Playing AVC on TVs [Archive]

teddg

23rd June 2008, 10:22

What's the easiest way to play h264 video on tv.

I'm not a gamer so that's out, ipod's video quality isn't quite there, don't want to burn a dvd everytime or run cables from my computer.

Ideally, is there anything you can plug a USB thumb drive into? What kinds of products are there like this?

Ranguvar

23rd June 2008, 15:52

Xbox 360, PS3, Popcorn Hour, HTPC, Apple TV, PSP, etc...

LoRd_MuldeR

23rd June 2008, 17:53

Probably the easiest, most compatible and most versatile way is using a PC. Alternatively a HTPC or Laptop.
Most modern LCD-TV's come with a VGA and/or HDMI (DVI) connector anyway, which makes it easy to connect to your graphics card.
Also this way you can use the full resolution of your TV screen (if the source is HD).

I personally have a 22" Screen plugged to my PC and I also have a DVD-S card. So I use the PC for everything now, all with one single machine.
That makes everything so much easier. I definitely won't buy a new TV screen or a new "standalone" Player nowadays...

teddg

23rd June 2008, 17:55

Xbox 360, PS3, Popcorn Hour, HTPC, Apple TV, PSP, etc...

(Xbox 360, PS3, PSP) Again, I'm not a gamer.

HTPC sounds like a hulking mass things I mostly don't need.

Apple TV has a usb port, but I couldn't tell if it will play files from a thumb drive. Here's something interesting from the spec page though; "Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet" (http://www.apple.com/appletv/specs.html) - wtf !?

Popcorn Hour sounds like What I was looking for.

Are there any bulray players that will take a usb drive as input?

LoRd_MuldeR

23rd June 2008, 18:12

HTPC sounds like a hulking mass things I mostly don't need.
It's extremely flexible in first case. It can do everything you want now and it will be easy to upgrade for future needs.
And most important: You don't need to worry about the Hardware-Decoder compatibility of your AVC streams...

Ronin-7

23rd June 2008, 20:53

Even if your not a gamer there is no need to rule the PS3 or Xbox 360 out. The PS3 is a very good Blu-ray/DVD player that plays AVC and is very quiet in use (plus you can copy movies to the internal HD of the PS3 which is upgradeable). The Xbox 360 is cheaper and also plays AVC but is not as quiet and is limited to AAC LC audio only.

The AppleTV has performance limitations with HD material though does have a very nice UI, if you hack it (which is pretty easy now via USB patch sticks) I believe you can plays files off USB drive, UPnP or network share.

The Popcorn does have very good media support but a not so hot UI (from what I've seen anyway) I'd check out the various video reviews of it in action to see for yourself & also check out their forums.

teddg

24th June 2008, 18:51

Thank you Ranguvar, LoRd_MuldeR and Ronin-7 for the good ideas.

jwhyche

24th June 2008, 21:01

I personally have a 22" Screen plugged to my PC and I also have a DVD-S card. So I use the PC for everything now, all with one single machine.
That makes everything so much easier. I definitely won't buy a new TV screen or a new "standalone" Player nowadays...

An HTPC is by far your best option. The "standalone" stuff is a road that I've been down before. Your limited by what codecs the manufacture supports and the limits of the hardware on the machine. The one I purchase would play Dvix, Xvid, and mpeg2 streams. And it did none of it very well.

I used it for a week then tossed it under my bed where it sits today.

I have a stack of equipment, including a 400 DVD changer, a Tvio, and a surround sound system. My htpc can and eventually will replace all that. I no longer put dvd's in the changer. I rip them right to the "media array" and put dvd's on the shelf.

SeeMoreDigital

24th June 2008, 21:20

I'm using a Ziova CS615 (high-def network capable device) to play such sources....

Unlike similar devices it also offers 6Ch analogue audio outputs and does not require any networking software to be installed on a PC in order to run....

teddg

24th June 2008, 22:14

teddg

24th June 2008, 22:26

An HTPC is by far your best option. The "standalone" stuff is a road that I've been down before. Your limited by what codecs the manufacture supports and the limits of the hardware on the machine. The one I purchase would play Dvix, Xvid, and mpeg2 streams. And it did none of it very well.

I used it for a week then tossed it under my bed where it sits today.

I have a stack of equipment, including a 400 DVD changer, a Tvio, and a surround sound system. My htpc can and eventually will replace all that. I no longer put dvd's in the changer. I rip them right to the "media array" and put dvd's on the shelf.

Sounds like a very simple no-hassle system, never have to run around finding disks or files.

I'm currently using the kids' ipod nanos. Very difficult to beat for simplicity and price. I have a dedicated charger/cable at the TV, just plug and play. But the video is barely better than VHS, and even that level of quality took a while to figure out encoding tweaks for. And it means an additional encode - a HQ one for backup and a level 3 no b-frame one for the ipod/TV viewing.

Anyone know if the next versions of ipods, or any other portable TV enabled player, will support higher h264 levels?

Blue_MiSfit

24th June 2008, 22:29

I imagine soon enough we'll have PMPs / new iPods with hardware H.264 decoding at BluRay quality levels - imagine an HDMI or component video dongle .... :rolleyes:

~MiSfit

Ranguvar

24th June 2008, 22:31

I imagine soon enough we'll have PMPs / new iPods with hardware H.264 decoding at BluRay quality levels - imagine an HDMI or component video dongle .... :rolleyes:

~MiSfit
Well, the PSP has a batshit-crazy enough decoder that with some enhancements, dedication from the Sony firmware team (or custom firmware improvements...), and the dongle addition, it just may do that :p

Schrade

25th June 2008, 07:08

Well, the PSP has a batshit-crazy enough decoder that with some enhancements, dedication from the Sony firmware team (or custom firmware improvements...), and the dongle addition, it just may do that :p

Wonder if the new 4.01 update will add some long asked for video compatibility:

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/06/24/psp-playstation-portable-v401-update/

Hey everyone, here’s a quick heads up that a new PSP system software update, v4.01, will be released soon. This minor update includes the following:

* Display of search results under Internet Search has been improved for certain languages.
* Playback of video content under Video has been improved for certain file types.

Look for this update to become available during the next few hours.

professor_desty_nova

25th June 2008, 09:04

There is also the TViX HD M-7000A from Dvico. It's supposed to play almost anything, but for the price you could build a HTPC.

SeeMoreDigital

25th June 2008, 09:07

I see they also have a DVD player version .. wonder if a bluray version is in the works.The DVD player version (CS505) is fitted with Sigma's EM8620L chip-set, which do not support AVC or VC-1...

And no, a Blu-ray version is not in development, as the licensing costs are way too high (I guess this is what happens when you only have one disc-drive supplier).

And sadly until a third party releases the appropriate playback/navigation code, it's not possible to support "Blu-ray .ISO" back-ups.

Inventive Software

25th June 2008, 17:02

Well, the PSP has a batshit-crazy enough decoder that with some enhancements, dedication from the Sony firmware team (or custom firmware improvements...), and the dongle addition, it just may do that :p

Speaking of this quote "batshit-crazy enough decoder", what's the specifications for encoding to PSP, now that "high" bitrates are acceptable? If I have something on paper I can use in my workflow that's NOT RipBot264, MeGUI or some other GUI, then I'll be happy.

Ranguvar

26th June 2008, 18:18

Speaking of this quote "batshit-crazy enough decoder", what's the specifications for encoding to PSP, now that "high" bitrates are acceptable? If I have something on paper I can use in my workflow that's NOT RipBot264, MeGUI or some other GUI, then I'll be happy.
Any resolution up to or including 480x272, or 720x480 (in between does not work for some freaky reason), I don't think you need the --level 3 switch anymore, 3 refs, mixed-refs, 3 b-frames, no b-pyramid, CABAC, inloop (in my tests, changing the amount of deblocking has no effect on the PSP... odd, but oh well), up to (according to others) 25Mb/s, so no VBV necessary, and I think that's it.

Also note that to avoid ghosting, raise brightness. To avoid the washed-out look this causes, raise contrast and saturation. To avoid the dark-area blocking this causes, use judicious amounts of VAQ (there's probably more elegant solutions, though).

Blue_MiSfit

26th June 2008, 20:38

Amazing. 25mbps on a portable device :D

Can it do high profile (8x8dct)?

~MiSfit

Ranguvar

27th June 2008, 00:16

Amazing. 25mbps on a portable device :D

Can it do high profile (8x8dct)?

~MiSfit
Nope, sadly limited to Main. I suspect that most of the problem is just that Sony is not willing to invest the time software-wise, but that the hardware decoder is fully capable of doing it.

Get this - I can underclock my PSP to 75MHz on the main CPU (it's a 333MHz CPU that normally runs at 222MHz), and still have full speed at max settings and 2Mb/s :) So obviously the main CPU is just twiddling its thumbs.

teddg

27th June 2008, 01:43

Nope, sadly limited to Main. I suspect that most of the problem is just that Sony is not willing to invest the time software-wise, but that the hardware decoder is fully capable of doing it.

Get this - I can underclock my PSP to 75MHz on the main CPU (it's a 333MHz CPU that normally runs at 222MHz), and still have full speed at max settings and 2Mb/s :) So obviously the main CPU is just twiddling its thumbs.

Wow, It has a MIPS 4000 processor. NT used to make a version for that if I remember correctly.

It blows away ipod video capabilities and seems to have subtitle support (http://www.us.playstation.com/Support/PSP/Movies/default.html) too.

Ranguvar

27th June 2008, 03:29

and seems to have subtitle support (http://www.us.playstation.com/Support/PSP/Movies/default.html) too.
Never, ever, ever trust the Sony website when dealing with the PSP :p

I believe that it only supports subs in UMD media... although I haven't tried myself.