HD-Streaming: Guide For Streaming HD To The Xbox360

Notice: This tutorial is kindly provided by sportcenter and several other involved people, accordingly credited inside this tutorial. Please credit their work and effort and leave a nice reply on our forums!

Tutorial structure: 1.0 HD-Streaming 1.1. Guide For Streaming HD To The Xbox360   1.1.0 Introduction 1.1.1 How to set-up and stream HD-content   Recommendations 1.1.2 Things to verify/do before beginning: 1.1.3 Frequently Asked Questions 1.1.4 Additional Info / Support 1.1.5 Supplement

1.1 Guide For Streaming HD To The Xbox360

1.1.0 Introduction

This has been needed for awhile... after countless pm's and questions... I give you the guide.

This guide will show you exactly how to set-up and stream HD content from a Windows PC to an Xbox360, solutions to problems, and FAQ's.

1.1.1 How to set-up and stream HD-content

Recommendations:

- Use XP Media Center 2005 OS - updated to Rollup 2
- Wired network
- Use at least a 100mbit router/switch
- Don't use PC Cillin - is a nightmare to get working, just ask r1card0
- Don't install WMP11 - need the codecs? Grab here: http://nic.dnsalias.com/wm9enc.html.

I am doing the majority of the guide for MCE 2005 operating system (OS) - as that is the one I have been using for awhile and supports the most formats.

1.1.2 Things to verify/do before beginning:

1) Make sure you have Update Rollup 2 for MCE 2005
- start ----> all programs ----> Accessories ----> Media Center ----> Settings ----> General ----> About Media Center ----> Software Version

If it doesn't say Rollup 2, then update it here: http://support.microsoft.com/KB/900325

(as you can see, your machine does not need to be a monster to stream HD flawlessly if you set it up correctly)

13) The first time you go into any of the media files, i.e.: My Videos, My Music, etc, you can add folders to share by pressing the "X" button and then scrolling down to "Add Videos/Music"

14) If you want the option of streaming your collection of .avi's from the PC to the Xbox360 then download this program from here: http://runtime360.com/blog/.

It works like a charm, you will need to restart after installing it. After restarting, open up the settings for the program and set the buffer location to a fast rpm hdd and buffer amount to at least 20 seconds so the files don't freeze/stutter if there is alot of network congestion.

When you want to watch an .avi file simply navigate to the folder/file it is in, click the "X" button, select "More" (it will bring you to another page) and click "A" 2 or 3 times - you will then see the circle graphic indicating it is buffering and about to start.

*(HD .avi's will not work for the most part - they require a REALLY FAST machine and alot of patience to wait for buffering to finish - for example they may work for 10 seconds and freeze for 5-6 seconds and play again for a few more seconds....nightmare)*

1.1.3 Frequently Asked Questions

*Actual PM's I have received, many multiple times.

1) I downloaded a WMV file, is it true that I can play it off a CD-r/DVD5 (DVD-r)/DVD9 (DVD-DL) from the game drive?
- Yes! Make sure you have the latest updates, burn the file as a DATA Disc (I use Nero). The video may not play immediantly and may even say "Mixed Media Disc" - if this is the case, simply scroll to the Media tab, select Video, and then "Current Disc".

2) I have no sound on this .ts movie I downloaded.
- Make sure the movie is DD or WMA, the Xbox360 cannot play DTS audio.

3) My Xbox360 isn't showing my .ts files?
- Make sure you have HDTVPump installed and that the files are associated w/ some player on your PC (MPC, VLC, etc).

4) I keep getting the "Network Congestion" in the top right corner of my tv when I am streaming movies.
- First, make sure that your router is still registering the network as 100Mbps - once or twice my router has reverted to 10Mbps for some reason (a simple unplugging for 15 seconds fixed the problem). If the router still says 100Mbps, then slow down on your downloads a bit (uploads have a minimal effect on it).

5) I don't have the Elite system, which has the HDMI cable instead of the Component cables, is there a way for me to display 1080p?
- Yes, if you have a flat panel TV, you can buy the VGA connection which will go up to 1080p. The 2007 Samsung TV's support 1080p through Component (only ones I know for sure).

6) If my tv is 720p/1080i, can I still watch 1080p movies?
Yes! However, you will only be shown the maximum resolution of your tv (Obviously).

7) I have Vista, am I still able to stream HD video to my Xbox360?
- Yes! However, you can only stream DVR-MS and WMV video files (Vista doesn't recognize .ts files).

8) Are all Vista versions able to stream to an Xbox360?
- No, only Vista Premium and Ultimate.

9) So this new update allows me to stream x264 encodes from this site right?
- Not really, it only recognizes .mp4 video with stereo audio and high profile encodes (not unlimited profiles like the ones found on this site), however there are a few members who are encoding movies to these specs.

10) Now that x264's are able to be played, why are people still encoding/downloading WVC-1's?
- First, seek help from question 9. Second, WVC-1 encodes allow up to 5.1 audio.

11) Can I stream videos from a network hdd?
- Nope.

12) I have windows server 2003, how can I set it up to stream stuff to my console?
- You can't.

13) I don't have the option of going wired - what will guarantee success w/ wireless?
- This router is bitchin' http://games.dlink.com/products/?pid=487.

14) I have Windows XP Home/Professional, what can I stream?
- Using either WMP11 or the Zune Software, you can stream WMV's, JPEG's, mp3's and WMA.

15)
poorguy wrote: Hey Sportcenter, I am using Vista and WMP11 for streaming WMVHD to my Xbox360. This works really great, but for some reason (I have installed hdtvpump) .ts files wont show up in the WMP11 Media Library (and consequently they dont show up in the 360). Any ideas on that?

- What vista version do you have? If you have Home Premium or Ultimate forget using WMP11 and use the way I described above - get the package from here: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/pcsetup/alldownloads.htm.

Using WMP11 will ONLY stream WMV's, JPEG's, mp3's and WMA's - no .ts....hence the reason you are not seeing the .ts files on your console (even if hdtvpump is installed)

poorguy wrote: Thanks for your reply!
Since I dont want to install another operating system I will have to go without MPEG2.

DrDarwin wrote: You aren't using an external hdd by chance are you?

- Plus, you can only play .wmv's and .mp4's off of a hdd - and they have to be under 3.99GB..... :thumbsdown:

16)
poorguy wrote: One more question: If the Xbox360 is able to playback MPEG-2, does this include HD-DVD or Blu-ray?

They are in containers that the Xbox360 doesn't recognize

HD DVD - .evo
Blu-ray - .m2ts

However, with Blu-ray's you can demux the audio and video, then mux back into a Program MPEG-2 stream using TMPGenc... basically it will create a .mpg container that can be streamed to the Xbox360.
You can not use this method w/ HD-DVD's.....

17)
joe90 wrote: Can you be a bit more specific on exactly the formats it now support (and max bitrates)
i.e I guess the bluray Casino Royal rip that everyone downloaded will not work.. smilie

Also, it only now plays DD and 5.1, so only DTS is not supported?
So how do i deal with the following situation.
I have a media pc with divx/xvid/ and all my HD stuff on.
I assume the d/xvid I need to covert to wmv using a converter (winavi using wmv9)?
But almost all my HD stuff will direct play without transcoding now, except mkv's? do i need to convert these?

Also one last thing (you did declare youself the 360 guru), how on earth do i convert something to wmv without it dropping to 2 channels only, the windows media encoder seems to do this all the time.

One more... TVersity does it change the sound source from DTS/5.1 etc to stereo?

Oh.. and finally smilie can I stream from linux (is there a hack out?)

Xbox 360 support for H.264
File Extensions: .mp4, .m4v, mp4v, .mov
Containers: MPEG-4, QuickTime
Video Profiles: Baseline, main, and high (up to Level 4.1) profiles
Video Bitrate: 10 Mbps with resolutions of 1920 x 1080 at 30fps
Audio Profiles: 2 channel AAC low complexity (LC)
Audio Max Bitrate: No restrictions

Xbox 360 support for MPEG-4 Part 2
File Extensions: .mp4, .m4v, .mp4v, .mov
Containers: MPEG-4, QuickTime
Video Profiles: Simple (including Simple profile content mislabeled as Advanced Simple)
Video Bitrate: 5 Mbps with resolutions of 1280 x 720 at 30fps
Audio Profiles: 2 channel AAC low complexity (LC)
Audio Max Bitrate: No restrictions

Xbox 360 support for WMV (VC-1)
File Extensions: .wmv
Container: asf
Video Profiles: WMV7 (WMV1), WMV8 (WMV2), WMV9 (WMV3), VC-1 (WVC1 or WMVA) in simple, main, and advanced up to Level 3
Video Bitrate: 15 Mbps with resolutions of 1920 x 1080 at 30fps
Audio Profiles: WMA7/8, WMA 9 Pro (stereo and 5.1), WMA lossless
Audio Max Bitrate: No restrictions

For .ts (MPEG-2) i have had no problem playing videos up to ~20Mbps - there have been a few users who have had no problem streaming the 40Mbit LOST episodes from Keiko - mine only plays for ~ 12 minutes then starts to trip up....i blame this problem on my less than optimal rig atm.

DTS has never been supported on the Xbox360 - only DD (AC3) and WMA will work

For your XviD/Divx files - seek step 14

You will not be able to stream or play your x264's off of a disc in the game drive at all - it is not encoded in a way recognized by the Xbox360.

Make sure you have AC3 installed, go into the settings and set your output to 3/2 + LFE - 5.1 surround sound.....that will fix your problem w/ it only giving you the stereo output option...XP and Vista has a default 2.0 audio output.

I only used Tversity once, and I believe it does the same thing as transcode360 - unless you have your console hooked up to a receiver and surround sound system, it will downmix 5.1 to 2.0....in Transcode360 you can set the bitrates and such of the downmix.

Not sure about the linux situation.... will read up on it.

18)
RossDallas wrote: I have the HD-DVD drive for the Xbox360 and would like to know if there is a way to burn h.264 files to a double-layer dvd and watch these from the HD-DVD player?

- Nope.... only WMV videos can be played in the game/HD-DVD drives....

19)
hdanon wrote: What about DRMed wmv-hd-dvds and files?
I have some original dvds here with wmv-hd stuff and DRMed content. Are these also streamable?

- Yes sir....from the may update... "Windows Media protected content (WM-DRM) can now be streamed from the PC to the console. If the WM-DRM license is missing or corrupted then a specific error message is displayed to the user. Bookmarking is also stored for protected content.". More informtion about May 2007 Update here.

20)
d0m1nation wrote: But I have myself a mac osx machine, is it mabye time to install vista with bootcamp?

- Do media center '05 if at all possible....not familiar w/ bootcamp personally and have never strayed away from pc's, but have heard others who have done it and it works fine...

d0m1nation wrote: So vista isnt a good choise?

- MCE '05 give you support of more material that is able to stream/play.

d0m1nation wrote: Like what? will i be able to play mkv, ts, avi and so on?

- Vista can't play .ts - you can convert to DVR-MS format using tsconverter that will be able to stream w/ MCE '05 you can play .ts files.

21)
lost1220 wrote: What all audio codecs will play on 360 in a .ts via hdtvpump? or dvr-ms?

AC3 - Dolby Digital 2.0 or 5.1
WMA

Just remember, it will not stream DTS sound....

22) Lampe wrote:
1) If I download a film x264 (I know how to do the encoding of this) with dts, and I want to stream it to the xbox 360, how do I convert the dts to DD 5.1 or WMA 5.1?
2) Is it possible to convert FLAC to DD 5.1 or WMA?

1) Just look at the right side of the Main Window of BeSweetGUI.exe application, you can find there a AC3ENC Combo box, set it to AC3. Set your Input File (.dts) at top of the Window and press DTS to AC3 Button.
2) What movies do you have in FLAC? anyways, according to Wikipedia, the xbox media center can decode it fine....other wise you can try EAC3toAC3 - works like a charm.

23)
joe90 wrote: So, with ac3 set to 5.1, I can use WME to encode dix/xvid/x264 to VC1 with WMAPro (5.1) - And that should all work? (if the source is 5.1)
h264 will not play fine (if within the limits)
.ts I can just rename.. (to wmv?)

I assume .mkv require more playing about, as your guide suggests?

Am I correct in thinking the HD-DVD can output DTS, (via the xbox) but the 360 cannot at the moment.

- Yes, using WME will work fine w/ 5.1...
For the .ts - if you rename to .wmv you cannot burn to a disc and play in the game drive...you can't mix wmv and ac3 (Dolby Digital) - it must be WMA.

Yeah at the moment, .mkv's are a waste of time b/c the console only recognizes .mp4 and only stereo sound...and a lower bit-rate than WVC-1.

Yes even the console alone can play commercial DVDs' DTS audio - but it cannot be streamed from a PC...

The hd dvd drive will allow (if current setup allows, ie: receiver etc) Dolby Digital+, DTS, TrueHD, LPCM, MPEG.

24)
Ender17 wrote: Is there a way to play .mkv files?

- They have to be put into a .mp4 container, profile 4, and can only recognize stereo audio - but the .mkv's from this site..... no you must de/remux them - WVC-1 is by far more superior at the moment...

As of now, the Xbox360 cannot seperatly load subtitles - they need to be hard encoded into the video.

Again, if anyone needs additional help let me know or post in the thread :-)

Notice: This tutorial is kindly provided by sportcenter and several other involved people, accordingly credited inside this tutorial. Please credit their work and effort and leave a nice reply on our forums!

1.1.5 Supplement

1.1.5.1 Needed software and hardware:

Software:
1. XP Media Center 2005 OS - updated to Rollup 2
2. Don't use PC Cillin - is a nightmare to get working, just ask r1card0
3. Don't install WMP11 - need the codecs? Grab here: http://nic.dnsalias.com/wm9enc.html.

Hardware:
1. Xbox360, prefered Xbox360 Elite, because of HDMI
2. Wired network
3. Use at least a 100mbit router/switch
4. Media server or HTPC