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Compatible Video File Formats?
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jazee
Junior Member
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22. February 2010 @ 20:15 |
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I backed up my Blu-Ray collection to MKV on an external USB 2.0/eSata HDD in anticipation of using it with a Popcorn Hour or a Dune. I've had a terrible experience getting reliable performance (especially using the built-in Blu-Ray drive) with the PCH. My PS3 at my other house works flawlessly in combination with PS3MediaServer running on a PC. However with that setup there are more points of failure than I care to have such as the software on the PC crashing, the Wireless N Network having issues, etc. The second house is a vacation home with lots of non-Geeks staying there so I need a bullet proof, simple/reliable setup. I hear the Dune has some issues too although sounds much more reliable than the nightmare PCH C-200.
If I want to avoid relying on a PC to stream HD content to my PS3 and just want to plug the external HDD into a PS3, would have have to convert all my MKVs to VOBs to get the PS3 to play them or will it play an M2TS file? If VOB, isn't VOB MPEG2, so won't the files be much larger if I want to retain the video quality since MPEG2 is must less efficient than X264? Or will PS3 play MP4 and I just have to convert my MKVs to MP4 (would have to just transcode the audio to AAC)
Trying to figure out the simplest/cheapest and most reliable setup for playing Blu-Ray titles from discs themselves and from the library on the HDD. It may be the Dune 3.0 with built-in Blu-Ray drive but the advantage of the PS3 is we can play high-def games in the Theater Room too - but PS3 is so limited in the compatible formats compared to the Dune or Popcorn Hour (or PS3MediaServer for that matter.)
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jazee
Junior Member
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22. February 2010 @ 20:21 |
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This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 22. February 2010 @ 20:49
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KajNrig
Senior Member
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23. February 2010 @ 15:43 |
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If you're ripping your BD discs (without re-encoding them), then you can simply use tsMuxer to remux the main movie + any audio/subtitle tracks you want into another BD-structured folder. tsMuxer also has an option to split files into specific sizes, so you'll be able to get, say, an entire 30GB rip split into 2-4GB chunks without losing any quality.
When you've ripped your Blu-Ray disc (using AnyDVD or what have you), you'll have a PLAYLIST folder. Have tsMuxer load one of these files and it'll automatically bring up the video stream, any associated audio streams, and the subtitles. (Of course, you have to figure out which playlist relates to the main movie, but that's a simple matter of trial and error.)
Once you get that, all you have to do is adjust the filesize for splitting, make sure the original chapters are intact, and click on "AVCHD" instead of "M2TS," and you should complete remuxing within a few minutes.
The same thing applies to the .mkv backups you've made.
When you have your new AVCHD folder, you can place it onto any fat32-formatted drive that's large enough. Then download a program called AVCHD Manager, place it on the root of your USB drive, and use it to rename the folders and files so that the PS3 can play it.
Then, when you plug it into the PS3 and click on "USB External HDD," you should see an AVCHD pop up, and it'll play as if it's a BD disc.
(The only issue is that if you have multiple movies, you have to manually use AVCHD Manager to choose which one to watch.)
I dunno, hope that helps.
As far as your other questions go:
1.) You don't have to convert from .mkv to .vob; there's a program called mkv2vob, but I believe all it does is remux it into a .vob container.
2.) The most common video type in .vobs are MPEG2 files, but I think that has more to do with DVDs using them than anything else. And yes, you are correct in that if you want to convert with zero quality loss, your filesize would jump from, say, 20GB to maybe more than 200GB.
3.) The PS3 can play most .mp4s; it depends more on what's inside the .mkv than what the PS3 can play, since the .mkv container can hold just about anything.
4.) The PS3 is indeed limited in what it can play off the XMB. If you really want to, you could install Linux onto it (if it's a Phat model) and use that as a media player. Also, now that the PS3's finally been hacked, there'll more than likely be some major Linux development that allows it to make better use of the PS3's hardware.
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jazee
Junior Member
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23. February 2010 @ 16:12 |
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Well I used TsMuxer to remux to m2ts and split into 4GB chunks. Its not the cleanest solution but it worked. The problem is m2ts doesn't support FLAC, not sure if VOB does either. So I used eac3to to transcode from FLAC PCM to AC3. Unfortuntely when I remux it, the audio gets more and more out of sync the farther into the movie. May have to play around with settings. It is definitely not a very clean solution but if I can get it working okay, it would save from having to buy another PC or a Dune unit.
If I install Linux, what is the best software to use to act as a media player.
Really a shame doesn't support NTFS.
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KajNrig
Senior Member
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23. February 2010 @ 17:40 |
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The .vob container can't hold FLAC audio, so you wouldn't have any luck that way, either.
It seems like you're going from a variable bitrate audio to a constant bitrate audio stream, which is why there's a slow desync as the movie goes along. (Alternately, it could be that the video's framerate has been changed.)
As far as Linux goes, I'm not really sure. There are a bunch of free software out there, and what you can use depends a lot on which distro you decide to get. I use Ubuntu on my home computer (dual-boot with XP), and VLC Media Player is more or less the only media player I need. It's an easy player to use; if you need something else, though, I'm sure there's an easy way to get it to work.
Also, if you do decide to install Linux, you get NTFS support. :)
(Or if the hackers can manage to add NTFS support to the PS3, that'd be nice, too. Doubtful, but hey, whatever they do will be wonders.)
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jazee
Junior Member
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24. February 2010 @ 11:19 |
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So if I install Linux, what is the process of playing games. Do you have to reboot? I think the main issue is setting up a program in Linux that is easiest enough for an average Joe to browse the movies and select one to play. However I would imagine you lose the ability to press keys on the controller to fast forward, pause, jump ahead etc? If that is the case then it would probably be a deal breaker. Need to control playback with a remote and IR to RF interface like I currently have. I doubt you can do that with Linux?
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KajNrig
Senior Member
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24. February 2010 @ 13:12 |
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Well, Linux turns your PS3 from a gaming machine into a regular computer, more or less, so yes, you lose the ability to use the PS3 controller off the bat. You would need to connect via USB mouse/keyboard. However, I wouldn't be surprised at all if the Yellow Dog Linux scene (or any other Linux, for that matter) has developed drivers to support the DualShock 3 and PS3 remote.
And if you get yourself a wireless mouse (with the appropriate drivers), you can do all the browsing/fast-forwarding/etc. that you want without having to leave the couch.
To reset, I believe you can change the OtherOS bootloader to boot back to the PS3 XMB once you reset. Or else you can hold down the Power button for an extended period of time (how long I'm not sure).
You might want to ask in the YDL forums or so, though, since they'd definitely know more about PS3 Linux than me.
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