DVDs to WTV?

[shoffert]

Short question:
How do you get your movies from DVD to WTV format for playback compatible with the Xbox 360 as extender?

Long question:
I've tried a number of routes and haven't found anything that works. My basic understanding is WTV container can take either MPEG2 or .264 for video and can handle AC3 for audio. Here's what I've tried:

1) WTV with MPEG2/AC3 5.1 - For this it's pretty much direct from the DVD to WTV. I've tried two methods for this. The first is DVDFab for Video_TS folder > VideoReDo for conversion to WTV. The second is MakeMKV for MKV file > toDVRMS to convert to WTV. Both methods result in the Xbox extender working for a very short while then a blue notification shows in the upper right hand corner saying "Network issue", mean while the movie become blocky, will stop, will go super speed. However the audio generally continues.

2) WTV with .264/AC3 - For this I'll start with either MakeMKV or Video_TS folder > Handbrake (see below for what I've tried) > toDVRMS. For Handbrake, I've tried using both Normal and High Profile Presets for the video side. For audio, I specify the AC3 passthrough. I've also ran a couple with the AAC audio, but those didn't even give me audio on the extender... and I'd rather retain the AC3.

I'm far from an expert when it comes to this stuff... all I know is I have a frustrated wife (and 2 year old) and I'd rather spend more time with them watching that trying to figure out how to make these files. So my questions are:

a) Does anyone use the WTV format for their DVD rips?
b) If so, do you use xbox360 extenders?
c) If so, how do you get form DVD to WTV? If you're using any form of encoding, what settings do you use?

A little background on my system (in case that's the problem):
Athlon II x2 2.9ghz
4 gigs ram 1333
Gigabit from computer to xbox 360 slim with only a switch between them (also have a standard router connected to the switch)
Integrated ATI 4200hd graphics.

I've even brought the xbox into my office to have them both connected directly to the switch, hopefully ruling out any wiring errors between the office & family room.

I've also previously used mp4, avi, and mkv containers with mixed success. They generally play, but ff/rw/skip don't work very will on the extender. To make it work for my wife, these are a high priority.

Also, i have a ceton infinitv4 than generally operates without issue when streamed to the extender, live or recorded.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[lithium630]

If you have Anydvd running, you only need Videoredo. Just open the DVD and save it as WTV. I usually use DVDShrink to rip the movie. I set it to output a single VOB, then use Videoredo to convert to WTV. There are many different ways to convert to WTV h264. If the audio is AC3, you can just use Videoredo. I use Xilisoft Video Converter to shrink blu-rays to smaller h264 files. It also converts the DTS to AC3. Then I use Videoredo to convert to WTV h264.

*EDIT* I doubt video format is your problem. Network issues are really common even with a wired network. First the Xbox cannot handle gigabit speeds. There are lots of posts on tweaking your PC settings such as flow control. Also not all switches are created equal. I had constant network issues with my netgear gigabit switch. Nothing helped until I upgraded to an HP Procurve.

[shoffert]

Thanks for the response. I've had some more time to tinker tonight. Flow Control was already enabled on my NIC. I also tried the 100 Half Duplex that some have said works... with no luck. I don't have an issue with WTVs produced by the Ceton card. It only seems to be the DVD rips used the methods above.

Tonight, I put one of my movies into a .mpg container (via VideoReDo) straight from the Video_TS folder (MPEG2 & AC3). This seems to play fine on the extender. BTW, is an MPG container supposed to support an AC3 DD signal? Anyway, I would think this MPG file is pushing a similar quantity of data through the network as it's corresponding WTV file. However, only the WTV has the issues during playback (but not with the Ceton produced WTVs).

So, if it is a network issue, is there something different about how a WTV is streamed vs other files? If so, any ideas why it would only affect the DVD rips and not the Live TV & recordings?

My hunch is my problem is something in how I get the content into the WTV container that it doesn't like it. I'll tinker a little more, but I'll probably settle for a mpg or mp4 container before I go buying any more software for the WTV experiment. That FF/RW sure would be nice though.

Again, thanks for the ideas.

[jonneal]

Is there a reason why you don't keep the files from MakeMKV in the native .MKV format? If it's a codec issue, I would recommend Shark's codec's (www.shark007.net). Assuming you're running WIndows 7 64-bit, setup both the x32 and x64 components to use the LAV splitters and follow shark's recommendations. .MKV files stream directly to the XBox 360 with no problems at that point.

[shoffert]

I guess I don't fully understand how MKVs work with the xbox (not that I fully understand any other format). However, my (mis)understanding is that MKVs don't play natively on the xbox and they require some on-the-fly conversion to stream from the PC to the xbox. This may be a very low resource demand, but I'd rather keep it native if possible. Also, do MKVs support AC3 playback on the xbox? My wishlist is:
- AC3/Dolby Digital
- FF/RW
- Compressed file size
If I have a way to get AC3, I'll sacrifice the others. If I can have FF/RW, I'll sacrifice smaller file sizes. I've tried MKVs before and had pretty good success. My previous attempt was handbroken (handbraked?) video_ts's. I don't think I've tried straight from MakeMKV. I'll be trying handbroken MP4 (.264/AC3) tonight to see if I can get AC3 and small files (cue Meatloaf, two out of three ain't bad), though I'm pretty sure I've read that xbox doesn't support AC3 in MP4. Can't hurt to try.

[spencapl]

Hi

I've used this process with good results to get my DVD's in WTV so fully supported on my xbox as media centre extender - http://experts.windows.com/w/experts_wiki/48.aspx the only thing different is i created my own profile in the DVRMSToolbox. One you have DVRMSToolbox open go to tools menu then settings. Then under the DVRMSToolboc tab click on the new profile button. In here name the profile and give it a description. You then click on add and select Durrant.plugins.runexternal. In the processName put todvrms.exe then in the argumentscontext put - "%InputFile%" "%OutputFile%" -v -wtv

Click ok and then save and save again. You will now have a new profile that you can use instead of the “Convert MKV TV Show to WTV” use this new one.

Hope that makes sense.

[TheOsburnFamil]

Curious if you've considered using ASF with WMV/WMA? A WMV HD video can be up to 15mb bit rate and host digital 5.1 audio. I have my blurays ripping this way and it works great... plays back on the xbox extenders with zero troubles & can ff/rw.

Try DVDFab-- you can download a full-use trial that'll let you rip the entire thing even with the trial.. old thing about the trial is that it splashes a small dvdfab watermark in the top left corner for a couple seconds every few minutes.

But, it'll give you a chance to try it at least and see if WMV.WMA10 will work. Hit the Bluray/DVD Ripper > XBOX 360 > Select WMV output format (instead of MP4)... click the button for Forced Subtitles Only, change the advanced settings to whatever bitrate you want (for DVDs somewhere between 2000 & 6000 - I'd go with 6000 but I have the drive space... for blurays go to 15000), select 2-pass, and you're off and running.

Just a suggestion.. I've tried WTVs with h264/ac3 but could never get it to work... MKVs always seemed to give me one problem or another depending on various factors. WMV seems really to be the only way to go if you want high-quality, 5.1, and extender.

*EDIT* I should say that my receiver is capable of decoding WMV.WMA 5.1 via PCM... if your receiver can't decode windows audio then this may not be a good solution for you.
Here's a REALLY good link to give you an idea of what's supported native. Anything else gets "trancoded" on-the-fly by the host PC and doesnt always provide the best playback experience (IMHO).

http://www.infobarrel.com/Supported_Vid ... o_Xbox_360

[stuppid]

DVR-MS. I use both a Samsung Extender and a WD LiveTV and it works great. I also use that format as I still have one PC in the house that is still using Vista.