desta
6th March 2008, 19:47
Until very recently I thought this was a no go, but I've now found out that it is actually possible to play back high profile avc video in an mp4 container, and maintain the anamorphic display on the 360.
This might be already known, but I couldn't find any reference to it in the forums, so apologies if it's been discussed already. I'm a bit unsure of exact specifics as to why this method works where others fails, but.. it works, so that's a start.
Literally all you need to do is take the raw .h264/264 stream (can be demuxed from a previous mux or encoded straight to .264), load it in h264info (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=123392), set the output AR (eg, 4 = PAL 16:9), and process it. Obviously setting Level 4.1 helps too if you didn't already do that prior to encoding (and your settings don't break the level). Then you just take the new stream and mux it, along with your stereo *sigh* LC-AAC, to mp4 and you can burn it to disc to play [anamorphic] on your 360.
Depending on your encoded frame resolution, it might stretch slightly too much. At first I thought it was just ITU-R, but I'm still unsure.
These input resolutions seem to work for PAL 16/9 (obviously they are just examples, but they have all been tested):
- 704x576 displays as 1024x576 (1.78)
- 704x554 displays as 1024x554 (1.85)
- 704x432 displays as 1024x432 (2.37)
- 704x424 displays as 1024x424 (2.41)
By input resolutions, I mean the actual encoded frame size, not changing the 'W x H' settings in h264info.
What I don't quite understand is why the same can't be done by just encoding straight to mp4/raw 264 with the anamorphic flags already set. For some reason the 360 disregards the DAR info this way, and only works when h264info adds the tags. Perhaps it's a limitation of the actual DAR info that can be written into a h.264 header... or just a limitation of the 360?
Like I said, apologies if this is already known or has been discussed. I can't imagine I'm the first to stumble across it, but I haven't seen it said anywhere else... though I have seen a lot of people say anamorphic mp4 isn't possible for the 360.
p.s. I realise that Level 3.1 is the 'proper' level for SD material, but 4.1 doesn't appear to be a problem for the 360. I'm assuming the only major differences in the levels themselves are resolution and max bitrate?
EDIT: To add a fairly ample degree of embarrassment, it seems you can just as easily use YAMB to set the 16:9 flags. I knew the option was there, but didn't think to try it due to the earlier results of encoding directly to mp4 (I assumed it was an issue with container info vs stream headers). The method above is still a valid one, but clearly not the only one, as I earlier implied.
The resolutions above still apply. Not much of a consolation to how stupid I feel now though. That said, I do still wonder why it doesn't work when encoding straight to mp4 with the anamorphic info already set?
This might be already known, but I couldn't find any reference to it in the forums, so apologies if it's been discussed already. I'm a bit unsure of exact specifics as to why this method works where others fails, but.. it works, so that's a start.
Literally all you need to do is take the raw .h264/264 stream (can be demuxed from a previous mux or encoded straight to .264), load it in h264info (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=123392), set the output AR (eg, 4 = PAL 16:9), and process it. Obviously setting Level 4.1 helps too if you didn't already do that prior to encoding (and your settings don't break the level). Then you just take the new stream and mux it, along with your stereo *sigh* LC-AAC, to mp4 and you can burn it to disc to play [anamorphic] on your 360.
Depending on your encoded frame resolution, it might stretch slightly too much. At first I thought it was just ITU-R, but I'm still unsure.
These input resolutions seem to work for PAL 16/9 (obviously they are just examples, but they have all been tested):
- 704x576 displays as 1024x576 (1.78)
- 704x554 displays as 1024x554 (1.85)
- 704x432 displays as 1024x432 (2.37)
- 704x424 displays as 1024x424 (2.41)
By input resolutions, I mean the actual encoded frame size, not changing the 'W x H' settings in h264info.
What I don't quite understand is why the same can't be done by just encoding straight to mp4/raw 264 with the anamorphic flags already set. For some reason the 360 disregards the DAR info this way, and only works when h264info adds the tags. Perhaps it's a limitation of the actual DAR info that can be written into a h.264 header... or just a limitation of the 360?
Like I said, apologies if this is already known or has been discussed. I can't imagine I'm the first to stumble across it, but I haven't seen it said anywhere else... though I have seen a lot of people say anamorphic mp4 isn't possible for the 360.
p.s. I realise that Level 3.1 is the 'proper' level for SD material, but 4.1 doesn't appear to be a problem for the 360. I'm assuming the only major differences in the levels themselves are resolution and max bitrate?
EDIT: To add a fairly ample degree of embarrassment, it seems you can just as easily use YAMB to set the 16:9 flags. I knew the option was there, but didn't think to try it due to the earlier results of encoding directly to mp4 (I assumed it was an issue with container info vs stream headers). The method above is still a valid one, but clearly not the only one, as I earlier implied.
The resolutions above still apply. Not much of a consolation to how stupid I feel now though. That said, I do still wonder why it doesn't work when encoding straight to mp4 with the anamorphic info already set?