|
|
|
PS3/Ethernet question
|
|
|
Erratik1
Newbie
|
31. December 2008 @ 13:41 |
Link to this message
|
Hi! I download a lot of videos (most of which are encoded in H.264/MPEG-4 AVC these days), and so yesterday I splurged on a Playstation 3 which I had read plays H.264/MPEG-4 AVC files. My problem is, though the PS3 is reading my DivX, Xvid, MP4V, commercial DVDs just fine, it is telling me that my numerous H.264/MPEG-4 AVC files are in an "unsupported data." (Basically the same message I get from my standalone DVD players when they encounter this codec.)
I haven't connected the PS3 to my PC yet -- to do so will require the purchase of a router. Before I spend anymore money (I'm on a VERY tight budget), I was hoping someone could tell me if hooking up the PS3 to my computer might enable the PS3 to play the files? Like, would a firmware update or an Ethernet connection to my PC help the player to identify/read them? Is there some sort of "relationship" between the PS3 and the PC which might expand the PS3's ability to recognize/play files?
Any information/help you could give me would be greatly appreciated. I've never used a PS3 before nor do I know anyone who has one, so this is all completely new to me.
|
|
Advertisement
|
 |
|
|
Junior Member
|
7. January 2009 @ 18:25 |
Link to this message
|
well simply plugging the ps3 in will not do anything for you, but there may be a firmware update if you connect to the internet. I dont know if this will solve your problem or not. another alternative is to re-encode your video files with a different codec.
|
|
KajNrig
Senior Member
|
8. January 2009 @ 03:34 |
Link to this message
|
Yeah, the firmware update might do a lot in helping you play those h264 files. This is a bit late, so you might have already done it, but you can update your firmware via USB flash drive. Just download the firmware, create the folders "PS3--->UPDATE" inside the root of your flash drive, and I'm pretty sure you can figure it out from there.
If that doesn't work, it might be that the container the h264 video is in isn't supported. I usually see h264 videos contained in .mkv files, so that's what I'm gonna guess is what you have. In that case, you'll have to remux the files into a PS3-compatible container using either tsMuxer or mkv2vob.
Hope that helps out a bit.
|
|
z0diac
Member
|
8. January 2009 @ 12:02 |
Link to this message
|
Originally posted by Erratik1:
Hi! I download a lot of videos (most of which are encoded in H.264/MPEG-4 AVC these days), and so yesterday I splurged on a Playstation 3 which I had read plays H.264/MPEG-4 AVC files. My problem is, though the PS3 is reading my DivX, Xvid, MP4V, commercial DVDs just fine, it is telling me that my numerous H.264/MPEG-4 AVC files are in an "unsupported data." (Basically the same message I get from my standalone DVD players when they encounter this codec.)
If your h.264 file is in Matstroka (.mkv) video format, it won't play them. You need to convert to DIVX. I had 3 .MKV hd videos that I converted using Allok MOV Converter and iSkySoft Video Converter into DIVX (2500kbps video data rate which is max allowed) and the finished file looks great on my 58" plasma :)
But I really do wish there was a software/codec update for the PS3 allowing it to play .MKV files
Quote:
I was hoping someone could tell me if hooking up the PS3 to my computer might enable the PS3 to play the files?
Not if the h.264 files are in their .mkv format. AND - if you're connecting wirelessly, you'll have problems playing ANY videos by streaming from your computer. The buffer the streaming programs use just isnt big enough to stream videow without it studdering like crazy. 'Might work ok if you get a very strong signal to your PS3. But if you can go ethernet instead of wired I'd definitely do that.
Quote:
Like, would a firmware update or an Ethernet connection to my PC help the player to identify/read them?
I wish. If Sony wants the PS3 to stay on top as a media device they should release some updates so it plays more divx/xvid and .mkv files.
Quote:
Is there some sort of "relationship" between the PS3 and the PC which might expand the PS3's ability to recognize/play files?
You CAN however get the streaming programs (PMS, TVersity, etc) to re-encode on the fly, but with big HD files I haven't had much luck with it.
Your best bet would just be to get Allok MOV Converter or iSkySoft Video Converter and re-encode everything to DIVX. DivX Converter might work as well, never tired it myself though.
|
|
KajNrig
Senior Member
|
8. January 2009 @ 14:20 |
Link to this message
|
zodiac, converting it to DivX would reduce the quality, wouldn't it?
Since it's already a PS3-compliant stream, why not just remux it to .m2ts or Blu-ray using tsMuxer?
|
|
bigo93
Senior Member
|
8. January 2009 @ 17:18 |
Link to this message
|
yeah I have a lot of anime that isnt supported by the PS3, only way round it is to use a media server like TVersity or the one from here http://ps3mediaserver.blogspot.com/ which seems to transcode mkvs with subs properly.
Eitehr way you need a router, Netgears are good to use with PS3s, you can get the DG834Gv4 router for 20-30 quid, which isnt bad.
|
AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
|
9. January 2009 @ 07:30 |
Link to this message
|
Its got nothing to do with either MKV, VOB, MPG etc as these are just the containers.
Its the video and audio streams contained within said containers.
The profile your avc,s are encoded with do not match the PS3,s spec in that department, you can use YAMB which is an MP4 splitter, extract the streams from it and run them through TSMUXER set at HIGH PROFILE LEVEL 4.1
|
|
z0diac
Member
|
9. January 2009 @ 09:58 |
Link to this message
|
Originally posted by Sudds:
Its got nothing to do with either MKV, VOB, MPG etc as these are just the containers.
Its the video and audio streams contained within said containers.
Umm... yah, that's kinda exactly WHY the PS3 won't play them! :) Obviously the extension NAME is just a name. We're talking about the MKV video stream *inside* the mkv video file, vob stream INSIDE the .vob file, etc...
Just like if someone talks about a .JPG file extension they're referring to a picture encoded inthe JPEG format.
|
AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
|
9. January 2009 @ 10:41 |
Link to this message
|
Originally posted by z0diac:
Originally posted by Sudds:
Its got nothing to do with either MKV, VOB, MPG etc as these are just the containers.
Its the video and audio streams contained within said containers.
Umm... yah, that's kinda exactly WHY the PS3 won't play them! :) Obviously the extension NAME is just a name. We're talking about the MKV video stream *inside* the mkv video file, vob stream INSIDE the .vob file, etc...
Just like if someone talks about a .JPG file extension they're referring to a picture encoded inthe JPEG format.
Seems like you have it in hand Zodiac, i,ll leave it to you to explain how to reencode the stream to a compatible format then.
|
|
KajNrig
Senior Member
|
9. January 2009 @ 13:03 |
Link to this message
|
Uh, actually, zodiac, the .mkv container DOESN'T have any .mkv video stream, if I'm reading your post right.
The h264 video you've got might not work on the PS3 because of what Sudds said, or it could be another encoding issue (if I remember correctly, certain codec settings don't mesh too well with the PS3). Anyway, try remuxing it to .m2ts first (with a 4.1 profile max), and if that doesn't fix it, then it's likely that the h264 video stream wasn't encoded for the PS3.
...on that note, anyone know WHAT the 4.1, 5.1, etc. profiles mean?
|
AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
|
9. January 2009 @ 13:36 |
Link to this message
|
"Like MPEG-2, H.264 has Levels that define frame-size, frame-rate, number of pictures searched, and maximum data?rate. AVCHD uses Level 4 while AVCCAM uses Level 4.1. Sony and Panasonic (consumer AVCHD) use H.264 Main Profile. Canon and AVCCAM use H.264 High Profile. (Blu-ray?s H.264 uses High Profile.)"
Sony and Panasonic (consumer AVCHD) use H.264 Main Profile at Level 4.0. Canon and AVCCAM use H.264 High Profile at Level 4.1. (Blu-ray?s H.264 uses High Profile at Level 5.1.)
What does 4.0 vs 4.1 vs 5.1 mean -- everything!
First: BD supports 5 Reference frames because it is Level is 5.1. AVCHD supports only 4 because it's Level is 4.0 or 4.1.
Second: Level 4.0 with a MAIN Profile supports a maximum data rate of 20 Mbps while Level 4.1 with a HIGH Profile supports a maximum data rate of 25 Mbps.
What all this means is Sony -- in keeping with it's public stance that AVCHD is a "consumer" format only cares about MAIN Profile at Level 4.0 -- which means a max data rate of 20Mbps. It need support HIGH Profile at Level 4.1 in VEGAS only if it chooses to.
Panasonic has the same stance which is why it's calling it's 21 Mbps HIGH Profile at Level 4.1 -- AVCCAM.
Canon, which has always used HIGH Profile at Level 4.1 is simply extending the data rate to its maximum. Since Canon is aware that Sony and Panasonic need only support MAIN Profile at Level 4.0, it knows there MAY be compatibility issues with some Sony and Panasonic products.
In fact, ANY company that only supports MAIN Profile at Level 4.0 is not going to be able to import 24 Mbps video. And, any device that only supports MAIN Profile at Level 4.0 is not going to be able to play Canon files copied to a DVD.
Thankfully, now that Sony accepts Canon AVCHD, it MUST be able to import 24 Mbps. However, it need not export 24 Mbps.
In a real sense this is like HDV where there were HD1 and HD2. Only the difference was obvious: 720p vs 1080i.
With AVCHD, two companies are calling two specs by the same name.
|
|
z0diac
Member
|
9. January 2009 @ 14:38 |
Link to this message
|
All I know is, that my PS3 hasn't been able to play *any* .mkv file I've thrown at it, no matter what the code looked like inside the file. All of them I converted to 1280x720 DIVX format, and they've played fine on the PS3.
Hopefully that answers someone's question who's looking for help on playing different videos :)
|
AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
|
9. January 2009 @ 15:42 |
Link to this message
|
Why DIVX zodiac?
X264 is a much better quality codec even at lower bitrates.
|
|
z0diac
Member
|
9. January 2009 @ 16:03 |
Link to this message
|
Originally posted by Sudds:
Why DIVX zodiac?
X264 is a much better quality codec even at lower bitrates.
I don't have any x264 encoder, and my / my girlfriends / my brotehr and his families / dvd players only play DIVX. So I just stick with that since it's widely playable on all our dvd players.
If I could get something better that would do full movies that would fit on a DVDL-DL then I'm always open to suggestions. Although the 1280x720 Divx format gives quality and filesize that work fine for me.
|
|
Advertisement
|
|
|
AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
|
9. January 2009 @ 21:45 |
Link to this message
|
Originally posted by z0diac:
Originally posted by Sudds:
Why DIVX zodiac?
X264 is a much better quality codec even at lower bitrates.
I don't have any x264 encoder, and my / my girlfriends / my brotehr and his families / dvd players only play DIVX. So I just stick with that since it's widely playable on all our dvd players.
If I could get something better that would do full movies that would fit on a DVDL-DL then I'm always open to suggestions. Although the 1280x720 Divx format gives quality and filesize that work fine for me.
Well if your happy with it mate, stick with it. ;-)
My thinking was, it was just your PS3 that you where encoding for.
|
|
