Post by: Xbox-Scene on January 15, 2006, 10:06:00 AM
Stream DivX movies to your Xbox 360 using MediaCenter-- Posted by XanTium on January 15 11:30 EST
Well not really, the Xbox 360 will still not accept an DivX/XviD stream, but using this method you can convert your DivX/XviD videos to WMV on-the-fly while it's streaming to your Xbox360. You will of course still need a Windows MediaCenter PC, the real-time converting will put some load on your host PC and there might be some quality loss ... but overall it's easier than (re-)converting all your videos manually. Best choice would still be to use your old modded Xbox and XboxMediaCenter(info) of course :-)
Quote
This article shows how to stream DivX (and XviD) movies to an Xbox 360 using a Media Center. For the picky people, it doesn't actually stream DivX... it converts to WMV on the fly to stream.
The core process for accomplishing this is taken from a thread found on the Xbox forums: Playing DivX movies without having to Re-encode, through media centre. This works fine, but has the disadvantage that you have to manually set up the encoding process on your Media Center and then move over to the Xbox 360 to watch it. So all this article really does is provide an MCE interface so you can control everything from your Xbox 360 being used as an MCE Extender. i.e. its for lazy people. It was also an excuse for me to write a ListMaker AddIn for MCE ... which i hadn't done yet.
Check out the full guide on mperfect.net (via 360insider.net)
Post by: dcware on January 15, 2006, 10:34:00 AM
Post by: bucko on January 15, 2006, 10:02:00 AM
Post by: Xavierking on January 15, 2006, 10:55:00 AM
Post by: ksteiner on January 15, 2006, 10:31:00 AM
xbmc rapes the shit out of the 360 media center
Post by: trunkster on January 15, 2006, 12:28:00 PM
Post by: kcchesnut on January 15, 2006, 01:13:00 PM
never had an XBox1, so don't know anything about XBMC.
i do know about the next generation SDK we get with Vista's Media Center ... and it'll get alot better then.
Cheers,
casey
Post by: redwolf on January 15, 2006, 01:05:00 PM
QUOTE(kcchesnut @ Jan 15 2006, 09:44 PM) 
er, um ... i'm the author of that program. it is a bit of a pain to get setup, but it's been working great.
QUOTE(kcchesnut @ Jan 15 2006, 09:44 PM)
never had an XBox1, so don't know anything about XBMC.
its worst to buy one right now JUST for XBMC
Post by: Mekapo on January 15, 2006, 01:52:00 PM
This post has been edited by Mekapo: Jan 15 2006, 09:53 PM
Post by: cyberg4 on January 15, 2006, 02:11:00 PM
QUOTE(Mekapo @ Jan 15 2006, 01:23 PM)
The only thing i hate about XBMC is that i'm not longer connected to the Live Community. Obviously this wasn't a problem before the 360 came out, but now i'm absolutley in love with the idea of always being connected, and being able to see who is online at any given time. Anyone know if there is a python script for xbmc that checks your friends list and alerts you when people come online? I know it obviously can't connect to the live servers and let others know i'm online, but If i could use xbmc and be able to tell if one of my friends signs on that would be killer.
something could probably be made using the msn alerts in MSN messenger, or the listing showing who is online at xbox.com (or bungie.net). Unfortunately I wouldn't know how to make a script for it, but just an idea as to how to get it to work
Post by: Mekapo on January 15, 2006, 03:28:00 PM
QUOTE(cyberg4 @ Jan 15 2006, 01:18 PM) 
something could probably be made using the msn alerts in MSN messenger, or the listing showing who is online at xbox.com (or bungie.net). Unfortunately I wouldn't know how to make a script for it, but just an idea as to how to get it to work
That's what I was thinking as well. You could possibly also use whatever my gamertag.net uses to get a personalized buddy list type thing going. I'd love to do it myself but unfortunatley i don't have there werewithall to do such a thing.
Post by: oswald on January 15, 2006, 07:21:00 PM
thanks for the app/method. it'll tide me over until we can get something a little cleaner, hopefully without the need to re-encode.
It pains me so the way it is currently. It's impossible to beat XBMC for its compatability with various media, but the MCE extender has the TV stuff thats just as important to me. I'm one format away from console nirvana.
Anyway, does anyone know of an app that will do clean batch divx to wmv conversion? The windows media encoder works fine for me for streaming like this setup, but always screws up or crashes during conversion, and it really isn't the nicest interface for doing a bunch of conversions. I would use videora and go with mpeg2 but it is messing up the aspect ratio of my videos, which is inexcusable.
i guess what I would love is a mce based "Convert these videos to WMV" in Other Programs.
anwyay, keep up the good work!
Post by: kcchesnut on January 15, 2006, 09:47:00 PM
as far as conversion programs within MCE, that is possible to. my app could easily be modified to convert to a file format instead of streaming (still using Media Encoder and handling lists). and i based my program off another one that converted dvr-ms files to wmv (originally written by Stephen Toub).
Cheers,
casey
Post by: Xavierking on January 16, 2006, 06:55:00 AM
Post by: Dasgooch on January 16, 2006, 08:23:00 AM
I really appreciate all your hard work on this one. I installed it in about 5 minutes yesterday and it works great. I don't think the point here is to argue whether XBMC is better or not but to possibly improve on this method. I know I have thought of converting my collection of Divx/Xvid over to WMV or another compatible 360 format, would it be possible to modify this to keep the conversion and specifiy a dump location so I can do this one movie at a time as I feel like watching them?
Post by: MrSpoons on January 16, 2006, 01:49:00 PM
Works like a charm - just need to dabble with a few settings to stop it being slightly jerky on some scenes.
Could be that I'm decoding on a celeron 2.4
Post by: scooby_dooby on January 16, 2006, 01:56:00 PM
QUOTE(kcchesnut @ Jan 15 2006, 08:44 PM)
er, um ... i'm the author of that program. it is a bit of a pain to get setup, but it's been working great.
never had an XBox1, so don't know anything about XBMC.
i do know about the next generation SDK we get with Vista's Media Center ... and it'll get alot better then.
Cheers,
casey
just wanted to thank-you, you are the man bro, thx for setting this up!
keep up the good work
Post by: ober0n on January 16, 2006, 03:04:00 PM
Post by: kcchesnut on January 16, 2006, 03:36:00 PM
for saving to file while streaming :
add this code after the line with 8080
IWMEncFile wmeFile = Encoder.File;
string wmvFilePath = filePath + ".wmv";
if(File.Exists(wmvFilePath) == false)
{
wmeFile.LocalFileName = wmvFilePath;
}
//NOTE i have not tested this with large files
if its getting slightly jerky on some themes :
i'm still testing, but i did get some jerkiness too.
the problem seems to be from the default .prx file, it reencodes to the same file size.
so it can get jerky with high resolution videos.
you might try editing the profile to encode to a specific lower resolution.
but then the problem becomes having to manually touch the .prx file for diff movies.
one guy has created different .prx files and uses .mcl and .bat files to swap them out.
else i'm going to look into doing this in code.
the current idea is to add the Media Player SDK into the mix to get resolution.
that might fix the problems i currently have with duration too?
for 'input media format is invalid' :
... i don't know. i've never seen that in my error log.
it sounds like a codec problem, but it looks like you can encode manually?
maybe its possible that the Extender session is using a different codec than when you're logged in?
Thanks,
casey
Post by: Garny on January 16, 2006, 03:45:00 PM
Post by: kcchesnut on January 16, 2006, 06:00:00 PM
it's usually just a low traffic site for developers.
it should settle down in the next day or so as everybody forgets.
Post by: Gandalf027 on January 16, 2006, 07:24:00 PM
Anybody knows where to get the media encoder sdk not from the MS site?
Thanks
Post by: scooby_dooby on January 16, 2006, 11:11:00 PM
"EncodeItem : blue_dragon_01_15.avi
System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException (0x80010105): The server threw an exception.
at WMEncoderLib.WMEncoderClass.PrepareToEncode(Boolean bPrepare)
at mceDivX360.MediaEncoderListMaker.EncodeItem(Int32 depth, ListMakerItem lmi)"
In the logs.
Is this due to my using a router?
Post by: kcchesnut on January 17, 2006, 08:08:00 AM
i would first try to stream that same file using Windows Media Encoder manually from MCE.
that will tell you if you've got the correct codecs installed, and if something else is using port 8080.
Thanks,
casey
Post by: Gandalf027 on January 17, 2006, 01:08:00 PM
Disk Error
A temporary problem ocurred when media center atempted to play TV. Please restart Media Center and/or the pc. and then try again ..
Any sugestion?
Post by: Gandalf027 on January 17, 2006, 02:41:00 PM
Thx
Post by: kcchesnut on January 17, 2006, 02:54:00 PM
Thanks,
casey
Post by: TermX on January 17, 2006, 03:13:00 PM
would it be possible to run a similar script that strings together vob files into a single mpeg2 or even a mpeg2 playlist? hence no transcoding on the fly. just a thought
Post by: kcchesnut on January 17, 2006, 03:58:00 PM
the .asx file spec is in the Windows Media Player 10 SDK, under metafile section.
<ASX version = "3.0">
<ENTRY>
<REF HREF = "C:\Documents and Settings\KC\My Documents\My Videos\mpg\powerpuff girls justice league comm.mpeg" />
</ENTRY>
<ENTRY>
<REF HREF = "C:\Documents and Settings\KC\My Documents\My Videos\mpg\Episode 216 - Broodwich.mpg" />
</ENTRY>
</ASX>
so it would play the first file, and then move on to the 2nd. tested it on my 360 and it worked
Post by: rocket_robot on January 17, 2006, 05:11:00 PM
Thanks again,
Post by: neejoh on January 17, 2006, 06:46:00 PM
Post by: kcchesnut on January 17, 2006, 10:37:00 PM
no, i don't know of anyway to specify which codec for Media Encoder to use.
so when you run the .asx file, it stays at a black screen for how long?
it usually buffers for 10 seconds or so before starting.
else you can get a Video Error if you click the .asx before Media Encoder gets started,
then you just click the .asx file again and it should work.
have you tried it with a short video to see if it stays at a black screen for the duration of the video?
also, have you tried different video files ... i have a high resolution one that will not work.
it either black screens or freezes on a frame.
also, try running the .asx file on your MCE machine with Media Player (outside of MCE),
and that'll let you know if the .asx file is setup correct.
Post by: oswald on January 18, 2006, 09:51:00 AM
QUOTE
for saving to file while streaming :
add this code after the line with 8080
IWMEncFile wmeFile = Encoder.File;
string wmvFilePath = filePath + ".wmv";
if(File.Exists(wmvFilePath) == false)
{
wmeFile.LocalFileName = wmvFilePath;
}
//NOTE i have not tested this with large files
add this code after the line with 8080
IWMEncFile wmeFile = Encoder.File;
string wmvFilePath = filePath + ".wmv";
if(File.Exists(wmvFilePath) == false)
{
wmeFile.LocalFileName = wmvFilePath;
}
//NOTE i have not tested this with large files
I'm coding challenged and do not have the ability to recompile the source, or are you saying I can just add that to the .asx file. my other question is, if I select multiple videos in list mode, and save to disk, will it create one giant .wmv file or several, one for each movie?
anyway, keep up the good work.
If you need another mirror for your site due to the increase in traffic, let me know and I can mirror it at anotheruselesswebsite.com
Post by: oswald on January 18, 2006, 02:51:00 PM
QUOTE
oswald, i'll have a new release this weekend that adds that code in.
if you select a list of files, then it will encode them all to one file.
my current thinking is to keep this targeted towards streaming,
and people can use Videora if they want to do alot of encoding.
if you select a list of files, then it will encode them all to one file.
my current thinking is to keep this targeted towards streaming,
and people can use Videora if they want to do alot of encoding.
Sounds great to me, I look forward to it.
I personally think Videora is a pile of garbage. It only converts to MPEG2, not WMV, so it increases file size without any benefit and with the testing I've done, the "Use the resolution of the input file" feature does not work in Videora and messes up the aspect ratio on many of my videos.
If your app can convert and stream, then I'm a very happy happy person. Its actually very efficient that way, as it will convert only videos that you watch.
thanks once again!
Post by: tommiwan on January 18, 2006, 03:03:00 PM
Post by: LexCorp on January 18, 2006, 05:46:00 PM
Post by: kcchesnut on January 18, 2006, 08:21:00 PM
That pretty much leaves a permission problem.
On the 360, I would try to play a supported .wmv file through 'My Videos' first.
If it plays, then you know that the file can be accessed by the Extender profile.
Then i would try to stream that same file (even though its not necessary), to test the Media Encoder setup.
If it plays, then i would compare the .wmv permissions to the DivX file permissions.
oh yeah, the progress bar will stay at 0% for DivX/XviD files.
there will be a new release this weekend to fix that
Post by: scooby_dooby on January 18, 2006, 09:12:00 PM
QUOTE(LexCorp @ Jan 19 2006, 01:53 AM)
I'm having a problem with streaming. I've followed all the steps and have everything working locally (run media center, start the stream in More Programs, and watching the stream through the My Videos asx file). However when I run it on my 360 nothing happens. When I finish selecting the file to stream the progress bar pops up and stays at 0%. I've also tried starting the stream manually and then just watching the stream through the .asx file on the 360, but it just pulls up the turning waiting signal and hangs there.. I thought it was a permissions issue so I just gave mcx1 Administrative privaledges, but it still doesn't work. Anyone have any suggestions?
make sure to wait a bit, it can take a good 10-15 seconds to pick up the stream, also maybe check your logs for the permission error?
Post by: LexCorp on January 18, 2006, 10:12:00 PM
QUOTE(kcchesnut @ Jan 18 2006, 10:28 PM)
LexCorp, since its working locally, then it shouldn't be a codec issue.
That pretty much leaves a permission problem.
On the 360, I would try to play a supported .wmv file through 'My Videos' first.
If it plays, then you know that the file can be accessed by the Extender profile.
Then i would try to stream that same file (even though its not necessary), to test the Media Encoder setup.
If it plays, then i would compare the .wmv permissions to the DivX file permissions.
oh yeah, the progress bar will stay at 0% for DivX/XviD files.
there will be a new release this weekend to fix that
Thanks for the replies. I've tried playing a mpg file converted with videora and it works fine. But i tried a wmv file and the 360 just hangs trying to play it.. The permissions are identical. I've also checked the event viewer and the mcedivx360.txt and there is no mention of permissions.
Post by: tommiwan on January 19, 2006, 07:30:00 AM
QUOTE(kcchesnut @ Jan 17 2006, 05:05 PM)
hmm ... i don't know much about VOBs. think i've seen that they can be played without any encoding (as you said)? as far as a playlist, the app would be similar, but it would generate a .asx file that points to files on the file system, instead of doing any streaming. then when you run that .asx file it would play each file in turn.
the .asx file spec is in the Windows Media Player 10 SDK, under metafile section.
<ASX version = "3.0">
<ENTRY>
<REF HREF = "C:\Documents and Settings\KC\My Documents\My Videos\mpg\powerpuff girls justice league comm.mpeg" />
</ENTRY>
<ENTRY>
<REF HREF = "C:\Documents and Settings\KC\My Documents\My Videos\mpg\Episode 216 - Broodwich.mpg" />
</ENTRY>
</ASX>
so it would play the first file, and then move on to the 2nd. tested it on my 360 and it worked
So I tried this last night but it didn't work. I got an error that it cannot play back the video. One thing that I did notice is that the VOB files do not show up when exploring folders through the extender. Does that mean they are not supported? I thought kc said that it worked. Any ideas?
Post by: tommiwan on January 19, 2006, 08:38:00 AM
I think we should make a sticky on this subject. list common file types and what steps may be necessary to get them to play on the 360... I would do it but I don't think I know enough about it.
Post by: tommiwan on January 20, 2006, 07:40:00 AM
Post by: tommiwan on January 20, 2006, 12:14:00 PM
Post by: oswald on January 22, 2006, 12:07:00 AM
just installed it, and from all indications, it's working great. tested the stream and archive and just archive modes and they work as expected. progress bar works, can't tell if it's absolutely accurate, but it gets to 100% and then its done, so it works for me. took me a second to find the conifg tool, maybe install a shortcut for the end user in the installer... on some configs the folder will be labelled Shared Documents and not Documents as indicated in the readme.
stellar work.
incidentally, I'm using ffdshow on my box without issue. maybe a different build.
Post by: tommiwan on January 24, 2006, 07:32:00 AM
Just wanted to make sure I got back to you guys on that. I'll keep playing with it.
Post by: tommiwan on January 25, 2006, 07:30:00 AM
Anyway, I will try the DVD shrink thing soon. but if you have the movie in a playable (streamable to 360) format why do you need to go to wmv? (smaller file size?)
Post by: oswald on January 25, 2006, 05:43:00 PM
Post by: Darvan on January 27, 2006, 01:49:00 PM
First off I wanted to say thanks for making this setup work I love streaming my anime on the 360, I did have a question through that myself nor a friend can slove. It's concerning subtitles on the anime's. If the anime that am watching has two lines of sentence the second one is cut off while streaming on the TV. Is it at all possible to change something so I can see that second line of text thanks
Post by: role2682 on January 27, 2006, 02:31:00 PM
EncodeItems
had to kick out of waiting for video duration
1/23/2006 11:11:45 PM
EncodeItems
had to kick out of waiting for file resolution
1/23/2006 11:11:46 PM
INFO GetProfile
ProfileUsed = DVD_Quality_Video
1/23/2006 11:11:46 PM
INFO EncodeItems
OutputMode = StreamOnly
1/23/2006 11:11:55 PM
EncodeItems : catch
System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException (0xC00D1B83): One or more codecs
required to open this content could not be found.
at WMEncoderLib.WMEncoderClass.PrepareToEncode(Boolean bPrepare)
at mceDivX360.MediaEncoderListMaker.EncodeItems(Int32 depth, ArrayList
alListMakerItems)
Post by: Sidewinder007z on January 29, 2006, 10:35:00 PM
Hopefully someone can answer me a question
I finally got this working to a point.
I can begin the conversion process and watch the streaming output on the 360.
But I am not getting any audio. What could be causing this?
I can hear the audio when I run the file on the host PC via MediPlayer.
Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks
PS Nevermind....amazing what happens when you disconnect the audio output from the 360
Post by: kcchesnut on January 30, 2006, 09:25:00 AM
that's been a common request i've been getting emailed for.
Post by: zider on February 03, 2006, 01:35:00 PM
Post by: kcchesnut on February 03, 2006, 11:36:00 PM
check the debug file. if it says 'access is denied', then its permissions. but chances are that since DivX works and XviD doesn't then its a codec. use GSpot to see if which codec is being used
Post by: AshTemple on February 04, 2006, 04:44:00 PM
Ive PM brainsNbraun and hes been fantastic but after his advice we found the problem being that port 8080 is being used by something else:
INFO EncodeItems
OutputMode = StreamOnly
31/01/2006 17:20:06
EncodeItems : catch
System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException (0xC00D0028): An attempt to acquire a network resource failed.
at WMEncoderLib.WMEncoderClass.PrepareToEncode(Boolean bPrepare)
at mceDivX360.MediaEncoderListMaker.EncodeItems(Int32 depth, ArrayList alListMakerItems)
Ive used the old method of opening WME and streaming directly from there using a different availible free port (4623) and that works perfectly.
So my question is this, how can i either make brainsNbrauns app brodcast through a different port, or how can i find whats using the 8080 port and disable it or change that apps port usage??
Any help would be fantastic as im totally stumped, and gutted that the xbox doesnt play divx out the box
if you care, my thoughts on why MS have limited the divx play back is purely financial... Either, when the ps3 comes out, they want to make a big deal out of it, in the hope it will take some steam out of the hype from playstation, or when vista comes out, you can only stream using vista meda center, forcing you to shell out and purchace it.