Evilbore MEGA VIDEO CONVERSION THREAD FOR X360 & PS3 (MKV ADDED)

[Vizzys]

VIZ'S super-ultra-mambo-tango-foxtrot VIDEO CONVERSION FAQ (VER 1.0WIP)

Disclaimer: I'm no genius so certain facts may be slightly inaccurate when read by someone who is a supernerd in terms of video codecs and audio crap.

With the advent of xvid/divx playback on XBOX360 and (soon) PS3 consoles to play them on I felt it was necessary to create a topic to aid you in converting media such as dvd, bluray, hddvd and other such things to playable videos on your expensive console.

I personally have had trouble with certain video formats such as MKV and will add a section for the troublesome beast as well.

WHAT IS A VIDEO (CONTAINERS AND CODEX?)

For the sake of my sanity I will assume you know what a video is versus say, a still image.

When referring to video on computers however, there are two things you must know:

The Container, video files on computers consist of interleaved audio and video called a container. Two or more separate streams are combined and make what you see when you double click an .avi  file for instance.

Some containers such as .mkv have switchable audio (different languages, or commentary), chapter support and multiple subtitles much like a dvd. This format is rapidly replacing .avi because of said advancements on the internetz.

Some well known and easy to find containers:

.avi - the internet standard
.mkv - made by drunken Russian programmers, open source
.wmv/.asf - proprietary Microsoft crap, DRM
.ogm - open source crap

The Codec:

Because dvds/bluray/hd-dvds are so huge, most video files you see on the internet are compressed to save both space on peoples hard drives and bandwidth. This is what a codec is; compressed audio and video.

There are hundreds of different codecs for both video and audio so I will just be scratching the surface with the following section and I hope to cover the basics.

video:
divx - this was the former most popular video codec at one time on the internet. However due to the below, not so much now
xvid - competitor to divx codec and open source, unlike divx, slightly better than divx (debatable)
h264 - amazing new codec with compression that utterly destroys divx and xvid in the size/quality ratio, rapidly increasing in popularity on the internet because of this

audio:
.mp3 - internet standard, good quality but lossy audio, I believe it can handle 5.1 audio
.aac - lossy but better then mp3 in terms of size to quality ratio, very popular, can handle 6 channels of audio
.wma - Windows media audio, microsofts answer to mp3 and its not a bad attempt but a bit late to win anything. Lossless audio and smallish file sizes.
.wav - uncompressed audio, huge files, suggest converting to any of the above

OK I HAVE A DVD HOW DO I CONVERT IT TO DIVX/XVID TO WATCH ON MY CONSOLE?

Well both the xbox 360 and PS3 can play dvds so you could just put it in and watch but assuming you wish to backup for archival computer purpose, here are the steps:

• Insert DVD into computer dvd drive
• Google program called DVD Decryptor
• http://www.dvddecrypter.org.uk/
• Download program, open it and click the big button with a dvd on it, it should start ripping the dvd to a folder on your hard drive.
• Assuming all goes well you should have a complete backup on the movie on your hdd (roughly 4-9gb's)

Now, depending on where you live, you may have just broken the law. Sorry about that. Expect interpol to bust in and and steal all your shit.

But seriously, dvd copying, even ones you own may be illegal in your country. Most if not all dvds are protected by something called CSS and must be cracked using DVD decryptor. Some may have even more protection. (see below)


DVD DECRYPTOR SUX AND DIDN'T WORK, FUCK!

Sadly the creators of this program were pressured into exile by the forces of the mpaa(motion picture association of America) because it is mainly used to decrypt copyright protection and therefore has not been updated in months.
I personally have come across new protection schemes that prevent it from ripping my dvds. The only known way I know that works 100% (so far) is Slysofts "AnyDVD" program which is a commercial product but soooo worth it.

http://www.slysoft.com/anydvd.html


OK SO NOW I HAVE A BUNCH OF .VOB FILES ON MY HDD TAKING UP A TON OF SPACE, THANKS ASSHOLE, WHAT DO I DO NEXT?

Ok so your folder should look something like this:
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r318/vizOA/faq/dvd1.jpg

This is good, you are halfway there.

Now comes the conversion to a codec of your choice.

You will need the following:

XVID CODEC (freeware): http://www.xvidmovies.com/codec/
or
DIVX CODEC (trialware): http://www.divx.com/divx/

and to convert I suggest a program called SimpleDivx:

http://simpledivx.org/


~CONVERTING WITH SIMPLEDIVX, THE STEPS~

1. Open Simpledivx and choose your input folder "VIDEO_TS", see that checkmark that says "select main movie only"?, click that too.

IMAGE: http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r318/vizOA/faq/dvd2.jpg

2. Now that you have selected the important parts of the dvd click the next tab the one that says VIDEO (near the top)

3. here you should see a few options:
source format, it really doesnt matter which you choose but I suggest "video"
auto cropping and resizing, I don't see the need to check this unless you want to crop your video?
custom output format, unless you think this is too big of a video leave this set to "original"
frame options, no need to mess with these

4. Next tab, AUDIO
This is where you choose your audio codec, I suggest mp3 for XBOX 360 viewing, otherwise you could choose the others but they are not supported I do believe.

Make sure the following is checked:
"create audio" & "check audio"

If your dvd had multiple languages a drop down menu will be present to allow you to choose between them. Make sure you choose the right one. For this i'm choosing Japanese

IMAGE: http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r318/vizOA/faq/dvd3.jpg

Bitrate is important, you should choose a higher quality if you hate low quality audio. To me 192kbs is fine, small filesize and good quality, to others it sounds like shit. These audiophiles may want to change the quality to something higher. Please note it adds to filesize.

48000 hz is good
The rest is to normalize or amplify the sound levels, I would avoid these for a dvd rip.

5. Tab over to CODEC page,

This is where you choose your video settings...

But first it asks if you wish to do a one or two pass on encoding your audio, one is good and takes less time to encode, second pass is better but takes longer.

As for the codec I choose xvid, but divx and x264 are options as well. I wouldn't mess with the advanced options.

6. Next tab over to Compression

Here you either choose the bitrate of the movie or the filesize you wish to make it into.

This HEAVILY varies on how long the movie you are converting is. If its say, a season of a tv series you may wish to choose a larger number then me. There are bitrate calculators to choose the quality of a movie based on the time it is, or you can just wing it.

My movie is 50 mins long and so I'm going with 1300 kbs (roughly 837mbs) which Simpledivx says is medium quality but I have smaller ones that don't look too bad. This could be because I have them at a smaller resolution as well (size of the video area)

7. Next tab over to Miscellaneous.

Here you can choose to embed subtitles or not, its up to you. Mines in Japanese so thats a yes here.

IMPORTANT: also on this page is where you choose your container

The choices are .avi, .mkv or .ogm, for this choose .avi. Choosing the others will make this video unplayable for both the x360 and ps3.

8. Next tab PROJECT

Here you choose the filename for your video and the output folder (where to save it)
You may also split the file into pieces if you wish.

9. OUTPUT

Click start and the video will begin to encode, depending on the length and your computer this will take many hours.

10. Once its finished you should have a video playable on xbox360 and soon PS3 

SIMPLEDIVX DIDN'T WORK WTF MAN??

Sure its possible, I've never had problems with it but it can happen. Here are some alternative programs for converting dvd to .avi:

Auto Gordian Knot- http://www.autogk.me.uk/
All to Avi- http://alltoavi.sourceforge.net/

these programs work equally well (ill add more as I try them)

-~-

FUCK DVD TELL ME HOW DO I RIP BLURAY AND HDDVD MOVIES!??

Both blu-ray and hd-dvd have a number of copyright protections leagues above what dvd did.
But clever people have made significant progress in ripping these movies nonetheless.

RIPPING BLURAY:

as far as I know you need a ps3 with linux on it to read and rip blu-ray discs, or maybe one of those vaio laptops, both are fucking expensive.

Anyway the command to dump a bluray .iso in ps3 linux is supposedly this easy:
http://www.wiredathomeblog.com/blog/2006/12/howtorip_bluray.html

This program supposedly rips and converts a blu-ray disc:
http://wesleytech.com/backupbluray-guide/83/

I have never tried to convert an HD movie but I would imagine its quite the process and would require a monster computer

RIPPING HDDVD

You probably need the Microsoft hd-dvd addon or a Toshiba laptop to do this but I believe it is possible using this tool:
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=123111

Thats all I know about these formats unfortunately...

OK OK, I DON'T HAVE DVDS, SAY I "HAPPENED ACROSS" THIS VIDEO FILE AND I NEED TO CONVERT IT TO XVID/DIVX for playback.

Assuming you downloaded a .avi and it is some strange codec other then xvid/divx (strange if you got it online) the process is simple.

Firstly, google and download a program called VIRTUALDUBMOD.
http://virtualdubmod.sourceforge.net/ <-- hint hint

Next install and open the program. you should see the following:
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r318/vizOA/faq/dvd4.jpg

Go to File -> Open to see what you can open.

If it pops up with something about VBS audio, click no.

Now click Video -> Compression

it should give you a list of available codecs for you to use, assuming you have divx or xvid click one of those once.

See the button that says "configure" ?, click that:

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r318/vizOA/faq/dvd5.jpg

the slider there chooses the quality of your video, left is best quality at largest size, right is low quality, small size.

Click OK twice

go to Video -> FULL PROCESSING MODE make sure thats clicked

Then File "Save AS" to start the conversion.

This assumes the audio portion is fine with x360, ill get more on that later.

~PART 2 OF FAQ~



OK SO I RIPPED SEASON X OF MY FAVORITE SHOW WITH SIMPLEDIVX AND ITS ONE HUGE FILE, HOW DO I SPLIT IT?

You will need VIRTUALDUBMOD (again) to cut/save clips from a chunk of an .avi
http://virtualdubmod.sourceforge.net/ is the link to download

Anyway open your large file (it could take a few seconds to parse.) You should see the main screen of virtualdub.

Here is a picture highlighting the things you need to know for this purpose. Input video and output video are here just to explain the reason for two screens:
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r318/vizOA/faq/dvd6.jpg

To save a clip from an avi you must change the program from "full processing mode" to "direct stream copy", this makes it so virtualdub does not re-encode your video clip or change the codec, its merely making an exact copy of that portion of the video.

To select a portion of video you need to move the slider at the bottom of the screen. Think of keyframes as chapters, instead of moving frame by frame it skips to relevant parts of video. Hold shift when you slide it to the position you want, the start of an episode maybe and press HOME on your keyboard to mark the position.

Then slide it again after the credits if you want and press END on your keyboard to signify the stopping point you wish.

Now go to File -> Save As and it should make a clip of your choosing in the original folder of the parent file.

WHY WONT MY OLDER DIVX FILES WORK ON XBOX360?

Divx originally started out as a hacked container and was at one point in time illegal to use, Divx 5 is the latest and is much better then previous efforts by divx inc. , not too mention it  does not use stolen code. X360 requires Divx 5 I believe and will not load  older Divx 3 or 4. You must re-encode these with a newer codec video for playback


MKV SUPPORT BELOW VVV
http://www.evilbore.com/forum/index.php?topic=15128.msg362427#msg362427

[Vizzys]

working on mkv sections and other stuff to be posted soon

I felt this deserved to be in the gaming forum because its specifically for x360 and ps3 formats

synth, I saw your question in the other thread

mkvextractgui+yamb should demux mkv and put into .mp4 container assuming its .h264 already

[Mupepe]

[Mr. Gundam]

I can't wait, I'll be able to watch more Gundam 00 on my HDTV!

[Howard Alan Treesong]

awesome, thanks

I woke up one morning and Gurren Lagann was on my HDD in mkv format

but my good ol workhorse modded Xbox can't handle the 720p deliciousness.

[Van Cruncheon]

awesome thread

[MCD]

 

sticky plz.

[MCD]

nm.

[Himu]

STICK THIS

Apparently you can burn divx or xvid file to a disc and the 360 will be able to read it?

[Vizzys]

slysoft makes a number of helpful tools and I dont think the mods will like you linking cracked software here

not that I have a problem with it

Anyway the idea of ripping a dvd you own, while considered illegal in the us I do not personally see the problem of it, being as you do not intend to share it, merely move it to another medium.

STICK THIS

Apparently you can burn divx or xvid file to a disc and the 360 will be able to read it?

yes I tried it last night/early morning

[MCD]

Well, if the mods have a problem with cracked software, I'd be sure to remove it!

[Vizzys]

ive made some progress with mkv files and the tutorial for that portion should be up later once my video is done converting

as for mkv to mp4 its much easier then mkv to avi, however I personally cannot get any mp4 files to play on x360 and have read others reports of having the same problem. it could be a number of things But I'm still not sure if its my error or if the xbox refuses to play ANY h264 video stream.

[Vizzys]

.MKV TO .AVI METHOD 1 (XVID/DIVX)

Ok so I have spent my free time in the last few days researching how to deal with this format and have had some limited success.

My search sent me to a program called ALLtoAVI ( I mentioned it earlier in this thread)
http://sourceforge.net/projects/alltoavi

This program looks like it was designed by the biggest homojapuals in the world but it does seem to work. The UI is cluttered and annoyingly full of fucking  animu fanart but here are the steps if you dare to open it:

STEP 1: Open AlltoAVI:
Note the eureka 7 splash page, this is important to note because eureka 7 is the worst anime in a long time.

STEP 2: You will need to know the bitrate of the .mkv you wish to encode to avi. You may need one of the following installed to find out relevant video information:

http://mediainfo.sourceforge.net/en/
http://www.headbands.com/gspot/

STEP 3: Once you know the bitrate, keep it in your mind for later.

Back to ALLtoAVI, press yes or no at the prompt, doesnt matter. Turn off the music on the main menu.
Click ADD FILE (or drag and drop) to open your .mkv and it will ask you if you wish to change to "special restricted mode", click NO (IMPORTANT).

You should see the following screen:
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r318/vizOA/faq/mkv1.jpg

IGNORE THE MAID  SHE IS NOT IMPORTANT

Now here are a few options you should fill in

Prefix - this adds a prefix to your file after its converted, so my file is named gundam00_01.mkv, the end fille will be prefix_gundam00_01.avi
Locked Aspect Ratio - this should be checked
See that drop down menu next to locked aspect ratio? change it to bicubic like the program "recommands" you.
Video Codec - Divx or Xvid, your choice, I went with Xvid. Doesnt matter much
Bitrate - remember your videos bitrate? Put it in here or add a few hundred to the number you remembered. Some presets are here but they suck, ignore them.
Audio Bitrate - AlltoAVi forces mp3 which is fine since x360 only uses mp3 for xvid/divx encodes anyway. 128 or 192 is good quality (or you can write in your own, disgusting audiophiles)
Subtitle, - use the drop down menu to choose no subs or subs (Do this before choosing a font size otherwise it will crash) BE SURE TO CHANGE THE SIZE OF THE FONT IF CONVERTING HD CONTENT (otherwise its unreadable)
Audio - choose your desired audio track from the mkv

Ok, see all those options on the right by the maid (ignore the maid)
make sure "force no skipping frame" is checked, when you check it a box should show up, check the rightmost box then OK (refer to the pic above)

Important subtitle side note:
AlltoAvi has a problem, and that problem is it will convert any font to Arial. I'm afraid this is unavoidable unless you wish to re-encode twice. Sorry, maybe in future versions. Or this can be fixed if microsoft supports external subs but it does not as of yet.

Then just click

STEP 4: CLICK "ADD JOB", THEN "CONVERT!" AND YOU SHOULD BE DONE AFTER CONVERSION.

MKV TO MP4 MAYBE (probably wont work on x360 )

[CajoleJuice]

You fucking rock, dude. I knew some of this stuff but holy crap. Viz am God.

[MCD]

http://biggmatt.com/winff/

How about this program, Viz?

useful here?

[Vizzys]

http://biggmatt.com/winff/

How about this program, Viz?

useful here?

well the website says it converts .flv (flash video files) .mov files (quicktime) or .mpg files into .avi, so Id say its pretty useful in certain situations.

[MCD]

Viz

[Vizzys]

viz

[CajoleJuice]

Anyway to convert quicktime files to something watchable on the 360? I wanna watch the Dark Knight trailer on my TV.

Edit: I'll check that program posted.

WORKED LIKE A FUCKING CHARM

[Vizzys]

Ok so apparently the new PS3 update has Divx. Firmware 2.10 I think it comes out tomorrow:

* DivX and VC-1 (WMV) have been added to the types of files that can be played. *
Copyright-protected files or files that were encoded by using DivX 3.11 cannot be played. - Files that are 2GB or more cannot be played.

Going by this I assume both Divx 4 and 5 videos are playable, but files must be under 2GB.

[Mr. Gundam]

And I'm still stuck watching Gundam 00 on my laptop.

FUUUUCK.

[Vizzys]

whys that? mkv to avi I have explained

mkv to mp4 i got working but it does not play on my x360 unless I re encode it which is why I never wrote up a tutorial to explain it

the steps if anyones interested it to demux using mkvExtractGUI (requires mkvextract.exe, http://www.videohelp.com/tools/MKVExtractGUI ),
 it separates the streams, then you download yamb ( http://yamb.unite-video.com/ ) to mux the streams into an mp4 file.

[Mr. Gundam]

They're Xvid encodes. They must be that damn pesky 3.11 that doesn't work on the PS3.

I guess I'll download the .mkv files and convert them into something that works.

[Vizzys]

ah ok

you can make xvid files to divx using virtualdubmod, but there may be a slight quality loss

edit: 3.11 is an older version of divx, its not related to xvid.
Im not sure if ps3 can play xvid files, just divx?

[Mr. Gundam]

ah ok

you can make xvid files to divx using virtualdubmod, but there may be a slight quality loss

edit: 3.11 is an older version of divx, its not related to xvid.
Im not sure if ps3 can play xvid files, just divx?

It can now play xvid files, others over at GAF have got them to work. Sadly, my Gundam 00 fansubs do not.

[Vizzys]

it could be a lot of things

does it have 5.1 audio? that could be it

maybe its subtitle related, they are embedded right?

[Mupepe]

  All of my files come out pretty tiny on my tv, like less than half the size of the screen and it's centered.  i'm using virtualdubmod but i can't find anything to resize it.  You can stretch the frame, but when it encodes it, it comes out the same anyways. 

btw, i figured out some nice little filters to make it look better as well

[MCD]

  All of my files come out pretty tiny on my tv, like less than half the size of the screen and it's centered.  i'm using virtualdubmod but i can't find anything to resize it.  You can stretch the frame, but when it encodes it, it comes out the same anyways. 

btw, i figured out some nice little filters to make it look better as well

when you watch videos on your 360, press any button and select the display option, from there you can choose between Native, Letterbox, Full Screen and Stretched.

another way is via the display button on the 360 Remote if you have it.

if this isn't the problem, then i have no further clue.

[Mupepe]

  All of my files come out pretty tiny on my tv, like less than half the size of the screen and it's centered.  i'm using virtualdubmod but i can't find anything to resize it.  You can stretch the frame, but when it encodes it, it comes out the same anyways. 

btw, i figured out some nice little filters to make it look better as well

when you watch videos on your 360, press any button and select the display option, from there you can choose between Native, Letterbox, Full Screen and Stretched.

another way is via the display button on the 360 Remote if you have it.

if this isn't the problem, then i have no further clue.

thank you boo

[Beezy]

Viz

Gundam 00 in HD

I have some problems though Viz. I get a lot of pixelation and shit when there's a lot of movement/fast action onscreen. Also, when I tried to resize the font, the program (AlltoAVI) wouldn't let me.

Alos, what is Bi Linear, Bi Cubic, and Lancoz? I went with Bi Cubic because it was recommended.

Edit: Nevermind the font question. I got that it right now.

Where can I download anime in HD?

[pilonv1]

So I have some files that are x264 mp4s, is there any way I can get them to play on my PS3/360? can I use virtual dub mod or whatever that program is? Or will I have to slum it and watch them on my laptop

[fistfulofmetal]

So I used a different program to change my mkv file to something my PS3 should be able to read. It's called "mkv2vob"
Problem is, when I go to find the movie on my PS3... it doesn't show up at all. Is it because the file is 4.4 gigs? I've heard that the PS3 can't see file that big.

When I go to the folder it's in, it displays Media Server DLNA Protocol Error (2006) up in the corner.

Halp

[MCD]

well 360 can't read files bigger than 4gig (possible with media center streaming though) so i'm guessing it's the same with the ps3.

[Eric P]

i'm using this thread now to encode some DVDs.  wooo.  thanks to all involved

whoops.  don't select "movie" for your source format.  the 10 frames per second are horrible.

i'm going to re-encode @ video but I'm choosing to output as Pal 2.35:1 letterbox as opposed to the original format.

[Eric P]

third try is the charm.  i went ahead and used custom source format @ 29.970 FPS and it looks very smooth.  I'm going to give it another shot at the proper frame rate and see if there's any noticeable difference

[MCD]

i spent two days trying to convert fushigi yuugi ogm (dual audio/english subs) to avi/mp4/wmv and i finally found a good way.

tools used:

1- OGM to Avi

2- XviD4PSP

steps:

first, we will use ogm to avi:

1- install ogm to avi
2- open it and drag and drop your ogm/mkv videos
3- tab preserve subtitles box
4- change mp3 bitrate if you want to
5- convert

this will be fast since it doesn't recompress the file therefore no loss of quality blah blah blah. when done, you will notice your converted avi along with a srt file (subtitles)

next, we will use XviD4PSP to convert this avi to mp4 or avi(mpeg4) for your 360/ps3:

1- install and open said program
2- open your avi video
3- next, it will tell you to choose your preferred audio, it will probably be 2 UNKNOWN audio, japanese is usually the 2nd one.
4- choose mp4 or avi ps3 or 360 for your format (i prefer avi-mpeg4 since it's faster)
5- you can preview it to see if the audio/subs are correct
6- convert and enjoy