Best way of streaming X264 ?

dC2006

dC2006

dC2006

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13 Jun 2006
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Anyone here have a setup (or know of) where one could stream x264 format files (wirelessly) from a bedroom pc to the living room to some sort of media player, then to a tv via a hdmi connection ?

Cant seem to find a decent wireless media player that supports x264, the ones I have read reviews on stutter with hd content when streaming. Ideally I would like to stream BR/HD movies which are 10-15gig.
 
I do this, but it's probably not the elegant solution you were looking for.
- Server, network drive sharing
- Laptop, VGA to TV + Audio to amp
- Prosper
 
you won't be able to stream HD content wireless, you need a wired connection not enough bandwidth.
 
BR/HD-DVD movies are not 10-15Gb, they will be H264 re-encodes, so lower bitrate..

Media streamer wise, I think you need one of the latest ones, the popcornhour A100 is a no frills one that should cost around the £100-£130 mark, and certainly should play any H264 file..
This is the year that Media streamers will take off, there are a few coming out with the more powerful sigma chips that will do full HD-DVD/BR decoding etc, TVix are launching one sometime, but expect to pay £250+


As mentioned wireless networks may struggle with speed, you really need 3-4Mbytes/sec to cater for most HD Material, you could just about do this on a full strength 54g setup, but it may be a bit flaky..
You could 'invest' in some 200Mbps AV Homeplugs, they send the LAN over your mains, and can handle the bitrates, but pricey.. (£120 for 2)
Ultimately, you really want to hard wire them in.. B&Q sell a network starter kit that has 50M cable, 4 sockets and patch cables for gigabit'ing your house up, just drill a hole externally from your bedroom, pin the cable neatly to the wall/drainpipes etc, then drill back in the front room near your TV, put another socket on and never have any issues..
 
Apple TV will stream H.264 wirelessly but not much else (however h.264 is usually the best way to store films and things these days). However you will have to add them to iTunes which you may not want to do but then you can put covers on them, tag them nicely and have a nice list of films if you like. Also I think it only supports 720p.
 
I'd like to stream H.264. I use an Xbox 360 at the minute but they come in .mkv files which the Xbox doesn't seem to recognise, is there any way to get these running on the 360? (I have Windows Media Center 2005 if that helps) I don't really want to do any lengthy conversions though as my computer isn't the fastest.
 
You're probably best off putting together an HTPC yourself. Cheap DC CPU, 1GB RAM, mobo with onboard GPU, wifi, case and remote should set you back less than £200 and will give you far more functionality than any off-the-shelf streamer.

Also most BR discs weigh in at 25-40GB, so I'm not quite sure whether you're using some wacky re-encode (as you'd do almost as well encoding to 8GB or so) or stripping parts of the disc.
 
TheNumber42 said:
I'd like to stream H.264. I use an Xbox 360 at the minute but they come in .mkv files which the Xbox doesn't seem to recognise, is there any way to get these running on the 360? (I have Windows Media Center 2005 if that helps) I don't really want to do any lengthy conversions though as my computer isn't the fastest.
Click to expand...

Get something called Gotsent.
 
TheNumber42 said:
I'd like to stream H.264. I use an Xbox 360 at the minute but they come in .mkv files which the Xbox doesn't seem to recognise, is there any way to get these running on the 360? (I have Windows Media Center 2005 if that helps) I don't really want to do any lengthy conversions though as my computer isn't the fastest.
Click to expand...

Should be ok to remux the MKV into MP4 (which won't involve any re-encoding). Don't own a 360 though, so you'll have to check with google.
 
Seft said:
Should be ok to remux the MKV into MP4 (which won't involve any re-encoding). Don't own a 360 though, so you'll have to check with google.
Click to expand...

It involves re-encoding the audio to 2 channel stereo actually.
 
PiKe said:
GotSent.

360 can't play 1080p files though so don't even try.
Click to expand...

Cheers, that app looks like it does the trick, I'll have to give it a go when I get home. 30 mins(ish) is what some users have said it takes to do it tho which is a bit of a shame but it's not too long to bother ;)

What do you guys think the chance of the Xbox 360 supporting .mkv files directly in the next update is?
 
TheNumber42 said:
Cheers, that app looks like it does the trick, I'll have to give it a go when I get home. 30 mins(ish) is what some users have said it takes to do it tho which is a bit of a shame but it's not too long to bother ;)

What do you guys think the chance of the Xbox 360 supporting .mkv files directly in the next update is?
Click to expand...

Better than a million hours it would take to do the video.
 
PiKe said:
Get something called Gotsent.
Click to expand...

Im using this to convert X264 to MPEG4 to run on discs on the Xbox. Ive tried 3 times noe but each time the Video runs way faster than it should resulting in the sound being totally out. The video is about twice speed what it should be.

I tried changing the FPS setting on Go sent from 24.976 to 60000/1001 with no change at all. At ~ 60FPS it went from a 1.1Gb MKV to 2.8 Gb MP4 - whoops

Any tips?
 
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