Xbox 360 / PS3 Media server and 5.1 sound (handbrake??)

[The Weez]

I'm running PS3 Media Server to stream movies to my Xbox 360. I typically have the movies in the mkv container, but unfortunately the xbox does not support 5.1 sound in mkv. I've used handbrake to convert to mp4 which regains the 5.1 sound, but I'm pretty new to handbrake and it is hurting the video quality. The resulting files are smaller, but I don't care about file size as long as I can stream it properly.

How do I convert my mkv files so they will have 5.1 sound on my xbox without significantly changing the video quality?

 

[obsidian1200]

I'm running PS3 Media Server to stream movies to my Xbox 360. I typically have the movies in the mkv container, but unfortunately the xbox does not support 5.1 sound in mkv. I've used handbrake to convert to mp4 which regains the 5.1 sound, but I'm pretty new to handbrake and it is hurting the video quality. The resulting files are smaller, but I don't care about file size as long as I can stream it properly.

How do I convert my mkv files so they will have 5.1 sound on my xbox without significantly changing the video quality?

Which preset are you using in handbrake? Try using the ATV2 preset, as I find it doesn't hurt the quality, so long as the source had good quality in the first place.

 

[The Weez]

Which preset are you using in handbrake? Try using the ATV2 preset, as I find it doesn't hurt the quality, so long as the source had good quality in the first place.

ATV 2 didn't play at all on my Xbox. I'm using the Xbox 360 preset from an old version of handbrake; somebody exported it and posted it up for others to import into the latest version. However, I've modified it to do constant quality, set at 22. It's not bad; just not as good as I think it could be.

 

[obsidian1200]

ATV 2 didn't play at all on my Xbox. I'm using the Xbox 360 preset from an old version of handbrake; somebody exported it and posted it up for others to import into the latest version. However, I've modified it to do constant quality, set at 22. It's not bad; just not as good as I think it could be.

Could you copy and paste the settings used in the 360 preset? Or even just reupload it, so that we can see what you're working with?

Also, try setting the constant quality to 20, since that's what the ATV2 preset uses. Even though you said the 360 doesn't work with the ATV2 preset, changing the constant quality won't hurt it. The compatibility issues probably (I don't own an xbox myself) comes from the 8x8 Transform option, which is enabled in the ATV2 preset, which makes the video a "high profile" video.

 

[The Weez]

So 20 is higher quality than 22?

I've attached the xbox 360 preset.

 

[obsidian1200]

So 20 is higher quality than 22?

I've attached the xbox 360 preset.

That's correct. The CQ settings in handbrake play by golf score lower numbers mean higher quality.

As for your preset, it doesn't look like it's doing the best it can. I'd try to select the ATV2 preset, and make the following tweaks to it:

1) uncheck the 8x8 transform option under the Advanced tab
2) remove the AC3 passthru track; the 360 only supports AAC audio, as far as I know.
3) If you're still unsatisfied with the quality, try bumping the CQ to an 18. Any higher than this for DVD encodes is superfluous.

Hope this helped.

 

[The Weez]

That's correct. The CQ settings in handbrake play by golf score lower numbers mean higher quality.

As for your preset, it doesn't look like it's doing the best it can. I'd try to select the ATV2 preset, and make the following tweaks to it:

1) uncheck the 8x8 transform option under the Advanced tab
2) remove the AC3 passthru track; the 360 only supports AAC audio, as far as I know.
3) If you're still unsatisfied with the quality, try bumping the CQ to an 18. Any higher than this for DVD encodes is superfluous.

Hope this helped.

I tried this and it plays/looks fine, but ff/rew/resume don't work through the xbox 360.

 

[slothrob]

I tried this and it plays/looks fine, but ff/rew/resume don't work through the xbox 360.

What file formats does this support?
You may just need to rename the file with a .mp4 extension. That's how the WDTV used to work when I had one.