeg-2 so i'm not so sure about your statment.

is that what you meant that mkv to mp4 conversion ws quicker then to mpeg-2? because i think its opposite. only reason i could see someone wanting mp4 is for the smaller file size then mpeg-2 and retaining the ff/rw controls just like mpeg-2. But mp4 has only 2ch audio so its no good to many.

I thought mp4 has 5 channel aac?

jamos

12th January 2008, 04:06

wow, so it actually went down going from mkv to mpeg-2. crazy especially considering i had a vob more then double in size after the remux from mkv.

thats like opposite of how its suposed to be.:confused:

ac3 is smaller than dts.

shon.miles@gmail.com

12th January 2008, 15:04

Yes I "had" a sample, after I quick tested this app on it and it worked, I deleted it along with all the archive files the mkv was "delivered in".

shon.miles@gmail.com

12th January 2008, 15:11

I posted that trick and it copies your original video format which it thinks is 4:3 which it may well be or it just may be a corrupt mkv to start with. also you don't need the -r command if you use that command line.

I just realized when I copied and pasted and changed that command, the rate is wrong, the rate is 25 not 23.976, but that would not change the format of the aspect ration would it?

I only used it because it it was posted in another forum for fixing out of sync audio problems.

I would not know how to tell if the mkv is corrupt everything from mkvinfo looks good and the file plays fine on the PC.

ultratoto14

12th January 2008, 18:16

I think ffmpeg version have a mkv broken support.

I've got a question about audio delay.

When you input the mkv, you can take the first timecode of each track (video and audio) and sometimes, the timecodes are different resulting in audio and video out of synch.

Taking this timecodes, you can add this into your ffmpeg command line.

To insert a 360 ms delay on audio use this :
ffmpeg -r 23.976 -f h264 -i video.h264 -itsoffset 00:00:00.360 -f ac3 -i audio.ac3 -vcodec copy -acodec copy -f vob result.vob

for -360ms delay on audio, delay the video by 360
ffmpeg -r 23.976 -itsoffset 00:00:00.360 -f h264 -i video.h264 -f ac3 -i audio.ac3 -vcodec copy -acodec copy -f vob result.vob

Tell us if it's possible.

I'm working on a tool that do all the things on 1 pass, demux data from mkv, patch it for 4.1 level and mux i directly to vob.

I'm quite busy this time and cannot tell you if this tool will be finished but if you need help ...

pepperisback

12th January 2008, 20:01

Hello!

Since I have the new version I get the message "Error Extracting MKV" at the beginning.

How can I solve this problem?

pepperisback

13th January 2008, 02:05

I tried to open several mkvs with the program mkvmerge and i get this error message: File Identification for ... : Return Code 2

Does somebody knows how to solve this problem?

survivant001

13th January 2008, 15:01

@3r1c

2 requests.

#1 - be able to keep the temp files.
#2 - add a normalized audio step please. (that's why I want to keep the temp files)

thanks

deepblue2000

13th January 2008, 17:02

would be nice to choose the output and temp directory,
I dont like it,when mkv2vob always take my C: to do all the work.

Ive tried Transformers 1080p mkv ..... the mkv file is 10,8 GB... after a view hours with mkv2vob I did abort the process and the vob file was 45 GB....

Sample: http://senduit.com/6ef10c

GotSent just works a little bit better....the file size changed to 11 GB but when I play the video file, there is no picture.

And a split option for mkv2vob would be nice...
(since the ps3 doesnt support other filesystems like fat32 with 4gb limit)

Some Guys say, that you can format an external usb harddrive with ext2 or ext3 and put large files on it, but the PS3 doesnt find any drive, just works with Fat32.

Thats the reason why there should be a split option. (to burn it)

awol3

13th January 2008, 18:09

Just signed up to say Thanks 3r1c for this awesome tool.

3r1c

13th January 2008, 18:31

I tried to open several mkvs with the program mkvmerge and i get this error message: File Identification for ... : Return Code 2

Does somebody knows how to solve this problem?

you dont open mkv's with mkvmerve, you create mkvs out of other files with it.

and this thread isnt for mkvmerge.

3r1c

13th January 2008, 18:39

Ive tried Transformers 1080p mkv ..... the mkv file is 10,8 GB... after a view hours with mkv2vob I did abort the process and the vob file was 45 GB....

You shouldnt have cancelled it, just leave it until its finished and it will be playable.

GotSent just works a little bit better....the file size changed to 11 GB but when I play the video file, there is no picture.

Not sure why you would call that "better".
Gotsent has no detection for unplayable files, so it remuxes and it cant be played.

shon.miles@gmail.com

13th January 2008, 22:27

deepblue2000

14th January 2008, 14:26

[QUOTE=3r1c;1086836]You shouldnt have cancelled it, just leave it until its finished and it will be playable.

mhm..the file is finish 23 GB...thats the double size.

I cant burn or stream it. Why is it so big.

a split option would be nice

Effervescence

14th January 2008, 15:15

I have registered just to say a BIG THANKS TO 3r1c.:thanks:

Without this fantastic thread my High Def .mkv files would still be sitting on my PC doing nothing. As a result of downloading and using mkv2vob version 1.2.0.1 I now have all my lovely 720p Vidoes working perfectly on my PS3 in 5.1 surround :)

Once again, :thanks:

georgem67

14th January 2008, 21:24

Will : ffmpeg.exe -r 23.976 -i "F:/video.mkv" -vcodec mpeg2video -sameq -acodec copy -f vob -copyts -y "f:/video.mpg"
allow the original DTS to be played?

3r1c

14th January 2008, 22:20

dts must be transcoded to ac3. the ps3 wont play dts on anything but dvd/blu-ray discs.

deepblue2000

14th January 2008, 22:51

can we get some options to choose temp and working dir for mkv2vob ?

very important for me.

and just a question, whats the reason, that the vob files get so large ? 11mkv to 21gb vob ?

naj

14th January 2008, 23:28

can we get some nsoptions to choose temp and working dir for mkv2vob ?

You already have an answer to that here... Go to computer properties, advanced, environment variables, and change TEMP and TMP to whatever you need/want.

whats the reason, that the vob files get so large ? 11mkv to 21gb vob ?

That already had an answer before... MKV is usually using MPEG4-AVC codec, that compresses way better than MPEG2 (transcoded output) with same bitrate... that means a MPEG2 transcoded output needs a lot more bitrate (hence, space) to have similar quality to MPEG4-AVC content...

Just to leave a warm and big thanks to 3r1c, this tool is really awesome! However, I'd pretty much like to ask for a request, though... can you please oh please give subtitle support to the program? At least transcoding, I'm not even asking to supply them as SUP or other format by streaming them as a track... hard-coded in MPEG2 format would already rock!!!

Once again, many thanks for this fabulous tool, the best I've seen so far (and I think I've seen them all ;) ).

awol3

15th January 2008, 00:53

Anyone have a solution for this particular error?

Error creating AC3 from WAV!

Thanks.

jamos

15th January 2008, 03:47

@3r1c

2 requests.

#1 - be able to keep the temp files.
#2 - add a normalized audio step please. (that's why I want to keep the temp files)

thanks

normalizing the audio would take away the surround effect. basically you would get the same audio from all channels. Do you mean set audio lvls higher? if so you can do that with ffmpeg but not with the copy audio which is what mkv2vob does.

jamos

15th January 2008, 03:49

ffmpeg -r 25 -f h264 -i video.h264 -itsoffset 00:00:05.000 -f ac3 -i audio.ac3 -vcodec copy -acodec copy -f vob result.vob

I always get the same result, audio and no video, what am I doing wrong.

unless your converting it to mpeg2 which your not, you will not be able to see video on your computer. This is just to convert to play on PS3 by setting the lvl to 4.1.

jamos

15th January 2008, 03:52

Will : ffmpeg.exe -r 23.976 -i "F:/video.mkv" -vcodec mpeg2video -sameq -acodec copy -f vob -copyts -y "f:/video.mpg"
allow the original DTS to be played?

It actually will convert it to ac3, but it doesnt do it correctly as the center channel is the left front. maybe a newer version of ffmpeg in the future will fix it.

deepblue2000

15th January 2008, 14:27

ok, I did a lot of tests...

1080p mkvs always needs to be transcoded. if not just audio no video.

So, first split the mkv in three parts, transcoded with mkv2vob and burn in it to a DL dvdr.

Atak_Snajpera

15th January 2008, 21:17

1080p mkvs always needs to be transcoded.

Only if video was encoded with b-pyramid and has more than 4 refs.

clotz2000

16th January 2008, 03:19

I just wanted to give props to 3r1c for putting this program together. I know the tools are readily available but he has put everything together in an easy to use, configurable, and awesome tool.

I can convert any of the MKV's I've got (720p or 1080p) and copy them to the PS3 hard drive with Nero MediaHome and play it with no sync or video issues and 5.1 Sound.

Thanks again, :thanks:

Clotz2000

jamos

16th January 2008, 03:35

I can confirm with 1.4.1 I get a 'cannot covert to wav' error after tranzcode runs with some dts mkv's. Something new is causing this issue using a dts mkv. I do not get this error in 1.4.

jamos

16th January 2008, 03:45

hey 3r I have had better sucess with using 448 bitrate for besweet conversion of dts mono wavs to ac3. The issue is we are going from 1536kbs DTS to 384kbs AC3 which is why the audio seems lower and generally not as good as dts. AC3 does not support such high bitrates as DTS but 448kbs does make a small difference.

BeSweet.exe" -core( -input "f:\test.mux" -output "f:\test.ac3" -logfilea "F:\BeSweet.log" ) -ac3enc( -b 448 -6ch )

also boost seems to help to get the original DTS effects.

BeSweet.exe" -core( -input "f:\test.mux" -output "f:\test.ac3" -logfilea "F:\BeSweet.log" ) -boost( /b2=5 ) -ac3enc( -b 448 -6ch )

most bluray AC3 content is 640kbs.

clotz2000

16th January 2008, 05:09

hey 3r I have had better sucess with using 448 bitrate for besweet conversion of dts mono wavs to ac3. The issue is we are going from 1536kbs DTS to 384kbs AC3 which is why the audio seems lower and generally not as good as dts. AC3 does not support such high bitrates as DTS but 448kbs does make a small difference.

BeSweet.exe" -core( -input "f:\test.mux" -output "f:\test.ac3" -logfilea "F:\BeSweet.log" ) -ac3enc( -b 448 -6ch )

also boost seems to help to get the original DTS effects.

BeSweet.exe" -core( -input "f:\test.mux" -output "f:\test.ac3" -logfilea "F:\BeSweet.log" ) -boost( /b2=5 ) -ac3enc( -b 448 -6ch )

most bluray AC3 content is 640kbs.

Have you tried re-encoding @ 640kbs? I haven't had much luck re-encoding the DTS to this bitrate, this would be almost perfect if BeSweet could do it.

3r1c

16th January 2008, 07:16

I can convert any of the MKV's I've got (720p or 1080p) and copy them to the PS3 hard drive with Nero MediaHome and play it with no sync or video issues and 5.1 Sound.

Yes it encode AAC at 5.1 and it will say 5.1 in the ps3 info bar but thats not actually what your hearing.
The ps3 downconvert any non AC3 content to 2 channel PCM stereo before outputting to your A/V equipment.
Your A/V then convert the 2 channel back to 5.1 virtual surround.

To the people getting error with DTS please give a sample file.
Nothing has changed with the DTS conversion in the last version.

jamos

16th January 2008, 15:21

Yes it encode AAC at 5.1 and it will say 5.1 in the ps3 info bar but thats not actually what your hearing.
The ps3 downconvert any non AC3 content to 2 channel PCM stereo before outputting to your A/V equipment.
Your A/V then convert the 2 channel back to 5.1 virtual surround.

To the people getting error with DTS please give a sample file.
Nothing has changed with the DTS conversion in the last version.

ok will try to get you one. the only thing this has different that I can see from its source is it has a subtitle in track 1 dts audio in track 2 and video in track 3. I know that is not the normal order but whoever created this mkv put it together this way. Did you add any subtitle code to 1.4.1 if so maybe that is what is causing it? I am gonna try to reinstall 1.4.1 in a fresh directory and see if it fixes the issue.

jamos

16th January 2008, 15:28

Have you tried re-encoding @ 640kbs? I haven't had much luck re-encoding the DTS to this bitrate, this would be almost perfect if BeSweet could do it.

Ya it encodes at 640 but i get a lower avg bitrate log message (may be just a faulty message not sure). I generally use 448 its good enough.

jamos

16th January 2008, 15:32

Yes it encode AAC at 5.1 and it will say 5.1 in the ps3 info bar but thats not actually what your hearing.
The ps3 downconvert any non AC3 content to 2 channel PCM stereo before outputting to your A/V equipment.
Your A/V then convert the 2 channel back to 5.1 virtual surround.

I think he means he uses mkv2vob to convert ac3 or dts titles then just uses nero home to host it then uses the copy feature to copy then play it off the ps3 harddrive. He should get true 5.1 ac3 doing it that way.

edit: Tversity works a bit better for me streaming also than nero home. seems to buffer better. I turn all conversion off in the settings.

But you are correct if he is using aac sources it will not be 5.1

deepblue2000

16th January 2008, 20:55

640kbit Audio works fine for me...

I just tested some 1080p mkv releases...all need to be transcoded...but the good is with the transcoded files, that you can use "ffwd. and rew" with max speed 120x and it works fine.

the transcoded 1080p vobs are 3times larger than the mkv but....who cares if you split it and burn it to dl-dvdr and you can ffwd. and rew :-)

(I always convert dts to ac3 by myself with foobar( and besweet and ac3 encoder, then remux ac3 with mkv and then you mkv2vob)

I think, in my opinion, if it is possible to ffwd and rew with transcoded files I will it always use with my 720p files too

(sorry for my bad english)

jamos

17th January 2008, 00:00

3r this command line works really really good on extracted DTS wav files. I use it now then remux back into mkv with mkvmerge. Volume is about as rich as the original DTS on my computer and my ps3/receiver playing bluray DTS.

I would love to see mkv2vob use it then I would just use your program for all mkv to mpeg2 conversions.

BeSweet.exe -core( -input "f:\test.mux" -output "f:\test.ac3" -logfilea "F:\BeSweet.log" ) -boost( /b2=5 ) -ac3enc( -b 448 -6ch )

jamos

17th January 2008, 00:09

640kbit Audio works fine for me...

I just tested some 1080p mkv releases...all need to be transcoded...but the good is with the transcoded files, that you can use "ffwd. and rew" with max speed 120x and it works fine.

the transcoded 1080p vobs are 3times larger than the mkv but....who cares if you split it and burn it to dl-dvdr and you can ffwd. and rew :-)

(I always convert dts to ac3 by myself with foobar( and besweet and ac3 encoder, then remux ac3 with mkv and then you mkv2vob)

I think, in my opinion, if it is possible to ffwd and rew with transcoded files I will it always use with my 720p files too

(sorry for my bad english)

I could never get the aften encoder to work with foobar on the extracted dts audio file. I always would get a error. I like Tranzcode better anyways.

clotz2000

17th January 2008, 01:32

I think he means he uses mkv2vob to convert ac3 or dts titles then just uses nero home to host it then uses the copy feature to copy then play it off the ps3 harddrive. He should get true 5.1 ac3 doing it that way.

Nero Home works a bit better for me streaming also that tversity. seems to buffer better. I turn all conversion off in the settings.

But you are correct if he is using aac sources it will not be 5.1

Jamos is correct, this is what I'm doing, I hate AAC audio unless it's like seasons of Friends or something. I will try 640kbps and see if I can tell a sound difference. most likely not.

I don't typically stream with MediaHome, I generally copy it to the PS3 HD. I recently replaced the internal PS3 HD with an eSATA enclosure with a 750GB HD in it, so I save all of my movies to it and just pull the HD movies up on demand.

Everything is working superb, thanks again to both of you for your contributions and testing.

Clotz2000

Quatre

17th January 2008, 05:51

Jamos is correct, this is what I'm doing, I hate AAC audio unless it's like seasons of Friends or something. I will try 640kbps and see if I can tell a sound difference. most likely not.

I don't typically stream with MediaHome, I generally copy it to the PS3 HD. I recently replaced the internal PS3 HD with an eSATA enclosure with a 750GB HD in it, so I save all of my movies to it and just pull the HD movies up on demand.

Everything is working superb, thanks again to both of you for your contributions and testing.

Clotz2000

how do you use an eSata with the ps3? I mean I've heard of being able to do this but I thought you basically had to leave the ps3 case off and have the esata cable running out of the ps3 casing to your ext. esata hdd.

It sounded a bit messy to me as I'd rather use a 2.5" sata drive like the ps3 currently uses and be able to close it back up and not have the ext. drive taking up space i dont have on my limited 2 a/v shelves under tv.

Just curious how you did it and if you are able to close the ps3 case and all. I'm thinking about and may give it a try with a 500gb WD eSata hdd (also has usb and firewire 400) and the sata cable to esata input I have (its meant for the back of a pc but i guess could hang loose on the outside of the ps3) and then an esata cable from that to the ext. hdd. (ppl forget that esata is different from sata and that you need an esata input and esata cable)

I guess I would need to transfer everything off of the current ps3 60gb 2.5" sata while it is still in there onto say a fat32 hdd? but then what about anything larger then 4gb you already have on the ps3 internal (which i guess would mostly be any movies you transferred on there using tversity or nero media home etc. so you could just transfer them back to the pc for now) Which are the better progs for streaming and transferring to the ps3? TVersity or Nero Media home etc.?

Then connect the eSata or new 2.5" sata and have the ps3 format it to its propietary file format (whatever it uses) and then transfer everything back to it from the fat32 and from your pc that you had on it before. Point is, you wont be able to read the ps3 internal hdd on your pc right? did anyone ever figure out what type of file system the ps3 uses on the internal hdd?

I've been making do with the default 60gb drive as most movies I want to see are coming out in wmvhd (which works great on 360 while wile most on ps3 have no sound) and more and more are in 1080p, so those are just easier to get then messing with transcoding x264 and they look great. So I haven't needed much space for movies and in fact had a few that I was previoiusly splitting the mkv first into 4gb parts then remuxing to vob.

Mostly beeing using x264 mkv for tv eps which are all under 4gb even transcoded to mpeg-2 , so they work with the fat32 2.5" usb ext. hdd.

I figured 320gb 2.5" sata would be fine to repalce the ps3 internal since I still have some space left on the 60gb but.... I'm storing more and more avchd home video on the internal and I ultimately prefer mpeg-2 as we need ff/rw so I'm going to need a lot of space for those especially if wmv's slow down and especially with bd+ being done with tv capture card to x264 (like Die Hard 4 i believe which i have split into 2 .vob's and on fat32 but now want to transcode to mpeg-2 for ff/rw and resume as my wife falls asleep during every movie)

So, it might be a good idea to consider someting larger then the max 320gb 2.5" sata and go with the 3.5" esata as you can larger capacity for cheaper obviously, but just curious how anyone doing this made it work and how neat it is?

wabbster

17th January 2008, 06:02

I have the same problem. Out of sync audio with 1080p files. 720 work flawless. it seems to be out of sync by about 1-2 secs. Any help on this? I can post a sample.

I am using 1.4.1 just posted in in an attempt to correct the issue I am having with a couple of mkv files, not matter which version I am using, they are always coming out way out of sync. They are 1080p files that are already in AC3, I was always choosing yes in versions prior to 1.4.1 and now choosing auto, and still way out of sync. If I play the mkv file on PC audio is fine.

I also was trying this trick here someone posted

ffmpeg.exe -r 23.976 -i "F:/video.mkv" -vcodec mpeg2video -sameq -acodec copy -f vob -copyts -y "f:/video.mpg"

but that changed the movie to squished 4:3 aspect ratio.

Is there anyway to deal with this out of sync audio, even command line if I have to, I have not been having problems with many files, just these few. I should mention they are x264 as well.

puppydg68

17th January 2008, 06:37

I was reading around the net, so I can't take credit for this. However I got FF/RW working by using MKV2VOB then dragging the .VOB file into Xmuxer Pro. Remux to .TS then Use TSremux to remux the .TS to .M2TS
Tried with 4 720p sample clips 60-100MB, and they all played perfectly with 5.1AC3 audio. FF/RW and skipping around all worked in the resulting file. Try to do this for something bigger, but Xmuxer has really slowed down for me.

1) MKV2VOB ---> .vob
2) .vob to remux window in Xmuxer, click double arrows for video/audio remux to .TS
3) .TS into TSREMUX, set button to .M2TS and remux.
4) rename .M2ts to .M2TS.TS or .M2TS.MPG and stream to PS3

I tried a 1080p clip that won't play in .VOB - tried to remux to .TS and then .M2ts - all files vob, .ts, .m2ts play with audio and just a black screen, even though PS3 shows the AVC bitrate.

Also to note, the .TS will play without audio.. you need to remux a .TS to .M2ts for PS3 to play the audio.

3r1c

17th January 2008, 08:31

I was reading around the net, so I can't take credit for this. However I got FF/RW working by using MKV2VOB then dragging the .VOB file into Xmuxer Pro. Remux to .TS then Use TSremux to remux the .TS to .M2TS
Tried with 4 720p sample clips 60-100MB, and they all played perfectly with 5.1AC3 audio. FF/RW and skipping around all worked in the resulting file. Try to do this for something bigger, but Xmuxer has really slowed down for me.

1) MKV2VOB ---> .vob
2) .vob to remux window in Xmuxer, click double arrows for video/audio remux to .TS
3) .TS into TSREMUX, set button to .M2TS and remux.
4) rename .M2ts to .M2TS.TS or .M2TS.MPG and stream to PS3

I tried a 1080p clip that won't play in .VOB - tried to remux to .TS and then .M2ts - all files vob, .ts, .m2ts play with audio and just a black screen, even though PS3 shows the AVC bitrate.

Also to note, the .TS will play without audio.. you need to remux a .TS to .M2ts for PS3 to play the audio.

Yeah i know of the Xmuxer thing, you can do it with elementary streams too, the problem is Xmuxer is not free software so i cannot include it.

Quatre

17th January 2008, 08:35

that would be huge if someone figures out an easy way to get ff/rw working on mkv's remuxed to vob.

But it would have to be pretty quick and easy to be worth it and work on more then just smaller sample clips.

Personally I had a 720p mkv movie split into 2 .vob's with no ff/rw and just re did with new version of mkv2vob forcing transcode because i know i need the ff/rw and resume with my wife and it really didnt take that long.

I guess it depends on the mkv but some dont take that long to transcode to mpeg-2.

clotz2000

17th January 2008, 10:10

how do you use an eSata with the ps3? I mean I've heard of being able to do this but I thought you basically had to leave the ps3 case off and have the esata cable running out of the ps3 casing to your ext. esata hdd.

It sounded a bit messy to me as I'd rather use a 2.5" sata drive like the ps3 currently uses and be able to close it back up and not have the ext. drive taking up space i dont have on my limited 2 a/v shelves under tv.

Just curious how you did it and if you are able to close the ps3 case and all. I'm thinking about and may give it a try with a 500gb WD eSata hdd (also has usb and firewire 400) and the sata cable to esata input I have (its meant for the back of a pc but i guess could hang loose on the outside of the ps3) and then an esata cable from that to the ext. hdd. (ppl forget that esata is different from sata and that you need an esata input and esata cable)

I guess I would need to transfer everything off of the current ps3 60gb 2.5" sata while it is still in there onto say a fat32 hdd? but then what about anything larger then 4gb you already have on the ps3 internal (which i guess would mostly be any movies you transferred on there using tversity or nero media home etc. so you could just transfer them back to the pc for now) Which are the better progs for streaming and transferring to the ps3? TVersity or Nero Media home etc.?

Then connect the eSata or new 2.5" sata and have the ps3 format it to its propietary file format (whatever it uses) and then transfer everything back to it from the fat32 and from your pc that you had on it before. Point is, you wont be able to read the ps3 internal hdd on your pc right? did anyone ever figure out what type of file system the ps3 uses on the internal hdd?

I've been making do with the default 60gb drive as most movies I want to see are coming out in wmvhd (which works great on 360 while wile most on ps3 have no sound) and more and more are in 1080p, so those are just easier to get then messing with transcoding x264 and they look great. So I haven't needed much space for movies and in fact had a few that I was previoiusly splitting the mkv first into 4gb parts then remuxing to vob.

Mostly beeing using x264 mkv for tv eps which are all under 4gb even transcoded to mpeg-2 , so they work with the fat32 2.5" usb ext. hdd.

I figured 320gb 2.5" sata would be fine to repalce the ps3 internal since I still have some space left on the 60gb but.... I'm storing more and more avchd home video on the internal and I ultimately prefer mpeg-2 as we need ff/rw so I'm going to need a lot of space for those especially if wmv's slow down and especially with bd+ being done with tv capture card to x264 (like Die Hard 4 i believe which i have split into 2 .vob's and on fat32 but now want to transcode to mpeg-2 for ff/rw and resume as my wife falls asleep during every movie)

So, it might be a good idea to consider someting larger then the max 320gb 2.5" sata and go with the 3.5" esata as you can larger capacity for cheaper obviously, but just curious how anyone doing this made it work and how neat it is?

Ok, so this is a little off topic and probably should be discussed somewhere else but figured I should put an answer to his question here in case anyone else wants to do the same.

I have a regular eSATA enclosure with the 750GB HD in it. I run an eSATA to Male SATA cable from the back of the enclosure to the inside of the PS3 where the original 2.5" drive plugs in. Now the SATA end has to be modified slightly, the right side of the connector is just a plastic piece, cut that piece off, (there is still another plastic piece holding the cable firmly in place) and of course the eSATA enclosure is powered via it's own power adapter, then format the drive using the Format Utility.
Also, if you're worried about how it looks, you can either A-Leave the plastic door off the side of the PS3, or B-Cut a small hole in the plastic door just big enough to fit the cable through. You don't have to take the PS3 apart.

Don't know if I'm supposed to post links but here is where you can find the cable you'll need:
eSATA To Male SATA Cable (http://www.cooldrives.com/esexcaitolex.html)
This is one of the few places that have it, it is extremely difficult to find locally, 9 times out of 10 you won't...

The enclosure I'm using-matches great with the PS3:
eSATA Enclosure (http://www.amazon.com/Vantec-NexStar-eSATA-External-Enclosure/dp/B000EDKO04)
you usually can find this at a computer store, or at least something similar to it.

And Yes, if you have stuff on your PS3 HD of course back it up somewhere before you take it out. Also, Nero MediaHome seems to be working much faster for just transferring files from the PC to the PS3 HD, TVersity seems quite abit slower both at my house and my buddies house using pc to router > router to PS3 connections.

Anyways, just figured I would offer this info.

Quatre

17th January 2008, 10:36

ah ok, doesn't sound like I wont want to use the eSata for ps3 especially because of needing the power cable. that is why i use usb powered 2.5" ext. hdd's for 360 and ps3.

And I need to use an eSata with my dtv stb so i'll go with just a 2.5" sata hdd upgrade for ps3. Supposedly its in the manual how to upgrade it and i will just have to make sure it can use a 320gb.

interesting that Nero Media Home is faster to trasnfer files. Tversity does seem slow copying to the ps3.

oh and i recommend the Azio enclosure as it comes with a sata to esata bracket and esata cable that most dont.

morpheus0815

17th January 2008, 10:42

Yes it encode AAC at 5.1 and it will say 5.1 in the ps3 info bar but thats not actually what your hearing.
The ps3 downconvert any non AC3 content to 2 channel PCM stereo before outputting to your A/V equipment.
Your A/V then convert the 2 channel back to 5.1 virtual surround.

To the people getting error with DTS please give a sample file.
Nothing has changed with the DTS conversion in the last version.

Is that still true? I read somewhere that since FW 2.0 PS3 supports AAC 5.1 from XMB over optical out. So it's only a question whether your AV supports AAC 5.1 if you get surround or not!?
Can someone confirm this?

georgem67

17th January 2008, 14:05

I was reading around the net, so I can't take credit for this. However I got FF/RW working by using MKV2VOB then dragging the .VOB file into Xmuxer Pro. Remux to .TS then Use TSremux to remux the .TS to .M2TS
Tried with 4 720p sample clips 60-100MB, and they all played perfectly with 5.1AC3 audio. FF/RW and skipping around all worked in the resulting file. Try to do this for something bigger, but Xmuxer has really slowed down for me.

1) MKV2VOB ---> .vob
2) .vob to remux window in Xmuxer, click double arrows for video/audio remux to .TS
3) .TS into TSREMUX, set button to .M2TS and remux.
4) rename .M2ts to .M2TS.TS or .M2TS.MPG and stream to PS3

I tried a 1080p clip that won't play in .VOB - tried to remux to .TS and then .M2ts - all files vob, .ts, .m2ts play with audio and just a black screen, even though PS3 shows the AVC bitrate.

Also to note, the .TS will play without audio.. you need to remux a .TS to .M2ts for PS3 to play the audio.

Have you tried todo this with a 4gb vob? Do the files stay the same size?
thanks

jamos

17th January 2008, 16:31

Try to do this for something bigger, but Xmuxer has really slowed down for me.

Yes Xmuxer has issues with big files it seems.