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AppleTV won't play 720P

F

fermentj

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 2, 2008
27
0
After reading some forums I decided to see if I can play 1280 x 720 video on my apple TV.


I created a file in HB using setting listed in some other forum.

I have also tried many different Bit rate settings, constant quality vs fixed. The only time it will play is if I move it to the default ATV format which is 960x something


The video shows up and plays fine in Itunes, but when I try to sync that video it says

Here are the settings from Itunes.

Do some AppleTVs not play 720 content?

Can someone send me a short 720 file to see if it will play on my atv?


thanks
 

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fermentj said:
After reading some forums I decided to see if I can play 1280 x 720 video on my apple TV.


I created a file in HB using setting listed in some other forum.

I have also tried many different Bit rate settings, constant quality vs fixed. The only time it will play is if I move it to the default ATV format which is 960x something


The video shows up and plays fine in Itunes, but when I try to sync that video it says

Here are the settings from Itunes.

Do some AppleTVs not play 720 content?

Can someone send me a short 720 file to see if it will play on my atv?


thanks
Click to expand...

Your bitrate needs to be to below 5kbs and filesize no larger than 4GB.
 
People could actually read the tech specs.

Video formats supported
H.264 and protected H.264 (from iTunes Store): Up to 5 Mbps, Progressive Main Profile (CAVLC) with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 1280 by 720 pixels at 24 fps, 960 by 540 pixels at 30 fps) in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
iTunes Store purchased video: 320 by 240 pixels, 640 by 480 pixels, 720 by 480 pixels (anamorphic), or high-definition 720p


Any iTunes videos that are 720P are at 24fps.

24fps is the key.
 
Peace said:
People could actually read the tech specs.

Video formats supported
H.264 and protected H.264 (from iTunes Store): Up to 5 Mbps, Progressive Main Profile (CAVLC) with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps (maximum resolution: 1280 by 720 pixels at 24 fps, 960 by 540 pixels at 30 fps) in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
iTunes Store purchased video: 320 by 240 pixels, 640 by 480 pixels, 720 by 480 pixels (anamorphic), or high-definition 720p


Any iTunes videos that are 720P are at 24fps.

24fps is the key.
Click to expand...

I agree; that is likely the culprit here. An activity log would do wonders in assisting with this issue.
 
As everyone else has said FPS is the most likely culprit.
Also I've gotten HD content to stream to ATV at well over 5000 Kbps and at 25 fps.
 
Also the file's profile has to be Main not High. It could be your settings, which you did not post here. The more info you give us, the better the feedback you will get.
 
spacepower7 said:
Also the file's profile has to be Main not High. It could be your settings, which you did not post here. The more info you give us, the better the feedback you will get.
Click to expand...

Actually, thats not entirely true. From my latest hb encode for the atv. (plays fine).
Code: 
x264 [info]: profile High, level 3.1
 
Peace said:
People could actually read the tech specs.

Any iTunes videos that are 720P are at 24fps.

24fps is the key.
Click to expand...

Actually, 25fps also works since all my encodes are from NZ broadcasts where HD broadcasts at 50Hz and I use QuickTime to encode them in HD for my AppleTV.

The attached screenshot was taken from a 1080i/50 broadcast which was converted to 720P. Note the bitrate is over 5MB but that includes audio so the actual video rate is less than 5MB. The FPS is 25. Just a pity that QuickTime doesn't preserve the 5.1 surround.

This plays perfectly on my ATV.
 

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Thanks for all the feedback so far.

So all I did was point to a HD Video I took with my camera, I clicked the default AppleTV setting.

Then I changed the width / height setting to 1280 and the bitrate to 5000.

The thing I think I missed was changed the FPS to 24, I left it as "same as source"
 
So the 24FPS worked, BUT (there is always a but) the video is really jerky, I'm running a couple more playing with the bitrates.

I'll let you know what looks the best.
 
Try using QuickTime to convert your HD Video for the Apple TV. If it is HD, QuickTime will convert it to 720P and the correct frame rate. I've had problems with HandBrake conversions of my EyeTV recordings being really jerky while the QuickTime conversions aren't. I wanted to use HandBrake so I could preserve the 5.1 audio but the video is more important so QuickTime is the choice.
 
fermentj said:
Thanks for all the feedback so far.

So all I did was point to a HD Video I took with my camera, I clicked the default AppleTV setting.

Then I changed the width / height setting to 1280 and the bitrate to 5000.

The thing I think I missed was changed the FPS to 24, I left it as "same as source"
Click to expand...

I think you're trying to make this too complicated by manually modifying settings. Handbrake, Visual Hub, and Quicktime all have AppleTV presets that will scale to proper 720 settings when given an HD source file [720 or 1080].
 
GreatDrok said:
Try using QuickTime to convert your HD Video for the Apple TV. If it is HD, QuickTime will convert it to 720P and the correct frame rate. I've had problems with HandBrake conversions of my EyeTV recordings being really jerky while the QuickTime conversions aren't. I wanted to use HandBrake so I could preserve the 5.1 audio but the video is more important so QuickTime is the choice.
Click to expand...

Make sure that you manually set the framerate to 25, handbrake gets the wrong framerate if you use same as source, 100 for tv1.

I always use hb for my freeview encodes, and can assure you it worls great.

I use quality based encoding with a bitrate limiter to keep the bitrate less than 5mbps. Means lower bitrates when you don't need it.

Cheers, Ed
 
11thIndian said:
I think you're trying to make this too complicated by manually modifying settings. Handbrake, Visual Hub, and Quicktime all have AppleTV presets that will scale to proper 720 settings when given an HD source file [720 or 1080].
Click to expand...

You need to manually set the framerate when using the preset, a lot of HD is 50/60fps which is too high for the ATV.

Cheers Ed
 
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