Mediashare and Divx

[tdenton1138]

Over the past year+ I've bought into the whole Divx thing and have been using that codec as my primary storage medium... This has worked great as I've been able to watch the videos on my computer, my Divx enabled DVD players or burn the Divx as a DVD if I need to.

Unfortunately, it now occurs to me that it may be unlikely that D* will incorporate Divx into mediashare due to licensing fees with Divx. Perhaps I'm wrong (I hope I am), but I now wonder if I should abandon Divx and get into using whatever codec would be best in relation to what will play from my hr20-700 ...

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks,

Tad

 

[taz291819]

I'd wait and see what other codec(s) D* is going to offer with Mediashare, as MPEG2 is currently the only one they support atm. I'm sure some form of MPEG4 will be supported eventually.

 

[tdenton1138]

Before I just start experimenting, do you happen to know the specs on the codec that does work? I'd like to try it out just to see if it works... I have Super and it will convert to practically anything.

Thanks again.

 

[Bob Nielsen]

Here is what Mediainfo says about one of my files (ripped from a DVD) which plays perfectly:

Format : MPEG-2 Transport
Format/Family : MPEG-2
File size : 2.71 GiB
PlayTime : 1h 42mn
Bit rate : 3784 Kbps

Video #0
Codec : MPEG-2 Video
Codec/Family : MPEG-V
Codec profile : Main@Main
Codec settings, Matrix : Standard
PlayTime : 1h 42mn
Bit rate mode : VBR
Bit rate : 3410 Kbps
Width : 720 pixels
Height : 480 pixels
Display Aspect ratio : 4/3
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Standard : NTSC
Chroma : 4:2:0
Interlacement : Progressive

Audio #0
Codec : MPEG-1 Audio layer 2
Bit rate mode : CBR
Bit rate : 224 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 48 KHz
Resolution : 16 bits
Writing library : Xing (new)

I have several which only play for a few seconds, but they have bitrates of 6 Mbps or higher (the original CE enabling media share video worked with higher rates than the current firmware). Mediainfo won't give data on some files although I don't know why.

 

[michaelbudney]

I'm in a similar boat. Most of my video won't play on the xbox 360 or the HR21. I've got to get around to converting the files. The old hacked original xbox played absolutley everything.

 

[tdenton1138]

Bob:

Thanks for that info. I have discovered that some of my mpg files work and I think I can get the others converted (the ones that matter anyway).

I presume you had to convert the DVD (vob) files to mpg via encoder? I need to play around with this some more. I wish I could hack a divx codec into the box though.

Tad

 

[Bob Nielsen]

Bob:

Thanks for that info. I have discovered that some of my mpg files work and I think I can get the others converted (the ones that matter anyway).

I presume you had to convert the DVD (vob) files to mpg via encoder? I need to play around with this some more. I wish I could hack a divx codec into the box though.

Tad

Tad,

I have used MPEG Streamclip to convert, normally to a transport stream (I then renamed the files to .mpg so the HR20/21 would recognize them). I have also used ffmpegX (OS X) to convert MPEG4 to MPEG2 (I don't know if it handles Divx).

 

[michaelbudney]

I noticed it stretches content out to the maximum resolution. Does anyone know if there is a way to view in original format/resolution (like pillar box SD does on high def)?

 

[Bob Nielsen]

My Vizio TV has both wide and normal settings and I use normal for 4:3 videos. I'm guessing that the DVR has no way to know what format the file was made from.