Play MKV files on Xbox 360 without transcoding


Recommended Posts

Windows 7 has native support for AVCHD which is nothing but H.264/AC3 inside a m2ts container. This means that Windows Media Center can now play these files natively.

Most MKV media that I have seen (personally I have just two MKV files) is H.264 with AC3 audio. So all I needed to do was change the container from mkv to m2ts. Since this method does not need any lossy transcoding, it is far easier and much faster. As long as your source is good, the result is pretty much guaranteed.

Required:

1. A decent spec PC with Windows 7

2. SmartLabs tsMuxer (freeware, no install required)

3. Xbox 360 :p with Media Center extender enabled.

4. MKV media with AVC/H.264 video and AC3 audio

Procedure:

1. Start tsMuxer and add your MKV clip in the input section

post-62693-1238805407_thumb.png

2. In the Tracks section check if you see expected tracks. I included the subtitle track but apparently WMC and WMP don't use it.

3. Did not do anything in the General track options setting

4. In the Output section select M2TS muxing and select desired location.

5. Now hit Start muxing button at the bottom.

post-62693-1238805420_thumb.png

6. Depending on your PC, it will take 5-10mins to perform a pass through conversion of the clip.

7. If all goes well, Windows Explorer will display a thumbnail for this. Try playing it in WMP and check if it plays without problems.

8. Now move the m2ts file to your Video library.

OR

8. Media Center has a special library called "Movie Library" that you can setup from its settings. e.g. e:\Movies. Move the m2ts file to this location.

9. Now give Windows Search enough time to index the new file. For me it was roughly 5mins.

10. Launch WMC from Xbox 360

11. Navigate to either Pictures + Videos>video library or Movies>movie library and play the file.

For me this worked without any problems at the very first attempt. I haven't experimented much with tsMuxer besides whatever I wrote above. This obviously will not work through the dashboard since Xbox 360 doesn't recognize the format (it did not show up in list for me). I am sure they will add the support soon because all consumer HD camcorders use m2ts(or mts) files. PS3 probably supports m2ts format already because of Sony's handycam connection.

Hope this helps people who have Windows 7 installed. I am using build 7057. Although Media Center can be shaky at times so YMMV. :/

  Revolution. said:
yeah but whats the point, you might as well convert it to a format it understands..

cbb until they release native support for most formats..

but nice work doing all this work :)

I don't know when MS will support MKV - probably never, knowing how long it took them to do H.264. Besides this is much better than lossy conversion. IMO anyway.

IIRC it is not possible to stream AC3 5.1 or DTS to the 360 if you remux H264 content.

That's from the creators of MKV2VOB and PS3Media Server.

If you want AC3 5.1 I believe you have to transcode. DTS is just not possible full stop - It only works on the PS3 as the creators of the above applications found a way to trick the PS3 into sending the DTS sound track to your receiver untouched, so your receiver is actually decoding it, not the PS3. It's done by confusing the PS3 into thinking the track is 2 channel PCM, but when it actually reaches your receiver, your receiver knows its DTS and not 2.0 PCM.

If the 360 supported LPCM I believe they may have been able to do the same trick, but the 360 doesn't support HD audio.

People need to understand MKV support on either the 360 or PS3 wouldn't really change anything, it's just a container, codec support is what matters most. Containers can easily be changed.

From 3r1c (MKV2VOB)

  Quote
There is no way to get x264+ac3 working on xbox 360.

There is 3 ways:

1. convert the ac3 to aac stereo and mux to mp4

2. convert the video to mpeg2+ac3.

3. convert the video+audio to WMV

  Quote
With transcoding set to always and codec set to xvid, mkv2vob will create xbox360 playable files.

but it converts the video not the audio, this will take much longer then AAC conversion.

But with AAC you will only get stereo, with xvid you get to keep the ac3 5.1

So it's either/or - You can get 5.1 if you transcode video, but if you remux video you get stereo AAC.

Edited by Audioboxer
  Audioboxer said:
IIRC it is not possible to stream AC3 5.1 or DTS to the 360 if you remux H264 content.

That's from the creators of MKV2VOB and PS3Media Server.

If you want AC3 5.1 I believe you have to transcode. DTS is just not possible full stop - It only works on the PS3 as the creators of the above applications found a way to trick the PS3 into sending the DTS sound track to your receiver untouched, so your receiver is actually decoding it, not the PS3. It's done by confusing the PS3 into thinking the track is 2 channel PCM, but when it actually reaches your receiver, your receiver knows its DTS and not 2.0 PCM.

If the 360 supported LPCM I believe they may have been able to do the same trick, but the 360 doesn't support HD audio.

People need to understand MKV support on either the 360 or PS3 wouldn't really change anything, it's just a container, codec support is what matters most. Containers can easily be changed.

From 3r1c (MKV2VOB)

So it's either/or - You can get 5.1 if you transcode video, but if you remux video you get stereo AAC.

Media Center is independent of the Xbox dashboard. That's why with Vista you couldn't play Xvid in WMC but you could do it in the dashboard. Windows 7 Media Center now supports AVCHD which is H.264 + AC3. I think I was able to play 5.1. I will check that later today.

  dhan said:
Media Center is independent of the Xbox dashboard. That's why with Vista you couldn't play Xvid in WMC but you could do it in the dashboard. Windows 7 Media Center now supports AVCHD which is H.264 + AC3. I think I was able to play 5.1. I will check that later today.

Your own screenshots show it downmixing to two channel AC3. (I think, I've never used either of those programs)

edit: Nevermind, it looks like its just demuxing and muxing it, not downmixing.

Edited by giga
  bob21 said:
I really wish people would stop using this crap.

This crap?

MKV is an amazing container. Just because you have no use for it doesn't mean thousands of people do.

Most of the *Video* I download is MKV. I would love to simply stream it to my 360 and watch it on my huge plasma.

  • 2 weeks later...
  dhan said:
Media Center is independent of the Xbox dashboard. That's why with Vista you couldn't play Xvid in WMC but you could do it in the dashboard. Windows 7 Media Center now supports AVCHD which is H.264 + AC3. I think I was able to play 5.1. I will check that later today.

Mate, u're doing it wrong and don't understand a lot of stuff, let me show u it ... :)

As AB already wrote a lot of interesting stuff, I'm gonna add some stuff to this thread since I own both consoles and know my way around playing mkv on both.

1- The xbox CANNOT play 5.1 AC3 out of the box.

2- The xbox CAN play H264 content up to profile 4.1

3- The xbox CANNOT play files with a DTS track AT ALL ! ( except DVDs and HDDVDs if you still have one )

4- The xbox CAN play H264 files with an AC3 track once the profile is changed ( see n?2) and the AC3 track downsampled to AC3 2.0

5- when playing H264 content, you're limited to 1280*720.

6- The only way to get 1080p files, with 5.1 sound, playing on your xbox is to transcode them to WMV9 or 10.

7- The only software you'll ever need for converting/transcoding stuff on your 360 is GotSent ( A LOT much simpler than mkv2vob if you only got an x360 ).

That's all I remember now:))

P.S. : for all misinformed dudes out there check this link straight from msdn : CLICKY

Is anyone else else have problems playing m2ts and ts files on Xbox via Media Center, I get a slight noticeable stutter when playing these files. The same file but in a mpeg container play fine.

  limok said:
Is anyone else else have problems playing m2ts and ts files on Xbox via Media Center, I get a slight noticeable stutter when playing these files. The same file but in a mpeg container play fine.

I never tried to play a m2ts file with Media Center since the Xbox can already play them via the dashboard

  kazuyette said:
Mate, u're doing it wrong and don't understand a lot of stuff, let me show u it ... :)

As AB already wrote a lot of interesting stuff, I'm gonna add some stuff to this thread since I own both consoles and know my way around playing mkv on both.

1- The xbox CANNOT play 5.1 AC3 out of the box.

2- The xbox CAN play H264 content up to profile 4.1

3- The xbox CANNOT play files with a DTS track AT ALL ! ( except DVDs and HDDVDs if you still have one )

4- The xbox CAN play H264 files with an AC3 track once the profile is changed ( see n?2) and the AC3 track downsampled to AC3 2.0

5- when playing H264 content, you're limited to 1280*720.

6- The only way to get 1080p files, with 5.1 sound, playing on your xbox is to transcode them to WMV9 or 10.

7- The only software you'll ever need for converting/transcoding stuff on your 360 is GotSent ( A LOT much simpler than mkv2vob if you only got an x360 ).

That's all I remember now:))

P.S. : for all misinformed dudes out there check this link straight from msdn : CLICKY

Oh boy, is it too difficult to understand this part?

  Quote
Media Center is independent of the Xbox dashboard.

If you connect xbox 360 to a Vista media center, it won't even play Xvid/Divx. But with Windows 7 it supports a whole lot of different formats.

  dhan said:
Windows 7 has native support for AVCHD which is nothing but H.264/AC3 inside a m2ts container. This means that Windows Media Center can now play these files natively.

Most MKV media that I have seen (personally I have just two MKV files) is H.264 with AC3 audio. So all I needed to do was change the container from mkv to m2ts. Since this method does not need any lossy transcoding, it is far easier and much faster. As long as your source is good, the result is pretty much guaranteed.

Required:

1. A decent spec PC with Windows 7

2. SmartLabs tsMuxer (freeware, no install required)

3. Xbox 360 :p with Media Center extender enabled.

4. MKV media with AVC/H.264 video and AC3 audio

Procedure:

1. Start tsMuxer and add your MKV clip in the input section

post-62693-1238805407_thumb.png

2. In the Tracks section check if you see expected tracks. I included the subtitle track but apparently WMC and WMP don't use it.

3. Did not do anything in the General track options setting

4. In the Output section select M2TS muxing and select desired location.

5. Now hit Start muxing button at the bottom.

post-62693-1238805420_thumb.png

6. Depending on your PC, it will take 5-10mins to perform a pass through conversion of the clip.

7. If all goes well, Windows Explorer will display a thumbnail for this. Try playing it in WMP and check if it plays without problems.

8. Now move the m2ts file to your Video library.

OR

8. Media Center has a special library called "Movie Library" that you can setup from its settings. e.g. e:\Movies. Move the m2ts file to this location.

9. Now give Windows Search enough time to index the new file. For me it was roughly 5mins.

10. Launch WMC from Xbox 360

11. Navigate to either Pictures + Videos>video library or Movies>movie library and play the file.

For me this worked without any problems at the very first attempt. I haven't experimented much with tsMuxer besides whatever I wrote above. This obviously will not work through the dashboard since Xbox 360 doesn't recognize the format (it did not show up in list for me). I am sure they will add the support soon because all consumer HD camcorders use m2ts(or mts) files. PS3 probably supports m2ts format already because of Sony's handycam connection.

Hope this helps people who have Windows 7 installed. I am using build 7057. Although Media Center can be shaky at times so YMMV. :/

what a waste of time, i just installed the codecs ran xbox 360 media center ext, and played the file! Windows 7 build 7000-7077 has allways done this for me!

  dhan said:
If you connect xbox 360 to a Vista media center, it won't even play Xvid/Divx. But with Windows 7 it supports a whole lot of different formats.

I don't quite understand how software on your PC can magically change the codec support built into the 360 firmware?

Are you sure Vista Media Center isn't transcoding?

  lflashl said:
what a waste of time, i just installed the codecs ran xbox 360 media center ext, and played the file! Windows 7 build 7000-7077 has allways done this for me!

Umm, no you did not. MKVs won't be shown in the media center no matter what you do. Although I will be glad if proven wrong. Will save me time. Can you elaborate?

  Audioboxer said:
I don't quite understand how software on your PC can magically change the codec support built into the 360 firmware?

Are you sure Vista Media Center isn't transcoding?

I have no idea how media center extenders render video. I am guessing that it doesn't involve the dashboard at all (beyond launching the extender app). For a while other extenders were supporting xvidd, divx and h264 whereas xbox 360 extender (vista) did not. But now with Windows 7, they all work on 360.

Audio, did you ever try running AVCHD(.mts, .m2ts) content on PS3? wikipedia says PS3 supports it natively.

  dhan said:
I have no idea how media center extenders render video. I am guessing that it doesn't involve the dashboard at all (beyond launching the extender app). For a while other extenders were supporting xvidd, divx and h264 whereas xbox 360 extender (vista) did not. But now with Windows 7, they all work on 360.

Audio, did you ever try running AVCHD(.mts, .m2ts) content on PS3? wikipedia says PS3 supports it natively.

Yeah I'm just wondering because native video playback either off hard drive or streaming depends on the codecs your console supports, not your PC. The only time PC codecs matter is if you require to transcode a video on your PC first before streaming it.

Also yes, .mts/.m2ts and AVCHD's work on the PS3.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • I guess they never learned from the U2 album fiasco
    • Ocenaudio 3.15.1 by Razvan Serea  Ocenaudio is a full featured, fast and easy to use audio and music editor. It is the ideal software for people who need to edit and analyze audio files without complications. Ocenaudio also has powerful features that will please more advanced users. To assist ocenaudio development, a powerful toolset of audio editing, analysis and manipulation called Ocen Framework was created. ocenaudio is also based on Qt framework, a well known library for cross-platform development. Cross-platform support ocenaudio is available for all major operating systems: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. Native applications are generated for each platform from a common source, in order to achieve excelent performance and seamless integration with the operating system. All versions of ocenaudio have a uniform set of features and the same graphical interface, so the skills you learn in one platform can be used in the others. VST plugins support Ocenaudio supports VST (Virtual Studio Technology) plugins, giving its users access to numerous effects. Like the native effects, VST effects can use real-time preview to aide configuration. Real-time preview of effects Applying effects such as EQ, gain and filtering is an important part of audio editing. However, it is very tricky to get the desired result by adjusting the controls configuration alone: you must listen the processed audio. To ease the configuration of audio effects, ocenaudio has a real time preview feature: you hear the processed signal while adjusting the controls. The effect configuration window also includes a miniature view of the selected audio signal. You can navigate on this miniature view in the same way as you do on the main interface, selecting parts that interest you and listening to the effect result in real time. Multiselection for delicate editions To speed up complex audio files editing, ocenaudio includes multi-selection. With this amazing tool, you can simultaneously select different portions of an audio file and listen, edit or even apply an effect to them. For example, if you want to normalize only the excerpts of an interview where the interviewee is talking, just select them and apply the effect. Eficient edition of large files With ocenaudio, there is no limit to the length or the quantity of the audio files you can edit. Using an advanced memory management system, the application keeps your files open without wasting any of your computer's memory. Even in files several hours long, common editing operations such as copy, cut or paste happen almost instantly. Fully featured spectrogram Besides offering an incredible waveform view of your audio files, ocenaudio has a powerful and complete spectrogram view. In this view, you can analyze the spectral content of your audio signal with maximum clarity. Advanced users will be surprised to find that the spectrogram settings are applied in real time. The display is updated immediately when altering features such as the number of frequency bands, window type and size and dynamic range of the display. Ocenaudio 3.15.1 changelog: Add scale type selector/setter Add support to text metadata in CAF files Add volume control for recording Fix issue with saving metadata Fix OGG/VORBIS Modes Selection Other bug fixes and improvements Download: Ocenaudio 64-bit | Portable | ~40.0 MB (Freeware) Download: Ocenaudio for Linux and Mac OS View: Ocenaudio Homepage | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Malwarebytes 5.3.3.198 by Razvan Serea Malwarebytes is a high performance anti-malware application that thoroughly removes even the most advanced malware and spyware. Malwarebytes version 5.xx brings comprehensive protection against today’s threat landscape so that you can finally replace your traditional antivirus. You can finally replace your traditional antivirus, thanks to a innovative and layered approach to prevent malware infections using a healthy combination of proactive and signature-less technologies. While signatures are still effective against threats like potentially unwanted programs, the majority of malware detection events already come from signature-less technologies like Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit and Malwarebytes Anti-Ransomware; that trend will only continue to grow. For many of you, this is something you already know, since over 50% of the users already run Malwarebytes as their sole security software, without any third-party antivirus. What's new in Malwarebytes 5.xx: Unified user experience - For the first time, Malwarebytes now provides a consistent experience across all of our desktop and mobile products courtesy of an all new and reimagined user experience powered by a faster and more responsive UI all managed through an intuitive dashboard. Modern security and privacy integrations - Antivirus and ultra-fast VPN come together seamlessly in one easy-to-use solution. Whether you’re looking for a next-gen VPN to secure your online activity, or harnessing the power of Browser Guard to block ad trackers and scam sites, taking charge of your privacy is simple. Trusted Advisor - Empowers you with real-time insights, easy-to-read protection score and expert guidance that puts you in control over your security and privacy. Malwarebytes 5.3.3.198 component package 135.0.5296 is now available: You can get the update right away by clicking "Check for updates" in Settings > General. Or, it will be automatically installed if you have automatic updates enabled. Features and improvements Brand new Malwarebytes-managed VPN backend (see details here) Restructured Notifications Settings page and introduced more granular controls Slightly revisited onboarding experience for new installations Refined Dashboard layout for free and licensed users Improved SSO activation flow for a smoother login experience Aligned Dashboard and Tray Menu behavior for VPN connect/disconnect actions Enhanced proxy settings validation to prevent misconfigurations Issues fixed Fixed an issue where Exploit Protection failed to load on some Windows 7 and Windows 8 machines Resolved a crash when using the new Tray Menu with Tamper Protection enabled Other minor usability improvements across the interface Download: Malwarebytes 5.3.3.198 | 391.0 MB (Free, paid upgrade available) Links: Malwarebytes Website | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Apple faces backlash for promoting F1 movie via Wallet app notification by David Uzondu iOS users right now iPhone users have taken to the internet to voice their anger over an unsolicited ad for Apple's upcoming F1 movie. The promotion popped up as a push notification directly from a place some may consider off-limits for marketing: the Wallet app. The notification offered a $10 discount on two tickets when bought through Fandango using Apple Pay. Apple has poured a lot of money into this film, so it is no wonder Apple is marketing it so aggressively. The movie, which stars Brad Pitt, reportedly cost more than $200 million to produce and was filmed using some innovative techniques. Apple created custom cameras using parts from the iPhone 15 Pro to capture in-car footage and even embedded its fictional APXGP team into actual F1 race weekends. The company also pushed a unique "haptic trailer" and featured the movie at WWDC. The marketing has been everywhere. The main complaint from users online is that a device that costs "over $1000" should not serve ads in its core, first-party applications. For those users, the discount did not matter; the problem was the principle of getting ads in a utility app on a premium phone. People mostly rely on Wallet for financial transactions and passes, not for movie coupons. This kind of push notification also seems to fly in the face of Apple's own developer guidelines, which state that push notifications should not be used for direct marketing unless users have explicitly opted in. Currently, there is no simple way to opt out. That might be changing, however. A new toggle to disable promotions was spotted in the Wallet app in a beta for iOS 26, with TechCrunch suggesting that Apple plans to push more marketing messages in the future.
    • Tor Browser 14.5.4 by Razvan Serea Protect your privacy. Defend yourself against network surveillance and traffic analysis. Tor is a network of virtual tunnels that allows people and groups to improve their privacy and security on the Internet. The Tor software protects you by bouncing your communications around a distributed network of relays run by volunteers all around the world: it prevents somebody from watching your Internet connection and learning what sites you visit, it prevents the sites you visit from learning your physical location, and it lets you access sites which are blocked. The Tor Browser Bundle lets you use Tor on Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux without needing to install any software. It can run off a USB flash drive, comes with a pre-configured web browser to protect your anonymity, and is self-contained. Tor Browser 14.5.4 changelog: All Platforms Updated NoScript to 13.0.8 Bug 43783: Tighten up the SecurityLevel module to enforce new UX flow [tor-browser] Bug 43784: Get confirmation from NoScript that settings are applied [tor-browser] Bug 43885: Rebase stable onto 128.12.0esr [tor-browser] Bug 43911: Backport security fixes from Firefox 140 [tor-browser] Windows + macOS + Linux Updated Firefox to 128.12.0esr Bug 43782: Add new UX flow for changing security level (Desktop) [tor-browser] Android Updated GeckoView to 128.12.0esr Bug 43786: Add new UX flow for changing security level (Android) [tor-browser] Build System / All Platforms Bug 41477: Update keyring/boklm.gpg for new subkeys (2025) [tor-browser-build] Bug 41498: Update keyring/morgan.gpg with updated public key [tor-browser-build] Windows + Linux + Android Updated Go to 1.23.10 Download: Tor Browser (64-bit) | 106.0 MB (Open Source) Download: Tor Browser (32-bit) View: Tor Browser Website | Other Operating Systems Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      DrRonSr earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      Sharon dixon earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Dedicated
      Parallax Abstraction earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • First Post
      956400 earned a badge
      First Post
    • Week One Done
      davidfegan earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      618
    2. 2
      ATLien_0
      228
    3. 3
      +FloatingFatMan
      169
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      166
    5. 5
      Som
      146
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!